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crosswicking
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* NerdHoard: Shawn and Gus call upon the expertise of a UFO expert and old geekbuddy of theirs, played by Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr, who has done a lot in his life to live down being a geek and pretends to be into sports to appease his very attractive wife. He introduces them to his HackerCave, filled with memorabilia and they are even clearly playing ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' (which wasn't even released when the episode aired). Eventually his wife walks in on them and he has to confess his geekiness, only to find out she is a big geek too and both were pretending not to be, leading to a massive GeekyTurnOn.
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moving from main page
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* BrickJoke: During a chase, Shawn’s Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 helmet is broken. At the end of the episode, we see him wearing it again, and he’s tried to fix it up with duct tape.
to:
* BrickJoke: BrickJoke:
** During a chase, Shawn’s Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 helmet is broken. At the end of the episode, we see him wearing it again, and he’s tried to fix it up with duct tape.
** During a chase, Shawn’s Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 helmet is broken. At the end of the episode, we see him wearing it again, and he’s tried to fix it up with duct tape.
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* EmbarrassingHobby: Dennis, who's grown up to be a rich, successful lawyer with a hot girlfriend, is revealed to have a secret room in his house where he keeps an extensive collection of comic book and sci-fi memorabilia and toys. He begs Shawn not to let his girlfriend know.
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moved from main
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!Not Even Close… Encounters
to:
!Not Even Close… Close... Encounters
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* AlienEpisode: The episode revolves around a lawyer who insists that he witnessed an alien abduction. Shawn and Gus, having been obsessed with ufology when they were kids, are all too eager to help investigate.
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* ArbitrarySkepticism: For some reason, the guy that openly claims to be a psychic is a nut ''after'' he is quoted as believing a UFO sighting. Justified by the fact that Shawn regularly "proves" his psychic credentials with close to a 100% success, and, even then, Lassiter is ''still'' skeptical.
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Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* HiddenDepths: Molly is initially described as a shallow woman who only likes "manly men". It turns out that is as big a nerd as her husband, apparently watching the original Battlestar Galactica while Dennis was at [=ComicCon=] (which she also wanted to go to).
to:
* HiddenDepths: Molly is initially described as a shallow woman who only likes "manly men". It turns out that she is as big a nerd as her husband, apparently watching the original Battlestar Galactica while Dennis was at [=ComicCon=] (which she also wanted to go to).
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Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* HowDidYouKnowIDidnt: After Shawn reveals to the CEO that he and Gus know everything, the CEO mentions that he had only apprehended them for tresspassing, but since [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know to much]], now they have to die.
to:
* HowDidYouKnowIDidnt: After Shawn reveals to the CEO that he and Gus know everything, the CEO mentions that he had only apprehended them for tresspassing, but since [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know to too much]], now they have to die.
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* BigDamnHeroes: The CEO and his thugs were about to kill Shawn and Gus when Dennis came in, wielding a pair of nunchucks.
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* EtTuBrute: When Henry tells Shawn that he and Gus are seen as the village idiots due to their involvement in Kessler's story, Shawn asks if anyone actually thinks that they are. ''Everyone'' in the police station raises their hands, including Jules and an ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards arrested criminal]]''.
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* HowDidYouKnowIDidnt: After Shawn reveals to the CEO that he and Gus know everything, the CEO mentions that he had only apprehended them for tresspassing, but since [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know to much]], now they have to die.
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* NotWhatItLooksLike: When the police officers come in, Lassiter sees Dennis holding his nunchucks and tells him to drop it, but Dennis was having an asthma attack at the moment. Thinking he was resisting an officer, Lassiter tased him (and took too much enjoyment in it). It also caused Dennis [[BringMeMyBrownPants to wet himself]].
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Fighting With Chucks is no longer a trope
Deleted line(s) 22 (click to see context) :
* FightingWithChucks: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.
