Psych Unpopular Opinions and/or and Bitterness: You Know That's Right

[DittyDotDot]

Was Shawn over-the-top and plain annoying? Did Lassie or Juliet or any of them make you light-headed from the sighing they elicited? Was there a particularly horrible episode you love or a loved one you hate and you just want to get it off your chest?

 

Here's a place to vent.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Was Shawn over-the-top and plain annoying? Did Lassie or Juliet or any of them make you light-headed from the sighing they elicited? Was there a particularly horrible episode you love or a loved one you hate and you just want to get it off your chest?

 

Here's a place to vent.

 

 

Oh boy, DO I EVER need to vent.  I was always too intimidated on the other board, because it seemed like the whole consensus was Shawn was a horrible, horrible person, who never showed any "growth", and there was nothing redeeming about him whatsoever. Which, I totally disagree with.

 

Maybe it's a TV Tropes thing, but it's something I don't care for. Like how in "Lassie Did a Bad Thing", Lassiter was suspected of killing that guy from the gang, who had just turned over State's evidence and the Feds came over to take him.  Shawn was instrumental in proving that it was that asswipe, Drimmer, who was the actual killer.  What peeved me? was by the next episode, Lassiter was back to his jerkass self, treating Shawn as if he were worse than the dirt one scrapes off a shoe.

 

The show was good about continuity, so this acting as if the previous episode didn't happen, peeved pissed me off to no end.

 

Or when, shit, I've forgotten the name of the episode, but Juliet was being a bigass jerk to Shawn and Gus as well; she was acting just like Lassiter; no empathy like she normally has for them. I know it was after "Lassie Did a Bad Thing."  Hell, now I'm going to have to go back and rewatch to find out which one it was.  And then there's the whole double standard, which is actually the Tropes I was referring to.

 

When Lassiter was suspended, it was "personal" and he had to go out on his own to find the real killer; then the episode when Juliet's brother, played by Jon Cena...she gets all bitchy and angry at Shawn for even thinking that he could be a murderer, when both she and Lassiter, were willing to believe the "evidence" that both of Gus's parents were murderers in the first Christmas episode.  I think Shawn even pointed that out, to which I yelled "That's RIGHT!"

 

And I don't know if this is unpopular or not, but I didn't like that they recast Gus's dad. I love Ernie Hudson! Don't get me wrong, I love Keith David too (Hello!!! He's the voice of Goliath in my very favorite Gargoyles 'toon!) But he just wasn't Gus's dad, to me.

 

 

I stated this in the best/worst thread, but for me, I didn't care about the romances for either Gus or Shawn; I didn't watch for that. To me, the only relationship I was interested in was Gus and Shawn's friendship.  All the others were just superfluous.

 

I know I'll have more, but I'm at work now, and don't want to get in trouble!

[amensisterfriend]

Thanks for starting this thread! Needless to say, I love the title :)

 

1) I never 'shipped Juliet and Shawn at all. I didn't see romantic chemistry between them and thought Juliet was a more vibrant, sunny and interesting character before they got together. 

 

1a) While this isn't a show where I really ship anyone one way or the other, if they were going to pair up Juliet with anyone, I'd far rather have seen her with Lassiter. Lord knows why :) 

 

2) I dislike pretty much every scene involving Shawn's mom and think Cybil Shephard was one of the very rare casting missteps of the series. I can't even explain why--she just comes across as smug and irksome to me. 

 

3) I never cared one way or the other about Karen Vick---she was just the typical 'tough and serious yet not-so-surprisingly kind' underneath chiefs we see on a zillion other shows. I didn't dislike her at all, but nor did I miss her when she didn't pop up for a while. 

 

4) As expressed elsewhere, I think James Roday does is a gifted dramatic actor---he goes too over the top with the comedic material for me sometimes, but I absolutely adore the way he plays the more subdued and serious scenes.

 

5) I keep hearing people (I think even Psych's actors and creators!) say that the show didn't really find itself until Scary Sherry, but I actually love a lot of S1, including those beginning ones that everyone forgets about :) ) Don't even ask me how many times I've watched Spellingg Bee!

 

6) In some bizarre way I actually LIKE Shawn's more contentious, dysfunctional S1 relationship with Henry. I'm sure I would have gotten frustrated if it hadn't improved throughout the series, but their initial friction gave the show a certain edge, tension and even surprising (albeit very subtle!) emotional weight for me. 

 

7) Most people name Black and Tan among their top 5-10 favorites, but it's not even in my top 30 or so...and this is coming from someone who adores S2 and would still name it as a my favorite season :)

 

8) While I always adore Gus and his relationship with Shawn, I love Gus's character much more in the first half of the series than the second. He seems to get more Shawn-ish as the series goes on : more silly and immature, which is fine, but I preferred it when Gus was more of a contrast to Shawn.

 

9) I don't dislike S3, but I think I like it a lot less than most do---whenever we chat about our special favorites, I always realize all over again that S3 contains a ton of episodes I'm utterly meh on and surprisingly few that I love.

 

10) I like Juliet and was psyched (lame pun intended) to see Juliet-centric episodes, but for some reason the understandably popular A Very Juliet Episode just doesn't do it for me.  

 

11) As much as I like seeing James Roday do drama, I'm always tempted to skip the Yin/Yang ones :)  

[DittyDotDot]

Since I'm so new to the show, I have no idea what's really unpopular nor do I have any real bitterness at this point, so I thought I'd just comment on your guys' rants that I enjoyed reading immensely. Why yes, I am obsessed much, but I'm okay with it!

