Good Summer Shows Return

Monk and Psych are both on Friday nights on USA. They both premiered for this season last Friday and are as good or better than ever. The best thing about shows on cable is that they play them several times a week, so there's always a chance to catch up. The premiere of Monk guest-starred Sarah Silverman as Monk's number 1 fan - and she played it with perfect scary intensity, from collecting his discarded cups to wearing his pants. Monk agrees to help her solve a pretty tame mystery (by Monk's standards), but the episode is really funny just watching Sarah Silverman be close to Monk. If you've only seen the early seasons, Monk's had a new assistant for a few seasons - Natalie (Traylor Howard) who is as good as Sharona (Bitty Schram) was at the beginning. She's often better because she comes with a daughter who has really dry humor when dealing with Monk, but they all get along. This show never disappoints, so if you're looking for something good in the summer that doesn't require much commitment, go with Monk. And, while you're already there, check out Psych. It's about two mid-20's best friends (Shawn, the fake psychic and Gus, his side-kick) who solve cases for the police by doing better detective work than they do. Shawn has amazing perception of little things when scanning a room and can pretend to be psychic by noticing enough things and piecing them together. However, that's just the reason these two awesome actors get to show up - it's really about the hilarious situations they get themselves into and the personality quirks that often get them out. The season premiere had them posing as contestants on a duo version of American idol, complete with a fake Simon Cowell, and a really strung out "Paula". Shawn and Gus manage to perform terribly every time - but seem to enjoy it so much, it's hysterical. In the past Gus has shown his addiction to online gambling (he's won $7million in fake money), spelling bees (he's watched them every year for decades), and driving his tiny little blue car. Shawn has never had a job and his hobbies seem to include mostly bothering Gus, or his ex-cop Dad (played really well by Corbin Bersen). Both Psych and Monk make for excellent armchair detective shows and in the summer, they're the best that's on TV.