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The 1500 was payment for that next case, not the expenses (which he already agreed to)
Deleted line(s) 28 (click to see context) :
* ItsAllAboutMe: By the end of the episode Shawn and Gus present to Henry a list of expenses they want the police to pay for them. There were several frivolous ones they padded up the bill with, but Dennis's dental bill ($2000) was the legitimate one. Unfortunately, Henry doesn't think so, and registers (behind their back) the expense as $1500, even though he had negotiated with them that it would be $2000 or they wouldn't take the next case (a forgery).
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No spoilers on a Recap Page.
Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
* AlienAbduction: Seems to happen to Toby in the beginning, but he later turns up untouched… save for some strange marks on his arm. [[spoiler: It turns out that the UFO was a specially-modified helicopter with extra lights making it hard to see clearly, a loudspeaker playing bizarre noises, and an EMP that killed most nearby electronic devices.]]
to:
* AlienAbduction: Seems to happen to Toby in the beginning, but he later turns up untouched… save for some strange marks on his arm. [[spoiler: It turns out that the UFO was a specially-modified helicopter with extra lights making it hard to see clearly, a loudspeaker playing bizarre noises, and an EMP that killed most nearby electronic devices.]]
Changed line(s) 20,22 (click to see context) from:
* ClosetGeek: Dennis is a textbook example of this, having used his impressive wealth to build a few secret rooms in his house containing his nerdy interests and memorabilia. He doesn’t mind letting his nerd out in front of Shawn and Gus, since they knew him way back when, but he wants to keep it a secret from his wife, since she’s apparently made her preference for more macho types quite clear. [[spoiler: At the end, his secret comes out, and she reveals she’s a closet nerd too.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: The real villain. He was a textile company CEO who discovered a nearby small town had oil underneath, so he arranged for an “accidental” chemical spill nearby, forcing everyone out. He bought up the entire town, and was ready to start construction for drilling when he learned Kessler had arranged for a lawsuit against him, claiming the spill was deliberate. He wound up faking a UFO abduction to undermine Kessler’s credibility, paying Toby to go along with it, then arranging to have Toby killed when he had a change of heart. He also abducted Shawn and Gus, and was about to kill them when Dennis showed up.]]
* FightingWithChucks: [[spoiler: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: The real villain. He was a textile company CEO who discovered a nearby small town had oil underneath, so he arranged for an “accidental” chemical spill nearby, forcing everyone out. He bought up the entire town, and was ready to start construction for drilling when he learned Kessler had arranged for a lawsuit against him, claiming the spill was deliberate. He wound up faking a UFO abduction to undermine Kessler’s credibility, paying Toby to go along with it, then arranging to have Toby killed when he had a change of heart. He also abducted Shawn and Gus, and was about to kill them when Dennis showed up.]]
* FightingWithChucks: [[spoiler: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.]]
to:
* ClosetGeek: Dennis is a textbook example of this, having used his impressive wealth to build a few secret rooms in his house containing his nerdy interests and memorabilia. He doesn’t mind letting his nerd out in front of Shawn and Gus, since they knew him way back when, but he wants to keep it a secret from his wife, since she’s apparently made her preference for more macho types quite clear. [[spoiler: At the end, his secret comes out, and she reveals she’s a closet nerd too.]]
too.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:[[spoiler: The real villain. He was a textile company CEO who discovered a nearby small town had oil underneath, so he arranged for an “accidental” chemical spill nearby, forcing everyone out. He bought up the entire town, and was ready to start construction for drilling when he learned Kessler had arranged for a lawsuit against him, claiming the spill was deliberate. He wound up faking a UFO abduction to undermine Kessler’s credibility, paying Toby to go along with it, then arranging to have Toby killed when he had a change of heart. He also abducted Shawn and Gus, and was about to kill them when Dennis showed up.]]
up.
* FightingWithChucks:[[spoiler: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:
* FightingWithChucks:
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* FrivolousLawsuit: Henry implicitly describes a chemical leak lawsuit Roy Kessler was planning on launching against Budding Textiles as this when he calls Kessler a "ConspiracyTheorist". [[spoiler:It turns out, [[AvertedTrope the lawsuit actually had merit]] as Budding had purposely spilled chemicals on a small town in order to buy it for a pittance, and faked the UFO abduction to discredit Kessler.]]
to:
* FrivolousLawsuit: Henry implicitly describes a chemical leak lawsuit Roy Kessler was planning on launching against Budding Textiles as this when he calls Kessler a "ConspiracyTheorist". [[spoiler:It It turns out, [[AvertedTrope the lawsuit actually had merit]] as Budding had purposely spilled chemicals on a small town in order to buy it for a pittance, and faked the UFO abduction to discredit Kessler.]]