 

 

Oh boy, DO I EVER need to vent.  I was always too intimidated on the other board, because it seemed like the whole consensus was Shawn was a horrible, horrible person, who never showed any "growth", and there was nothing redeeming about him whatsoever. Which, I totally disagree with.

 

Maybe it's a TV Tropes thing, but it's something I don't care for. Like how in "Lassie Did a Bad Thing", Lassiter was suspected of killing that guy from the gang, who had just turned over State's evidence and the Feds came over to take him.  Shawn was instrumental in proving that it was that asswipe, Drimmer, who was the actual killer.  What peeved me? was by the next episode, Lassiter was back to his jerkass self, treating Shawn as if he were worse than the dirt one scrapes off a shoe.

 

I'm so sad to hear people thought there was never any growth in Shawn and/or that he was so horrible. Yeah, he was a big show off and a lying liar who lied about being a physic (which kinda became unnecessary as the seasons went on, IMO) but I generally saw a guy that cared about people and truly wanted to help them despite being rather self centered and a showboat. I think he grew up quite a bit throughout the series--even though he obviously didn't want to ever grow up. I actually was prepared to dislike Shawn after the first episode because man-children are really not my thing. But Roday and the writer's managed to put enough heart into the character I found myself charmed by him far more than annoyed by him.

 

As to Lassiter not warming to Shawn after the multitude of times Shawn helped him, I kind of think he did. I actually never thought Lassiter disliked Shawn as much as he just knew, down in his gut, Shawn was a fraud somehow and wasn't going to allow himself to be pulled into Shawn's crazy orbit. So, I think Lassiter was showing Shawn his affection by keeping up the established boundaries--to me they always had a mutual-respect-through-mutual-disrespect relationship. However, I wouldn't have minded a thank you moment from Lassiter either.

 

I never 'shipped Juliet and Shawn at all. I didn't see romantic chemistry between them and thought Juliet was a more vibrant, sunny and interesting character before they got together. 

 

I'm really not a shipper at all, so I generally just take the relationships the show gives me, for better or worse, but I really didn't get the whole Shawn/Juliette thing at all. Mostly because I felt like Juliette was less of her own character when she and Shawn were together. And, I just didn't like watching how she never seemed to catch on to Shawn not being a psychic even though she was a smart and capable detective and was living with the guy--plus it didn't do Shawn's character any favors in that he was lying to this woman who he supposedly loved. However, I actually liked how they handled the initial breakup--didn't care for how they suddenly were back together, though--but the few episodes after they broke up had me really liking Jules again. Not that I ever really disliked her, but except for Lassie Jerky, I didn't think she was all that interesting of a character when she was dating Shawn.

[DittyDotDot]

As much as I like seeing James Roday do drama, I'm always tempted to skip the Yin/Yang ones :)  

 

As I stated in the Best/Worst thread, the only Yin/Yang episode I care for it the Hitchcock one, but that's more for the Hitchcock references than anything. And as much as I disliked the one where Yin was revealed, I do adore the scene where Gus tells Shawn he was glad Shawn drug him into all this nonsense and how much he appreciated getting to play out all his childhood fantasies with his best friend. Otherwise, I'd definitely skip that one altogether.

[amensisterfriend]

I normally get frustrated with 'one step forward, two steps back by the very next episode' TV relationships, but Lassiter-Shawn works for me. They're both such flawed characters that I can readily understand both why Lassiter finds Shawn incredibly cocky, annoying and obnoxious (I think I have a little less patience for Shawn than you guys do!). and can just as easily get Shawn feeling Lassiter is a jerk and responding accordingly. Since the vast majority of the people Shawn crosses paths with on the show end up really charmed by him, I actually kind of appreciated that there was someone who still found Shawn really grating which, honestly, is how I think more people would respond to Shawn in real life. Besides, Lassie was threatened by Shawn's expertise in solving "his" cases---which, while not very mature of him, was understandable.

 

More to the point, though, I agree with Ditty that I do think we got moments of mutual respect, gratitude and even grudging fondness between them.  They're just kind of subtle and infrequent :)

[amensisterfriend]

My latest UO is that I think S4 is really underrated---and often by me as well :) What some view as a loss of energy is for me a *little* maturity on Shawn's part and maybe even the overall show's. The episodes are still just as clever and engaging, and some of my most rewatchable favorites happen to be in this season: High Noon-ish, Devil's in the Details, High Top Fade-Out, etc. I love "Thrill Seekers" as well and think Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark features some of James Roday's most awesome acting of the series. I'm on record of holding the unpopular opinion of being decidedly meh on the Yin/Yang episodes, the Hitchcock references in Mr. Yin Presents make this one my favorite of them by far. And while I couldn't possibly care less about Abigail or Shawn's dull relationship with her, I'm always happily surprised to find she's less a part of the season than I had feared! 

 

And since this is the unpopular opinions thread, I may as well confess that I even really like You Can't Handle That Episode :) 

Edited June 6, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[amensisterfriend]

Okay, I promise that after this one I'll stop talking to myself in here, but I've realized that I hold another major UO: Lassiter may actually be the character I love and enjoy most. I love Gus and the Gus/Shawn friendship, of course, and I really like Early Seasons Juliet despite her not being all that well defined or developed a character. And I completely and totally get why many would dislike Lassie---on paper, I'd probably dislike him as well. But something about this character just totally works for me---I find his snark really funny (it just hits my funny bone more than Shawn's attention-desperate, cocky goofiness usually does), I love that he's so rigid and tense yet slightly softened by his relationships with both Shawn and Juliet, and I think the actor and writing lend just enough vulnerability and 'ah, so *that's* why he is the way he is' to the role, making him more sympathetic than I'd normally find him.

