The Mentalist

Plot synopsis:
Northeast SacramentoJane stares at the moon at a crime scene. The victim is Eleanor Ortega, she was shot in the chest. Jane announces she's a musician with calluses on her hands.
He finds a hydrangea petal.Cho calls someone for gang intel and a young wannabe gang banger bumps into him. Cho sends him on his way.Jane grows impatient as Lisbon tries to talk to the gathered onlookers. He cuts to the chase, offering $100 for info on the victim. When everyone raises their hand, he tells them it's only $1. Everyone drops their hands. Jane points out the man who never raised his, telling Lisbon his info is so valuable not even $100 can buy it.
The man in the plaid shirt and hat runs off. Cho runs to his SUV to give chase, but realizes his keys are gone. The young punk drives off in his ride having lifted his keys.Rigsby and Van Pelt talk to Eleanor's mom, who says she was first chair violin. Her mom is tidying up her convenience store. Eleanor was excited about a private solo performance she had recently given. She recently dated a gang banger named Orlando Iglesias. She dumped him and he wouldn't stop calling. They had to get a restraining order.Her mom finally loses it, crying in the aisle.Back at CBI, Rigbsy confirms Eleanor played a private event with a Stradivarius. Lisbon looks at Iglesias' file and recognizes him as the guy who ran from the crime scene.Officer Bellar from Sacramento PD brings the car thief by. His mother recently died and his father is in jail. Child services can't get him for 48 hours. Lisbon OK'ed Cho supervising him.
Anthony puts on a sweet face and calls Cho "sir" and insists he wasn't performing a gang initiation.
Cho isn't buying the angel routine.
"Whatever, punk," Anthony says.
"That's more like it," says Cho.Jane visits the concert hall and is greeted by Kieran Caruthers, the oboist. Jane notices Eleanor's concert master bookmark is very expensive. Jane announces he's looking for a killer. He thinks such driven people are a little nutty.There's a hobnob with donors scheduled for tomorrow. The musicians wanted to postpone but the Maestro Vincent Manhieser didn't agree. "I wouldn't say he's a tyrant, he's just -- not nice," Kieran explains.Vincent comes in and addresses the troops. He promotes Constance to concert master while mocking her leadership abilities. He gives Ariel second chair in recognition of her "keen lust for advancement."
They begin rehearsal.Cho brings Anthony a burger. He announces he's a vegetarian. Cho takes out the burger and throws it in the trash. Anthony tosses it on the floor.
Rigsby informs him Cho used to be in a gang, the Playboys. Anthony says his dad Lawrence was in the South Side Mafia. Cho says he never heard of him.Van Pelt gets up for coffee and leaves her cell phone on her desk. Anthony swipes it. He sends Rigsby a text. Rigsby finds Van Pelt and asks about the "I want you baby, come to me" text.They realize Anthony is gone.
Cho heads him off.Back up in CBI, Cho handcuffs Anthony to a cabinet. Anthony says Orlando isn't in the Hermanos gang any more and joined the Local Pimps. He tells them where to find the gang. Since the gang info is six months old, Cho and Van Pelt decide to check both locations out.During rehearsals, the Maestro stops them and rips people individually. Jane says he's there about a murder. He walks over to the maestro, looks him in the eye and asks him why he killed Eleanor. He calls him a cold-blooded murderer.The maestro protests. Jane laughs it off but finishes off his point with a flourish on the timpanis.Waiting for Orlando, Cho is irritated thinking Anthony misled them. They see Orlando pull up.Lisbon interrogates him. He says he respected her love of music. He says her mother made her take out the restraining order. He says he only wanted good for her.Van Pelt confirms his story about the restraining order. She also learns Eleanor had fired her mother as her manager and they weren't speaking.Cho brings Anthony into an interrogation room to sleep for the night. Anthony is upset, saying he needs to go. He makes a break for it, Cho grabs him as he fights to get free and finally fights back tears.
Cho asks what it's really about.
