The Mentalist - Anyone watching?
- Thread starter Winterwind
- Start date
Agreed. I really don't like the cliché about painkillers they are currently setting up
Cho getting addicted to painkillers after being hit by a car, and him hooking up with a prostitute? WTF?
This is a House clone, but it's rather well done in many respects. Jane is not just a thief turned thieftaker but a semireformed criminal turned detective for his own reasons, which grounds that aspect of the character. Baker's ability to portray Jane's pleasure in dominating people while still showing the workings of his new conscience is key to making this work. Robin Tunney doesn't get much credit but Lisbon's refusal to commit to Jane personally (despite her feelings,) because he's only semireformed comes across to me.
Sometimes the mysteries are weaker but this is inevitable. What really hurts in the long run is the dreary Red John mytharc, which is just as bungled as most long term open-ended storylines are. The mania for serialization keeps screwing shows up.
Some long term weaknesses are showing up in the writing for the subsidiary characters. Lisbon is being played as an adult, but both Rigsby and Van Pelt are having their characters warped by the insane determination to show growth. Cho, as the other adult character, is just revealing other sides to his character. As an ex-gang guy, though, I must say that hooking up with a prostitute is perfectly believable. What isn't believable is the retconning where what's-her-face wasn't really a hooker.
The final judgment on the series depends on the climax with Red John. If Jane rejects the final demands of conscience and kills Red John despite Lisbon, putting him into jail for life would be an honest conclusion. And Baker has done the role well enough that Jane choosing Lisbon over personal revenge, instead of justice, on Red John could also work. But the most honest conclusion, Jane failing to catch Red John, would probably be beyond the series' writers.
Sometimes the mysteries are weaker but this is inevitable. What really hurts in the long run is the dreary Red John mytharc, which is just as bungled as most long term open-ended storylines are. The mania for serialization keeps screwing shows up.
Some long term weaknesses are showing up in the writing for the subsidiary characters. Lisbon is being played as an adult, but both Rigsby and Van Pelt are having their characters warped by the insane determination to show growth. Cho, as the other adult character, is just revealing other sides to his character. As an ex-gang guy, though, I must say that hooking up with a prostitute is perfectly believable. What isn't believable is the retconning where what's-her-face wasn't really a hooker.
The final judgment on the series depends on the climax with Red John. If Jane rejects the final demands of conscience and kills Red John despite Lisbon, putting him into jail for life would be an honest conclusion. And Baker has done the role well enough that Jane choosing Lisbon over personal revenge, instead of justice, on Red John could also work. But the most honest conclusion, Jane failing to catch Red John, would probably be beyond the series' writers.
I thought with two episodes being shown this week that they'd be good ones. Average tipping over to boring was how I found them.
The speculation is that that CBS is trying out the Mentalist on Friday to pair with Blue Bloods due to the older skewing viewers of both. I think this pretty much spells the end of CSI:NY.
The episode where Jane was away made the CBI team look like buffoons. It's like the only thing they're good for without him is shooting people. If anything, by now Lisbon should be a lot more perceptive and intuitive like Jane, but the writing for her is pretty stunted. Rigsby trying to hypnotize the perp was funny though.
I've found the writing to be weaker this season. And yes, the team did look pretty useless without Jane. The bit where he walks in at then end, having had no involvment with that case, intentionally misquotes by the elevator to trick the suspect and Boom! Case solved! just didn't work for me. The team should be shown as much more compentant than we're seeing.
If they've thinking of moving the show to Friday nights then that would imply a fifth season is a sure thing (not much point in doing it for just 4-5 more episodes) but I really hope that the writing tightens up and we get better use of the characters.
If they've thinking of moving the show to Friday nights then that would imply a fifth season is a sure thing (not much point in doing it for just 4-5 more episodes) but I really hope that the writing tightens up and we get better use of the characters.
I'm not sure if this is an upcoming episode or one I've just forgotten 
Not sure how behind the US C5 is so wary of spoilers.
But yeah, the biggest flaw with the show is how dumb the team are...although having said that they do get to appear geniuses compared to everyone else...
Not sure how behind the US C5 is so wary of spoilers.But yeah, the biggest flaw with the show is how dumb the team are...although having said that they do get to appear geniuses compared to everyone else...