 

Granted, like most (all?!) Psych characters, he fared better in the beginning seasons. As adversarial as his relationship with Shawn could be back then, I've been so pleasantly surprised to see how seamlessly they wove in real and surprisingly revealing moments for the character. He was much more...non-caricature-y, for lack of an actual word :) (I know, I know...I need more caffeine!) The moment where he holds the chief's newborn baby is a good example of how poignant and raw his character could be---and how amusingly inappropriate he could be right before and after without it feeling TOO jarring :)  

[GHScorpiosRule]

Heh. Liking Lassiter is probably unpopular here. Over at TWoP? Not liking him was unpopular. And though he had his moments, overall, I don't like him. I just don't.

[amensisterfriend]

I totally get it, GH---I often struggle a bit to like and be patient with Shawn, who I know you love :) That's what makes fandom fun and interesting, right?! All that matters is that we're all still Psych-os in the end ;) 

Edited June 8, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[GHScorpiosRule]

I totally get it, GH---I often struggle a bit to like and be patient with Shawn, who I know you love :) That's what makes fandom fun and interesting, right?! All that matters is that we're all still Psych-os in the end ;) 

 

Totally. And since this is also a bitterness thread, I will forever be bitter that the show runners or whoever, ruined Shawn in the latter seasons, by having him become more of a mooch, immature, never having money of his own, so he would always use Gus's credit card, etc.  He wasn't like that in the first two seasons or so. He HAD money. Enough to pay for his own apartment, before he gave that up (WHY?) when they opened Psych. And then you have those moments, like when he bared his soul to Juliet when he thought she was leaving to go with Declan to Italy or wherever.

[DittyDotDot]

Aww, I love Lassiter. What I loved about Lassiter was he had Shawn's number from day one and refused to be drawn into Shawn's BS. I loved that about him. And, I also loved his mentor-relationship with Juliet. I don't know, Lassie worked very well for me too, amensisterfriend.

 

I suffer from the problem of never having a particular favorite on this show--or for most shows in general--I find all the characters have their strengths and weaknesses and I find I love and am frustrated with them all at different times. That's what marks this show as a good show, IMO, and endears it greatly to me.

[amensisterfriend]

Heh---yeah, I'm pretty sure we can all unite in thinking that ALL of our characters fared better in the first four or so seasons. (Though as I just posted elsewhere, I have the UO of not loving S3...for no especially good reason!) 

 

Here's another one: The more I rewatch, the less I love Henry. Once he and Shawn resolved their initial conflicts, I sometimes even find myself thinking that I wouldn't mind if he only popped up a few times per season. And I haaaaate his "consultant" role with the SBPD, though I'm not sure that's unpopular :) 

(Ditty and I cross-posted again---same wavelength!) 

 

 

 

I find all the characters have their strengths and weaknesses and I find I love and am frustrated with them all at different times

 

Absolutely---and that's especially true of shows like this one, IMO, where everyone's flaws tend to be exaggerated for comedic effect. It makes them vibrant and memorable and relatably imperfect...but also sometimes annoying. It's a sneakily thin line :) 

 

It's interesting how Gus, Lassie, Henry and even the chief all share the common flaw of rigidity, which is such a deliberate contrast to Shawn. 

Edited June 8, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[DittyDotDot]

I liked Henry, but totally agree they should've scaled back his appearances some. I found it always clunky how they would try to get Henry involved in almost every single case. I know, Corbin Bernsen probably had a contract and all, but I thought it would've been smarter to use him in the flashback intros only in some episodes rather than trying to have him actively work cases with them. That's mostly why I dislike his turn as "consultant", it just feels so forced as a way to make sure they get their money's worth out of the actor. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I think we got more of Henry because Ian James had grown up--well puberty had him shoot up and his voice got deeper, so he couldn't play the pre-puberty Shawn anymore in the show's openings.  And the last young Shawn they had was such a dud, that they stopped doing those openings altogether.

 

I didn't mind Henry. Probably because I love Corbin.  But yeah, having him as a consultant was a huuuge mistake. Have the major issues settled between Shawn and Henry, but still have them fight over other stuff. But I did like how, in the series finale, Henry was just so happy and said "he finally called me" when he takes his students on a "field trip" to save Shawn and Gus.

[amensisterfriend]

Oooh, another very unpopular opinion: regardless of which actor played Young Shawn, I loved only a surprisingly small percentage of the flashbacks. I think they would have been a lot more effective if used only a few times per season. But then I'm not a big flashback person in general, so that's probably more about me than the show :) 

 

And just to clarify my above UO---I don't dislike Henry and do agree with the Corbin love. I just think that after awhile he (like the flashbacks, IMO!) would have been a lot more enjoyable for me if used more naturally and less often :) 

Edited June 8, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[raven]

Well, after reading here, I my UO is that I didn't mind Henry as consultant.  He worked best interacting with Shawn and Gus and still got to be paternal, which even though his relationship with Shawn had improved, made sense based on his personality.  He seemed a bit more out of place interacting with the Chief, Lassiter, etc but it worked OK for me.  I did miss the scenes with a young Shawn though and preferred those, though like you say, they probably ran out of young actors to use and watching Henry interact with full on rebellious, I-hate-my-dad teenager Shawn wouldn't have been fun.

