The Mentalist

[OhMyGato]

Anyone seen the ads for this...its one of the new fall shows on CBS...looks like a procedural crime drama, but the semi psychic twist to the premise has me intrigued...comes out sept. 23rd...they've also got some cool videos bouncing around the internet..

[Sean Walsh]

Kinda reminds me of Psych.

[DonC]

No, Psych is a comedy. This is a drama. Therefor, they're completely different.

Really.

[Royal]

Well no. It's more like....."What if John Edwards was totally ruined by a serial killer and now he uses his charltanism for detection to get back at the evil bastard."

[Sean Walsh]

No, Psych is a comedy. This is a drama. Therefor, they're completely different.

Really.

A drama? The one lone commercial I saw like a week ago looked like it was a but more of a comedy than a drama.

[Royal]

Read above please.

[Hurnslice]

This might be the worst named show ever.

Are they suggesting this guy uses his...brain...to solve crimes?

[Royal]

This might be the worst named show ever.

Are they suggesting this guy uses his...brain...to solve crimes?

eeehhh. Somewhat.

Mentalists are people who can notice and use "tells" to their advantage. They also can psychologically manipulate tells to appear or manifest to their advantage.

They're more praticioners of mental jiu-jitsu then master detectives.

[kalorama]

Yeah, it looks to be Psych with all of the fun elements removed and a lead actor with no charisma.

[OhMyGato]

well...all i know is i showed my girl the promo for the show and she thought the lead guy (simon baker) was hot...which means ill be watching this show this season no matter what happens..

[mattx110]

Yeah, it looks to be Psych with all of the fun elements removed and a lead actor with no charisma.
I think he's a pretty good actor.

But Roday and Hill...! Nothing beats that.

[OhMyGato]

i'm glad theres no sidekick for him to play off...lessens the potential for pure slapstick humor...it will have be a litte more subversive...which is funnier to me anyway..

[Batgirl]

Saw the commercial a little while ago....Doesn't look half-bad. I'll probably see about watching it/recording it if I remember. What time is it at again?

[OhMyGato]

It premieres 9pm tonight on cbs...ill be plopped in front of the TV to watch it..

[Batgirl]

Dang, I missed it. Was it any good? And if it was, do I have to of seen the pilot to understand the next new episode?

[tricksterpup]

Kinda reminds me of Psych.



Yeah, it looks to be Psych with all of the fun elements removed and a lead actor with no charisma.

I am glad, i am not the only one to think that.


No, Psych is a comedy. This is a drama. Therefor, they're completely different.

Really.
But if it was, then why did so many people think it?

[marshal99]

The pilot is not too bad , the similiaries with psych are purely on the surface because both characters can read people and see things that normal people couldn't.

However , this guy who was a former "tv psychic" is still haunted by his failure to catch a infamous serial killer still at large who had killed his family years ago.

And again , this episode is directed by David Nutter , the go-to guy for shows who wanted their first episode to look smooth , he also did the terminator season 2 first episode as well as the pilots for supernatural , smallville among others.

[Royal]

Well no. It's more like....."What if John Edwards was totally ruined by a serial killer and now he uses his charltanism for detection to get back at the evil bastard."

*cough cough*

[Julusnc]

I really enjoyed it but its very hard to get involved in a new series because of the cancel switch at most networks.Most viewers are sheep these days all about reality dancing, eating, big brothering, survioring and just plain sucking.

I hope it continues.

[Bill Thompson]

I thought this started off slow, then built up into an episode that I was very much enjoying and then completely ruined itself with the ending.

SPOILERS






You have the dead doctor with the wife. They never explain why the dead doctor was there, they make sure we know that he was gay, that he wasn't in the habit of ever making house calls. The writers pushed themselves into a corner and they couldn't think of a way to get out of it, so they just ignored it. They didn't give any reason at all for the dead doctor to be in the house with the wife. "The killer just said, "I wanted to kill him to save some children and she was only a distraction." Why was the dead doctor there? Stupid, stupid writing.