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* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by the henchmen working for the textile company.]]
to:
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by the henchmen working for the textile company.]]
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None
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* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by ThoseTwoBadGuys working for the textile company.]]
to:
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by ThoseTwoBadGuys the henchmen working for the textile company.]]
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None
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* CallBack: One of the websites that Lassie recently visited was called "squirrelassassins.com". In the previous episode, Lassie was in hot water for killing his neighbors squirrels.
to:
* CallBack: CallBack:
** One of the websites that Lassie recently visited was called "squirrelassassins.com". In the previous episode, Lassie was in hot water for killing his neighborssquirrels.squirrels.
** While discussing how "it's never the crazy suspect", Shawn brings up the cases with the Mummy (''Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead'') and the Devil (''The Devil Is in the Details... and the Upstairs Bedroom'')
** One of the websites that Lassie recently visited was called "squirrelassassins.com". In the previous episode, Lassie was in hot water for killing his neighbors
** While discussing how "it's never the crazy suspect", Shawn brings up the cases with the Mummy (''Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead'') and the Devil (''The Devil Is in the Details... and the Upstairs Bedroom'')
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* NoodleIncident: Apparently, Psych once took a case involving Bigfoot and a missing school bus. Gus doesn't remember it, but Shawn does.
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None
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* HiddenDepths: Molly is initially described as a shallow woman who only likes "manly men". It turns out that is as big a nerd as her husband, apparently watching the original Battlestar Galactica while Dennis was at ComicCon (which she also wanted to go to).
to:
* HiddenDepths: Molly is initially described as a shallow woman who only likes "manly men". It turns out that is as big a nerd as her husband, apparently watching the original Battlestar Galactica while Dennis was at ComicCon [=ComicCon=] (which she also wanted to go to).
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None
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* CallBack: One of the websites that Lassie recently visited was called "squirrelassassins.com". In the previous episode, Lassie was in hot water for killing his neighbors squirrels.
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None
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* HiddenDepths: Molly is initially described as a shallow woman who only likes "manly men". It turns out that is as big a nerd as her husband, apparently watching the original Battlestar Galactica while Dennis was at ComicCon (which she also wanted to go to).
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* RunningGag: Gus leering at Molly (who's married to Dennis), and unnerving Shawn in the process.
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Addition + spelling check
* FreezeFrameBonus: Names on Lassiter's "Crap list" include Chris Tucker, Hillary Clinton (listed twice), Michael Moore, and "Check out girl at the A&P".
Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
* ItsAllAboutMe: By the end of the episode Shawn and Gus present to Henry a list of expenses they want the police to pay for them. There were several frivolous ones they padded up the bill with, but Dennis's dental bill ($2000) was the legitimate one. Unfortunately, Henry doesn't think so, and registers (behind their back) the expense as $1500, even though he had negociated with them that it would be $2000 or they wouldn't take the next case (a forgery).
to:
* ItsAllAboutMe: By the end of the episode Shawn and Gus present to Henry a list of expenses they want the police to pay for them. There were several frivolous ones they padded up the bill with, but Dennis's dental bill ($2000) was the legitimate one. Unfortunately, Henry doesn't think so, and registers (behind their back) the expense as $1500, even though he had negociated negotiated with them that it would be $2000 or they wouldn't take the next case (a forgery).
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None
Added DiffLines:
* ItsAllAboutMe: By the end of the episode Shawn and Gus present to Henry a list of expenses they want the police to pay for them. There were several frivolous ones they padded up the bill with, but Dennis's dental bill ($2000) was the legitimate one. Unfortunately, Henry doesn't think so, and registers (behind their back) the expense as $1500, even though he had negociated with them that it would be $2000 or they wouldn't take the next case (a forgery).
