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The Mentalist

Credits

Cast

Network

Reviewer

Paul Asay
Bob Smithouser

TV Series Review

Patrick Jane used to be a phony psychic. His heightened sensitivity to detail, manipulation skills and ability to read people helped him make a killing, financially. But ever since a psycho-serial killer murdered his wife and daughter, Jane’s been using his not-so-mystical powers to solve crimes and catch bad ‘uns—first as part of the California Bureau of Investigation and then for the big boys at the FBI, mostly partnering with Det. Teresa Lisbon and her homicide squad.

In his seventh season of CBS crime-fighting (at the time of this review update), Jane is more at peace, it would seem. He’s managed to bring his family’s killer to terminal justice. His partnership with Lisbon has become something more than a business relationship, and the two are talking about riding off into the sunset together.

If Jane can, that is. After learning the tics and tells of serial killers, settling in to be a beekeeper just doesn’t have the same thrill.

Cut from the same cloth as Monk, The Mentalist features another smug-yet-likable San Francisco savant tormented by his wife’s murder and committed to bringing evildoers to justice. Such men are 21st-century superheroes for people who’d rather TiVo CSI than pick up a comic book. No masks. No capes. No secret identities. Their powers are cerebral and their weaknesses are, well, far more common than a fatal kryptonite allergy.

Speaking of weaknesses, Jane is a pragmatist who’ll lie, cheat or pick a man’s pocket to solve a case. Old habits die hard for this ex-charlatan. But since he now scams only bad people, the show’s creators approve of his ethical relativism.

Edgier than the aforementioned Monk but less graphic than CSI, The Mentalist can feature gory crime scenes and violent flashbacks. Characters can be verbally abusive and profane, and they often engage in frank sexual banter. In the show’s tangled whodunits, the motives and red herrings frequently involve adulterous affairs or deviant behavior. Drugs and alcohol often play a supporting role.

The Mentalist is intriguing but frustrating at a spiritual level, as conversations about supernatural phenomena pit skepticism against faith. Jane doesn’t buy into “real” psychics, but he also scoffs at the very notion of an afterlife. Conversely, a sweetly naive colleague at one point says she believes in heaven, but she’s also open to metaphysics.

Still, smart and taut describe this CBS procedural. If it sought less shock value and acknowledged a rational spiritual middle ground, it could achieve (if you’ll pardon the pun) a happy (if still fake) medium.

Episode Reviews

Mentalist: 12-28-2014

“The Silver Briefcase”

Jane suspects that an army colonel killed his own wife—even though another man was convicted of the deed. We see flashbacks, perhaps fabricated, of the murder, wherein the woman is stabbed in the gut: Blood runs down her leg as she silently screams. Later, Jane and Lisbon examine a picture of the body.

It’s revealed that the colonel is having an affair with another woman. They say they’re in love, and that the colonel’s wife threatened divorce and to expose the other woman as a “home wrecker.” Replicating the crime’s timeline has a female agent changing clothes in a car while her FBI chauffeur, a bit flustered, says, “Don’t rush.” (We see her in her bra.)

Jane and others use duplicitous ploys to talk with suspects and sources. Someone drinks a cocktail. Characters say “d–n” twice and “b–ch” once.

Mentalist: 11-17-2013

“The Great Red Dragon”

Jane announces the identity of Red John—a member, it would seem, of a shadowy organization called The Blake Association. It’s an illegal support network made up of people in law enforcement who cover for one another as they steal and kill.

A bartender is brutally murdered with a broken whiskey bottle. (We see the killer smash the weapon on the man’s head and then jam it into his body—just offscreen.) We see a severed and charred foot. A man’s skin is shown to be grotesquely missing in spots. A guy gets shot in the gut, and amid his screams, the bullet is removed without anesthesia. (We see the doctor stick a bloody, gloved finger into the wound.) Jane is almost killed. People throw punches, wrestle and kick.

We hear about an FBI officer’s previous problems—drug addiction and the accidental shooting of a 12-year-old girl. He also admits to killing someone else. A glass of whiskey is downed. We hear “d‑‑n” (twice), “h‑‑‑” (five or six times) and “a‑‑” (once). God’s name is misused a few times. The episode wraps up with Jane in a church, looking at paintings of Mary, Jesus and Moses.

Mentalist: 11-4-2010

“Red Hot”

A rich mogul and his bodyguard are apparently killed in an opening-scene explosion. Suspicion initially falls on rival Walter Mashburn. Then, after he’s cleared, Teresa hops into bed with him. “It was nice seeing you, Walter,” Teresa says afterwards, giving him a kiss before leaving.

Teresa’s nearly shot by a sniper and stabbed by a voluptuous German model (a jealous ex-wife of Walter’s). Walter punches Patrick in the face. Another suspect has a fascination with the memorabilia of dead celebrities—and Patrick buys part of the car in which James Dean was killed, just to upset the guy. This guy’s also suspected of having an affair with the victim’s wife.

Folks are served champagne. Patrick pilfers a toupee. Teresa reveals her bra before she puts on a shirt. A crude reference to testicles is made. Characters utter mild sexual allusions and say words such as “d‑‑n,” “h‑‑‑,” “b‑‑ch” and “b‑‑tard.” They also misuse God’s name.

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Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Bob Smithouser

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