 

I also like Lassie start to finish - maybe because I started with the later years and so got to see him do more then just be snarky to Shawn and Gus.  There's one episode, I can't remember which one, where at the end of the ep Shawn, Gus and Juliet are laughing and eating Chinese food at the station, Lassiter walks by but doesn't join them, and Shawn tosses him a fortune cookie.  They all smile and it's just a nice scene, showing that Lassie won't be just an antagonist.  In the latter seasons, 7/8 I think (I still have to finish watching) he loses some of that warmth and loses some ground there, but yeah, those later seasons do bring the characters backwards some.  I also really enjoyed his relationship with Juliet, how he was happy and proud when she did well rather than being threatened by her.

 

Another UO - I did like Shawn & Juliet together, though the break-up and reconcilation all happened way too quickly.  It would have been better if his lack of pyschicness wasn't such a surprise to her, the show's ending rushed things I know but it was awkwardly handled.  They have some good couple scenes together, "The Tao of Gus" and "Lover's Retreat" come to mind. 

 

It may seem wishy-washy but I would have been OK if Juliet & Shawn didn't get together either; she didn't need to be with anyone.  I get that they couldn't have Nestor Carbonell hang around forever, but I liked Juliet with Declan Rand too.  I wish the show had stayed away from "woman is going on fabulous, exotic vacation with a great rich guy but gives it up for her poor, true love guy" and that Juliet had at least taken that trip with him! 

[amensisterfriend]

I don't think Gus and Shawn are nearly as different as they're often made out to be! I often see comments about people hating Shawn and adoring Gus, and I totally get it, but the more I watch the more I think that they actually had a lot of the same strengths and flaws---especially in later seasons. 

 

While I dislike the Abigail scenes in He Dead (and in most episodes, for that matter!), I actually think this episode is really funny and sadly underrated. Then again, you guys know I have an irrationally strong affection for S4 in general :) 

 

I think Vick (unmarried, obviously!) would have been a more entertaining, interesting match for Shawn than Jules turned out to be. And this would have left Juliet free to either (*gasp!*) remain happily single or eventually end up with Lassie, which I've always not so secretly enjoyed the idea of :) Juliet was just so swallowed up by Shawn's larger than life personality and had to serve as such the joyless, drab, understandably disapproving 'straight man' by contrast. With Lassie, she could have been the fun, sunshine-y one bringing joy and goofiness to his life while he grounded them both, which for me would have been a lot more fun. 

[amensisterfriend]

The more I rewatch, the more I come to the unpopular conclusion that I think Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark is one of the best episodes of the series. I love that it's a little more substantive and genuinely suspenseful than what we usually get yet still with its share of funny moments and hilarious dialogue, I love that we subtly get to see how Lassie loves Shawn even if he still doesn't generally LIKE him, and I especially love getting to see a deeper, more serious side of Shawn/James Roday while still being so thoroughly, quintessentially Shawn-ish. I love frothy, unashamedly silly Psych episodes and used to find it jarring whenever the show deviated from that, but now I actually wish we'd gotten more episodes like Shawn Takes A Shot in the Dark. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[ganesh]

I think it was a huge mistake and disservice to the character that Jules thought Shawn was actually psychic. I assumed everyone caught on after a while that he was faking it. Lassiter said as much at one point, and it always seemed to me that the chief knew, or at least the actor was playing her that way. They even had a scene towards the end of the run like that. I figured by the time Shawn told Jules she'd be like, "no kidding." She was a good detective, and to have her not know is stupid. 

[amensisterfriend]

One of my good friends just watched the show for the first time. I made her watch the first three seasons before sharing her thoughts with me because I wanted her to give the show a fair chance :) (Yeah, I know, I'm such a pleasure to have as a friend!) Many of her opinions are fairly unpopular, so I figured I'd share them here in case anyone is interested: 

 

1) She can't stand Shawn. She finds him incredibly obnoxious, annoying, arrogant, babyish, smug...etc.  and is especially annoyed by how many of his worst flaws are presented as charming and adorable rather than legitimate shortcomings. She doesn't get what Juliet or any other normal, relatively mature woman would see in him at all and keeps asking if we see him "get humbled and knocked down a few thousand pegs" in upcoming episodes. 

 

2) Brace yourselves, guys...she doesn't love Gus nearly as much as most of us do! She likes him more than she likes Shawn but doesn't see him as an especially interesting or entertaining character. (This one may be partly my fault, as I may have given her excessively high expectations of Gus before she started watching!) 

 

3) She wishes the show focused mainly on Lassiter, Juliet and even Henry instead. Speaking of Juliet, she likes her well enough but doesn't see her as very well defined or compelling. She thinks she could have been a lot more awesome a character if not figuratively and literally drowned out by Shawn's over-the-top...Shawn-ness in so many scenes. 

 

4) She finds the comedy really hit and miss but thinks the mysteries are actually a little better than she expected. (Like me, she's a big mystery fan in general!) 

 

5) She actually really liked Vick a lot for some reason---in fact, I got the impression Vick may have been her favorite character! She wishes we saw more of her. 

 

I figured these were some interesting discussion points even/especially if some of us disagree :) 

[ganesh]

She actually really liked Vick a lot for some reason

 

What's not to like?

[amensisterfriend]

Even after rewatching and loving so very much about this series....I just can't see any chemistry between Shawn and Jules. Maybe it's partly that Juliet ended up a pretty poorly defined character despite having a lot of potential back in S1, so it's hard for me to get a firm handle on exactly who she was and therefore who she would have been a great match with. Or maybe Shawn was always just such a goofball manchild that it's hard for me to see him as a legitimately serious boyfriend. Maybe the show was so intent on preserving the bromance between Shawn and Gus, overall silliness etc. that most of loved about the show even after Juliet and Shawn got together that they didn't bother writing them as a remotely convincing couple who had actual feelings for each other...? It's weird, because I really like both actors and thought it was nice they were dating in real life, but onscreen there's just no chemistry or romantic connection at all for me. As much as I couldn't care less about the even more poorly defined Abigail, my UO is that I can't honestly say I "ship" Shawn/Juliet any more than I do Shawn/Abigail (which is to say not at all!)  In fact, I'd argue that that kiss between Shawn and Abigail in Mr. Yin Presents was sweeter and more feeling than nearly anything we got between Shawn and Juliet. 

