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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP’s look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Psych digs into John Cena’s psyche, White Collar makes arbitrary phone calls and In Bruges ups its quality.

Pick of the Week

For people who think it’s high time for a TV series to pick apart The Mentalist: Psych: The Complete Fourth Season

BOP knows that you know that we’re telling the truth about Psych. It’s hysterical. Would that every show had this much spirit and whimsy. And season four of the series unleashes a new direction for quips. After CBS shamelessly ripped off the show’s conceit in making The Mentalist, Psych decided that the best way to get even would be to mention CBS’ treachery whenever possible. Simon Baker fans, beware.

Of course, there is much more to the season than this. Shawn gets to solve the mystery of a lyncanthrope, join a think tank, grow insecure around WWE superstar John Cena, and get kidnapped/shot. And Gus gets even better news. After flirting with a return to his days in a boy band, he instead decides to date Life’s Sarah Shahi, a decision everyone at BOP supports. Plus, Juliet finally gets an episode of her own as she tries to find the one that got away, who turns out to be a guy in a witness protection program who is under the watchful care of 1980s semi-legend Craig Sheffer. Finally, the season ends just the way season three did…with an appearance by Ally Freakin’ Sheedy!





Those of you who have been reading the site for years now realize that I can be hard to please when it comes to television. The fact that my iPhone case says Psych on the side of it is telling. This is my favorite show, and season four is a high water mark for them. Anything that can make me like John Cena has done the impossible. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Disc includes: Deleted scenes, montages, video commentaries, audio commentaries, Think Tank Podcast featurette

For people who were wondering what Tiffany Thiessen was up to: White Collar: The Complete First Season

Okay, have you seen that show Leverage? White Collar is like that, except on USA Network instead of TNT. Apparently learning a lesson from The Mentalist ripping off Psych, USA decided that all is fair in love, war and cable television programming. The resulting product is White Collar, a show that unites currently incarcerated master thief Neal Caffrey (a star- making role played by Chuck super-spy Matt Bomer) with by-the-books FBI agent Peter Burke. No, this doesn’t sound particularly original because…it’s really not. Still, the chemistry between the leads is such that the show works in spite of its over reliance on convention.

The 14-episode run of season one has a lot of high points. Particularly engaging is Tiffani Thiessen of Saved by the Bell fame. She portrays Burke’s wife, and her sense of humor makes him more likable in turn. Similarly, ER’s Sharif Atkins and The Middleman’s Natalie Morales highlight a group of FBI agents who all act lost in admiration for Caffrey, the strangely ethical art thief who is night and day beyond the others in his craft. Of course, the real scene stealer is Willie Garson (words I never thought I’d type) as Mozzie, a not-so-reformed thief who is anxiously awaiting Neal’s return to the dark side of his profession.

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