I remember when I started watching this show; it was something the girlfriend suggested and I wasn't sure what it was about or if it would be any good (she tends to pick "easy" over "quality" when picking shows to watch). I remember out of the box just how entertaining and funny it was and it pretty much has continued that way from that point onwards. Season 6 is no exception because mostly it continues to deliver the formula with good humour, "tv-detective" level mysteries and lots and lots of reference points that those of us in our 30's will lap up. It is a nice formula and one that has always been well delivered in a way that makes it look effortless – although with this season this is not always the case.
Generally the episodes are of a consistent quality and produce several laughs as well as an enjoyable sense of light, self-referential humour that always carries the show along. The mysteries are mostly engaging enough to care about who did it but not care so much that you focus on that and miss out on the snappy dialogue or visual gags. It is a fine line and mostly it walks it. Although this season is still going along on formula, there is the feel that it isn't quite sparking and zinging quite as easily as it can do. This is particularly obvious when a really strong episode comes along and you realise that some of the others ones are not only following the formula, but perhaps feel a little formulaic – not a massive problem since I like the formula, but some episodes feel fresher and wittier than others. This is also evident in the "Psych-Outs" over the end credits – the best are spontaneous joking around or flubbed lines, but too many of them in this season have been pre-planned things like singing or dancing; these feel forced and are not as funny as the "normal" outtakes. This is the same in some of the episodes where it did feel like it was working a little harder than it has seemed to in the past, and it did rather limit how fun and free-flowing it felt.
The guest stars occasionally contribute to this as well – although this is not the first season to have that problem. So, on one hand we do have some nice reference cameos that work as that but also work within the episode, but then on the other hand we have William Shatner, Molly Ringwald and a few others who make an impact with their name or reference, but really don't do much within the episode as an actor or character. Fortunately they are in the minority but again it does give the impression of the writers working harder to make the show work, and perhaps they cannot always hit their marks as well as they would like. Fortunately even when the material is a little bit off, the main cast are still really good. The key to the show is the easy banter between Roday and Hill and the pair continue to be really good with one another – six successful seasons and they have no hint of ego in their performances and they still come over like they are having fun, making it much easier for the viewer to do so too. The supporting cast continue to be strong too; Omundson is funny and has got his character and timing down pat. Lawson gives an enjoyable light performance – I was worried that the relationship aspect of her character would be too big and a negative impact but the writers keep it very soft and always a side-issue for the most part and, when they do use it, they use it for comic tension which both Roday and Lawson do well. Bernsen is solid but the real step-up this season is Fuller's Woody – he is regularly used here and he is never less than hilarious.
The sixth season of Psych is not quite as consistently fresh and funny as the best of the previous seasons, but it is still very easy to enjoy with plenty of good lines, references and comic performances. At times the sense of the writers working hard is hard to ignore and it doesn't flit across the screen as it can do, but mostly it sticks to what it knows and produces yet another season of enjoyable light entertainment.
