Top 10 Hilarious Psych Running Gags

Actor Dulé Hill has quite the distinctive dome on his shoulders. Naturally, the show makes use of one of its stars’ most appealing attributes and calls out to it on a regular basis. Whether it’s Shawn referring to Gus as “magic head,” and using his friend’s noggin to aid in his “psychic” readings or people trying to rub Gus’ head, for whatever reason his head draws plenty of attention. And hey, at least he takes care of it – that lavender oil definitely comes in handy with keeping it silky smooth.

Gus has some great catchphrases during the show. As tempted as we were to choose, (“you must be outta’ your damn mind,”) we are clearly out of ours. “You know that’s right.” Anywho, we’d argue that Gus’ other catchphrase is even funnier. Whenever Shawn or someone else makes a statement on something Gus agrees with, frequently in relation to delicious food, Gus will drop this slick affirmation of approval. Although other characters, like Shawn, sometimes use it too, it’s a Gus line through and through. It’s also any “Psych” fan’s favorite way to express agreement. “You know that’s right.”

“The Mentalist” is about a guy who was once a fake psychic helping the police to solve crimes. Sound familiar? “Psych” managed to pick up on this hard-to-miss similarity and ran with it. Shawn appears to be a fan of the show, or at least its star Simon Baker, and will often make reference to it/him. However, he and the show are also not afraid to take potshots at the show too, calling out the similarity in their premises. What we wouldn’t give to see Shawn meet Simon Baker and solve a crime together at a convention or something… we can dream.

Ed Lover is a radio host, rapper, and actor. Renowned for his catchphrase “c’mon, son!,” Lover cameoed in the show as himself, as well as in another role. After his first appearance on the show, he is frequently quoted and imitated by Shawn and Gus, particularly during the later seasons of “Psych.” They do it so much that we’d argue that more people associate the phrase with them than Ed Lover at this point. While we can’t claim to be an authority on Lover, we have a feeling we know what his response to the whole situation was. “C’mon, son!”

That’s messed up, right? So listen, I know I’m just a voiceover, and you’re watching this on your phone or computer, but what are you doing after-…hm? Oh, right! Burton “Gus” Guster is quite the player. Even so, he has a hilariously terrible pick-up line in which he breaks the ice by bringing up Pluto being delisted as a proper planet. While this made sense when Gus originally delivered the line to a planetarium worker, when Pluto’s demotion was still recent, he has continued to use it even when hitting on women normally. Well, normal for him anyway. It’s even an ice-breaker for him and his future wife. And it’s totally a lame line… unless it worked, in which case call-… okay fine!

In addition to being Shawn’s sidekick, or is it Psych-kick?, Gus also works for a pharmaceutical company. As part of his job, he has a company car, which is dubbed “the Blueberry.” Gus is very nervous about it getting wrecked or dirty because he has to return it in the same condition he got it in. Naturally, the show goes out of its way to repeatedly destroy it. The Blueberry has had its windows and tires shot repeatedly, as well as totaled and literally cut in half multiple times! On a slightly related note, does anyone else think it’s weird that blueberries aren’t blue inside too?

In addition to being a man of many talents, Gus is also a man of many names. Nearly every episode of “Psych” sees Shawn introduce his bestie by any number of different names, all of which are ridiculous and few of which are repeated. It’s a simple concept, but the sheer variety and funny sounds of all the names make it one of the best gags in “Psych.” Some of them feel like Shawn just pulled two random words out of his head; reminiscent of word salad. But unlike real salad, this joke never goes bad!

It’s no big secret that pineapples are a big part of the show. It’s often included with the show’s promotional material. If a fruit can be a mascot, pineapple is definitely “Psych”’s. Almost every episode of the show has a pineapple in it somewhere, either hidden in the background or directly shown on screen. Shawn is a big fan of them and eats them regularly. We’re 100% sure he has pineapple-scented hair products too. It’s always fun to play “spot the pineapple” in every episode, regardless of whether you’re a fan of delicious flavor or not. “Are you a fan of delicious flavor?”

Shawn can be more than a little scatter-brained sometimes, and he sometimes says words incorrectly or gets the facts wrong. While some of these are understandable, if he’s only seen them written down or heard them secondhand, in most cases he’s clearly wrong. Regardless, Shawn has the same excuse – that he has heard it both ways. There are plenty of variations on this gag, including other characters taking it up and even a musical number named after it during the musical episode. It certainly tickles our funny muscles. What? Funny bones? I’ve heard it both ways…

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Gus Screams or Runs Away
The Boy’s Got Some Lungs on Him!

Shawn’s Hair
The Man Has Fabulous Locks & He’s Not Afraid of Critiquing Others’

“Gus, Don’t Make Up Words”
You Could Drive the Blueberry Through The Gaps in Shawn’s Pop Cultural Knowledge

Gus’ Bad Luck With Love
He May Be a Player, But Gus Is Always Falling For the Worst Women

“Suck It”
Shawn & Gus’ Favorite Way to Stick It to Each Other & Others

In the same vein as Shawn giving Gus nicknames, the fake psychic also brings the same random creativity to his attempts to chastise his partner. Whenever Gus says something which Shawn disagrees with, he’ll tell Gus not to be “insert crazy unrelated thing here.” These hilarious condemnations can include everything from pop culture references to body parts to 4th wall breaking statements. The pure randomness of the gag is what gives it its longevity and makes it so funny. Be careful trying it at home though folks. Don’t be YouTube removing the dislike count on every video.