[amensisterfriend]

---I just rewatched a few S8 episodes for only the second time, and I have to now confess the very UO that I think I actually love part of the widely disliked S8! 

[amensisterfriend]

---I'm pretty sure it's unpopular to say that S1 and S6 are my two favorite seasons, right?! Because, as of this most recent rewatch, I'm pretty sure they are :) 

 

And, while I'm here, I've actually grown to love In for a Penny. I agree that it contradicts the show's canon about Juliet having happily married parents and a close family, but, honestly, by this point in the series I feel like Juliet needed something to give her a little more depth---and while giving her a criminal con artist for a father is kind of a cliched way to go, it gave us some interesting moments and helped further explain Juliet's passion for justice and law enforcement. Plus, said father was played by William Shatner, which was a treat for me :) 

[ToriM]

Let me start by stating I'm a total psych-o! I live Shawn & Gus and the whole lighthearted take on horrible crimes, it's my go to show when I just wanna throw on my pj's, snuggle up & feel good. NOW, why does the Chief treat them like shit? As much as/more than Lassiter, threatening Shawn with charges if he messes up despite the HUNDREDS of times he's bailed them out. I also think she's a closet racist as there are more than a few times she takes a moment to point out that "they" aren't welcome while speaking to or looking right @ Guster!! Lassy is a jerk, I get that he's the pseudo antagonist, sometimes I wanna like him but he's just such a dick to the guys. Juliet doesn't deserve Shawn. She's gone out of her way to date douche bags throughout the series and then holds Shawn to ridiculous standards when they do start going out. GRRRR! Finally... Gus I <3 you chocolate bear. He's a damn naggy stick in the mud. He bitches at Shawn like an old fish wife, sometimes I just wanna slap him and tell him to ease the F*** up! He would have so much more fun if he just pulled the huge log out of his butt! Ok, rant over... thanx 4 letting me vent. PSYCH THE MOVIE 2016 Or bring back the show!!!!

[bettername2come]

I love frothy, unashamedly silly Psych episodes and used to find it jarring whenever the show deviated from that, but now I actually wish we'd gotten more episodes like Shawn Takes A Shot in the Dark.

 

Love that episode. And the Yang episodes, although the last one in the trilogy is weak. I just love when Shawn has to step up and take things more seriously. I love actual consequences for things. I don't find it quite so jarring because even in the silly episodes there are occasional hints to Shawn getting the darkness he's involved in. 

[amensisterfriend]

UO: I have grown to absolutely LOVE S7. What the heck is wrong with me?! (Feel free not answer that!) I've even come to adore Juliet's shorter hair, which I initially didn't like much at all :) 

Edited March 7, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[amensisterfriend]

So a couple of months ago I reported developing an unpopular love for S7. Now as I've continued rewatching I seem to have developed an even more unpopular love for S8. The Harry Potter episode alone would make this one worth owning for me ;) Shawn is more mature, and I actually like the way the crazy new chief serves to unite Lassie with Shawn/Gus. A Touch of Sweevil, Nightmare on State Street, Someone's Got a Woody...I've just come to love these episodes so much more than I thought I did. And I'm pretty sure I love the finale as well, but since watching it the first time made me cry, I haven't been brave enough to view it a second time! 

[amensisterfriend]

The strangest thing is happening to me while watching S4: I'm actually liking Abigail and her effect on Shawn. I never had a clear idea of who she was supposed to be, but she just has this calmness and quiet self-acceptance that nicely counterbalances his hyperactivity and restlessness. And she just sort of GETS him---she's got a quietly wry sense of humor, she seems to get when he's being untruthful or ridiculous regardless of whether she chooses to comment on it, and aside from going behind his back to contact Henry (which I hate and have to erase from my mind if I want to maintain this newfound fondness for Abigail!), she seems to strike a good balance between bringing out Shawn's better self while still accepting him for who he is without trying to change him. And I actually think they have more chemistry and more of a natural romantic connection than Shawn/Jules. Needless to say, that last statement is especially unpopular :) Loving S4 in general has always been a fairly unpopular opinion of mine, though! It's always been among my top 2-3 seasons. 

Edited June 5, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[lostandfound]

Is it unpopular that Psych is one of my three favorite shows ever to air? :-) 

I love Shawn Spencer. It's not that I can't see why viewers would find him annoying, but I just think he's a really interesting, vivid character with an entertainingly weird brain and surprisingly huge heart. 

Another unpopular opinion is that I love Juliet O'Hara. She's one of my favorite characters ever, and unlike a couple of other posters I feel like we did get a strong sense of who she is. If anyone else uses Myers Briggs as one guide to analyzing fictional and real life people, I'm pretty sure she's an ESFJ. For the majority who don't know or care about MBTI, I apologize for the weird reference! I love how spirited, exuberant, sunny and warm she is without being depicted as a shallow ditz like many other enthusiastic, cheerful characters are. Instead, we see that she's very meticulous, smart and competent. She's not a Mary Sue and has some pretty consistent weaknesses: an excessive need to please and be liked, doesn't react well to criticism, a tendency to idealize others and expect too much of herself and then get too disappointed when people invaraibly fall short of her high expectations, gets a little fixated, obsessive and perfectionistic to the point where she loses perspective, and sometimes remains in deliberate denial and sees what she needs to rather than what's there.  