Anthony says his dad was arrested for robbing a liquor store, but he didn't do it. He says a guy named Jaden can provide an alibi, but he has to find him. He stole a car to join Jaden's gang so they'd tell him where he is.Cho listens and believes him.Van Pelt and Jane talk to her mother Isabel. She says Eleanor came up to her store the night she was killed, wanting to make up, but she didn't want to. Jane asks if Eleanor was into cats, or ancient pyramids in Egypt.Jane crashes the donor soiree at the concert hall. Jane calls out Kieran for liking Ariel. He tells Ariel, Constance and Kieran that Eleanor was dating someone from the orchestra. They guess. He leads them to think it was the maestro. Then he ads that he was abusing her sexually. He swears them to silence. Jane wanders away to let his little games unfold.Cho visits Anthony's dad Lawrence in prison. He says a store owner picked him out of a line-up. He says he gave up crime a year ago when Anthony's mom died. Cho asks why he hadn't left the South Side Mafia yet. He wouldn't take the DA's deal of two years because he didn't want Anthony to be in foster care.
Cho asks about Jaden.Lisbon arrives at the concert hall in time to hear the rumor, which now includes other abuse. Jane tells Lisbon his ruse is to ferret out the person who really had a thing for Eleanor. He has deduced that someone gave her the cat bookmark because it wasn't her taste. He thinks the person who really loved her will track down the maestro. Jane and Lisbon arrive upstairs in time to see Constance the new first violin attacking Vincent.At CBI, Constance admits to Eleanor that she loved her and told her a few weeks ago. She says Eleanor was really nice about it, but wasn't interested. Lisbon tries to get her riled up, asking if she has a temper. Lisbon reveals that the gun that killed Eleanor was in her trunk. Constance sputters that it's not hers. She politely asks for a lawyer.Lisbon tells Jane they're charging Constance. She waits for him to say she didn't do it. He obliges.
Lisbon asks for actual evidence.He asks if they noticed flower in Constance's car.Lisbon gets a visit from Osvaldo Ardiles from the DA's office. He's super peeved at Cho for getting involved in Anthony's dad's case and agreeing to track down his alibi witness.
Oscar wants Lawrence to flip on the two gang leaders.
Lisbon tells Cho they shouldn't get involved.Cho goes to find Anthony but a social worker has him on the elevator and is grabbing onto his collar. He refuses to turn him over. Anthony elbows the man in the gut to break free and Cho grabs him. Cho says he has to prosecute him for battery and takes Anthony away.Jane visits Ariel, who is now first chair. She felt sadness and relief when she got the news. She was thinking of leaving last week, but now she's in the top spot. Jane sees that she's pleased but feels guilty, which he thinks is understandable. He asks if there's a florist nearby.Cho waits outside a gang house in the hood until he hears someone call out to Jaden. Jaden runs and Cho makes a spectacular off-a-front-porch dive and tackles him. A giant man tries to stop them but Cho punches him swiftly in the nose and takes Jaden away.Jane brings Lisbon a hydrangea at the concert hall, but won't tell her why for fear of spoiling his fun.At CBI, Osvaldo from the DA's office tells Cho they're dropping charges against Lawrence. He doesn't buy the alibi buy they had to re-interview the store owner and his testimony got shaky.
Oscar says from now on his unit gets no help from the DA's office. He thinks in six months Lawrence will be back in jail. Cho thinks he's wrong, but we can see he has his doubts.At concert rehearsal, Jane has people bring in bouquets of hydrangeas and place them on the end of the stage. Kieran the oboist hits a sour note.Jane interrupts and says Kieran is feeling guilty because he killed Eleanor. Eleanor was carrying a bouquet of them that night and he took them, so seeing them again threw his concentration. He framed Constance. With the first and second chair violinist out of the way, the third got to move up. They tell Ariel that Kieran is obsessed with her. She's horrified and runs off. They stop Kieran.He explains that he followed Eleanor to her performance that night and shot her. He took the flowers because he didn't think she deserved them. He thinks Ariel was ten times the performer Eleanor was.Cho sees Anthony reunited with his dad. Cho tells Lawrence if he hasn't left the gang in a month, he'll know. He tells him not to screw up his chance. Anthony gives Rigsby a giant hug good-bye and runs off.
Rigsby finds that odd.
Cho tells him to check his pockets.Jane picks up the upright bass at the concert hall and starts an impromptu jazz session.

Tags: paranormal, murder

Review:
I also appreciate the lack of clichéd moments "fraught with sexual tension" between Lisbon and Jane.And I'd also like to credit Tim Kang- a lovely surprise and I enjoyed his character who really doesn't give a crap about hurting people's feelings or stepping on toes, he just wants to solve the case.
I love Cho and Lisbon and hope to get see more of the team (Van Pelt and Rigsby are really cute as well), but I understand this is called "The Mentalist" and there is still time to slowly introduce Jane's history with the team and more in depth coverage of these characters.
