Before Psych returns for its second season in January on USA, the fake psychic, real detectives have to spread some holiday cheer in a very special Christmas episode focusing on the murder of a grumpy old man, but its who the suspects turn out to be that hits close to home.

Starting well enough, the Gusters invite Shawn (James Roday) and his dad (Corbin Bernsen) to dinner for the holidays, but after caroling turns up a dead body staged to look like a suicide Gus and Shawn take on the case to prove to Gus’ overbearing parents that Gus has really grown up, and that Shawn isn’t a negative influence.

Credit to the casting director of this episode for bringing in Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) and Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) in as Gus’ parents who want to protect their soon so badly from the world that they pull Gus’ nursing home bound grandma to look over the 29 year old when they are both arrested as lead suspects in the case. This isn’t much of a spoiler as most of the episodes running time is Shawn and Gus’ attempts at clearing the elder Gusters of any wrong-doing.

In typical, albeit creatively funny, Pysch fashion the investigation takes numerous dead ends before locating the killer and ousting them in front of a large group with the customary “psychic channeling” Roday’s character is so well known for on the show.

Not to leave the holidays behind, there’s a B-storyline focusing on O’Hara (Maggie Lawson) inviting the snow globe hating Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) for dinner with her family, only to realize that the overzealous Lassie ends up being loathed. The B-story provides something for the two characters to do besides working on the case; however they are more out of the loop than usual in this episode and their story is forgettable at best.

Other than the Christmas theme to set up Shawn having dinner with the Gusters there isn’t anything special about this episode other than to let the viewer new that new episodes are coming in just a few short weeks (something everyone needs in this strike afflicted world). The story is thin (as usual) but it’s the characters that really get you involved with the show, and as the rapport between the four principles increases the comedy flows much easier and you’ll find that you are coming back week after week for more.

Returning for the second half of its first season is USA‘s Psych, the story of Shawn Spencer (James Roday), a twentysomething with a gift for perception who convinces the Santa Barbara Police Department that he’s a psychic solving cases from missing persons to murders in the quiet coastal town. The first season of the series was a bright spot at the end of the summer season balancing a great level of humor along with the standard drama of a detective show, much akin to USA‘s Monk.

As the series returns January 19^th for a second run the show brings back the familiar scenarios in unfamiliar circumstances as Shawn and his childhood friend Gus (Dule Hill) strive to make their town a safer place. The subtly of the shows humor is not lost as sight gags blend well with wordplay. The second season premiere also keeps the routine of flashing back to Shawn’s childhood in a situation that impacts the outcome of the crime in some way, usually for the better.

Much to the dismay of the police department, Shawn continues to show them up in many of the cases they are assigned as Detective Lassiter (Timonthy Omundson) fails to believe Shawn’s “gift” at every turn while his open-minded partner Juliet O-Hara (Maggie Lawson). Providing additional foil for Shawn’s antics is his father, a perfectly cast Corbin Bernsen still channeling Roger Dorn from Major League.

When I reviewed the first part of the season last summer I did question whether the series would have enough steam to keep up the farce that Shawn was a psychic long enough to make it hold up over time, but as the season went on, and now into the new batch of episodes, Psych seems to be hitting its stride with fun stories, and excellent dose of humor making the show a pleasure to watch.

This run’s debut, “Forget Me Not”, guest stars Kurtwood Smith (That 70’s Show) as a former police captain attempting to tie a twenty year old cold case to a recent mountain lion mauling. In the typical Psych fashion things aren’t always as they seem, and a series of misadventures and predicaments await our heroes in locating the true killer. What more could you ask from an entertaining Friday night program?

Psych’s first season continues Friday, January 19 on USA. Check your local listings for time an appropriate channel.