(S03E09) In what is becoming an annual tradition for USA Network, Psych has returned for a holiday-themed episode before it goes back into hibernation once again. Last year's episode introduced us to Gus' parents. This time around, his parents are joined by Gus' sister, Joy, who ends up helping the guys on their current investigation while trying to keep a secret from her brother.

Sounds promising. The only downside is the episode was directed by John Landis, whose Psych record is less than stellar. Come join me after the jump to find out if he redeemed himself this time around.

The good news is he redeemed himself. I'm sure some of you will say that this was the worst installment of Psych in the history of the show; however, to me, this episode had all of the elements that make this show what it is. It had plenty of comedy, a little family drama, a fairly good mystery, one pineapple, and a few retro references. I would go so far as to say that this year's holiday episode was better than last year's.

That's probably because we were already introduced to Gus' family and knew what was coming. Except for the part that the senior Mr. Guster was no longer Ernie Hudson. This year the role was played by Keith David (the voice of Goliath on Disney's Gargoyles). The only unknown factor was the introduction of Gus' sister Joy. And yet, the family was full of surprises.

The biggest of those was the infinitesimally small romantic tiff that took place between Shawn and Joy some ten years prior. First, good taste on Shawn's part. Second ... uh, you never, ever mess around with your best friend's sister. That's just law (somewhere it's law ... I'm still researching that). And, if you do mess around, then you don't tell any of the family members until you're about to get married.

Of course that little secret, combined with Mrs. Guster placing a bet with a bookie and Mr. Guster losing his job, resulted in a breakup of the family (thanks to Shawn, as usual) that seemed to be unrepairable. Luckily, Psych is not only a show about solving mysteries, but also a show about family. And, no matter what happens between family members, hearts and minds tend to be mended in a fairly short period of time. So, at the end of the episode, all was well between Shawn and the entire Guster clan.

As has become normal as of late, Shawn was the steady one this time around while the world went crazy around him. He was the one who, at first, decided it was a bad idea to be intimate with Joy. That says something for his maturity. And, despite the fact that he was the cause of the Guster's fight, Shawn kept a pretty low profile about the whole thing.

Over to the case for this episode. I enjoyed it, though the 'con man at Christmas' story had been done previously. The best part was the crying. Like father like daughter, both of these grifters had the ability to melt the heart of Gus every time a tear was shed. The fact Ted the security guard was part of the team wasn't hard to decipher. The other member of the team ... Honestly, I didn't even know he existed. If a picture of him was shown at the beginning of the episode, it passed me by.

Some other things that took place in this jam-packed holiday episode:

• True to form, the theme music was holiday themed. I don't believe it was the same theme as last year. I recall the season two holiday special being somewhat gentler than this one, which featured some nice orchestra work.
• There were two scenes with Shawn and his dad. The first, which featured Young Shawn, was typical Henry. What other father would ask his son to trace Santa's activities in the living room? The other scene, which took place at the end of the episode, was downright funny and scary at the same time in the way both of them thought alike in presenting trick gifts.
• Both Lassie and O'Hara got a chance to be on the screen in this episode. Juliet had a pleasant moment with Shawn while investigating Ted's murder. Lassie was given the stink eye when he was conversing with Gus' sister. That, and he played Santa for a short period of time.
• Plenty of on-screen items that harked back to previous episodes. There was the early reference to the pineapple and an acknowledgment of reindeer that I'm still not sure about. There were also a number of fist bumps between Swan and Gus, which is something we haven't seen in quite some time.
• The Charlie Brown dance by Shawn and Gus when they thought they solved the case. If you stayed to the end of the episode, you would have seen a Psych-out that showed Jules joining the two in Peanuts-style celebration.
• Finally, some retro references. I definitely caught one about Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind and I know Jules mentioned the movie Wildcats. After that, the rest is fuzzy.

Kids, thanks for joining me in this endeavor. If all goes well, we'll see you on Friday, January 9th.