The Mentalist

The Mentalist is an American television series which debuted on September 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller. It follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant in a fictionalized version of the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento. Patrick Jane formerly had a lucrative career as a psychic medium and enjoyed celebrity. One day he appeared on television to claim that his paranormal abilities helped the police to find a serial killer named Red John. When this one saw the show he angered and murdered Jane's wife and young daughter in revenge.
Jane consequently gave up his career as a psychic to team up with the CBI. As the agents investigate a vast variety of crimes, Patrick adds to each investigation by incorporating elements of his experience as a mentalist. By watching human reactions and using hypnosis and autosuggestion and by looking at someone, Patrick is able to say if she/he is telling the truth or not.

Beside Patrick Jane, the team of the CBI includes the agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), agents Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Kendall Cho (Tim Kang).Teresa Lisbon is the chef of the team. Patrick often annoys her with his unusual behavior but she views him as a valuable member. She is also the only member of the team he trusts and they work well together, though his attitude often causes problems for her with local law enforcement. Grace Van Pelt is the newest member to the CBI. She often does research for other members. She has a deep belief in religion and psychics and often disagrees with Patrick’s ideas. Kimball Cho is the one with a dry, deadpan sense of humor and is shown to be friends with Rigsby. Probably the most down-to-earth of the group, he is often the one who sees through Jane's parlor tricks. Finally, Wayne Rigsby is an arson specialist. He develops strong feelings for Grace Van Pelt so that both begin a secret relationship.

In my opinion, this is a great series with talented actors. I particularly appreciate the character of Patrick Jane, he is very enigmatic and we never know what he is thinking. If you still don’t know the Mentalist I would recommend it, it’s worth watching.


By Laurence Henriet