My most unpopuar opinion is that while I love Gus, he isn't my favorite character and sometimes annoys me a little bit with his naysaying and negativity. Those traits fit with characters like Lassiter or Henry given the roles they're supposed to play on the show and in Shawn's life, but with Gus as Shawn's best friend and business partner, sometimes I want him to complain a little less and just be more enthusiastic about what they do, especially since we know that ultimately he'll end up completely immersed in that week's case regardless of how much he protests :-) The Gus/Shawn bond is one of my favorites ever, and it's not like I don't love Gus, just that I love a couple of other characters even more!

It also seems a little unpopular that season 5 is my favorite season of the series, tied with season 2. 

Reading these threads inspired me to do another rewatch this weekend and even to attempt that fanfic I keep abandoning! 

Edited April 14, 2017 by lostandfound

[GHScorpiosRule]

I would say @lostandfound that paragraphs three and four qualify as unpopular! I think most love the show and Julia! Okay, part of the first paragraph is also unpopular, but not with me-I absolutely ADORE Shawn!

Gus is supposed to be the straight man to Shawn's impulsive running into cases where hijinks ensue, so I don't mind his...hesitancy and refusals to go after cases, before he's all in. Their friendship and interactions make the show as well as  bring the funny!

[LennieBriscoe]

I, too, adore James Roday as Shawn Spencer! And I've noticed that I'm not alone in a particular goof---even MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell has called Sean Spicer by that name!

I find the repartee to be clever, approaching brilliant often, with allusions that are too cool for school! (E.g., Gus: "I'll plead the Fifth!" Shawn: "Element, Dimension, Beatle?" Just one I heard today.) Love Roday's psych-mugging and physical comedy.

Once I saw Timothy Omundson in that musical "Galavant" I developed a higher opinion of Lassie. ;-)

I love the mysteries, every last one, and now I can watch'em all. Thank you, ION!

Edited April 25, 2017 by LennieBriscoe

[smorbie]

I came here to read, but I can't.  I just can't.  I love Psych.  Next to the original MST, Psych is my favorite show of all time and I still can't handle any criticism of it.  I thought it was as close to perfect as any show could be.  

[roseha]

I just re-watched Spelling Bee and it made me wonder about  show, which I enjoyed most of the time.  By the end I was really enjoying it - but here's my UO, I hated the finale in regard to Shawn, Juliet and Gus. I loved that Lassie got to be a chief, and Timothy Omundson and the writers did a great job with maturing his character, I loved that Henry  had a fulfilling job.  But moving Shawn and Gus to San Fran, and getting Shawn and Juliet engaged with Shawn just going on as before with his fake psych bit, struck me as a really bad and unresolved ending, particularly if he was going to marry Juliet, a practicing detective. And Gus should have had his own happy ending, not just one as Friend of Shawn.  I was hoping they would team him up with the girlfriend he had a few episodes before, but that was dropped.

I actually am looking forward to the reunion movie, most of those don't work in my opinion, but this one is so soon after the show that I think it has a good chance.  I hope they managed to resolve some of the loose ends hanging at the finale.

Oh, but to add a couple of random things, I loved Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.

Lassie:  Good job, Detective

Shawn:  Did you call me Detective?

Lassie:  No.

I also loved the Hitchcock themed Yin (Yang?)  episode, especially the scene where Lassie saves Juliet on the tower. These may not be UOs, but I thought I would mention them anyway.

[strongercoffee]

The movie inspired me to binge my favorite episodes again. That probably makes it sound like I'm watching a handful of episodes throughout the weekend, but nearly every episode counts as a favorite, so this is a bigger undertaking that I'm enjoying every second of! I didn't think I had UOs since I'm unusually easy to please when it comes to this show and love almost everyone and everything, but I've been reminded of a major one: I used to ship Jules with Lassiter, and part of me still does. I knew from the beginning that Shawn/Juliet would be endgame and adjusted my expectations accordingly, but there's something about the Lassie/Jules dynamic that I love even more. *runs for cover*

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'll go one better @strongercoffee! I'm rewatching the entire series now that I know it's available on Amazon Prime (thanks @tessaray!), even though I have the series on dvd. And it KILLS me how very smart, intelligent, cunning Season One Shawn is. I think we still have Smart Shawn in Season two as well, but I definitely notice the dumbing down of him, toward the end of season four, and most definitely in Season Five. It doesn't help that we have to have Henry "in charge" of Consultants. That really dragged, and as I love Shawn, I HATED to see him humiliated, acting more like a man-boy, stupid, being clueless.  This is the guy that knew the penal code cover to cover, and that passed the detective's exam with a 100% on his first try.  So I will say that the episodes with Declan are my LEAST favorite in the fifth season. 

I have found, just finishing the first season last night, that every episode has me laughing hysterically--and those scenes ALWAYS are the ones with Shawn and Gus. And I'm trying to hand wave all the stuff Show forgot in later seasons, because it will just irk me, and I don't like to be irked when watching this show: like how Lassiter OWNED his own house in the season finale--Jules thought his little black book were his friends, but they were a list of people he'd arrested and put away and the stars were for repeat offenders. So now he had to sell it. Then later in the series, we have him living in an apartment, looking for a condo, blah, blah. Then there's Juliet--parents happily married for 30 years, she's supposed to have two cats; she mentioned in one of the season one episodes how she and her dad went fishing--a LOT, and this is retconned when Shatner guest stars as her dad, who left them when she was wee. Just to create more Drrraaaaammmaaaa, which was so, so unnecessary. 