The lead character Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) aka the 'Mentalist' plays a 'psychic' consultant for a serious crime unit headed by Lisbon (played Robin Tunney, "Prison Break") along with the rest of the cast, Cho (Tim Kang "Rambo"), Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti, "OC") and Rigby (Owain Yeoman "Nine").
But Patrick is no psychic, he relies upon acute observation and a penchant for playing mind games with the 'suspects' (and other members of the unit)to solve the case.The character of Patrick is full of intrigue; he's sexy, funny, smooth but at the same time is tormented by a dark secret of his own doing.
And of course its always Patrick that comes out on top.Unlike other crime TV series such as CSI, that depend on sophisticated, often over-the top 'scientific' methodology (CGI effects) to appeal to audiences, the Mentalist brings us back to the good old 'detective's hunch' style of crime-busting.
It is a breathe of fresh air in a genre saturated with technical jargon and outlandish plot.The way each case is solved is complex, yet very believable, and the magic comes from the sense of wonder at Patrick's mind tricks.The show however still follows much of the conventional approach to to the crime genre, with the cliché of red-herrings, incompetent officers and a detective on a personal mission, but the charisma of Simon Baker as the lead detective Patrick Jane pulls the show together.Another drawback is the seemingly lack of character depth in the minor cast members.
Come on...So I tell you: this is a very good show, it can still pick up some pace (at least I can see that they're taking advantage of the Anime-style fillers) but every episode is fun to watch and grips you to the last minute.The main character was what surprised me the most though.
The show revolves around Patrick Jane, a mentalist (someone with a highly developed sense of observation who can give the illusion that they have psi abilities) with a haunted past, who uses his unique skills to help the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes.A show of this genre is obviously going to attract comparisons to other shows like 'Medium' (which is ridiculous because Jane is steadfast in his view that he is not psychic and there are no such thing as psychics) or 'Psych'.
In the case of the latter, admittedly, there are similarities to be had but 'Psych' is very much drama-lite comedy whereas this show can be dark and is a serious take on having an adviser with such abilities working with law enforcement.Simon Baker does an excellent job depicting Patrick Jane as a man who, on the surface, is genial, charismatic and arrogant but hides his dark emotional problems that we catch glimpses of as the show progresses.
Yes, the writers do ask you to suspend your belief occasionally and to get viewership the writers have had to make the stories bizarre and convoluted, which isn't necessarily a problem, it just makes it look like they've got heat from network people to make it edgy when it could be more mind-bending instead.It's a fun show that can be watched at leisure and enjoyed without a serious dedication to it, which can be nice in an age of shows with year-long story arcs.
Not that I want to be the guy, I'm more interested in why the human brain works the way it does, and so far the tricks he uses are well based in reality...as strange as they are.As much as I like crime dramas, there are so many of them on TV right now.
Perhaps the most humorous element of the pilot is the veiled reference to USA's Adrian Monk of "Monk." A crime scene investigator with obvious anti-social behaviors wanders about the room making hand gestures while describing the minutia of the crime scene (a la Adrian Monk).Is "The Mentalist" a good series and worth watching?
A famous "psychic" Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) outs himself as a fake and starts working as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation whose chief is Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) , being her underlings the followings : Kimball Cho (Tim Kang) , Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) .
The starring and producer Simon Baker gives a convincing and sympathetic acting as the mentalist Patrick Jane , a consultant who may not carry nor use a firearm and he helps the California Bureau of Investigation solve a large number of cases because of his gift of observation , plus various mentalist tricks that he possesses .
Although he is not a 'psychic', and supposed to be reading into people's minds through observations and behaviors, his character repeatedly has shown psychic powers in various episodes which defeats the whole purpose and leaves the viewer with no explanations.Also, I am not sure if he is a good or a bad actor as he shows acting brilliance in some scenes and is extremely stupid in others.The viewer gets the impression that the moment he knows about a case, he has already solved it in his mind and knows the culprit and the the unfolding of the story is just as his thoughts or who he thinks the criminal was.
Baker plays Patrick Jane, a former "psychic", who left his lucrative career of conning people after his baiting of a serial killer left his wife and child dead.Jane now works with the CBI (sort of like the FBI only for the state of California) as a "consultant", which allows him to tag around with a team of agents and use his powers of observation and manipulation to solve crimes.
Robin Tunney(Lisbon) is great as a squad leader trying to control a team sometimes weakened and almost under complete control by the brilliant, charming and unflappable Patrick Jane(Simon Baker).
