So what makes The Mentalist stand out from the rest of the American police dramas currently flooding our screens? Certainly not the California setting, or the murders the team from the California Bureau of Investigation are called upon to solve. And the title character could so easily be yet another maverick cop who never does things by the book but always gets results. But rather than relying on the latest DNA profiling methods, or a bit of brute force, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has a deceptively simple technique – observation. Always watching and listening, no detail, however small, seems to escape his attention.
Jane was once a successful television psychic, who amazed audiences with his ability to contact their departed loved ones. A consummate con artist who actually had no psychic powers, he relied on his looks, charm and observational skills. He also had a sideline as a “paranormal detective”, offering his services to the police who at the time were hunting a serial killer, Red John. But by publicly branding the killer “an ugly, tormented little man”, Red John takes revenge by killing his wife and daughter.
Haunted By The Past
Fast forward five years, and Jane has abandoned all pretence of psychic ability, openly scorning those who claim to have it. He still helps the police with investigations, but the slick charmer has given way to someone with an innate sense of self-belief, bordering on arrogance. And just because he is so often proved right, this does not make him universally popular with the CBI team. In the opening scenes Jane correctly identifies the murderer of a local teenage girl, only to have the suspect shot dead before the police have a chance to arrest him. Team leader Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) is furious and wastes no time in suspending him.
Master Of Mind Games
But when Red John appears to strike once again, Jane is determined to be involved in tracking him down. Despite similarities to previous murders, he quickly concludes the latest deaths are the work of a copycat killer, and sets out to prove it. This, however, is not a one-man show where Jane simply takes over because the other agents haven’t a clue what to do. Each member makes a contribution, and are justifiably angry at being treated like pawns in Jane’s chess game with the killer. “You didn’t let us tear apart the victim’s family simply to satisfy your childish needs for drama,” observes Agent Cho (Tim Kang) sarcastically.
What makes The Mentalist a cut above the average police drama are the first-class scripts from writer and creator Bruno Heller. Even though Jane is always central to capturing the killer, it is clear his personal problems keep him slightly removed from the inner circle. There will be no romance with Agent Lisbon, which would do nothing but detract from the actual crime solving. No Agatha Christie plot twists either; like Jane, if the viewer pays close attention, the clues are always there. A quality addition to the Channel 5 schedule.
