The Mentalist Season 1
Here are all the posts published in the series The Mentalist Season 1. You can also browse the list of all available series.
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.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Pilot” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | September 24, 2008
(S01E01) Last night on CBS premiered, guess what, a new cop drama ! Yeah, I know. But at least because it’s just that, a procedural drama about a team of cops - with the help of Patrick Jane, ex-fake medium - investigating crimes. So there’s no reason why CBS should cancel the show or try to mess with it at any point : it’s already what they want it to be.
Right from the start you know what you’re getting, and for the record and despite what what sound like a similar premise between The Mentalist and USA hit-comedy Psych, those two shows aren’t the same at all. If you are looking for a fun comedy, this show isn’t what you want. But if you’re looking for a nice procedural, with a sense of humor, nothing quite new or revolutionary but something nice, and starring Simon Baker, you’ll probably like this show.
Click here to read my full review of this episode, and let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | October 1, 2008
(S01E02) Before we start talking about last night episode of The Mentalist, let’s mention opening credits shall we? That was bad, really bad. First the show opens with a definition of the word “mentalist”, which I thought that was pretty bad, but needless to say I hadn’t seen anything yet. Because after a first scene, we get the actual opening credits of the show.
Much like what many shows do these days, it’s a very quick thing lasting only a few seconds, not a good old opening credits with a theme song and everything. Now I usually like that new trend, and not just because it gives more time for actual content, but it’s not always best. For some shows, the opening credits are a must, I wouldn’t imagine an episode of The Office without their opening credits, and I wonder if this show couldn’t actually use some.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Red Hair And Silver Tape” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | October 15, 2008
(S01E03) It was made clear from the beginning that Patrick Jane is no magician, he’s not a psychic, he can’t read minds or anything like that. He used to pretend so and appear in TV shows as one for a living, but then everything changed when his family was killed. Now, he’s helping cops solving crimes using his “abilities”, or talents, but without pretending any more.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t do no cool stuff, stuff one might not really know or understand how he does it and which, therefore, look just as cool as if he was pretending. And while I’m not exactly sure if having such a little show off in every episode would be a good idea, every once in a while it sure is fun. This being the beginning of the series still, we get to see them often, and so far it’s always been pretty fun.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Red Tide” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | October 22, 2008
(S01E04) The Mentalist is another procedural cop-drama, and so we all know what to expect from such shows : every week we get a new crime, things get investigated, people are interrogated, some of them lie, their lies are revealed and about one hour later the murderer is going behind bars. There’s no real mystery there, they all work the same and there isn’t even one of them where there’s a chance they won’t catch the bad guys in the end.
So obviously, when you’re watching such a show, whichever it is, you’re not doing so for that aspect of things, but for whatever will make this show different than the others, for that “twist” that will get you entertained for the hour you’ll spend watching, for what it has that others don’t have. In this case, the answer is obviously Patrick Jane, it’s the quirks and unusual ways of that character, perfectly portrayed by Simon Baker.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Ladies In Red” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | October 29, 2008
(S01E05) Sure, The Mentalist is a procedural cop drama, and one on CBS at that, and while such shows with a twist are legion, that doesn’t mean they’re all bad. One thing I do like a lot in this show, is that it’s sort of the anti-CSI. On CSI, any of them, it’s all about the scientific evidences, about DNA, prints, blood, chemicals, just something that will tell how the entire story that took place on the crime scene to the detectives.
Something that will allow them to tell the suspect “fine, stay quiet, we don’t need you to confess to anything, we have scientific evidences that proves the facts”. On the other hand here, while a confession isn’t required either, the whole investigation is done like in the old days, sort of, it’s done through people. Sure, Jane can see things most people do and deduct how things took place without talking to anyone, but people are still always at the center of everything.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Redwood” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | November 12, 2008
(S01E06) There were a couple of episodes of The Mentalist where the killers weren’t all that obvious from the start, and while you could still guess who it was before they caught the guy, it took a little while to get there. Because other suspects were also likely candidate, or even simply because you forgot to look for the killer, too busy enjoying Jane and his specials ways of reading people and getting information.
And that’s without a doubt the reason why, even if - just as last week - you could probably tell who the killer was as soon as you saw him on screen, it didn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter, because what makes this show so fun and entertaining isn’t to be constantly looking for the identity of the killer, what makes everything work is to witness Jane work his magic, and if you were to try to guess what trick he’ll use next, you might not find things so easy to guess…
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Red-Handed” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | November 19, 2008
(S01E07) This show isn’t a comedy, but it has never been shy and often threw a few jokes or funny moments. And even when it’s not really going for the laughs, and while dealing with crimes every week, one has to admit that it has never really been dark. That’s not to say it can’t be dark and serious, but often it goes for a lighter tone. Much like its lead, Patrick Jane, the actual mentalist.
It’s not that he’s a goofy character or that he never takes anything seriously, we all know there’s this hidden secret - or not so secret really - haunting him in the past, the reason he can’t always sleep and doesn’t do so on a bed; The murder of his family was a tragic and traumatic event, and with the track for the killer the show can be in a different tone, putting Jane in a different light and situation, as seen earlier on this season.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Seeing Red” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | November 26, 2008
(S01E08) The thing with all shows such as this one, based on the whodunit concept, is that there’s a risk one loses interest in the episode if the killer is pretty easy to figure out early in. Unless of course they’re going for another approach, like putting the appeal of the show not in finding out who the killer was, but witnessing how the team will actually either figure out themselves, or managed to prove it.
Here, it’s no secret that most of the interest comes for Patrick Jane and his “abilities” and other tricks. More than finding out who the bad guy is, what we love to watch week after week is how Jane will use use tricks to figure it out and catch him. And that is why I didn’t like this episode so much, and might even put it down as one of the least interesting of the show so far.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: The Thin Red Line” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
By fred | December 3, 2008
(S01E09) This show, despite appearances, isn’t really a whodunit procedural where all that matters is to find out who the killer of the week is. No, it’s not because it isn’t about cops, but about Patrick Jane, consultant, and mentalist. The real fun of this show comes from watching Jane finding out what happened, who did it, why and how, and of course tricking them into confessing.
Which is why it’s always fun to see him do all of his “tricks” or behave during interrogations, because he’s not a cop, which always gives him more freedom than the rest of the team has. Because they represent the law, and are here to enforce it, so they can’t just make accusations or “make fun” of anyone like that, it wouldn’t be accepted. Not that when Jane does it, it’s not fine, but people know that he’s not really a cop and they react differently because of that.
Read the review of “The Mentalist: Flame Red” »
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Shows: The Mentalist
In Series: The Mentalist Season 1
