I have a lot of favorite TV shows. I’m kind of unreliable as far as reviews go, because it has to be really bad for me to say, “yeah, that was bad.” But! On the up side, a show has to be really good for me to talk about it as much as I talk about Psych.
If you’ve seen Psych, yay!!! Good!!! Watch it over and over again!!! If you don’t watch Psych, I recommend you get on that. But in the meantime, here’s a quick synopsis: Shawn Spencer is a twenty-something picking up odd jobs and whiling his way through life in sunny Santa Barbara. His police officer dad turned his childhood into a sort of cadet training, meaning that Shawn is hyper-observant and really good at solving crimes. He puts these skills to work by pretending to be a psychic (hence the title), and solves crimes alongside his best buddy Gus. Also, the theme song is excellent.
And if all that doesn’t impress you, let me tell you a few things that this show taught me along the course of its 8 season run.
True friendship is the most important thing. Shawn and Gus really drive the show. Psych begins when they’ve already been besties since childhood, and we get to see how this type of friendship translates into a rewarding relationship between adults.
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The relationship between Detectives Lassiter and O’Hara is an interesting foil to Shawn and Gus. They meet as adults in the workplace, and are dissimilar in appearance and immediate behaviors. The audience gets to watch them build their workplace partnership into a true friendship, and that’s really cool!
The idea of making friends as an adult has always sort of scared me. What will I do when I’m not sitting in a classroom with people five days a week? How do I meet them? What is the balance between work and friend? It’s nice to see that it can happen in the world of Psych. Though I’ll always have childhood friends to keep building my relationship with, I don’t have to give up on meeting new and exciting people.
Never grow up. The theme song says it all: “I’m not inclined to resign to maturity!” As my class heads off to college, the main thought that seems to be going through everyone’s head is I’m not ready to be an adult!!!
In my own personal opinion, adulthood doesn’t exist. It’s unachievable without killing all your joy. There are a lot of special, beautiful things that children can do. They can connect over language barriers, by making up their own. They can perform without fear of being inferior to another star. It’s all about trying and having fun, and that’s really amazing. If we give up our entire childhood mindset, then we give up our ability to try new things, follow our passions, and ultimately succeed. The majority of Shawn Spencer’s psychic livelihood is based in playing pretend. So why grow up?
Family first! Though the families featured in this show may have their issues-- including, but not limited to, rivalries among departments of the law, unorthdox child-rearing techniques, and secret lives of crime-- they always take the time to talk things over and make it work. The theme of friendship and building your own little families is key to Psych, but it never outshines the bonds of parents, children, and siblings.
Under this same category, I think we can include the real-world ideal of treating your fans as family. If your family are the people who lift you up and help you stay there, then fans can be family, and Psych treats its family very well. A good friend of mine had the opportunity to meet Timothy Omundson—
This guy:
—at a showing of Psych the Musical, and she said that he was one of the kindest people, and seemed genuinely excited to share the show and conversation with fans.
Women are badass. Though of course on this show everyone’s a badass. The characters are all brave in different ways, and they have varying fears and weaknesses, but there isn’t a single one that I didn’t come away loving for their badass commitment to crimesolving, to their friends, and to being themselves. Plus, Psych treats female villains with just as much danger as any male villain.
I single out the women here because the show’s namesake—the psychic detective agency—is male owned. I wouldn’t want you to think that there aren’t any awesome female characters. From the very beginning, Psych treats women as people, living their lives and kicking ass. Chief Vick of the SBPD spends the first season of the show pregnant, but it never stands out as the defining point of her character. She is tough and in charge, and when she pushes a baby out during the end of the season, it only makes her cooler. (
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Juliet O’Hara is characterized by her intelligence and her unwavering principles. She isn’t afraid to demand the things that are important, chiefly honesty, and she refuses to be treated as anything less than the competent detective she is. Romance never gets in the way of the job, and the job never gets in the way of fashion. It’s awesome that the female characters of Psych can be feminine, masculine, whatever they like. They’re defined by their actions and accomplishments rather than by gender. 
Stick to your guns. I think Lassiter would agree.
Don’t let anyone stop you from expressing your beliefs, your hopes, your dreams. If you want to make things happen, you can! Confidence is key. Sometime you just have to S.E.I.Z.E the day, seize onto your ideas, and make it work.
Test out your power poses, listen to some tunes that’ll get you hyped up, make a plan (or go off a whim), and do the things that you believe need to be done for your own happiness, and for the good of the world.
Shawn Spencer proves that if you believe it, you can achieve it! It may take a lot of gall to trick the entirety of Santa Barabara into thinking you’re a crimesolving psychic, but hey, you don’t have to start that big. There’s no limit to what you can do with a whole lot of imagination and few good friends at your side.
Figure out what works for you! Whether you want to tapdance your way through your thinking the way Detective Lassiter does, want to dress to fit your emotional theme, or need a new name for every occasion, just go for it!
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Being yourself is the most important thing, in life, and in work.
Over the course of the show, Shawn works at a planetarium, makes it to the final round of an American Idol-esque show, searches for bigfoot, stars in a telenovela, and becomes a football player. Plus he builds his own small business along the way, and does it all with his best friend! You’ll make it work. It just might take awhile. So explore new things along the way.
Laughter really is the best medicine. I can watch an episode of Psych over and over again, and still find it funny. I catch new things every time. It’s comforting to have something that will make you happy no matter what, and for me Psych is a go-to option. The characters spend their lives working hard and laughing along the way, which is also really important to me. I guess it goes along with the never growing up. When you can laugh, you should laugh. Don’t let life become boring! They say that laughter prolongs life, so as your friend, I’m gonna go ahead and prescribe you Psych!
