Burton "Gus" Guster is a fictional character on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

television comedy ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

'' and the sequel film series of the same name played by American actor

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for wh ...

. He functions as the "

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

" for

Shawn Spencer Shawn Spencer is a fictional character and main protagonist on the American television comedy-drama ''Psych'' and the sequel film series of the same name played by American actor James Roday Rodriguez. Taking advantage of his eidetic memory a ...

's antics, and provides sobering advice, helpful knowledge, steady support, and friendship.

Fictional biography

Gus, born sometime in December 1978, has been

's best friend since childhood. Together they co-own the detective agency "Psych". Gus attended Pomona College. Gus tends to be strait-laced and more cautious. He is the " Watson" sidekick and has a crucial role in the cases the two solve. Gus is often shown to be academically advanced and knowledgeable on various things, particularly math and science; his experience with pharmaceutical sales aids Shawn in his investigations frequently. Unlike the Watson-style sidekick, Gus is not often stupefied by Shawn's crime-solving capabilities, and he often doubts how Shawn comes to some of his conclusions. While Shawn is the "superman detective", he does not see himself as above Gus. Despite both Shawn and Gus coming to rational conclusions from observable evidence, both occasionally indulge in supernatural explanations for crimes.

Characterization

Janée Burkhalter characterizes Gus as a lonely Black nerd, or " blerd", and various references to

Black culture Black culture can refer to: * African-American culture African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinc ...

or Black identity appear in the show, such as his acapella group "Blackapella" and hobby of tap dancing. In terms of his "nerd" identity, Gus demonstrates extensive knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and studies, as well as adhering to grammatical rules and showing interest in nerdy media. Burkhalter acknowledges that Gus differs from various nerd tropes or stereotypes in that he is often romantically involved and does not always act or dress as a nerd. Thornton notes that Gus is also typically the only major Black character for most episodes. The episodes that do, however, feature major Black characters often focus on Gus's friends or family. Thornton also notes that, despite being the sidekick, it is a role that Gus is sometimes reluctant to fulfill, which is a comedic aspect of the show.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guster, Burton American male characters in television Fictional American detectives Fictional private investigators Psych characters African-American characters in films Fictional characters from Santa Barbara, California Television characters introduced in 2006 African-American characters in television