The Mentalist

The Mentalist
The Mentalist's season 2 intertitle.
Genre	Police procedural Drama
Created by	Bruno Heller
Directed by	Chris Long David Nutter
Starring	Simon Baker Robin Tunney Tim Kang Owain Yeoman Amanda Righetti
Opening theme	Theme from The Mentalist
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	46 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bruno Heller David Nutter
Producer(s)	Charles Goldstein
Location(s)	California
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	Primrose Hill Productions Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 23, 2008 (2008-09-23) – present
External links
Official website

The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS.^[1] The show was created by Bruno Heller who is also the executive producer. It follows the story of Patrick Jane, who, as a paid consultant, aids the California Bureau of Investigation in homicide investigations with unorthodox methods.

On May 19, 2010, CBS announced that The Mentalist had been renewed for a third season.^[2] The third season premiere will air September 23, 2010.^[3]

Plot

The Mentalist follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. Although not an officer of the law of any sort, he uses skills and knowledge from his former career as a successful psychic medium (which was a ruse, as he does not believe anyone actually has psychic abilities) to help a team of CBI agents solve various crimes, with the hope of one day bringing the murderer of his wife and daughter to justice.

Patrick Jane formerly had a lucrative career as a con man successfully posing as a psychic medium and enjoying near-celebrity status. He appeared on television to claim that his paranormal abilities helped the police profile a serial killer named Red John. Red John, angered by the perceived slight, murdered Jane's wife and young daughter in revenge. Riddled with remorse, Jane consequently abandoned his career as a psychic and teamed up with the CBI, using his skills to help them solve various crimes. His main focus is on the cases involving Red John or Red John copycats. He admits to faking the supernatural aspects of his skills, often asserting that "there's no such things as psychics", yet he has finely honed skills in cold reading, hypnotism, and pickpocketing, as well as powerful observational skill and a deep insight into the human psyche and behavior. These skills come in handy in every episode, and his unorthodox and bizarre techniques to solve crimes sometimes offend the team of agents he works with. They often involve elaborate ruses and mind games to trick the culprit into confessing.

Production

The show often sets episodes in fictional locales with names like Salinger Mill and Rancho Rosa. Like the majority of American television shows, the Mentalist is mostly filmed within the studio zone in Los Angeles County, but occasionally films a few scenes on location in Sacramento.

On October 15, 2008, CBS ordered a full season of The Mentalist.^[4] On May 20, 2009, CBS renewed The Mentalist for a second season, which premiered on September 24, 2009, in the US.^[5] and on September 22 on CTV in Canada,^[6] as well as September 28, 2009, in Australia. On May 19, 2010, CBS announced that The Mentalist had been renewed for a third season.^[7]

Concept

Due to the main character's ability to notice seemingly insignificant details, to draw conclusions from them and profile people, the show has drawn comparison to other television series, most notably Millennium, House, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Life, Monk, Profiler, and Psych;^[8][9][10] all these shows ultimately trace their premises to Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes stories.^[8][11] While it has been acknowledged that the concept is not a new one, the show has been praised for its "thoughtful execution".^[12]

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Simon Baker as Patrick Jane – the series protagonist and the titular Mentalist. He had previously earned a living as a professional psychic until Red John murdered his wife and daughter in retaliation for Jane's televised mocking. Jane now works as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation. He is intelligent and astute, but also devious, blunt and sometimes childish and arrogant. His supercilious attitude occasionally annoys the team, to the point of their taking turns going on field trips with him. Despite this, Jane has close friendships with his colleagues. Although generally playful and permanently amused, he shows a much darker side concerning Red John, the serial killer who murdered his family. When dealing with him, Jane becomes intense, focused, and willing to sacrifice anything, including his life, to catch him. After his face-to-face encounter with Red John in the Season 2 finale he starts to doubt his future with the CBI in Season 3.
• Robin Tunney as Teresa Lisbon – though Patrick often annoys her with his unusual behavior and going behind her back, she views him as an invaluable member of the team and will back him up on some of his most unusual theories. Her mother was killed in a drunk driving accident, leaving her to take care of her brothers and her alcoholic father. She is also the only member of the team he trusts with details of his past and they work well together, though his attitude often causes problems for her with local law enforcement. Her team was responsible for the Red John case until Agent Sam Bosco became director of the new Serial Crimes Unit, which took over the responsibility for catching Red John. She and agent Bosco, Lisbon's mentor when she was a junior agent, share a dark secret which was revealed by Lisbon as leverage against Bosco in the episode "Black Gold and Red Blood".
• Tim Kang as Kimball Cho – often portrayed as Jane's "right-hand man", he seems the closest to Jane, often requesting help regarding finding evidence, though he does get annoyed with Jane's habit of not telling him everything he knows concerning a case. Cho has 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. When Jane tells Van Pelt that he was moving a straw across the table with telekinesis, Cho simply says, "He's blowing on it". He was in juvenile hall prior to serving in the military and then joining the CBI. He was secretly called "Ernie" by the Bosco team, who also refer to Rigsby as "Bert"; Cho claims not to mind, as "Ernie's the clever, handsome one". He was a member of a gang, the Avon Park Playboys, garnering a juvenile record which is sealed, before becoming a police officer.
• Owain Yeoman as Wayne Rigsby – an arson specialist, he develops strong feelings for Grace Van Pelt, causing him to be overprotective of her. He didn't initially act on them, as romance between agents is against regulations, but the two gave in to their feelings and have begun seeing each other secretly. Jane knows about this, of course, and by the end of the second season, so do Lisbon and Hightower, who issues an ultimatum to the pair.
• Amanda Righetti as Grace Van Pelt – the newest member to the CBI, often doing research for other members. She has a deep belief in religion and psychics and will butt heads with Patrick every time he dismisses it or does something she sees as morally or religiously inappropriate. Van Pelt becomes secretly involved with Rigsby, after months of reluctance due to the regulations prohibiting romantic relationships between agents. She is subdued and very organized, which leads Jane to deduce during the first season that this is because she is hiding some deep emotional trauma.

