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The imitation is there; the sincerity is lacking
Whoever said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery clearly hasn't seen “The Mentalist”. The main character, Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker), is a reformed psychic who is really a “mentalist”, which used to be the more prestigious name used by magicians. Unfortunately, the problem is that this show already exists on the USA network and it's called “Psych”. Now, we shall compare the two.
In “The Mentalist”, Patrick pretends that he's a psychic, though he's just really observant and he becomes greedy, stops using his powers for good and makes his family a target for a serial killer. He tags along with the police force solving their cases for them despite not carrying a badge or a weapon.
In “Psych”, the main character Sean pretends that he's a psychic, though he's just really observant because he's been trained by his father since childhood to read crime scenes. However, people more easily believe that he's a psychic rather than an expert in logic, observation and memory retention. He tags along with the police force solving their cases for them with his best friend Gus, despite not carrying a badge or a weapon.
Kind of makes you go “Hmm” right? Similar, but opposite. Also, you'll notice that in “Psych”, all of the characters are sufficiently well-rounded and likeable and the main character has an explanation for his abilities.
Patrick Jane has a combination of Sean's abilities as well as that guy from “Lie to Me” who can read people's emotions and get people to confess by confronting them with knowledge of their facial tics. Patrick does this too.
Not only is the show a combination of characters from other shows, the premise of one show and a variety of stock characters from the procedural CBS television show handbook, but also it has ABC plotlines. I don't mean the network ABC and I don't mean that it runs in a linear fashion, I mean that the plotlines are ABC: Already Been Chewed. They've been chewed up and spat out by other shows on other networks before and “The Mentalist” gobbled up the remaining mush. No wonder so many elderly people tune in.
Let's get some proof, shall we? The main underlying plotline involving a serial killer with a gruesome calling card that the main character is obsessed with catching is taken from the recently deceased show “Women's Murder Club”, where the main character is obsessed with a serial killer with a gruesome calling card. The show ended quickly and so did that plotline, but “The Mentalist” got right back up on that horse. Not only that, but the Smiley Face Killer is a real serial killer, still at large, though here they call him “Red John”. There are many, many examples of these “borrowings” and the show is still in its first season.
The other problem is the characters themselves: the asexual Asian guy who gets no office love and only works, the boss and Patrick – alas, alack, is he ready to love again?, the butch guy and the butch pretty girl, who was clearly hired for her photogenic looks and not for her acting abilities. The sound of that woman's voice�Paula Abdul would say to her that she's “All nasally up in her nasal area.” I mean, there's no better way to describe it.
Another poster wrote that the show is like Ramen noodles in that it's good to from time to time when you have a craving but it's not something you want to have all the time. I would say that it's high in calories and has no nutritional value – in other words, it's completely dumbed down. Or I could use the noodle analogy to compare: The Mentalist is Ramen noodles and Psych is your mom's homemade spaghetti and meatballs.
Basically, The Mentalist is another show with low-quality entertainment that everybody watches and that will be around for a long, long time.
voodoogoddess
Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:34:51 +0000
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