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None
Added DiffLines:
* FrivolousLawsuit: Henry implicitly describes a chemical leak lawsuit Roy Kessler was planning on launching against Budding Textiles as this when he calls Kessler a "ConspiracyTheorist". [[spoiler:It turns out, [[AvertedTrope the lawsuit actually had merit]] as Budding had purposely spilled chemicals on a small town in order to buy it for a pittance, and faked the UFO abduction to discredit Kessler.]]
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* ActorAllusion: Lassie has a crap list[[note]]a list of people one dislikes[[/note]] where Creator/TyneDaly, among others, is listed. Daly co-started with Lassie's actor, Creator/TimothyOmundson, in ''Series/JudgingAmy''.
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None
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* GasLeakCoverup: In the ColdOpen, we see Shawn and Gus, led by a young Dennis, corner Henry in the police station and claim that Henry used this trope to “cover up” a UFO that went down in a nearby field. Henry standing up from his desk is enough to get them to back off. Apparently it really was just a weather balloon.
to:
* GasLeakCoverup: In the ColdOpen, we see young Shawn and Gus, led by a young Dennis, corner Henry in the police station and claim that Henry used this trope to “cover up” a UFO that went down in a nearby field. Henry standing up from his desk is enough to get them to back off. Apparently it really was just a weather balloon.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 ridiculous helmet]].”
to:
* TomatoIntheMirror: TomatoInTheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 ridiculous helmet]].”
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None
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].”
to:
* TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].[[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 ridiculous helmet]].”
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None
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].”
to:
* TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].[[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 ridiculous helmet]].”
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None
Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
* HollywoodHacker: Downplayed. Dennis somehow remotely hacks into Lassiter’s personal laptop with ease, and apparently hacked into the National Weather Service’s network a few years ago, but we never actually see how he did it.
to:
* HollywoodHacker: HollywoodHacking: Downplayed. Dennis somehow remotely hacks into Lassiter’s personal laptop with ease, and apparently hacked into the National Weather Service’s network a few years ago, but we never actually see how he did it.
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None
Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Dennis hacks into Lassiter’s laptop, they pull up his internet search history. They apparently find he’s a frequent visitor to GrenadeFancy.com, SquirrelAssassins.com, and something unseen that has all three of them cringing in disgust.
to:
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Dennis hacks into Lassiter’s laptop, they pull up his internet search history. They apparently find he’s a frequent visitor to GrenadeFancy.[=GrenadeFancy=].com, SquirrelAssassins.[=SquirrelAssassins=].com, and something unseen that has all three of them cringing in disgust.
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None
Added DiffLines:
''Season 5, Episode 3''
!Not Even Close… Encounters
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/not_even_close_encounters.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I have never felt cooler."]]
-> Directed by John Badham
-> Written by Bill Callahan
Late one night, the wealthy and successful attorney Roy Kessler witnesses his partner Toby being taken away by tall, humanlike visitors in a strange, brightly-lit flying machine unlike anything he’s ever seen. The police aren’t interested in his crazy alien abduction story, so he hires Shawn and Gus to clear his name. Shawn and Gus are very interested in the case, and fight to stay impartial even as evidence of something very strange visiting Kessler’s house starts to mount up. They go to a childhood friend of theirs named Dennis for advice, since Dennis was once the uber-nerd authority among them on aliens and such. They discover Dennis has since lost a lot of weight, gotten an extremely high-paying job, and is now a textbook ClosetGeek who hides all his nerdy interests from his extremely attractive wife. When Toby turns up completely unharmed, claiming he went home after an uneventful night, Shawn also learns that Kessler has a history of oddball behavior, and takes medication to treat psychosis. It looks like Kessler is simply nuts, despite the odd things all around his house – until Toby starts acting paranoid and erratic, then falls to his death from the top of a nearby building. It soon becomes obvious that something really did happen to Toby that night, but is it related to actual space aliens?... or to the upcoming lawsuit Kessler was planning against a major textile company for a chemical spill?