Over all, the show is a nice break from "CSI:Insert City Here" and "Law and Order: Important Sounding Initials (or ISI for short)" while remaining in the crime drama genre.The only real concern I have is if the show is going to get hung up on the Red John thing and drag it out entirely too long as many shows in the past have done.
One-time con man turned police "profiler"(the title is a more accurate descript)Patrick Jane(Simon Baker,attractive Australian actor,returning to American TV some years after "The Guardian")is an ace at noticing ALL elements of human behavior.
His droll wit and sharper than sharp instincts are both annoying and yet highly necessary for the police force of a California(?)beach community,and he's a particular bane/potential-love-match Det.Teresa Lisbon(Robin Tunney,a lithe,wondrous beauty whose lack of facial expressions puts a severe dent into her presence on the show),who is at once both a skeptical foil and supportive advocate of Mr.Jane's presence on the force.Thus,the nutshell descritpion of ":The Mentalist",described by some as a variation on,among other shows,USA's "Psyche".
The hypnosis aspect of the series is also a flaw, as it is performed too many times and although believable, it brings amongst itself many sceptics as well as critics of the idea (as well as boost the idea that the Mentalist is a perfect character).Now onto the pros: simply put, the Mentalist is full of ideas and concepts that makes the mind think, and whilst watching the show, I found myself completely engrossed in each investigation and incapable of taking my eyes off the screen as to not miss anything.
And as I indicated earlier of the flaw that Simon Baker seems to be the 'perfect' character of the series, it is often brilliant to see him 'outplayed' by other characters in individual episodes as it is a rare occasion, and when it does happen it is a great scene to be remembered (and so a flaw is developed into a positive).In conclusion, the show is very clever in its line of work, and often very amusing and 'feel good' but don't expect to become a fan of the show if you're just aiming to watch it casually.
This show has been really really good from the onset, Patrick Jane's character is likable and sometimes kind of funny to watch.
Robin Tunney who I rate as a great actor has found herself a really good part that showcases her talents, her attitude towards Jane's methods of cracking the case make me smile but ultimately you see how she respects him at the end of the episode.
I can understand it for the first few episodes to set up the character, but we are almost to the end of the season and all we get is Jane smugly flaunting his intellect and showing up not just the culprit/murderer et al, but also his colleagues every single time.
A great show containing interesting and complex characters which are very well acted as well as a thrilling and exciting story which kept me obsessed through all seasons.The show is well written and well produced with varying environments and places.With Red John being more of a red line through the first seasons in a different yet amazing case-to-case criminal show slowly becoming the focus in the later seasons, as well as Simon Baker doing a extraordinary along with the other actors giving the characters life and the script being just great it kept me captured from the first to the last episode.A great show for any fan of criminal shows, and a must see for those who enjoy the mystery genre as well..
Simon Baker is fantastic as the aloof yet triumphant consultant and Robin Tunney is a great contrast to his character as the witty no- nonsense senior agent for the CBI.Every week they seem to come up with new and fresh ideas for the show which keeps it from feeling stale.
Simon Baker portrays Patrick Jane brilliantly and makes the show.People have compared this to psych and say it is basically a copy; but after seeing every series of both the Mentalist and Psych, I would have to disagree.
Its all bout Patrick Jane who was a psychic in his former career.....A madman also a serial killer named RED JOHN killed his wife and daughter......This made Patrick's life miserable....Patrick Jane then expressed himself as a fake psychic saying that there is no such thing as psychic and he started working for the CBI to catch Red John....Being a consultant for the CBI Patrick has solved every case that were assigned to them by his amazing observation and mind skills....Almost every episode he found clues about Red John and getting closer to catch him....Every time he get close Red John reappears and murders...For all know Red John is a master mind criminal....As things get close Patrick gets close to get him..His team Teresa Lisbon,Kimbal Cho,Van Pelt,Waynbe Rigsby helps Jane with his problems....Finally at season 6 he will find out who Red John is......I watched till season 6 and now heading over to season 7 the last...Its really thrilling,exciting,horrifying,funny.....
Patrick is a lovely character, funny and also bad ass in good meaning of the word.I recommend anyone to watch it if u like such TV shows like drama and crime stuff.
It is sad to see this show go, it is one of the best comedy/crime series I have seen, it is a good mix of the two genres but mostly you have an eye to what Patrick Jane is doing and so much to the serious murder case that the CBI or FBI are working on.
