Psych

If Gus and Shawn refused to testify about how they obtained their information(citing the 5th amendment), that's evidence enough that the info was illegally obtained, thus allowing the convictions to be thrown out...

It would depend on the judge, but they're in California. The Ninth Circuit would set aside the convictions... And the moment one gets thrown out on those grounds, the rest would follow in short order...

A fair number. Yes. Of the 100+ convictions(episodes), I'd say roughly half are a result of illegal entry into an area/residence and a "divination" by Shawn because of it. He also misrepresents himself every time he enters a place with permission because of his whole "I'm Shawn Spencer, psychic detective, and this is ..."

There are a lot of grey areas because Shawn is a civilian, but the moment he started getting paid by the SBPD, he was required to abide by those rules(and he knows this, he just doesn't care very much)...

edited 4th May '13 5:33:50 PM by Swish

I'm not all that familiar with the exact workings of American legal system but I know that citing the fifth is a neutral statement and a right everyone has. Citing the fifth can't be used as an indicator of guilt, even if it is seen as such by the media today.

So Shawn could simply refuse to comment on the matter. (Yeah, what are the chances of him actually doing that?) Since no portion of the system of justice considers psychic visions as admissible evidence, no insights he may have offered to the police as a part of his consultation services could have been used as an evidence in a trial (apart from the stuff he personally witnessed and could legally offer testimony on).

Basically what I'm trying to argue is that him stating that he is not a psychic can't harm his credibility in the eyes of the court because he never had any in the first place. Any cases that actually led to conviction must have relied on actual, legally procured evidence not reliant on Shawn's psychic status.

edited 4th May '13 6:55:00 PM by GabrieltheThird

Shawn and Gus taking the fifth couldn't be used against them in proceedings... But the proceedings wouldn't be about them. It would be about whether or not the evidence/information they obtained against others was legally obtained. If they can't say(or, rather, refuse to say) where they got the evidence/information, then it can't be considered "legally obtained."

If they were just on their own, it wouldn't be as big of an issue. But they're paid by SBPD. As such, the rules of law enforcement apply to them. If a police officer refused to explain how he knew/suspected there was a kilo of cocaine in your trunk(and that was found in your trunk), that bit of evidence against you would be inadmissible. For good reason, too...

Again, most of Shawn's "visions" have centered on his seeing something in an office or building that the police probably wouldn't have ever gone in, and using that information to provide a lead to the police. And, as the SFPD have actually obtained warrants because of Shawn's "visions"(not just because of them, but they were the "push" in addition to actual evidence found), the idea that they aren't "credible" in the eyes of the court is sketchy.

It really would depend on where the judges saw the whole thing with regards to "fruit of the poisonous tree". And, in the vast majority of episodes, it's Shawn's "vision" that drives if/how the evidence is found. And if there were never any visions, it's not hard to claim the evidence was planted by the guy coming up with the lead he "pulled out of his ass"(not to mention that there's a reason he was arrested 3 times in the pilot before he figured out the whole psychic thing)..

edited 4th May '13 7:30:13 PM by Swish

And all of that is why Juliet giving Shawn such a hard time and asking him to tell the truth about the whole Psychic thing is so contrived. Honestly at best it makes her just seem jealous that he is a better cop then her and is trying to Sour Grapes it by being mad about the lying part of it.

edited 4th May '13 11:10:25 PM by GraySloth

That was a very good episode, enjoyed seeing that Shawn would make an awful criminal.

Testing.

I expect the problems this place is having will be fixed soon. For now though, I can't edit. :(

SOOOOOOO, relevant:

Was looking through the page of That Other Wiki and I came across this:

"Psych: The Musical"

Thoughts?

edited 9th May '13 10:23:19 AM by Eagal

I'm really liking the character interactions for this season.

Garcelle Beauvais, for Dead Air, enough said.

At this point, I'm mostly watching because I want to see in through - but I do kind of look forward to the musical. I just hope that the music is good.

I dunno, I thought this season was really good; right up until the back half when they sorta wussed out on all the potential they'd built up, but before that it was great.

I think they are relying too much on the parody and the references by now...back in the first seasons they nevertheless presented an interesting case. Now they barely even have true cases, it's nearly always about the personal life of one of the cast members.

I'm interested to see how the Musical Episode turns out. If the "Psych-outs" are any indication, James and Dule are actually pretty good singers. And I'm curious how it's going to fit in with the last episode's Sudden Downer Ending.

edited 4th Aug '13 1:23:41 PM by allboyband

I was kinda disappointed with the whole "Jules and Shawn break up" subplot getting resolved off-screen, but I still greatly enjoyed season seven, and am definitely excited for the musical.

