Looks like CBS has a hit on its hands.The Mentalist, the Tuesday night Simon Baker drama, has just been given the green light for a full season. The show is averaging 15.4 million viewers an episode, which is great considering it's in its first season and there are 22 other police procedurals on the network right now.
But The Mentalist is a bit different than those shows. This show runs completely on the personality of Baker, even if he does have a team of investigators that he is part of. The show is really counting on Baker to sell this character, to be charming and intelligent and funny and all that. Plots and scripts can take a show to great places, but if the lead character doesn't work it can really tilt a show out of balance. Baker makes this character work.
The show has been compared to Psych, but it's a bit more adult than that, and certainly darker (the family of Patrick Jane, Baker's character, was killed by a serial killer and his arrogance and humor helps mask his pain). It fits into the CSI/Criminal Minds family, but at the same time its own vibe. It has actually made me forget that Fringe is even on at the same time. Sorry!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-06-2008 @ 3:37PM
George said...
The ratings are particularly impressive given that, as show names go, 'The Mentalist' is absolute crap.
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10-06-2008 @ 3:57PM
khamel said...
i gave this show a chance and i'm glad i did. its like an adult version of psych (i love psych btw, but im a man-child like shawn so it works for me). good thing i can record two shows at once on my new dvr, otherwise i'd be missing out.
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10-06-2008 @ 4:03PM
fred said...
Well, the show is pretty good so far yes and I'm sure the back-nine order is around the corner, but seems to me that what Ausiello reports is not an additional order for 9 episodes, but only for 6 scripts, which isn't really the same, at all.
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10-06-2008 @ 4:24PM
Christopher Swenson said...
It's ok. I'm enjoying it.
If somebody had told me this was Shawn 15 years in the future I'd of said "ok". The one thing that Psych does much better is they show how Shawn see's the stuff that everybody else misses. With this show I often think he's pulling it out of thin air...
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10-06-2008 @ 4:35PM
GL said...
I completely agree with George.
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10-06-2008 @ 7:08PM
Nova said...
Yeah this is pretty much a rip off of psych with a darker edge to it. I think the serial killer hitting his family gives it a nice twist. They probably can't also rip off the way they show what shawn sees in psych as that would be too obvious. haha
good show, and as others have said it seems like psych the later years or something to that effect.
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10-06-2008 @ 5:39PM
Frank said...
I've watched the first couple of episode, but I'm not at all hooked. After the episode, I felt like this was just a less fun version of Psych.
The second ep was a little more interesting, but still not there. I can't tell if it's supposed to serious or funny, it kind of awkwardly straddles the line...
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10-06-2008 @ 6:11PM
r.r.r. said...
the mentalist is crap. psych is WAY better than this show. i know they go at the idea differently....but the show still sucks.
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10-06-2008 @ 6:15PM
metz said...
Maybe if Shawn's Dad & Gus were killed by a serial killer, this is what Shawn would grow up to be....but not likely. The only thing the shows have in common is a detective with good observation skills (like we've never seen that before).
The Mentalist is pretty good. The pilot episode was much better than the 2nd one. If the show continues to drop in quality I'll stop watching it but I really liked the pilot.
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10-06-2008 @ 6:32PM
LadyOracle said...
I still prefer Fringe, but the Mentalist is definitely on the Tivo list. There are just too many quirky detectives that do it just as well or better (i.e. Life). It doesn't seem particularly special in my mind. I'll keep watching but it won't be the first thing I turn on Tuesday night.
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10-06-2008 @ 7:33PM
StillBash said...
I dropped Psych this season because I couldn't take the self-endulging anymore. Those guys really seem to love themselves in their roles and the stories got more and more stupid.
I liked the first two episodes of The Mentalist because it really is kind of a grown up version of Psych. The problem is that the reality behind it all isn't something you can really enjoy over longer times. But I see the "Gil Grissom" potential in the male lead. He's a strong character and I think he can pull the show through a couple of seasons.
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10-06-2008 @ 7:35PM
StillBash said...
God that comment sounds crappy. What I meant was: the plot holes in Psych are more and more covered with over-the-top acting. And the stories get crazier every week. I just don't like it anymore.
10-06-2008 @ 9:10PM
Fred said...
It's not brilliant, maybe, but it's an enjoyable show.
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10-07-2008 @ 3:10PM
No it hasn't said...
Bob Sassone,
Maybe you should actually read the article that you link. CBS has ordered 6 additional scripts--NOT a full season yet.
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10-07-2008 @ 8:41AM
tarheelbookworm said...
Love it, Love it , Love it
so far anyway.
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10-07-2008 @ 9:29AM
Lenny said...
I like The Mentalist. I don't love it, but I like it well enough to record and watch it. I have to agree with George about the title, it couldn't be worse.
Even though I don't think it's the best show ever, for me what's really noteworthy is that this season it seems like the networks are giving more shows time to grow and find an audience. It's a positive trend and something we the viewers have been screaming for. So even if you think this show (or any other with a full season/fairly long order) is crap, at least revel in the fact that some shows are being allowed a fighting chance for survival.
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10-07-2008 @ 1:15PM
Leah said...
Now if only they'd put more than just the pilot online to watch.
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