'Psych' closes up shop

"This is my life partner, Burton Guster Black Spencer." — Shawn, "Psych"

I remember when I saw the first commercial for "Psych." I recognized Dule Hill from "The West Wing," and I thought the commercial looked funny. I also couldn't believe USA — the channel where I watched my "Quantum Leap" re-runs as a youth — was making an original show.

I found that pilot, watched it, and was hooked. Eight seasons later, I'm still a fan. On Wednesday night, "Psych" came to an end. It's hard to believe it's been so long, and that so much has changed.

Now, USA is home to a number of series, and cable of all sorts have their own series. But seeing "Psych" end feels like the end of an era. "Psych" and "Burn Notice," which ended during the summer, were the shows that launched original programming on USA. But, like all things, they couldn't last forever.

"Psych" has developed a legion of devoted fans. To me, it feels like USA sort of gave the show the short end of the stick. They announced it would be the final season just before the Winter Olympics and gave fans just four episodes to say goodbye. I agree it felt like a natural end point for the series, but I thought it deserved a better send off.

Still, the final episode was everything fans could have hoped. The characters were left in a good position, Shawn grew up and realized he needed to be an adult in his relationships. Everyone is moving forward.

But, most importantly, the show paid off its best relationship — the friendship between Shawn and Gus. For most of the episode, thinking they were parting, I was sad. But the end of the episode, which essentially featured them declaring their unending love for one another and continuing their bromance, was nothing short of heart warming.

Throughout its run "Psych" was a goofy, clever show. It was an homage to pop culture during the childhood of those who grew up in the 1980s — like myself — so it was a piece of nostalgia. But at the heart of it was a beautiful story of friendship between Shawn and Gus. So, as the show rides off into the sunset, it only seems right that their friendship would be at the center of the show's conclusion.

Finales are hard. But the final episode of "Psych" felt like it hit the right note, and it felt like the show went out at the right time. That's a tough feat to accomplish, and one worthy of emulation.