| "Psych" | |||
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| Psych episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
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| Directed by | Michael Engler | ||
| Written by | Steve Franks | ||
| Original air date | July 7, 2006 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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Kirsten Nelson as Chief Karen Vick |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Psych (season 1) List of episodes |
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This article is about the extended pilot of the USA Network series, Psych.
Shawn Spencer (James Roday) has never kept a job for more than 6 months. He helps the Santa Barbara Police Department prove a man guilty, using his keen powers of observation and his near perfect photographic memory he obtained as a kid. Detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) takes Shawn into questioning, and Shawn claims to have obtained the information psychically. The police let him go with no proof to disprove the claim.
On his way out, Shawn is asked for help by Chief Karen Vick on a high-profile kidnapping case. The investigation into the kidnapping of Camden McCallum, sole male heir to the McCallum fortune, is stalled. She believes Shawn's psychic powers can help solve the case.
Shawn takes advantage of this, realizing a new career has just fallen into his lap. He visits his childhood friend Burton "Gus" Guster (Dulé Hill), a pharmaceutical representative. Shawn decides to get Gus involved. Gus is reluctant, but eventually gets involved with the McCallum case.
Shawn and Gus find out that about 18 months before, Camden had straightened up his usual party boy act. They learn Camden never did anything without his dog, and he disappeared from a park along with the dog. Shawn realizes Camden wasn't kidnapped, he disappeared. Exactly 18 months before, Mr. McCallum threatened to cut Camden out of the inheritance if he didn't straighten up. Camden also stopped hanging around with his close friend, Malcolm Orso. Camden and Malcolm were planning a ransom.
Shawn and Gus check out Orso's cabin, where they find Camden's "missing" dog. Shawn goes back to the cops to convince them he had a psychic vision of Orso's cabin.
The police go inside the cabin and find both Camden and Orso dead in an apparent suicide murder situation. Shawn takes a quick look at the room, and he is not convinced. Especially because Mr. McCallum had a cut on his wrist that could be a dog bite.
Shawn visits his estranged father, Henry (Corbin Bernsen). Henry says Shawn's powers are getting soft and he's trusting people he shouldn't be. Shawn then suspects Camden's sister, Katarina. Katarina wasn't involved, but her bag was...at one time it had to have carried the money. One of the McCallums tried to pay the ransom, but something must have gone wrong.
Shawn and Gus confirm that it was Mr. McCallum that tried to make the ransom. McCallum sees Camden inside. During an argument, Camden fell and hit his head. He bled to death. Orso enters and McCallum has no choice but to shoot him, cover his tracks and make it look like Orso murdered Camden then committed suicide. On his way out, McCallum was bitten by Camden's angry dog.
Shawn proves himself to the police by explaining and proving a "vision" of dog bite medication in McCallum's medicine cabinet that Gus actually saw when he was going to the bathroom. McCallum is arrested. Shawn and Gus have solved their first case and open their own private detective agency, Psych.
IGN gave the episode a favorable review, saying that although the 90-minute episode "drags on a bit longer than it needs to" it "certainly has the makings of a fun and diverting series."[1] Richard Keller of TVSquad.com had a few issues with the first episodes such as the location and the underutilization of Dule Hill, other than that he stated that the show's concept "works well; even better than Monk in many respects".[2]
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