CBS' The Mentalist, Starring Simon Baker
A Procedural Drama, Also Featuring Robin Tunney
Oct 23, 2008
The Mentalist is a drama about a man named Patrick Jane (played by the gorgeous and magnetic Simon Baker), who, at one time, made his living as a psychic. His supernatural powers were phony, but his knowledge of human behavior and keen powers of perception were real, allowing him to make an excellent living fooling all of the people, all of the time.
Because of his success, Jane developed a dangerous streak of narcissism, which caused him to claim that he would catch a serial killer on television. Tragically, the killer retaliated by killing Jane's wife and child, and remains uncaught at the time the series takes place. Now Jane's public insouciance is matched only by his private torment, as he still lives in the house where his family died, sleeping in the empty bedroom where his wife's blood remains painted on the wall in the shape of a smiley face.
A Detective By Default
Until the killer is caught, or he forgives himself, Patrick busies himself by helping the California Bureau of Investigations solve crimes. His methods are unorthodox and annoying to his colleagues, but he doesn't care a bit that he puts them, and himself, in danger on a regular basis.
No one is more frustrated by Jane's self-obsessed method of detection than his boss, Sr. Agent Teresa Lisbon (a wonderfully wry Robin Tunney), who is always there to save Jane when his self-absorption threatens his life. The other members of the cast are unmemorable in the extreme, due to scripts that are overly focused on Jane, thus failing to endow them with distinguishing characteristics or any compelling reasons to exist.
An Unoriginal MishMash
Some of this may sound a tad familiar, and it is. If you are a fan of Monk, USA's brilliant series featuring an exceptionally observant detective whose wife's unsolved murder has caused him to be stricken with severe OCD, you will recognize the tortured aspect of Patrick Jane's personality. If you are a fan of Psych, USA's hilarious series featuring a fake psychic who helps the Santa Barbara Police Deparment solve crimes, you'll recognize, well, mostly everything. What makes it worse is that the USA series are both so much better than The Mentalist, with sharp writing, well-delineated supporting characters and a high creativity factor.
A Hit and a Miss
Since The Mentalist is a crime procedural on CBS with a very popular lead-in (NCIS), it has become a hit. The viewer, however, should give it a miss.
