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Balls, Balls, Balls. Retrospective: Psych – “A Touch of Sweevil”

Season 8, Episode 8

Air Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014, 9/8c on USA.

“My, oh my, I do love watching that man work.” Lassiter

Rating: ★★★★★

Shawn and Gus making it to the big leagues

After years of being shunned, Shawn (James Roday) is finally invited to a prestigious paranormal convention for police consultants. Having finally made it to the big leagues, Shawn and Gus (Dule Hill) can’t wait to take the stage. But, as the big moment arrives, the host, Professor Stein (Bill Marchant), drops dead.

Shawn and the other panelists—Hazel (Yvette Nicole Brown), a Wicca consultant, and Garth (Tom Arnold), a ghost whisperer accompanied by his best friend Bernie, who just happens to be a ghost—jump at the chance to show off their gifted talents and solve the case in order to show they are the best at what they do. Needless to say, everyone’s competitive spirit comes out, and chaos erupts as each tries to outdo the other.

Lassiter and Brannigan

With Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) off to San Francisco, newly appointed Chief Lassiter (Timothy Omunsdon) is assigned by the mayor (John Kapelos) a new head detective to work with named Betsy Brannigan (Mira Sorvino). Lassiter is convinced if he can make things crazy enough, it will drive Brannigan out, allowing him to bring back Juliet. Stein’s murder presents the perfect opportunity for Lassiter to put his plan into motion; when it comes to crazy, Lassiter knows exactly the two people to turn to.

Lassiter: “If all of us, myself included, embrace the ludicrousness of this case, then she will realize that she doesn’t belong here and maybe she will leave on her own. And by ‘embrace,’ I mean I am going to need you (pointing to Shawn) and to some degree you (pointing to Gus) to go from your everyday drive-me-nuts-level 10-antics-of-stupidity and kick it up to an 11.”

Shawn and Gus are more than happy to oblige and provide some very entertaining moments as they go over the top trying to scare off Brannigan. Needless to say, the gang solves the case and despite trying to drive her crazy, it looks like Brannigan is here to stay.

Meeting the other consultants

I enjoyed “A Touch of Sweevil,” especially because after so many seasons of Lassiter trying to quell Shawn’s antics, it is fun to watch him unleash Shawn and encourage him to run wild. The other consultants make it even more enjoyable to watch because like Shawn, they each bring their own variety of eccentricity. After all, who knew ghosts could have a drinking problem?  Arnold usually plays a funny character and I think he could have played it up even more.

Usually, when an episode goes a little too over the top, I start to tune out. I think there is a fine balance between being a silly man-child and acting like a two-year-old but in “A Touch of Sweevil,” I embraced the excessiveness. There is a giddiness to it, seen in Lassiter’s eyes, which I found to be fun.

In other reviews, I have spoken about not being a fan of other characters with eccentric behavior. The more oddball characters you put around Shawn, the more he starts to look normal. With “A Touch of Sweevil,” however, I thought the writers did a great job balancing each character and making them unique.

The addition of Brannigan is a good move. I have always enjoyed Sorvino’s movies, and she does a good job filling the void left by Lawson’s and Nelson’s departures. Unfortunately, with only two episodes left, we won’t get to know her that well. It’s too bad the series is winding down because it would have been fun to see her character evolve over the course of an entire season. Am I the only one who felt it was hard at times to look at Brannigan without being reminded of Juliet?

Both “Touch of Sweevil” and next week’s episode, “A Nightmare on State Street,” are directed by Roday, with the show’s creator, Steve Franks, directing the series finale. I have come to enjoy Roday’s directing style as it has grown over the years. Many times, I thought Roday was only comfortable directing the horror spoofs. But, it has been fun to watch both his writing and directing style evolve. I hope the people behind Good Session, his new CBS show, give him the same opportunities to grow.

With only two episodes remaining, I understand how some are expressing reservations about how Psych will wrap things up. Other than a few characters moving on, you don’t have the feeling the show is about to be over. Let me assure you, though, having seen the finale, it is a fitting end and a beautiful goodbye. Look for my spoiler-free advance review after next week’s episode.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Touch of Sweevil.” I would also like to know what you would like to see happen in the series finale.

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All photos © 2014 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.