(S02E08) "God, you're a cold bastard." - Lisbon, to Jane
Wow. Just... wow. I have to hand it to The Mentalist. The previews showed several agents dying and lots of tension and upheaval at CBI. But really, I thought there would be some trick to it. Agents we've never met would be killed or something similar. But they actually killed off regulars! Another agent quits! Two people professed love for one another!
This was like a season finale, really, which makes me really excited to see how this season is going to end.
CBS is promoting this Thursday's episode of The Mentalist as "the episode you've been waiting for." Not sure about that, but this preview below does seem rather intense. Three people are murdered in the CBI office and Red John might be involved? Yikes.
[Watch clips and episodes of The Mentalist and other shows at SlashControl.]
"Did you hear who's going to play during the Super Bowl halftime show?"
"No, who?"
"That's what I just said. Who."
"No, seriously. Which is the band that's going to appear?"
"It's Who."
"I'm not talking proper English. Which band will be on CBS's halftime show on February 7 at Landshark Stadium in Miami?"
"The Who -- you know, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend. 'Tommy, can you hear me?'"
"Oh! Why didn't you just say that!"
Okay, I couldn't resist the nod to Abbott and Costello's Who's On First. But the fact is that Sports Illustrated has spread the word that The Who will star in the Super Bowl big, overblown half-time pageant. This follows the safe pattern the NFL has been employing since the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake costume malfunction; that is, stick with classic rock stars who are guaranteed to do their hits and not disrobe. That's why we've had Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and now The Who. All superstar acts, no controversy.
(S02E07) "This man ... I don't even know what he is. He is an accident waiting to happen." - Bosco about Jane
Don't adjust your computer screen. The picture above was not tempered with: Jane and Bocso are in the same area and are not at each others' throat! As Bob hinted at the end of his review of last week's The Mentalist episode, the "Jane and Bosco having to work closely together on a case" episode we've been expecting since Bosco joined the show has finally arrived!
Did the USA Network decide not to buy the Simon Baker series The Mentalist for syndication because it would conflict with their own psychic detective show Psych?
You have to wonder, because The Mentalist has been snatched up by TNT in a lush syndication deal. How lush? About $2 million per episode, a broadcast series record. (The overall record is HBO's The Sopranos going to A&E for $2.5 per episode.)
(S02E06) "No takebacks!" - Jane, to the killer, about her confession
So this episode had two things that scare the hell out of me: prison and mice. I think we all view prison as a place that would freak us out if we ever found ourselves in one. I hate the very thought of being in that situation. I think I'd try to escape like Jane did tonight. What's the worst that could happen, they'd send you to prison?
As for mice, I have a few every winter in my apartment. They come in through the wall behind the fridge looking for warmth and food. Really irritating and gross.
As soon as the introduction sequence played out, I was excited at the thought of seeing how Patrick Jane and more down-to-earth Lisbon would deal with a spooky case.
I knew Lisbon would not believe in ghosts but what about Jane? Would he believe in them for real or would he fake believing in them for the case or would he not believe in them at all?
This spooky episode, perfect for Halloween time, also finally (!) gave us some relationship advancement between Rigsby and Van Pelt.
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
(S02E04) "Everybody is. I am." - Jane, on people who are geeks
Is Patrick Jane really, really brave or just clueless?
I've been wondering that the entire series. He's not a fighter. He's not even one of these "strong, silent" types who acts wimpy but is secretly a karate master or former Navy Seal or whatever. He honestly doesn't have any physical skills but he insists on interrogating people who could turn his bones into mulch. Like tonight's confrontation with bikers in a dive bar. Or maybe he was comfortable because Lisbon was there with a badge and a gun. I think he's done it in the past with no backup though, so I'm not sure if he's brave or just oblivious or doesn't care.
After last season's success of The Mentalist, I made a point of watching the show this season. I wanted to see if vox populi was right and this was must-see TV. Well, now that I've tuned in for a few episodes, my opinion of the show remains the same as when I previewed the pilot in 2008. It's a star vehicle for Simon Baker. He's wonderful in the role and commands the screen.
However, since watching this season, there's one major thing about The Mentalist that's ticking me off. Aretha Franklin sang about it: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
(S02E03) "I didn't lie ... he made risotto." Lisbon, to Jane, about a certain cooking show with "the angry man" she watched on Tuesday
Hypnotism is a lame shortcut in TV shows and movies. Hypnotists seem to do it so easily, and the subjects seem to be put under so quickly and then remember just enough to solve the puzzle or at least advance the plot to another point.
That's why tonight's hypnotism of Lisbon by Jane was so satisfying. I groaned when it started, but I like the fact that he hypnotized her without her knowing it, how she made a comment about Rigsby and Van Pelt while under, and how the hypnotism didn't really work in the end.
(S02E02) Tonight's episode of The Mentalist was an incisive look at how the ... HEY THAT WAS STARSKY!
Yes, Paul Michael Glaser made an appearance in this episode, and it's good to see him in something else besides those fix-your-credit commercials.
This season seems to be about the personal lives of Jane and Lisbon a lot more than the first season was, how the search for Red John is affecting both of them (Jane is on the outside of the investigation; Jane is seeing a psychiatrist because of what happened in the season finale). Last season I didn't want every other episode to be about Red John, and I still don't, but I'm more intrigued by the Red John investigation than the murder-of-the-week. Where last season the tension in the CBI regarding cases and who was in charge was scattered here and there; that tension seems to be a theme this second season.
(S02E01) "If you sit by the river bank long enough you'll see the bodies of your enemies float by." - Patrick Jane
Where will the second season of The Mentalist go? Will we focus on Red John the whole time or will we get cases of the week until we have a Red John episode? It looks like it's going to be more of the latter (though there's a big plot development concerning the Red John case in this season opener), and that's just fine.
I do wish the cases were more Columbo or Murder, She Wrote-ish, though.
Patrick Jane came very close to catching Red John on The Mentalist last season, but it wasn't to be (not yet anyway). In this clip from the season opener this Thursday at 10 (new night and time), Jane and Lisbon are taken off the case because they are too close to it and we're introduced to the new guy in charge of it.
(Side note: it's funny that this clip is sponsored by - at least when I watched it - Red Robin! Is that a coincidence or on purpose?)
CBS has posted a season one recap of The Mentalist, and if you don't watch the show you'd think that every single episode was a hunt for Red John. They're not, of course. This recap doesn't give you a feel for what Jane and company do on the show but it does give you the background on that case and Jane.
I just saw a promo for the new season and the gang is getting a new boss this season. It starts September 24.
"Did you hear who's going to play during the 
Did the USA Network decide not to buy the 
(S02E03) "I didn't lie ... he made risotto." Lisbon, to Jane, about a certain cooking show with "the angry man" she watched on Tuesday
(S02E01) "If you sit by the river bank long enough you'll see the bodies of your enemies float by." - Patrick Jane
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