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Rating: Country: USA Release Date: September 22, 2009 Distributor: Warner Home Video Cast: · Simon Baker · Robin Tunney · Tim Kang · Owain Yeoman · Amanda Righetti Related Sites: ·IMDb: The Mentalist
Grade: B
The first season of CBS's breakout crime-drama, The Mentalist is a mixed bag of tricks. A little bit of Bill Bixby's The Magician, a little bit of John Edwards (the Crossing Over guy, not the politician) and a lot of Sherlock Holmes, The Mentalist's leading man is nothing if not a charmer. Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) is a reformed psychic who gave up his huckster ways when he gave a remote cold-reading of a serial killer on television. The killer, Red John, expressed his displeasure at the results by killing Jane's wife and daughter, leaving behind his trademark bloody smile. Since that time, Jane has served as a consultant to the Homicide and Serious Crimes Unit of the California Bureau of Investigations, putting his impossibly keen powers of observation to work at finding and nabbing the bad guys.
For the most part, The Mentalist is a light-hearted crime drama, if one can believe in such a concept. Baker's character tackles cases with an almost childlike whimsy, only occasionally showing his serious side, usually when family dynamics are involved. Still the consummate showman, he is never seen dressed in anything other than a sharp three-piece suit. The unit's commander, Virgil Minelli (Gregory Itzin) gives the group an incredulous amount of latitude, particularly when a case involves catching Red John.
The team itself is led by Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Prison Break's Robin Tunney), who pretends to endure Jane's presence but all-too-obviously is glad to have him on the staff due to the results he gets, regardless how unconventional his methods. The other regular agents include Kim Cho, played by Tim Kang who, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the Asian reincarnation of Jack Webb; Cho's character is serious, monotone, and interested only in the facts, which makes for some humorous situations when Jane needs him to set up a potential suspect to fall into a trap. Agent Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) is the "big lug" of the group, sometimes clumsy and carrying a huge schoolboy crush on the newest junior agent, Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti). Grace, like Lisbon, is a serious female out to do a good job, but she carries the on foible that she believes there could be actual supernatural phenomena; she's not a Fox Mulder, she simply carries faith in her heart. This has the potential for some great conflict between herself and Jane, but it's hardly ever touched on outside of the pilot and one other episode.
When Red John is the focal point of the story, the show really gets the adrenaline pumping. However, the serial killer story-arch only pops up three times in this first season, with one being the pilot and the other being the season finale. It's during these times when Jane lets his thirst for vengeance be seen, as each time he informs Lisbon that "Red John is mine" and makes no bones about what he intends to do to the killer. Seen in the light of the season as a whole, however, the threats are almost laughable as Jane avoids physical conflict -- indeed, even physical exertion -- like Maynard G. Krebs avoids work.
A couple of the episodes in this six-disc collection include some deleted scenes (under the subheading "Lost Evidence") but there are no commentary tracks to be had for those who enjoy that sort of bonus. The sixth disc contains a smattering of bonus documentaries, including the standard gag reel. Of the other two, "Cracking the Crystal Ball: Mentalist vs. Psychic" beats out "Evidence of a Hit Series" (a making-of which includes interviews with the creators and the actors) as far as interest and entertainment, as it explains the subtle difference between mentalists and psychics, including input from believers and skeptics alike, including creator executive producer Bruno Heller, FBI agents, and parapsychologist Barry Taff and psychic Jack Rourke.
The Mentalist
The Complete First Season
Disc 1
Disc 2
01. Pilot
- Includes Lost Evidence 02. Red Hair and Silver Tape 03. Red Tide 04. Ladies in Red
05. Redwood 06. Red Handed 07. Seeing Red 08. Thin Red Line
Disc 3
Disc 4
09. Flame Red 10. Red Brick and Ivy 11. Red John's Friends
- Includes Lost Evidence 12. Red Rum
13. Paint it Red 14. Crimson Casanova 15. Scarlett Fever 16. Bloodshot
Disc 5
Disc 6
17. Carnelian Inc. 18. Russet Potatoes 19. A Dozen Red Roses 20. Red Sauce
21. Miss Red 22. Blood Brothers 23. Red John's Footsteps
- Includes Lost Evidence Bonus Features:
- Evidence of a Hit Series
- Cracking the Crystal Ball: Mentalist vs. Psychic
- Surveillance Video (Gag Reel)
