TV Review: ‘The Mentalist’

There might not be another new show premiering this fall which I was more biased against before ever seeing than ‘The Mentalist’. Okay, that’s not technically true -- I was sure, absolutely certain, I would hate the ‘Knight Rider’ re-boot before ever watching a minute (and that’s all I ever watched). But that doesn’t really count, as I was unlucky enough to see last season’s made-for-TV movie updating the 80’s series that prompted the launch of the weekly series, and quickly realized that either NBC head honcho Ben Silverman was smoking crack when he green-lit the project, or his body just naturally produces crack all on its own. So I actually had reasons to dislike ’Knight Rider’ -- I had no such excuse for my bias against ‘The Mentalist’. It was just good, old-fashioned prejudice.

Sure, I may have experienced some trepidation caused by the fact CBS seems much more committed to advancing Simon Baker’s TV career than their viewers are. Previously, the Australian-born Baker was the lead in CBS crime drama ’The Guardian’ from 2001-2004, then starred alongside Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen in the short-lived CBS crime drama ‘Smith’ in 2006-07. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t harbor any ill will toward Baker. In fact, I have very little feeling about him at all. Maybe that’s why I had a hard time understanding why the casting folks at CBS were so enamored.

I may have also had something against the generic quality ’The Mentalist’ seemingly had, judging from the commercials. Its title follows the revolution of blandness that threatens to engulf all of primetime network TV, especially the world of procedurals, double-especially at CBS, where formulaic procedurals go to reproduce. And the idea (or “hook” in Industry-speak*) -- that the show’s lead would somehow divine the truth behind mysteries simply by observing his subjects closely -- seemed to borrow liberally from other popular shows (’House’ and ’Psych’ to name a couple of personal favorites).

The title and premise of the show aren’t the only things which lead an experienced viewer to the opinion the show may be a bit derivative. Upon watching the first episode, yet another trademark device is revealed -- there’s the female partner to provide a little sexual tension, the quirky “team” of experts (requisite wise-cracking dude, big lovable lug, hot chick who’s also really smart, etc. -– at least they don’t have a hacker…yet).

Lastly, ’The Mentalist’ has the character twist which was once the domain of feature films, but is quickly becoming de rigeur among primetime dramas –- the horrible, scarring incident in the protagonist’s past which drives his/her motivations (and as bonus, provides the carrot-on-the-stick device the show’s writers can use to lead viewers through a season-long, possibly series-long arc –- for instance, ’The X-Files’ milked much of its nine seasons and one of its two movies out of the mystery behind the kidnap of Mulder’s sister). In this case, we learn in flashback that his wife and child were murdered by a serial killer as revenge for Baker’s character’s disrespect. This has caused him to make a major life change –- catching criminals, not profiting off them -– in hopes of someday capturing his family’s killer. Sounds like a recipe for a season finale, no?

Gathering all these facts into a neat little pile, it seemed the ceiling of ’The Mentalist’ was no higher than "guilty pleasure". But here’s the thing: with all these marks against it, all these obstacles to overcome, ’The Mentalist’ succeeds. It succeeds right from the opening scene, which pretends to be a typical teaser -- introducing a new case shrouded in mystery, before slamming the door on the viewers expectations by solving the case in its infancy and punctuating it a shocking conclusion. It succeeds on the strength of Baker’s character –- not just his performance (though that is very good), but also on the way the part is (wait for it) written. It succeeds on the lead character’s slightly off-putting demeanor and raw honesty (again, not un-like Hugh Laurie’s House) but also its patient, somewhat meandering pace, and philosophical tone.

The latter reminds one of NBC’s ’Life’**, which seems to serve as either an inspiration to ‘The Mentalist’ or at least a distant relative. Both shows have a strong, idiosyncratic lead with a dark past played by a foreign-born actor (as does, yet again, ’House’ -- the trend is your friend), both have the sexy female partner (the underrated and over-freckled Robin Tunney in this case), the quirky team, and just a touch of –- dare I say it? -– soul.

While ‘The Mentalist’ is not quite on the level of ’Life’, it has just enough personality/philosophy/humanity to raise it above the average procedural, and to keep those of us who prefer to think of ourselves as intelligent from losing self-respect for watching it. That’s enough to take the “guilty” right out of “guilty pleasure”.

Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment –- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -– I rate ‘The Mentalist’:

RECOMMEND


*”Industrese?”
**This is one of the best shows on network TV, but Silverman moved it to the Friday night slot where good shows go to die, like he does with every decent show he gets his smug little hands on (see: 'Friday Night Lights') -- so better watch it now before it's cancelled due to poor ratings.