With the massive flood of police procedurals on the prime time television, they tend to run together for me. Unfortunately, when a new procedural debuts on broadcast, it always manages to look like a clone (or composite) of others. That's the trap The Mentalist first fell into for me - it looked like just another run-of-the-mill police procedural poised to repeated the same concepts of CSI, NCIS , Criminal Minds, etc. with slightly different characters to fool viewers into thinking it was different. Then one evening I was flipping channels and came across The Mentalist. There was nothing else on, so I thought I'd turn it on as background noise while I worked on my computer. It ended up becoming far more than that. Instead of staring at computer screen, I was completely riveted to the TV. By the show's end, I was completely sucked in and it had proven just how very wrong I was about its inability to be original.
On the contrary - The Mentalist is a surprisingly fresh and original take on the traditional police procedural. While yes, it is another procedural, it has a light air of freshness, fun, and wittiness mixed perfectly with drama, intrigue, and moments of darkness.
The Mentalist follows the adventures of Patrick Jane "Jane" (Simon Baker), as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Jane once made a living as a fake psychic, but admitted he was a fraud after a serial killer known as "Red John" killed his wife and daughter. Jane now uses his skills as a mentalist, "someone who uses mental acuity, hypnosis and/or suggestion - a master manipulator of thoughts and behavior" as well as his keen sense of observation, to help the CBI fight crime and ultimately, bring "Red John" to justice.
The undeniable star of the show is Simon Baker, who brings a unique, quirky character to the screen in Patrick Jane. Jane has the ability to get the audience on his side through his witty dialog, unexpected comments through keen observation, sympathetic past and overall quirky nature. Once Jane gets the audience in his pocket, it's easy to follow along on his adventures and experience all of the emotions he goes through -from the off-beat comments to the dark, haunting moments. Jane truly holds the show together, for while he plays off the other characters well, The Mentalist would be nothing without him.
Article comments
1 - judy
I loved the DVD and the extras. The Mentalist is my favorite show and Simon Baker is a major reason for that. I wouldn't care if the Super Bowl was on opposite The Mentalist, it would get my viewership every time. Way to go Simon!