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Starfish Spencer. Review: Psych – “Office Space”

Season 7, Episode 11

Air Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“Listen guys, everything is going to be ok, as long as you didn’t tamper with the crime scene” – Henry Spencer

What kind of killer takes a man’s socks?

Ever had one of those days where nothing goes right and the more you try to fix things, the worse they get? Gus (Dulé Hill) is about to have one of those days as he finds his boss, Dorian Creech (Michael Daingerfield), dead at the office. One thing leads to another and the next thing Gus realizes, he’s covered with dirt, and his fingerprints and DNA are all over the office and the body. Having had a confrontation with Creech earlier in the day, Gus realizes how this will look. So with Shawn (James Roday) offering to help clean things up, you’d think things couldn’t get any worse, right?

For much of season seven, I was concerned that Gus has been reduced  to more of a minor character. At times, it even seems like Woody (Kurt Fuller) has been given scenes that in previous seasons would have been written for Gus. Psych has always been about the friendship between Shawn and Gus and when the writers deviate from that, they lose some of the show’s identity. Thankfully, “Office Space” is a fun episode that puts Shawn and Gus’ relationship back on track.

Much to everyone’s surprise, we learn Gus still has a job as a pharmaceutical representative. I enjoy how the writers essentially admit they haven’t touched on this aspect of Gus’ life for a very long time by making it a running gag throughout “Office Space,” as evidenced by the following lines:

Dorian: “I don’t even know you, do you work here?”

**

Shawn: “To be honest I didn’t even realize you still worked there.”

**

Juliet (Maggie Lawson), while investigating the murder: “You still work here.”

**

Mitch Murray (Mike McGlone), a corporate executive: “Burton Guster, I recognize the name, but didn’t think you worked here anymore.”

**

Gus at his day job

I really enjoyed this episode, particularly how everything Shawn and Gus do to clean up the murder scene seems to make it worse than it already is. At one point, Shawn trips over the body, causing him to get a bloody nose, and he then sneezes blood onto Creech’s socks. Shawn and Gus remove the dead man’s socks and hide them, along with other incriminating evidence. Later, as Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) examines the murder scene, he notes the socks are missing and adds: “Could be some sort of sicko murder ritual.”

It’s nice to see Shawn and Juliet doing better as a couple, even sleeping in the same bed. Juliet realizes and accepts her role as a co-conspirator in Shawn’s lie. Because of this, she demands Shawn be more honest and upfront but after seeing some of his and Gus’ investigative techniques, she quickly invokes a don’t ask/don’t tell policy. After the night Shawn and Gus had can you blame her?

Usually it’s Shawn who brings out the competitive nature in Lassiter but this time, it’s the security guard, Leslie Sally (Dave Koechner), butting heads with Lassiter. It was fun watching each man try to find the next clue before the other can. I would have liked to see a little more interaction between the two before the killer got to Leslie, though.

Woody’s antics generally are too over the top for me. While they can be amusing, they often reach a point where they make Shawn look normal, and who wants that. Surprisingly, I really liked Woody in “Office Space” and the lengths he is willing to go to protect Shawn and Gus, even though he realizes they manhandled the body.

Here is a scratch n sniff

My only complaint, which is more of an observation really, is that killers lately have almost become irrelevant on the show. There isn’t that ooh-ahh moment when you learn who the killer is because it doesn’t matter to the outcome of the story. As long as episodes remain this good, however, I am ok with that but at some point, it might come back to bite them.

Also, am I the only one who found the paramedic’s (Shaw Madson) behavior odd when Henry is arguing with Shawn? The paramedic steps in, thinking Henry is showing signs of a heart attack, and pulls him into another room much like a prison guard would move an unruly prisoner. I don’t know why but that scene really stood out to me as being unusual in the way Henry is physically forced.

With season seven starting to wind down, and season eight originally slated to be only eight episodes, I had my doubts about the future of Psych. But with the addition of five episodes that USA Network recently announced, fans can breathe a little easier. The stories and writing are improving with each episode and I look forward to seeing how this season ends.

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All photos © 2013 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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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.
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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.