[kalorama]

The reason he was there was because they were friends and he came over for a visit at a time when she was home alone (both her husband and her lover were out of town) and wanted company. They told us all of that, they just didn't have someone string it together in one sentence and say it in big bold letters because it seemed pretty well laid out.

This show was much better than I was expecting. I remember Baker (vaguely) from the Sentinel and he always struck me as a bit of charm free cold fish, but he was quite engaging her. Robin Tunney did a nice job too, which I also wasn't expecting.

[Bill Thompson]

No, that wasn't laid out pretty well at all. There was never any hint of them being friends, no hint at all. They didn't lay down any subtle clues, they didn't allude to them being friends, they never gave one reason for the doctor to be at that house, they never hinted at a reason for the doctor to be at that house. The writers flubbed that, pure and simple.

[Deathstroke]

I thought it was okay but not something I'd want to catch every week.

My mom gave the show three weeks before it gets cancelled.

[kalorama]

No, that wasn't laid out pretty well at all. There was never any hint of them being friends, no hint at all.

When the Fed asked Zeljko Ivanovic (the killer) outside the morgue if his practice was in the habit of making house calls he said no, that the victim and the other doctor were friends. One of the other Feds asked of they were lovers, and he said the other doctor was gay. It was all right there.

[Bill Thompson]

When the Fed asked Zeljko Ivanovic (the killer) outside the morgue if his practice was in the habit of making house calls he said no, that the victim and the other doctor were friends. One of the other Feds asked of they were lovers, and he said the other doctor was gay. It was all right there.

He said they were friends, but not that close. He emphasized that he was gay and wouldn't be at the house like that so he was puzzled for why he was even at the house. That was all right there.

[kalorama]

He said they were friends, but not that close.


There was never any hint of them being friends, no hint at all.

Interesting.


He emphasized that he was gay and wouldn't be at the house like that so he was puzzled for why he was even at the house. That was all right there.

You know what else was "right there"? The fact that the guy whose commentary you're using as the basis for your angry swipe against the writers was, in fact, the killer. I'm no detective, but it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that telling the police that he knew his dead business partner would be at that house might not cast a very favorable light on him when it came out that the two of them were having money problems. Hint: The killer lied to the police to cast suspicion off himself. Shocking, I know.

[Jared]

Hint: The killer lied to the police to cast suspicion off himself. Shocking, I know.

So they're ripping off Columbo now!? :biggrin:

[OhMyGato]

I thought the premiere was pretty enjoyable...definitely the kind of show i could see myself sticking with for the entire season...hes kind of an ass and i like that about him...


P.S.: did anyone see the viral site (http://www.insideyourhead.tv/) cbs put out...got a bunch of laughs in my office..

[edhopper]

What i liked about it was unlike other network shows where the fictional pretense is that psychics and esp are real. Here is a character who is a skeptic and an atheist and states that psychic powers are BS,
It's a refreshing change.

[kalorama]

Maybe it's the by-product of low expectations, but this show is much better than I expected it to be.

[Spastic Minnow]

The second episode did surprise me slightly by making the chef and wife the killers. Spotting the killer early in the first episode was so easy, you knew who the killer was as soon as he feigned ignorance about the serial killer and it was an obvious lie. In this one the chef preemptively offereing his allibi was fishy but the sheriff's "oh, didn't I mention that I was here?" seemd more of a blatant clue.

In either case, I'd wish these tells weren't so easy to spot, even if there are numerous ones for different suspects it takes the mystery out of it a little.

I guess the real draw for the show is that he's is supposed to be a unique, offbeat and charming character, but as long as we have Det. Crews in Life, this guy doesn't stand a chance in my book... still NBC dumped life on Friday, so it may not last to mid season this year and I'll only be left with The Mentalist.

[OhMyGato]

I was completely thrown by the chef's wife showing up....i was skeptical when he gave an early alibi, but it seemed like it was heading in two other directions...although i did catch on to there being another redhead at the restaurant...

enjoyed the episode, thought it continued what i liked in the premiere...

[marshal99]

I will be interested to know more about the serial killer "Red John" which i imagine will turn up again towards the end of the season.