It used to be that I saved all of my holiday tv shows, specials, and movies for the day before Christmas, but now I’ve amassed such a collection of shows that I feel the need to start watching a bit earlier. Tonight, we watched one of my new favorites from Psych, Season 5, episode 14 – The Polarizing Express.

If you’ve never watched Psych, go on Netflix right now and start…I will wait…**hums theme song**

Seriously though, it’s a fantastic show with a great cast that is a perfect blend of comedy and mystery, with more random 80s/90s references than you can shake a fake psychic detective at. It may not be high art, but it’s quality television that you could eat a bowl of popcorn (or a pineapple) while watching and feel good about yourself afterwards.

In this episode, Shawn has managed to mess up and has been caught on film while searching a suspects house without a warrant (or police knowledge). While at home, wallowing in his embarrassment (though still pretending to not care), he falls asleep in front of the TV and soon finds himself in a dreamland where he imagines what life would be like in Santa Barbara if he had never come back. Aaaand since he just watched “Bad Santa” the night before, his dream guide is Tony Cox (“Marcus”) which makes it all just that much funnier.

It’s actually a really clever episode and I found both the silly “It’s a Wonderful Life” homage and the actual mystery engaging. It’s a good one to watch early, before we’re in the thick of the holiday, since the whole mystery aspect isn’t as Christmas-y as most shows.