"Monk/"Psych" Holiday Specials Review: Not Your Traditional Christmas

It’s become an annual tradition for USA to show special episodes of its hit shows “Monk” and “Psych” for the holidays.

But if you’re looking for traditional, you’ve obviously never seen “Monk” or “Psych”…

For example, in any other show, the hero would welcome the opportunity to help those less fortunate than himself in the spirit of the holidays. But for an obsessive-compulsive like Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), the homeless men that collect cans on the street mean germs and that’s almost more than he can take (It’s pretty funny for us, though.). However, Natalie (Traylor Howard) convinces Monk to help the men figure out what happened to their friend and the case begins.

Meanwhile, Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) is having a serious health problem, which is leading to a crisis of faith. But when he witnesses a miracle, he’s led down a whole new path…

Apparently my Batman detective skills were not working the day I watched this, because I’m usually a little better about guessing the outcome of these things. But I was so busy trying to figure out how the murder story connected with the miracle story that I totally missed it right in front of me. And I have to admit. It’s rather clever—even if it is a little dark for a holiday story.

But the good thing about “Monk” is that the show never lets anything get too dark. Monk’s OCD tics always seem to manifest themselves in the funniest places. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a killer revealed so creatively…

“Psych,” on the other hand, wouldn’t know dark if it knocked it on the head. This show never takes itself too seriously—even when dealing with a con artist Santa Claus…

If you’ve never seen “Psych,” it’s about Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) who run PSYCH, a psychic detective agency. Although Shawn pretends to be a psychic, he really just has incredible powers of observation and deduction, thanks to the training of his detective dad, Henry (Corbin Bernsen).

And in the holiday episode, Shawn uses his powers to help a little girl who is upset that Santa Claus was sent to jail. But after the Santa is released, Shawn and Gus realize that they were conned and they spring into action to stop the little girl and her partner from carrying out their Christmas caper. However, the case proves to be a little more complicated than they first thought.

Meanwhile, Gus’ sister, Joy (Faune Chambers), comes home for the holidays to stay with her parents (Phylicia Rashad and Keith David). But things get interesting when it’s revealed that she and Shawn once had a fling that they both seem to be interested in renewing—especially when Shawn decides to stay at the Guster house. However, we soon discover that Shawn and Joy aren’t the only people in the house keeping secrets…

There is an actual mystery of sorts here for those of you who have to have that kind of thing, but the real reason to watch is for Roday. It’s his immense likability that makes the show work in even the most unbelievable situations. And his chemistry with Hill is priceless.

And just when you believe that you’re going to get a sappy holiday ending, the show throws that right out the window. And that’s not a bad thing…

So after a long day of shopping, grab the leftovers, take a seat and spend an evening with some fun and colorful characters.

You may just make it your holiday tradition…

“Monk” and “Psych” air at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday, November 28th on USA…

Photo Credits: Peter "Hopper" Stone/USA and Alan Zenuk/USA