----
!!Tropes:
*AlienAbduction: Seems to happen to Toby in the beginning, but he later turns up untouched… save for some strange marks on his arm. [[spoiler: It turns out that the UFO was a specially-modified helicopter with extra lights making it hard to see clearly, a loudspeaker playing bizarre noises, and an EMP that killed most nearby electronic devices.]]
*AnalProbing: Brought up a few times.
*BigBadassRig: Shawn and Gus find one in a nearby town that was abandoned after a chemical spill. Gus claims it looks like a [[{{Franchise/Transformers}} Decepticon]].
*BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Dennis hacks into Lassiter’s laptop, they pull up his internet search history. They apparently find he’s a frequent visitor to GrenadeFancy.com, SquirrelAssassins.com, and something unseen that has all three of them cringing in disgust.
*BrickJoke: During a chase, Shawn’s Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 helmet is broken. At the end of the episode, we see him wearing it again, and he’s tried to fix it up with duct tape.
**We also hear Woody accidentally admit to Shawn and Gus that he stole Toby’s watch. At the end, Shawn mentions that Woody apparently got in a lot of (offscreen) hot water over it, and will probably need a lawyer.
*ClosetGeek: Dennis is a textbook example of this, having used his impressive wealth to build a few secret rooms in his house containing his nerdy interests and memorabilia. He doesn’t mind letting his nerd out in front of Shawn and Gus, since they knew him way back when, but he wants to keep it a secret from his wife, since she’s apparently made her preference for more macho types quite clear. [[spoiler: At the end, his secret comes out, and she reveals she’s a closet nerd too.]]
*CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: The real villain. He was a textile company CEO who discovered a nearby small town had oil underneath, so he arranged for an “accidental” chemical spill nearby, forcing everyone out. He bought up the entire town, and was ready to start construction for drilling when he learned Kessler had arranged for a lawsuit against him, claiming the spill was deliberate. He wound up faking a UFO abduction to undermine Kessler’s credibility, paying Toby to go along with it, then arranging to have Toby killed when he had a change of heart. He also abducted Shawn and Gus, and was about to kill them when Dennis showed up.]]
*FightingWithChucks: [[spoiler: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.]]
*GasLeakCoverup: In the ColdOpen, we see Shawn and Gus, led by a young Dennis, corner Henry in the police station and claim that Henry used this trope to “cover up” a UFO that went down in a nearby field. Henry standing up from his desk is enough to get them to back off. Apparently it really was just a weather balloon.
*HollywoodHacker: Downplayed. Dennis somehow remotely hacks into Lassiter’s personal laptop with ease, and apparently hacked into the National Weather Service’s network a few years ago, but we never actually see how he did it.
*RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by ThoseTwoBadGuys working for the textile company.]]
*RedHerring: The marks on Toby’s arm turn out to be a birthmark, and have nothing to do with the case.
*ScoobyDooHoax: Shawn soon decides this was used to make Kessler look like a nut, and undermine his credibility. Figuring out the “who” and the “how” is more challenging.
*TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].”
!Not Even Close… Encounters
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/not_even_close_encounters.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I have never felt cooler."]]
-> Directed by John Badham
-> Written by Bill Callahan
Late one night, the wealthy and successful attorney Roy Kessler witnesses his partner Toby being taken away by tall, humanlike visitors in a strange, brightly-lit flying machine unlike anything he’s ever seen. The police aren’t interested in his crazy alien abduction story, so he hires Shawn and Gus to clear his name. Shawn and Gus are very interested in the case, and fight to stay impartial even as evidence of something very strange visiting Kessler’s house starts to mount up. They go to a childhood friend of theirs named Dennis for advice, since Dennis was once the uber-nerd authority among them on aliens and such. They discover Dennis has since lost a lot of weight, gotten an extremely high-paying job, and is now a textbook ClosetGeek who hides all his nerdy interests from his extremely attractive wife. When Toby turns up completely unharmed, claiming he went home after an uneventful night, Shawn also learns that Kessler has a history of oddball behavior, and takes medication to treat psychosis. It looks like Kessler is simply nuts, despite the odd things all around his house – until Toby starts acting paranoid and erratic, then falls to his death from the top of a nearby building. It soon becomes obvious that something really did happen to Toby that night, but is it related to actual space aliens?... or to the upcoming lawsuit Kessler was planning against a major textile company for a chemical spill?
