What I’m Watching: Psych

Psych: Season 5, Episode 6 “Viagra Falls” (B+)

This is a fantastic, fun episode featuring two great guest stars who serve as perfect foils for Shawn and Gus. Most importantly, however, this is a self-contained arc that is finite enough that it could be recalled again but likely wouldn’t need to be. Forty-five minutes is exactly the right amount of time to devote to a couple of retired ex-cops forced to partner up with younger, sillier novices. Anyone who tries to make a show with that as the premise should really reconsider. While this works as a one-shot deal, it would quickly become tiresome and irksome as a regular series. It does work incredibly well here, thanks to the guest performances by cranky William Devane, most recently seen as a regular player on “24” and “Crumbs,” and Carl Weathers, stranded last year on FOX’s abysmal “Brothers” but far more famous as Apollo Creed in “Rocky” thirty-four years ago. Their interactions with Shawn and Gus were hilarious, and I enjoyed how they actually ended up becoming quite a good team. The “Bark and Mark” was pretty funny, and it’s always entertaining to see Shawn and Gus in awe of people who really can’t stand them. I was most amused by Boone yelling at Gus and telling Juliet to pick up his dry cleaning only to have his life threatened by the female cop. It’s important to officially classify this episode as a positive use of well-known actors in guest-starring roles since Devane and Weathers proved to be quite fitting one-shot additions to the already enjoyable and talented cast on this show.