Huh? Review: Psych - “A Nightmare on State Street”

Season 8, Episode 9

Air Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2014, 9/8c on USA.

Rating: ★★★★★

Roday, Hill and Campbell

Several months ago, Psych fans were invited to vote for an episode they would like to see aired. The fans picked one titled “Dream Therapy,” which would later become “A Nightmare on State Street.” As with most Psych horror-themed episodes, “Nightmare” was directed by James Roday who wanted this to be the mother of all homage episodes. This idea works as long as you’re a horror fan; unfortunately, I am not.

Watching “A Nightmare on State Street” is like watching an episode of Psych in a different language. The writers took bits from various horror movies and stuffed them into a single episode. Unlike other homage episodes where the audience is able to follow along, “A Nightmare on State Street” relies on knowledge of the horror films used. For horror fans, that makes for a very entertaining episode but as someone who isn’t into horror films, I was abslutely lost for the entire episode. Between the inside jokes, and the whole scenario of whether Gus (Dule Hill) is dreaming or awake, or dreaming he’s awake I was clueless. I went to Twitter to see what others were saying and wasn’t surprised at what I found.

-“I was lost & Confused that whole #Psych episode…”

-“I’m so behind its not even funny.”

-“What the heck is even happening in #Psych right now.”

-“This #Psych episode is confusing me.”

I tweeted I was lost watching #Psych and someone responded:

“I have no idea so I shut it off.”

Don’t get me wrong, there were several tweets from fans who absolutely loved “A Nightmare on State Street” and got all of the references.

Bruce Campbell

I can’t say whether “A Nightmare on State Street” is a good or bad episode because it wasn’t made for me to appreciate. Sure, I enjoyed seeing guest star Curt Smith who has made several appearances on Psych playing himself, as well as Bruce Campbell who many know from USA Network’s Burn Notice but he is also a cult favorite of fans when it comes to horror flicks because of his Evil Dead films.

I wasn’t disappointed by “A Nightmare on State Street” but I was disappointed by the timing of it. “A Nightmare on State Street” is the second to the last episode of Psych. To have it be a standalone episode that ignores many of its fan base is discourteous. As fans get ready to say goodbye, the writers seem to have forgotten the large group of fans who got them there by writing an episode only a small group would fully appreciate.

Next week is the Psych series finale, and as much as I am frustrated with “A Nightmare on State Street,” I can honestly say the finale, titled “The Breakup,” is everything I hoped for and is a beautiful way to say goodbye to a wonderful show.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “A Nightmare on State Street.” I would also like to know what you would like to see happen in the series finale.

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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.