Recurring cast

• Red John – a serial killer whose identity remains unknown to date and who was unseen until the finale of the second season of the series. Jane has stated that "Red John" sees himself as a "showman", as he always makes sure that his trademark, the smiley face drawn with the victim's blood, is the first thing one sees before one sees the body. The trademark face is created by using the index, middle and ring fingers of his right hand together in one motion; Red John wears rubber gloves for this act. After Jane mocked Red John on a talk show, Red John retaliated by killing Jane's wife and daughter. Though only focused on three times during the first season, he is portrayed to be very intelligent. For instance, Red John hacked into the CBI's computer system and has been using the system to monitor them for some time. So far he has been known to have three accomplices, including a man that has been mentioned to have died in prison and that man's son, who held Red John in high regard. The third was revealed to be Bosco's assistant in the episode "His Red Right Hand". However, Jane states Red John doesn't have partners but tools. The episodes that Red John is involved in are gradually becoming more and more frequent as is Jane's obsession over catching him and "taking care of him" (killing him).
• Gregory Itzin as Virgil Minelli – Minelli was the Special Agent in Charge of the CBI until the second-season episode, "His Red Right Hand, "wherein he retired from the CBI after the murders of Sam Bosco and his team earlier in the episode.
• Terry Kinney as Sam Bosco – Bosco was a Senior Special Agent with the CBI. He was Lisbon's mentor when she was a junior agent. He became director of the new Serial Crimes Unit, which took over the responsibility for catching Red John. He had contempt for Jane for various reasons, including the idea that Jane corrupts the people around him. Bosco had strong feelings for Lisbon, although he was married. Bosco and his team were murdered in the second-season episode "His Red Right Hand", shot by their secretary, Rebecca (Shauna Bloom), who was a mole sent by Red John. Rebecca, in turn, was fatally poisoned by a person assumed to be Red John while being transported to prison. After she died, Jane was distraught. He visited Bosco in the hospital, where he was in critical condition following his attempted murder. He asked Jane to kill, not arrest, Red John, to which Jane responded that that was always his plan. Bosco then whispered something inaudible to Jane and went into cardiac arrest, dying shortly thereafter. The CBI team was later seen mourning Bosco back at headquarters after attending his funeral.
• Aunjanue Ellis as Madeleine Hightower – the current Special Agent in Charge of the CBI since the episode "The Red Box". She is very much in command of the team, and is one of the few people to have a hold on Jane, with whom she shares a mutual respect; in the episode "Red Sky in the Morning", she seems to understand Jane's plot in finding Red John. She has two children. Jane observes (without prior knowledge) that she is in the middle of a divorce. Despite her hard-nosed attitude to the team, and to Lisbon especially, their relationship appears to have progressed to that of efficiency and appreciation.
• Leslie Hope as Kristina Frye – a psychic who has appeared in three episodes of the series to date. At first she and Jane disagreed with each other a lot, but romantic sparks start to fly later. In the season two finale she is missing from her heavily guarded home.
• Jack Plotnick as Brett Patridge – a forensic specialist who appears in two episodes of the series. He is very minor and doesn't even get named on screen. Jane states that Brett "loves his job a bit too much".

