You Mentalist or What? (The Mentalist)

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	The Mentalist
Date:	10/05/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: interesting storylines, good acting in most parts

Disadvantages: not as funny as Psych

/'men-ta-list/ noun

Mentalist - someone who uses mental acuity, hypnosis and/or suggestion. A master manipulator of throughts and behaviour.


I have to admit that I came rather late to 'The Mentalist'. I didn't pay much attention until it surfaced on UK shores on the Five TV channel. I had heard about it, I had even heard it referenced on Psych, a show I regularly watch. But I have managed to catch up with most episodes now and I must say that it has grown on me immensely.

Patrick Jane, a guy who is really good at observing people and his surroundings is making a living as a psychic by reading people in the audience. A serial killer, known as Red John, not only challenges him but also kills Jane's wife and daughter after Jane made some derogatory remark about him during a TV show. Patrick Jane decides to quit as a fake psychic and become a police consultant for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) where his intelligence and wit, as well as disregard of rules and protocol, help solve some of the most puzzling crimes in the state.


Main characters:

Patrick Jane - former 'psychic' and now freelance consultant with very little regard for protocol or formal procedure (just watch the pilot episode when he tells the wife of a possible paedophile/husband that he killed their daughter), played by Simon Baker who I had previously watched in 'The Guardian' a little known programme in the UK but currently making a revival on one of the channels.

Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, played by Robin Tunney (I last saw her in one of the first episodes of House) is his superior at the unit and reluctantly accepts him as a consultant and acknowledges his usefulness when it comes to solving crimes.


There are also three more regulars in the team, they are Tim Kang (played by Kimball Cho), Owain Yeoman (played by Wayne Rigsby) rookie Amanda Righetti (Grace Van Pelt.). They are more open to the unorthodox methods Jane uses and sometimes even benefit from the fruits of his labour (the guys receiving garish watches, the girls necklaces after Jane plays poker in Las Vegas and wins big). They are also the comic relief aspect of the series.


The colour Red

The titles of all current episodes have something to do with the colour red. This is something that is going through the series like a big red flag, it obviously has some meaning. First of all there was and still is the serial killer known as Red John that killed Jane's family. His life is still shown in flashbacks, not only the good times but also the bad ones where he finds his family murdered.


Acting and storylines

I am actually pleasantly surprised by this programme. It is nothing too challenging and one more of the procedural crime programmes found on our televisions the likes of CSI and all its incarnations, Monk and long running Law & Order.

The acting is pretty good for a first season. A lot of the time actors need to establish a bond but the actors in this one are working together well. I am not so sure about the main female lead Robin Tunney but that might just be me. She is fine but often comes over as a little stiff without any emotions towards the character of Patrick Jane.

Simon Baker is good looking with the right amount of cockiness to pull off the character. He is solving the crimes simply by watching people's reactions and deducing what the truth is.


The Mentalist v Psych

I have to admit that I love Psych with James Roday on Hallmark TV on Sky. It is about a pretend psychic helping the police department solve baffling crimes.

Sound familiar? Yep, the premise is kind of the same as The Mentalist, however, the show is playing it for laughs, it is a comedy more than a drama and is not taking itself too seriously. Maybe that's also the reason the main character of Shaun mentions watching 'The Mentalist' on TV.

While the two shows are very similar, The Mentalist is playing it straight, no comedy, no funny jokes, no puns. It is telling a story without the use of funny lines, although there is still some humour coming from the interaction of the team of actors and while they are playing it straight, there is still room for the odd funny moment.

Altogether, the show is a nice way of wasting an hour when there is nothing on television. It is not high drama but it is very entertaining.

©Tempus_Fugit/Teena2003

Summary: Psych without the jokes and funny lines