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The Mentalist: Pilot

By fred | July 9, 2008

(PreAir) I have said before that there wasn’t much to be excited about for this upcoming season. Apart for Fringe (and Dollhouse later, in 2009) there doesn’t seem to be any new series that might really be worth some excitement. Maybe that new 90210 on The CW might create some, but not on my side. Now that doesn’t mean we should bother looking at the other new series this fall season will have to offer, because there might be some good shows nevertheless.

And if the remake of Life On Mars might be the one getting more interest, based on the few clips I had seen of both this and The Mentalist, I was myself more into the later. So, quite obviously, it’s with delight that I went into the pilot episode for one of CBS new drama which is, and it’s almost mandatory, another cop drama of some sort.

Starring Simon Baker as the mentalist from the title, this is another cop show with a twist, the twist here being that it’s not really about the cops, but our guy, Patrick Jane, working as a P.I. helping the police. And what makes Patrick Jane so special ? Well, he’s got a good knowledge of human behavior and some out of the ordinary powers of observation, and those amazing skills for noticing and analyzing every little detail plus a little reasoning allow hi to solve all the complicate cases that the police otherwise couldn’t solve.

Nope, it doesn’t sound very new, and yes said like that it sounds like there’s a bit of Psych in it. But The Mentalist is not at all like USA comedy show, not because Jane used to be (pretend to be) a psychic as well, passing his observations skills for something else, before renouncing the lies and embracing the truth of his abilities, but first and foremost because it is not a comedy. Psych isn’t really about the cases, the investigation, or even finding out what the big mystery of the week is, Psych is about Shawn and Gus having fun and making fun of each other while, as it turns out, solving a crime.

In this new CBS drama though, the crime and the “mystery” surrounding it is at the center of the episodes. But don’t let that fool you, this isn’t about the cops - lead by Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) – solving the crime, the show is all about Patrick Jane and his special skills, too. So let’s talk a little about him. In a very typical way we’re introduced with his past, and a traumatizing event that lead him into his career change.

We have the big case, the one that’s probably going to last for at the very least the entire first season, if not more. The very huge case, the case linked to that big life-changing event for Jane, yes, that case. It’s all a but of dejà-vu, but that’s not really a problem. This first scene of the episode is all about introducing Patrick Jane, how he “solves” crimes and he way he behaves, and I have to say I really liked that scene, “it’s not as bad as it looks.”

Sure, it’s not the more subtle it could be, you know what’s going on and what will happen next, but it was still enjoyable and even a little funny towards the end. I liked that, and I do like the character. Nothing to fall in love with, but it looks like I wouldn’t mind seeing him solving one crime after the other week after week.

Posted in Reviews
Shows: The Mentalist