Off to see Season two tonight when I get home.

Edited December 26, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'll go one better @strongercoffee! I'm rewatching the entire series now that I know it's available on Amazon Prime (thanks @tessaray!), even though I have the series on dvd. 

It is? Thanks for the information. Off to watch Psych season too with multiple viewings of American Duos and Black and Tan among others

 

Quote

 

And it KILLS me how very smart, intelligent, cunning Season One Shawn is. I think we still have Smart Shawn in Season two as well, but I definitely notice the dumbing down of him, toward the end of season four, and most definitely in Season Five. It doesn't help that we have to have Henry "in charge" of Consultants. That really dragged, and as I love Shawn, I HATED to see him humiliated, acting more like a man-boy, stupid, being clueless.  This is the guy that knew the penal code cover to cover, and that passed the detective's exam with a 100% on his first try.  So I will say that the episodes with Declan are my LEAST favorite in the fifth season. 

 

They made a huge mistake in making Henry in charge of the Consultants. He really was an asshole to Shawn during his tenure. Constantly refusing to hiring Psych. They solved tons of cases before you were made Consultant Henry. The dumbing down of Shawn really was terrible and unnecessary. In the early seasons Shawn was cool. Yes, he messed off a lot and loved jokes. But he still solved cases. He knew lots of stuff. I liked in the very early seasons when he referenced other jobs he had. He also paid for stuff. It drove me crazy in the last seasons when Shawn mooched off everyone.     

Quote

 

I have found, just finishing the first season last night, that every episode has me laughing hysterically--and those scenes ALWAYS are the ones with Shawn and Gus. And I'm trying to hand wave all the stuff Show forgot in later seasons, because it will just irk me, and I don't like to be irked when watching this show: like how Lassiter OWNED his own house in the season finale--Jules thought his little black book were his friends, but they were a list of people he'd arrested and put away and the stars were for repeat offenders. So now he had to sell it. Then later in the series, we have him living in an apartment, looking for a condo, blah, blah. Then there's Juliet--parents happily married for 30 years, she's supposed to have two cats; she mentioned in one of the season one episodes how she and her dad went fishing--a LOT, and this is retconned when Shatner guest stars as her dad, who left them when she was wee. Just to create more Drrraaaaammmaaaa, which was so, so unnecessary. 

 

Season one was hilarious.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Off to watch Psych season too with multiple viewings of American Duos and Black and Tan among others

Speaking of "American Duos," I'm wondering why they had Shawn AND Gus HORRIBLE at singing, when we see three seasons later in "High Top Fade Out," that they both are very good singers! Or maybe they were being horrible on purpose? I just can't stop ????? at Tim Curry's "Neoo." And the painful look on his face when he lets them proceed to Round Two. They sound a bit better when they sing "Shout" at the end.

One episode that has me ROARING is in "Forget Me Not," when Shawn and Gus are pretending to be two Veterinarians, speaking in the tongue clicking code. I laugh so hard, my tummy aches.

And yes! Henry is shown to be such an asshole sometimes. I really can't believe that someone from his generation, who probably grew up loving and reading comics, wouldn't let Shawn read them, because those stories made cops, in his eyes, stupid and useless. I think that was the first episode I ever watched and then I was able to catch up on the previous three or four episodes that came before during the hiatus. 

[DittyDotDot]

26 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Speaking of "American Duos," I'm wondering why they had Shawn AND Gus HORRIBLE at singing, when we see three seasons later in "High Top Fade Out," that they both are very good singers! Or maybe they were being horrible on purpose? I just can't stop ????? at Tim Curry's "Neoo." And the painful look on his face when he lets them proceed to Round Two. They sound a bit better when they sing "Shout" at the end.

I don't know, it's not so much that they are horrible at the singing, but that they were singing two different songs during that audition. But, at the end of the episode, they do just fine with it all--even though Nigel still dumps allover them, as he does every contestant--so my takeaway is they just hadn't rehearsed what they were going to do and were winging it in the audition.

46 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

They made a huge mistake in making Henry in charge of the Consultants. He really was an asshole to Shawn during his tenure. Constantly refusing to hiring Psych. They solved tons of cases before you were made Consultant Henry.

I agree Head Consultant Henry was a mistake, but I actually didn't have a problem with Henry not wanting to hire Psych, that actually made sense to me. What I didn't like about that storyline is that it made no sense Henry would be given that job. It seemed to me they only did it to have a plausible way to get Henry involved in the cases each week, but it actually made it less plausible for me.

Edited December 26, 2017 by DittyDotDot

[Enigma X]

In earlier seasons, young Shawn and younger Henry scenes rubbed me totally the wrong way. I would even go out on a limb and call Henry's interactions with Shawn mentally abusive. Yes. It gave us super detail-oriented  "Psych" Shawn, but it just seemed wrong to me at times that Henry wanted Shawn to remember how many hats people were wearing in a diner before allowing him to have a piece of cake. 

[joanne3482]

1 hour ago, Enigma X said:

Yes. It gave us super detail-oriented  "Psych" Shawn, but it just seemed wrong to me at times that Henry wanted Shawn to remember how many hats people were wearing in a diner before allowing him to have a piece of cake. 

