Psych: Six Feet Under the Sea (winter premere)

(S03E10) NOTE: No sea lions named Shabby were harmed during the writing of this review.

Welcome back, everyone! It's been a long fall without Shawn, Gus and the rest of the Santa Barbara (aka, Vancouver) lunatics of Psych to entertain us on Friday nights. However, they are now back to finish out season three. In the next few weeks, look for the return of Cybill Shepherd as Shawn's mother, some issues with Carlton Lassiter, a potential romantic moment between Shawn and Jules, and a take on the Friday the 13the movie series.

Until then, let's talk about this week's return episode.

Both Shawn and Gus were in their prime as they went through their investigation. It really began when Gus asked Shawn to attend the funeral of sea lion Shabby. I couldn't help but laugh when, after looking at all the photos at the funeral, Shawn came to the shocking realization that he was at a service for a sea lion.

Another fine moment came while both were at the Santa Barbara Aquarium (I would love to live in their version of Santa Barbara -- they have everything!). Again, I had to laugh when Shawn ripped away his sweats to show a swimsuit so he could accomplish his childhood goal of riding a dolphin. The only thing about that scene that I didn't get was Shawn's "Pa does not love Fa" statement to the dolphin who was waiting for his fish.

The only thing that didn't work in this episode was the duo's battle for their attractive female client -- Jennifer. After "calling her" (which, I'm sure, isn't chauvinistic at all) Gus made a strong effort to make sure that Shawn did not get his hands on her in the office. I thought that the battle would be an underlying event for the entire episode. Sadly, it was abandoned for this week's mystery.

Instead, we had some bonding between Jennifer and Jules. From that, we discovered that Ms. O'Hara does have some feelings for Shawn and that it will just take some time for it to mature. That's good, since they would make a nice couple. An adorable couple, actually. A couple that you'd just want to squeeze the stuffing out of.

Aside from Jules' budding friendship with a woman nearly like her, the rest of the supporting cast wasn't around that much in this episode. Henry Spencer got jacked by his son once again. When you think about it, every time Shawn gets one past his dad it's a little payback for all the times Henry caught his son when he was a kid. Lassie was in for a bit, as well, in one of his more vulnerable moments. I guess the most interesting, and pop culture, moment was when the chief came in with a Phil Collins backstage pass. Lucky girl!

Speaking about pop culture, there were a few references of that nature this week. The biggest was the appearance of Ted McGinley as a former Animal Planet host. I guess Psych will be canceled now that Mr. McGinley has guested on the show. Other references were the movie Dead Calm, late oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, the 1998 movie Out of Sight, and actor Rutger Hauer. No pineapple that I could notice this week; however, I'm sure it was there.

Last, but not least, a mention about Psych advertising. During the first half of the season we all had a few complaints about the blatant product placement the show featured in a few episodes. Well, it looks like they took some of those placements out and put them in the form of actual advertising. Or, more accurately, sponsorship, as the show now looks to be sponsored by KIA.

That's all for this week. Next week we, I believe, get a chance to be with Lassie again.