----
!!Tropes:
*AlienAbduction: Seems to happen to Toby in the beginning, but he later turns up untouched… save for some strange marks on his arm. [[spoiler: It turns out that the UFO was a specially-modified helicopter with extra lights making it hard to see clearly, a loudspeaker playing bizarre noises, and an EMP that killed most nearby electronic devices.]]
*AnalProbing: Brought up a few times.
*BigBadassRig: Shawn and Gus find one in a nearby town that was abandoned after a chemical spill. Gus claims it looks like a [[{{Franchise/Transformers}} Decepticon]].
*BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Dennis hacks into Lassiter’s laptop, they pull up his internet search history. They apparently find he’s a frequent visitor to GrenadeFancy.com, SquirrelAssassins.com, and something unseen that has all three of them cringing in disgust.
*BrickJoke: During a chase, Shawn’s Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 helmet is broken. At the end of the episode, we see him wearing it again, and he’s tried to fix it up with duct tape.
**We also hear Woody accidentally admit to Shawn and Gus that he stole Toby’s watch. At the end, Shawn mentions that Woody apparently got in a lot of (offscreen) hot water over it, and will probably need a lawyer.
*ClosetGeek: Dennis is a textbook example of this, having used his impressive wealth to build a few secret rooms in his house containing his nerdy interests and memorabilia. He doesn’t mind letting his nerd out in front of Shawn and Gus, since they knew him way back when, but he wants to keep it a secret from his wife, since she’s apparently made her preference for more macho types quite clear. [[spoiler: At the end, his secret comes out, and she reveals she’s a closet nerd too.]]
*CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: The real villain. He was a textile company CEO who discovered a nearby small town had oil underneath, so he arranged for an “accidental” chemical spill nearby, forcing everyone out. He bought up the entire town, and was ready to start construction for drilling when he learned Kessler had arranged for a lawsuit against him, claiming the spill was deliberate. He wound up faking a UFO abduction to undermine Kessler’s credibility, paying Toby to go along with it, then arranging to have Toby killed when he had a change of heart. He also abducted Shawn and Gus, and was about to kill them when Dennis showed up.]]
*FightingWithChucks: [[spoiler: At the very end, Dennis bursts into where the bad guys are planning to kill Shawn and Gus, and to everyone’s shock, he actually knocks out two goons with his nunchucks – and then clocks himself in the face with one, taking him out of the fight.]]
*GasLeakCoverup: In the ColdOpen, we see Shawn and Gus, led by a young Dennis, corner Henry in the police station and claim that Henry used this trope to “cover up” a UFO that went down in a nearby field. Henry standing up from his desk is enough to get them to back off. Apparently it really was just a weather balloon.
*HollywoodHacker: Downplayed. Dennis somehow remotely hacks into Lassiter’s personal laptop with ease, and apparently hacked into the National Weather Service’s network a few years ago, but we never actually see how he did it.
*RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Toby soon had a change of heart over his involvement in the plan to undermine Kessler’s credibility. For his trouble, he’s shoved off a roof by ThoseTwoBadGuys working for the textile company.]]
*RedHerring: The marks on Toby’s arm turn out to be a birthmark, and have nothing to do with the case.
*ScoobyDooHoax: Shawn soon decides this was used to make Kessler look like a nut, and undermine his credibility. Figuring out the “who” and the “how” is more challenging.
*TomatoIntheMirror: While spying on Toby (and wearing vintage sci-fi gear), Shawn and Gus notice him suddenly sprint down the street. They try to keep up, but soon lose him. Soon, Toby calls them, begging for help, claiming he’s being followed by two people who look like “The black dude from Franchise/StarTrek and some white guy in a [[ridiculous helmet Series/BattlestarGalactica1978]].”
