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The Mentalist

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

The Mentalist follows Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) who plies his trade as a detective for the Californian Bureau of Investigation. Yet Jane isn't like any other detective worth his salt, Jane has an extraordinary gift of being able to read people. Previously a renowned psychic - albeit a self confessed phony - Jane astounds and infuriates his colleagues with his ability to draw remarkably accurate conclusions from human behaviour in order to catch criminals.

In this instalment, the team investigate the death of a young waitress found murdered in the Napa Valley. Meanwhile, Jane slyly orchestrates his own undercover operation using a fellow investigator, Van Pelt, as bait.

Tasmanian-born Baker is brilliant as the show's clever and manipulative protagonist and is ably supported by Robin Tunney, who plays CBI team leader Teresa Lisbon. Although eyes are bound to roll at the thought of another crime drama, The Mentalist does successfully differentiate itself from the likes of Criminal Minds by simply refraining from a break-neck speed and harnessing character-based intrigue. Whilst on comparisons, Baker channels a creepy yet cocky ingenuity similar to that of Michael C. Hall as the criminal killing protagonist in Dexter, of course without the appetite for blood.

Layered with dry humour, The Mentalist, although yet to break any new ground, offers more than we've come to expect from the exhausted crime genre.

The Mentalist airs on the Nine Network on Sunday, October 12, at 8:30pm.

View Citysearch's TV guide.

Brad Gray, October 2008