It has a lot of comedy, based on the main character Patrick Jane, he is a hard man to really figure out, but he is driving people crazy in some ways and has a lot of tricks and that is really funny.
Everything is based on murder investigations so there is serious and action parts also, but they in some way just blends in and even though it does get dark and gloomy at times it is mostly the fun parts that sticks with you.There are many great characters in this series, some are there all the way, some are there sometimes and some only for short periods, but the ones that are the main characters keep the series in a good spin and off course you are not able to keep this series without Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker) and his trusted sidekick/boss/etc.
Teresa Lisbon (played by Robin Tunney), these are great characters, it is like a couple that slowly gets to know each other better and better and it is interesting to follow their cases and their interactions.
I especially like Cho (played by Tim Kang), he is just a good guy behind a hard cop exterior and it is great when you sometimes get to see him smile, also Grace Van Pelt and Wayne Rigsby (played by Amanda Righetti & Owain Yeoman) are great in the beginning, but is written out of the series more or less when it gets too complicated, the newest addition Wylie (played by Joe Adler) is also a very likable character.
It is based around murders and crimes, so there is a lot of drama and action also, this makes it very lively and strangely drawing since the bad guys are always found with the weird methods of Patrick.They had a good run and actually managed to continue the series a couple of seasons after the initial Red John bad guy was not in the series anymore.
it's just a show.Jane and Lisbon looks so good and smart yet entertaining when solving typical or common criminals but become so dumb when facing Red John's case..
Janes normal schedule consists of solving crimes in mostly unexpected ways which makes this series really fun to watch..
started watching it a month ago two to three episodes per day but completed the last season in a day,,it was so exciting first season first episode to sixth season last episode ...if you're a crime story lover it will be one of your favorites i promise,,the characters and actors fit at its best ..Jane,,Lisbon,,van pelt ,,Cho,,,Rigsby,,,they live in their characters,if u miss it u will miss the best crime series in your life the story starts with a cbi consultant tracking down a serial killer who murders his wife and daughter,, the identity of serial killer will not be revealed until 5th season,,,that's a long road but its the best ..once he was killed the new story begins that is so exciting looking forward to seventh season.
A very hardheaded, stubborn Patrick Jane, Lisbon who understand and love Jane and has a very exciting role and Cho a hard-to-get, frank, strick yet so cute when he smiles makes this series my number 1 series to watch..Good Job. More Power.
I love Mentalist from the beginning.But lately it is kinda boring,not much action,just words,Lisbon is so dull even Jane is being dull right now.It seems like writers are on winter sleep,it is a saying in Turkey regarding lazy people who do not do their job well.They should have shake themselves and come with a better script.This season red john has no part.I want my favorite TV show back.Literally.There should be more action more drama and CSI team should be more interesting they are all so boring and they make Jane boring just like themselves!Writers should have make Lisbon more confusing she is so predictable and again boring and she has no skills like a boss she is like a loser,sorry but this is the word..
The series follows Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker, who is a consultant at the CBI (Californian Bureau of Investigation) based in Sacramento, California.
Here we get to know the real reason for Patrick Jane's involvement with the law enforcement, which is to track down the serial killer "Red John" and to revenge personally as he told Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney).
So far I've seen a lot of dramas and crime genre combined but this series almost makes me laugh out loud whenever Patrick pulls out a innovative stuff and also the other characters Lisbon, Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt they all have their equal involvement and are great as hell..
"The Mentalist" is not just another police procedural-crime drama on TV its a simply a very precise presentation of the brilliance of human mind..unlike some other series in this genre (like sherlock) the main character "Patrick Jane" is not a unusually super smart socially awkward guy..he is not a womanizer or a wealthy playboy (like castle)...he is a normal human being who pays more attention than others..a specialist in human mind and behavior....other people he works with are not "badass" tough looking detectives or smart scientists as in CSI..there are ordinary people with their flaws this is a TV series you can watch every night with your family..don't watch it if you crave Sex or violence...don't watch it if you want to see mind blowing action because you will be bored...if you want to seat relaxed alone or with your family and enjoy a relatively good written TV series...if you want to laugh a little or feel and connect with its character..or even if you want to learn somethings about the human condition....don't miss this masterpiece of its own genre..
Patrick Jane can come to know things by mere observation, much like Sherlock Holmes (I am talking about the original character by A.C. Doyle).
I really love Simon Baker playing Patrick Jane.