The Mentalist Review

Overall 4.50 of 5 view all 16 reviews

MikeMaroon
Chattanooga, TN

Patrick Jane will charm, or confuse, the confession outta ya.

Likes to be entertained, Not easily enticed by new TV shows, Former cop, enjoys cop shows. Go figure

Pros

Another police procedural, Simon Baker, Characters interesting, Gregory Itzin!

Cons

Another police procedural, Not all the "tricks

OCT

2008

The Mentalist —

CBS has tried to make a star out of Aussie actor Simon Baker before. Looks like they finally did it. If he looks familiar to you it's because you are one of the few people who saw him play Nick Falin in The Guardian (2001-2003) or as Jeff Green in the mercifully short-lived Smith in 2006. Oh, yeah, more of you might have seen him as Christian Thompson in the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

In the new series The Mentalist, airing on CBS on Tuesday nights, Mr. Baker is Patrick Jane, reformed fake psychic and all around cad who now helps the California Bureau of Investigation solve murders. He no longer pretends to have psychic powers, but is used as a consultant due to his heightened sense of observation. Think of a dog's hearing compared to a human's and you have some idea of how keen his powers of observation are. This is amusingly demonstrated early on in a game of "rock, paper, scissors" he plays with a skeptical local yokel sheriff. The scene is laugh out loud funny as the sheriff's look transforms from smug to red-faced anger.

In a show that's a little bit CSI and a little bit Psych, but just different from each to not be a total rip-off of either, Baker is allowed let loose the appeal that made him so hard to resist in The Devil Wears Prada, as a consultant working with a somewhat resentful but still charmed team of investigators to catch killers with his unique gifts. Robin Tunney is his seemingly exasperated but ultimately smitten boss Teresa Lisbon and finds herself turning to Jane more and more for clues. This even though the cad in him delights in confusing and torturing her and the team.

While the show is indeed a cop show/procedural,The supporting cast, which includes Owain Yeoman, Tim Kang, Amanda Righetti and the welcome return of the excellent Gregory Itzin (24) to series television, all take a back seat to the charm and wiles of Mr. Baker. He, with his tanned good looks and fabulous head of blond hair, is like your seemingly serious cousin who winks at you every so often just to let you know he's not "that" serious, though he has cause to be.

His reformation from his once scandalous ways is a direct result of his actions as a fake psychic on a television show. Seems he pretended to know something about the serial killer known as Red John. Unknowingly to him, this killer was watching. Later when he goes upstairs, he finds a note on the bedroom door from Red John telling him that if he were a real psychic, he wouldn't need to open the door to know what happened to his wife and child. Opening the door, the first thing he sees is a bloody smiley face on the wall. This is what separates The Mentalist from Psych. Jane can actually empathize with the victims and their loved ones.

But, Patrick is still a bit of a con man, and he uses this plus the fact that he's very intelligent and just a little bit crazy (who wouldn't be after they caused the murder of their wife and child?) to enhance, confound and sometimes frustrate his colleagues with his ability to figure out people buy just watching them. But he tends to be able to get clues and confession the others can't even if he's often brash and rude about it.

BOTTOM LINE

In a TV landscape littered with police procedurals, first reaction might be, "I've seen this before", and you might be right. But, it's well done and Baker's suck-you-right in charm overshadows any familiarity to give us a good, solid, enjoyable hour of television. Early ratings prove this as it consistently wins its time-slot over the much hyped new Fringe and the popular Dancing with the Stars. I thought I would be watching Fringe at 9pm on Tuesday evenings, but, after trying them both, I'm stuck on The Mentalist. I'm guessing Patrick Jane already knew that would happen. GRADE: B+

The Mentalist is recommended by MikeMaroon

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Comments about MikeMaroon’s Review

In response to Jo's comment from Nov 15, 2008 at 10:48AM:

Which reminds me, I need to watch the episode I dvr'd this week because I was working.

I love the show and him!!

Good review!

I've seen the weekly previews for this and have been wanting to check it out. I finally set it up to record! Great review.

I've never heard of this but then again I rarely watch shows on network and I am spending more time on VP than in front of the TV. I loved the Devil Wears Prada ;+)