Shawn Spencer
Created by Steve Franks

See what Monk hath wrought?

I'm still not convinced Psych even belongs here, but hey, in these days when quality P.I. drama on the boob tube is as scarce as humility in the White House, who am I to nitpick?

After all, it was the #1 new show on cable in 2006, and there's no denying it's a passable enough way to kill off an hour.James Roday stars as SHAWN SPENSER, a young slacker who cons his way into a gig as police consultant who uses his highly developed psychic powers to crack cases the boys in blue seem to be having absolutely no luck with.

The hook is that it's all a crock -- Shawn actually has all the psychic abilities of a newt. What he does have going for him are some pretty damn sharp deduction skills and the ability to bullshit. Of course, the precinct detectives are convinced he's psychic -- and he does nothing to set them straight. Hey, it's a good gig, okay?

(It actually all started when Shawn called in a tip on a crime to the police, but was actually accused of committing the crime. To clear his name, Shawn convinced the police that he was a psychic. Things snowballed from there)..

Along for the ride -- and aiding and abetting in the scam, albeit reluctantly -- are Dule "West Wing" Hill as Shawn's best friend and long-suffering sidekick Gus, and Corbin "L.A. Law" Bernsen as Shawn's crochety, disapproving father, ex-cop Henry. The real irony is that it's Henry who originally urged Shawn to hone his "observation" skills as a child.

Picture a younger, hipper Monk, with less schtick and more chutzpah, and you're almost there. And with so many inept cops out there, thank God the USA Network has an apparently unlimited supply of quirky, not-quite P.I.s.

TELEVISION

• PSYCH
  (2006-07, USA Network)
  Created by Steve Franks
  Writers: Steve Franks, Andy Berman, Kerry Lenhart, Anupam Nigam, John J. Sakmar, Douglas Steinberg, James Roday
  Directors: Mel Damski, Michael Zinberg, John Landis, Tim Matheson, Michael Engler
  Theme song: "I Know, You Know"performed by The Friendly Indians
  Executive producers: Steve Franks, Chris Henze, Kelly Kulchak
  Producers: Tracey Jeffrey
  Co-executive producer: Mel Damski(12 episodes, 2006-2007)
  Associate producer: Tracy Hillman
  Consulting producer: Kerry Lenhart, John J. Sakmar, Douglas Steinberg, Paulo De Oliveira
  Supervising producer: Joe Lazarov, Josh Bycel
  Starring James Roday as SHAWN SPENCER
  and Dulé Hill as Burton "Gus" Guster
  With Corbin Bernsen as Henry Spencer
  Also starring Timothy Omundson as Detective Carlton Lassiter
  Kirsten Nelson as Chief Karen Vick
  Maggie Lawson as Juliet O'Hara
  Sage Brocklebank as Buzz McNab
  and Liam James as Young Shawn
  Guest stars: George Takei, Lou Diamond Phillips
  

• Season 1.. Buy this season on DVD
• "Pilot" (July 7, 2006)
• "Spellingg Bee" (July 14, 2006)
• "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piec" (July 21, 2006)
• "Woman Seeking Dead Husband - Smokers Okay, No Pets" (July 28, 2006)
• "9 Lives" (August 4, 2006)
• "Weekend Warriors" (August 11, 2006)
• "Who Ya Gonna Call?" (August 18, 2006)
• "Shawn vs. The Red Phantom" (August 25, 2006)
• "Forget Me Not" (January 19, 2007)
• "From the Earth to Starbucks" (January 26, 2007)
• "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead" (February 2, 2007)
• "Cloudy...Chance of Murder" (February 9, 2007)
• "Game Set… Muuurder?" (February 16, 2007)
• "Poker? I Barely Know Her" (February 23, 2007)
• "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toas" (March 2, 2007)
  
  
• Season 2
• "American Duos" (July 13, 2007)
• "Sixty Five Million Years Off" (July 20, 2007)
• "Psy vs. Psy" (July 27, 2007)
• "Zero To Murder in Sixty Seconds" (August 3, 2007)
• "And Down the Stretch Comes Murder" (August 10, 2007)
• "Meat is Murder, But Murder is Also Murder" (August 17, 2007)
• "If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead?" (August 20, 2007)
• "Dis-Lodged" (September 21, 2007)
• "Gus' Dad May Have Killed An Old Guy" (September 28, 2007)

RELATED LINKS

• Psych
  The official USA Network site.

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.