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 The Mentalist

August 25th, 2008.            Simon Baker (Smith, The Devil Wears Prada), Robin Tunney (Prison Break), Owain Yeoman (Kitchen Confidential), Tim Kang (Rambo) and Amanda Righetti (Reunion) star in the detective drama The Mentalist, debuting on CBS, Tuesday nights at 9pm, starting in September.

            This crime drama from writer David Nutter (Supernatural, Without a Trace) centres on Patrick Jane (Baker), a well-known former television psychic who, after being exposed as a fraud, uses his very real abilities as a mentalist to help the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes. As a mentalist, Patrick uses his highly-developed skills of observation, deduction and manipulation to aid the Serious Crimes unit. He’s charismatic, if a bit odd. An edgy, modern Sherlock Holmes whose controversial methods often cross the line, but ultimately prove him right. Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) is a top agent with the FBI who heads a small investigative team that consists of Agent Wayne Rigsby (Yeoman), Agent Kimball Cho (Kang) and Agent Grace Van Pelt (Righetti). They are often assigned to work with Patrick and each prefers standard police procedures to the antics of Baker when he is solving a case. Though she grudgingly recognizes his talents, Lisbin is determined to solve cases with or without him.

             As someone who has spent a little time around magicians, I am familiar with the term when someone is called a Mentalist. It is a discipline of magic, not a psychic skill and as such can be learned by anyone who is willing to study the art form. The idea is to use a combination of the powers of observation and conversation to make someone think that you are reading their mind, talking to a spirit, or otherwise being influenced by the world beyond the normal. While writer Bruno Heller (Rome) has come up with a clever hook for this detective series, he will have to work very hard indeed if he hope to convince a television audience to "Suspend their disbelief" on a long-term basis. The art of Mentalism works because of the shock and surprise created when the performer is able to connect with a stranger on what seems to be a psychic level. Like any good illusion, the trick should not be repeated too many times or it will fail to entertain the intended audience. That is that danger being faced by this series.

             Good old fashioned detective work never goes out of style. There have been cop shows on TV for almost as long as there has been TV. But the trickery of this series could get old very fast if star Simon Baker and the show's writers don't mix it up a lot. Already the first episode has Baker's character accusing two different people of murder when he himself has no evidence and does not profess to have any psychic or mind-reading abilities either. By his own account, he is a showman who lost his family to a serial killer because he tried to take advantage of the attention he was getting over the case to further his career. That's not exactly a great resume.

             As a character, I dislike this man. He is pushy and rude. He takes advantage of people and he takes tremendous risks instead of doing the real work of being a detective. He accuses people of horrible crimes without just cause and puts himself and others in danger with his rogue acts. He is not a cop, but we are supposed to believe that he is a valuable assent to a team of detectives who are trying to do things by the book. His only hope is that the blonde hair and blue eyes can carry him places that talent and good writing cannot.

             Give this one a miss. There are much better crime dramas everywhere on TV. The whole idea of this one is flawed from the start and destined to get worse before it gets better.

 

  -  Editor  - 

 

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