Psych: Nip & Suck It, Review
Lori Loughlin shows up to join in Season 7's unending laughs....
Well we are in the home stretch of a stellar Season 7 and this week’s episode is a laughfest from the get go. What I love so much about Psych is that they use what in the comedy world are called “callbacks;” that means a joke from earlier in the canon is used again. They have managed to use this plot device so well that it integrates seamlessly into each episode. When you hear the guys say, “Come on, son!” you know it is referring to their strange obsession with old school rapper Ed Lover. They continue to bring it every week while other series in their seventh season (if there are any) are limping to the finish. The Psych dynamic just makes for great TV and there is nothing else like it on. A few seasons ago, Shawn bellowed, “For the love of Laurie Loughlin” and this week he got his wish. Ms. Loughlin has her day in the sun as Dr. Joan Diamond, plastic surgeon. It seems that Dr. Diamond is the prime suspect in a murder investigation that started with Henry bird watching and being interrupted by Shawn’s ridiculous ringtone, “I’m Mister Bootyman.” The bird watchers’ reaction alone is worth the price of admission. Henry comes across a tennis bracelet and a couple of other clues before finding yet another Santa Barbara-ite dead. The wealthy and well botoxed woman appears to have been injected with something called “Nutox.” It appears to be foul play. Coming off a gunshot to the chest and a sparse presence of Henry this season, I was psyched (pun intended) to see Corbin Bernsen flex his comedic skills. Shawn and Gus entertain Henry’s return to police work to a point until Dr. Diamond personally hires him. Turns out, the dish that is Lori Loughlin (age 48), who still has it in all the right places, had a brief romantic fling with Henry. More to the point, it’s the young guys versus the old guys in a classic game of “Who can find the murderer?” fastest. While Gus and Shawn continue to snoop around the local plastic surgery places, they realize that Henry has not lost a step. Given the calm assurance that accompanies frequently wading into these waters, Bernsen shines as the grizzled detective that is on his game. Seeing him do the same things that Shawn does really fleshes out how deep the characters’ roots are. Without Henry, there would be no Shawn. I do not mean that as in biologically. It’s just that all of those years of giving the kid a hard time and training him to be a top cop have paid off. When Henry teaches the guys a thing or two about real detective work, they step up their game to track down just who is behind the heinous. Heinous is probably the wrong word. It is a Psych murder after all. Besides the Yin and Yang killers, there really has never been a hardcore crazy, but that is what makes Psych, well, Psych. The guys manage to do one thing right in arresting a fake plastic surgeon, but all he winds up being guilty of is falsifying his credentials. Tragically, it is too late and all of this perfect face and body talk has gotten to the forever-insecure Gus. So for half the episode, Gus’s eyes are wide open from a forehead lift. Dule Hill does not break once and damn was it funny trying to listen to a sincere Gus while keeping a straight face. Classic Gus. Not to be outdone, I should give Shawn credit for opening the show with those plastic surgery marks ALL OVER his face and naming Val Kilmer as his emergency contact! LMAO and I hate that phrase. While Dr. Joan seems to be in the clear, she pays a visit to Henry’s home, hoping to rekindle their one date. Joan’s purse falls to the floor while she goes to powder her nose and Henry finds a vial of Nutox and a syringe. Is she the murderer? Henry wastes no time in calling the cops before Dr. Joan panics and hits him over the head with his mounted bass. But there was a lot more going on in this case than I expected. Usually I am pretty good at foretelling who the killer is going to be, but I was way off. That is a testament to the outstanding writing of the show shepherded by series creator Steve Franks. Unfortunately, they do not give out Emmys to shows like Psych and that really sucks, because the job they do warrants awards. When the twist happens and the killer is revealed, it was really cool to see Shawn share the spotlight in the reveal with his dad. My two small gripes about this week would be that Jules and Lassie are not seen enough in this episode and The Chief is totally absent. Furthermore, Henry winds up dating Dr. Diamond despite her knocking him out. Meanwhile, Shawn lets Gus know that he and Jules are back on as an item. I would have liked to have seen them hash it out a little more. It all happened so fast and Jules finding out about Shawn’s “gift” should have been a finale cliffhanger in my opinion. Still, it makes for far better TV than the big four networks offer in the 10pm timeslot. The references and sheer geeky pop-culture references are something that other dramedies can learn a thing or two from. The final reveal is even better, as the guys plug their own book about the show in character! I wrote a piece about it a few months back and I cannot wait to tear through my pre-order when it gets here Friday. So be sure to check out Psych’s Guide to Crime Fighting for the Totally Unqualified by Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster. Shawn leaves us while presenting the book to say, “I’m reading excerpts at Barnes & Noble next week. It’s not official. I’m just gonna’ start reading in the middle of the store and hopefully draw a crowd.” Classic.Next week: ’80s mainstay Anthony Michael Hall Guest Stars! LINES OF THE NIGHT:Shawn on talking to Woody about the body found: “Same way Bruce Jenner turned himself into Fire Marshal Bill: plastic surgery.”Shawn pretending to be Henry on the phone with Dr. Diamond: “I am in an adult book store. I haven’t had the touch of woman since the first Maroon 5 album came out…”Gus to Shawn after a plastic surgeon asks if he would like to do something about the creases in his forehead: “My Black is cracking, Shawn?!?” Den of Geek Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Jarrett Kruse has been writing professionally since graduating the University of Wisconsin-Madison cutting his teeth writing script coverage for major movie studios like MIRAMAX, 20th Century…