Episode list

DVD releases

Warner Home Video has released the first season on DVD in Regions 1, 2 & 4. Season 2 will be released in region 1 on September 21, 2010,^[13] in region 2 on October 25, 2010^[14] and in region 4 on October 27, 2010.^[15]

Reception

The pilot episode had an audience of 15.6 million viewers in its first airing, and 7.8 million in a re-airing three days later.^[19] The December 2, 2008, episode ("Flame Red") was the highest-rated television show of the week, marking the first time a program in its first season had achieved that distinction since Desperate Housewives four years earlier.^[20]

Awards and nominations

• On January 7, 2009, the show won the award for "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 35th People's Choice Awards.
• Simon Baker received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2009 Emmy Awards.
• The series has been nominated for The International TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards, an awards ceremony presented by the British Crime Writers' Association.^[21]
• Simon Baker received a nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama at the 67th Golden Globe Awards.
• Simon Baker received a nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

US ratings

Distribution

On November 6, 2009, TNT announced that it had obtained exclusive syndication rights for The Mentalist and would begin airing old episodes of the series starting in the fall of 2012.^[24]

International broadcasts

Country	Network	Start date
Arab World	MBC Action	Season 1: April 2009 Season 2: January 17, 2010
Argentina	Warner Channel	November 6, 2008
Australia	Nine Network	Season 1: October 5, 2008 Season 2: September 28, 2009
Austria	ORF 1	March 1, 2009
Belgium	VT4 (Dutch) BeTV/La Une (French)	February 4, 2009 May 18, 2009/September 2009
Brazil	Warner Channel SBT (Portuguese)	November 6, 2008 April 21, 2010
Bulgaria	PRO.BG	September 22, 2009
Canada	A Channel (English) CTV (English) V (French)	September 23, 2008 January 9, 2009 September 2, 2009
Croatia	RTL Televizija	March 4, 2009
Czech Republic	TV Nova	Season 1: November 30, 2009 Season 2: May 10, 2010
Denmark	TV 3	February 2, 2009
Estonia	Kanal 2	March 8, 2010
Fiji	Mai TV
Finland	MTV3	September 3, 2009
France	TPS Star/TF1	April 20, 2009/ January 6, 2010
Germany	Sat.1	Season 1: March 1, 2009 Season 2: February 28, 2010
Greece	Nova Cinema Star Channel	February 4, 2009 2010
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	July 15, 2009[25]
Hungary	RTL Klub	Season 1: February 2, 2009 Season 2: February 2, 2010
India	WB	TBC 2010
Ireland	RTÉ One	Season One: April 16, 2009 Season Two: February 21, 2010
Israel	yes stars Action HD	November 16, 2009
Italy	Joi Italia 1	April 28, 2009 September 2, 2009
Japan	Super! drama TV	May 26, 2010[26]
Latin America	Warner Channel	November 2008
Lithuania	LNK	March 3, 2010[27]
Malaysia	NTV7	July 11, 2009
Mexico	Televisa	July 13, 2010
The Netherlands	SBS 6	Season One: January 1, 2009 Season Two: January 7, 2010
New Zealand	TV2	Season 1: August 10, 2009 Season 2: August 2, 2010
Norway	TV3	January 7, 2009
Philippines	C/S 9	June 15, 2009(?)
Poland	N Canal+ Poland	December 3, 2008 April 16, 2009
Portugal	RTP2 AXN	May 12, 2009 September 19, 2009
Puerto Rico	WAPA-TV	Season One: June 1, 2009 Season Two: August 15, 2010
Romania	Pro TV	March 10, 2010
Russia	TV-3 (Russia)	April 12, 2010
Singapore	Channel 5	July 28, 2009
Slovakia	TV Markíza	January 4, 2010
Slovenia	POP TV	July 14, 2010
Spain	La Sexta/TNT	January, 2009
South Africa	M-Net	January 14, 2009
South Korea	tvN	April 6, 2009
Sweden	TV3	February 17, 2009
Switzerland	TSR 1 (French) 3 Plus TV (German) La1 (Italian)	September 2, 2009 March 23, 2009 August 26, 2009
Thailand	True Series	July 9, 2009
Turkey	DiziMax	February, 2009
United Kingdom	Five/Five USA	Season 1: March 26, 2009 Season 2: February 19, 2010
[Trinidad and Tobago}	CCN TV6	Season 1:

Reviews

• Sanneh, Kelefa (24 November 2008). "On Television: Science Projects". The New Yorker 84 (38): 122–123. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2008/11/24/081124crte_television_sanneh. Retrieved 16 April 2009. 
• Time
• Season 1 DVD review

References

External links

• Official website
• The Mentalist at the Internet Movie Database
• The Mentalist at TV.com