With five seasons of laughs under their belt, it's safe to say that "Psych's" Shawn and Gus are the most entertaining crime-solving duo on television.  For fans of detective shows looking for a lighthearted alternative to "Law & Order" (and without the will they/won't they romance of "Castle" and "Bones"), "Psych" does the trick.  The Season 6 premiere was full of silly, witty moments between the two leads, all while following a dramatic murder storyline.

The episode began with Shawn (played by James Roday) sneaking into the house of a British diplomat (guest star Malcolm McDowell) to recover a stolen collectible Darth Vader figurine that belonged to the kid next door.  The diplomat was throwing a party to celebrate the release of a British exchange student who had been rightfully acquitted for the murder his girlfriend. Shawn slips past partygoers and finds the Darth Vader toy; but on his his way out, he finds something else: a dead body.

Shawn escapes from the house and fakes one of his "psychic visions" to lead Santa Barbara police to the body.  On the scene, the diplomat recognizes the dead woman.  She is Annabeth, a young British woman who was part of the team that helped prove the exchange student's innocence.

Shawn and Gus (Dulé Hill) have a lot of fun learning about British diplomacy in this episode.  When the British ambassador hires the two to find Annabeth's killer, they get "diplomatic immunity" and abuse it in all of the wrong ways.  When tracking down a suspect, they dart through traffic and attempt to hijack passing cars, which they foolishly believe their immunity will cover.  Roday and Hill's acting in this scene is goofy and over-the-top, and it pays off with big laughs.

Later in the episode, Shawn finds that his ongoing lie about having psychic powers is in jeopardy.  Lassiter (Timothy Omundsun) and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) find a picture of a dark-haired man from behind, taken at the night of the diplomat's party, and assume that it is of Shawn.  This would prove that Shawn found the body at the house and never had a psychic vision about it.  Shawn denies his presence at the party, desperate to not be exposed as a fraud.

To find out if Shawn is the man in the picture, Lassie hooks him up to a lie detector.  Shawn skates by questioning about where he was the night of the party with half-truths, claiming he was "talking about Star Wars with Gus".  When Lassie asks Shawn if he is psychic, everyone holds their breath.  Shawn lies, claiming that he has powers.  Miraculously, the lie detector reads that he is telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Lassiter is still angry after discovering Shawn and Juliet's secret relationship.  He asks for a new partner, but Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) says that he and Juliet need to settle their differences.  While under the lie detector, Lassiter questions Shawn about his intentions with Juliet.  To everyone's surprise, Shawn professes his love for Jules... and the lie detector does not waver. 

Despite Shawn's good intentions, Lassiter still disapproves of the relationship.  In one of the episode's best moments, Lassie hooks himself up to the lie detector to prove to Shawn that he will, without a shadow of a doubt, hurt him if he breaks Juliet's heart.  Both men clearly care about Jules and will not back down. 

Like most episodes, the murder mystery ties up neatly in the show's 60-minute time frame.  Shawn finds out that man hosting the British foreign exchange student was the one who killed both the student's girlfriend and Annabeth.  The police put the killer behind bars, and all is well. 

The season premiere opened up a lot of great story lines for the future: Will Shawn's lie be exposed soon?  How will the tension between Lassie, Juliet and Shawn evolve? 

However things turn out, it looks like Season 6 will be an enjoyable ride.  The drama is heating up and the laughs are bigger than ever—proof that "Psych" won't be slowing down any time soon.

"Psych" airs Wednesdays at 10 PM on USA.

 

Reach reporter Stephanie Case here.