Since I'm working on a re-watch of the whole series that is correct and Shawn was able to even point out that Henry was wrong because the guy with the cowboy hat left (although that piece may have been in the 'current time' scene but they had both a past scene and a current scene with Shawn doing the hats). I don't know if I agree about it being mentally abusive or not. It WAS dessert he was 'earning' as opposed to his actual meal. But rewarding with food can be problematic and set up weird food issues.  It seems Henry was more the disciplinarian of the two parents but ultimately it was Henry's treatment of Shawn (and Shawn's interpretation of their divorce - that Henry left Shawn's mom not the other way around) that caused their rift that was an ongoing issue between them for most of the series.  

Edited January 2, 2018 by joanne3482

[Enigma X]

I actually really like Henry (at times more than Shawn) but that dynamic just always rubbed me wrong. There were other times that did not involve food or a reward where this happened.

[GHScorpiosRule]

36 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

I actually really like Henry (at times more than Shawn) but that dynamic just always rubbed me wrong. There were other times that did not involve food or a reward where this happened.

Agree with your initial post above about how Henry’s treatment of Shawn was abusive at times-one of the last being Henry throwing Shawn into the trunk of the car to teach him how to break out should Shawn ever find himself locked into one-Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.

I just finished my rewatch and it really comes off as Henry being a single parent. Only one or two throwaway lines referring to his mother; and only one time we saw her when Henry and she were watching a scary movie. Henry always called to the school, going on field trips, etc.

But they really had a gem in Liam James. The fact that they had only four or five flashbacks with Skyler Gisondo after Liam had that huuuge growth spurt, not to mention Skyler didn’t have that sarcastic smart ass personality that Liam did, proves, to me, he was a miscast failure.

Then there was season one’s episode where Henry talked trash about superheroes and that cops were the real heroes, and making Shawn take off his Superman cape, to letting Skyler’s Shawn dress up as a superhero for some Comic-Con in season six??

But overall, this is one of my favorite shows that I can watch over again and again!

Edited January 2, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[bettername2come]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Agree with your initial post above about how Henry’s treatment of Shawn was abusive at times-one of the last being Henry throwing Shawn into the trunk of the car to teach him how to break out should Shawn ever find himself locked into one-Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.

It occurs to me that Shawn's mother the psychologist really should have had a problem with this.

[DittyDotDot]

I never saw Henry as abusive to a young Shawn. Henry was strict, somewhat narrow-minded and hard on Shawn, but every parent has their hang ups and nothing he did actually harmed Shawn. Even the trunk thing I don't think was a big deal. I mean, I wouldn't recommend people put their kids in their car trunks, even to teach them a "safety" lesson, but he wasn't doing it out of malice or to scare or punish Shawn and Shawn was in no actual danger--and most importantly, Shawn didn't feel like he himself was in danger; he was just annoyed at his weirdo dad was being a weirdo again.

16 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

It seems Henry was more the disciplinarian of the two parents but ultimately it was Henry's treatment of Shawn (and Shawn's interpretation of their divorce - that Henry left Shawn's mom not the other way around) that caused their rift that was an ongoing issue between them for most of the series.  

I really didn't care for Cybill Shepherd in the role of Shawn's mom, but it did make perfect sense to me that it was she who left and Shawn had the wrong end of the stick on it all. 

[andromeda331]

I do somewhat agree about Henry. I don't think he was abusive either. But I don't like him training his young son to a cop through most of his childhood. Or how he behaved when he was in charge of the Consultants.  I liked him better (and sympathized) with him when he was putting up with Shawn's antics as a kid (even if a lot of Shawn's antics were hilarious) or trying to teach Shawn lessons. I liked in the flashback where Henry doesn't dismiss Gus's tap man superhero until he hears what the powers were. One scene where Madeline tries to put out all of Shawn's cars were police cars and all Henry does is point out their different kinds of police cars.  Of course Madeline, what were you doing at the time? If you supposedly lived with Shawn and Henry until the senior year. Why didn't you do something about it?   

[Enigma X]

Maybe "abusive" was a harsh word to use. While I definitely think Henry always loved Shawn, he had some psychologically damaging parental habits that would most likely have ended a real father/child in therapy sessions.

Edited January 4, 2018 by Enigma X

[Mabinogia]

The only time I had a problem with Henry's "training" with young Shawn was when Shawn was being chased by some kid I think wanted to beat him up, Henry made him go confront the kid so Shawn comes up with a way to help him pass a test, using a cheat Shawn had about a pattern in the questions. Henry overhears this and calls the teacher. We have to assume he was telling the teacher about the cheat, which, okay, but didn't he realize that means the other kid was going to fail the test and then most likely beat the crap out of Shawn? 

That is really the only one that bothered me, mainly because it felt like he told Shawn to do something, Shawn did it and because he did it he gets in trouble. Now that is a terrible lesson. Why Shawn would ever trust Henry after that one is beyond me. 

The stupidest one was the cereal box because...duh, if you turn it over and open it from the bottom the toy at the bottom is now at the top. I would think a kid as smart as Shawn would have thought of that a long time ago. lol

I always loved young Shawn and Gus. The kids were great. I preferred the Liam years. I can't even remember the kid who replaced him. Liam will always be little Shawn in my mind. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I always loved young Shawn and Gus. The kids were great. I preferred the Liam years. I can't even remember the kid who replaced him. Liam will always be little Shawn in my mind. 

I can't recall who played the first Gus? The first two? But the one we had the most was Carlos McCullers II. And the miscast recast of Shawn after Liam aged out, was Skyler Gisondo. He was HORRIBLE. He didn't have the edge/snarkiness/smartassness that Liam displayed so effortlessly and naturally. Like I would have LOVED to have seen Liam learning how to cheat/beat the lie detector test at the end of Season Six's season opener.