Yeah, this season started out really, really strong and then right around the part where they got back together it just dove right back downhill. Which is sad—a Psych where Shawn actually had to deal with the consequences of his actions on a regular basis would have been a top-tier show for me.

I think the show has been going downhill for a while already. I just got my DVD's for season 5, and while there are some really good episodes on them, there are also a lot of stinkers. To me, there are three reasons why the show doesn't really work as well as it used to anymore. 1. The characters: They changed from characters to caricatures. Shawn in the first three seasons might have been acting stupid, but he wasn't really stupid, and he might have made silly jokes, but he also knew when he had to be serious, and he might have been acting careless, but he also made up for it when he brought other people in hot water and organized a great birthday for his best friend. Gus used to be more the voice of reason in the partnership. And Juliette...this used to be such a great character with her bubble "I want everyone to love me" personality. First they turned her into a copy of every female cop on TV and then they rewrote her whole backstory. 2. Speaking of which: Continuity. Yes, TV shows tend to get stuff wrong, but when a show establishes that Shawn isn't interested in Comic books and similar stuff due to the influence of his father, he can't suddenly be a geek about it. When you have a character with a perfect family, you can't just give her a con man father just because you feel like it (they could at least make him her grandfather). So obvious mistakes are just grating. 3. The Cases: This show used to have really good crime cases and serious investigations to find the murderers. Highlights are for me the man who unknowingly haunted himself, the pair which killed each other, the best friend who killed all the lovers of the aging woman (easily one of the best episodes in season 5, feels like an early one), the murdered anchor, the stolen ring hidden in the bouquet, the speed date identity thieves, the man who was killed by a dinosaur....

My biggest problem is that they never really explore Shawn's backstory. We know he used to be a bad boy, we know he has a bit of a dark past, but where season one showed him having soured his relationship with his father in his teenage years, subsequent seasons have made him a far more loveable goofy character who is a collection of quirks bound together by a gimmick.

Same goes for Gus, he used to have a life outside of Shawn and Psych, not so much anymore, he's taken on too many of the characteristics of Shawn to the point where he is no longer a strong and unique character in his own right.

And yeah, the cases are a bit paint-by-numbers these last couple of seasons, they seem irrelevant and the resolution to them seem a bit haphazard and Shawn is going by sheer luck instead of skill.

I think that Shawn has become less and less lovable the last few seasons. I liked him better when he was the guy who listen to those people who had nobody else who would help them, the guy who was somehow friends with everybody, the guy who might be egocentric but also very thoughtful at times.

I have to agree with that. I love Shawn, but I think now he's not as lovable/likable as he used to be and he can be kind of an annoying jerk sometimes and a bit to over-the-top, which is different from how he was in the earlier seasons. And there was that episode where Juliet insisted they weren't back together, but she still let him sleep over, I though that was kind of weird.

I stopped watching for a while after seeing the first few episodes of season 5, but I think now it's gotten better. I was really surprised at how some of season 7 was relatively darker than the other seasons, but it didn't feel out of place.

edited 4th Aug '13 1:23:02 PM by allboyband

I think the reason why they introduced Juliet's father as conman and her step-dad as a criminal lying about his past was so that when she did finally find out Shawn's lying, it would give her more of a reason to be upset, since she really hates liars because of that. Plus her brother also turned out to be a criminal, so I think she was also mad at herself too for being Horrible Judge of Character like her mother seems to have been and angry at Shawn for making her feel like a fool.

Most likely, but I don't think it was needed. The brother alone would have been reason enough, a strong moral principle taught by her family would be enough, all this "sad past" just undermined the character. It was so refreshing to have a female without a sad past or daddy issues on TV.

Anyone else see the musical last night? I was surprised at how good it was. The DVD and soundtrack are going to be released tomorrow.

Saw it, it was alright.

Honestly, the only song I liked (adored, really) was "I heard it both ways", everything else was very generic. The choreography was not really that good...I think as a standard episode, without the singing and dancing it would have been an okay one, but there was really not much musical about it. And it naturally didn't help that it actually takes a huge step back in time, before the Chief was fired (her retirement line fell really flat in this context) and Juliet learned the truth. I didn't have big expectations to begin with, so I am not too disappointed, but it did cement my opinion that it is really high time for the show to end. It is so far removed from the nice mix of craziness and REALISM I used to adore. I guess, if I have time after Christmas, I'll watch some episodes from the first seasons, back when there were actual cases to solve, when Shawn wasn't just guessing left and right and pretended to be an idiot instead of really being one, when Juliet was still bubbly and fun, the chief was able to control the team and Gus was the voice of reason.

I liked the Ripper song, but it sounded a lot like "Kill The Beast" from Beauty and the Beast.