Friday, January 23, 2015

Top Ten Reasons You Should Watch The Mentalist


As fans of the show already know, CBS’s procedural drama The Mentalist is concluding its seven year run this February. So why, you might wonder, should you start watching it now? That’s an excellent question! Below is my top ten reasons to start watching this marvelous show if you aren’t already. And now that I think about it you might as well pick up first season and watch the series all the way through.

By the way, I do not own The Mentalist or its characters or any of the pictures or videos in this blog pertaining to the show and am making absolutely zero money from these, my thoughts. I am simply a slightly crazed fan, (twitch twitch,) who thinks everyone should immediately stop what they are doing and love The Mentalist.



And go.



10.) “This is one of my favorite episodes!” Me before every episode.

I love T.V. shows and am a big fan of many. That said this is the only show that I’ve seen that has delivered a spectacular episode every week, excepting one, and I still thought that one was okay. The writers, and creator of the show, Bruno Heller, have done an exceptional job of writing intense, funny, intriguing, and even surprising episodes.

The writer’s top those episodes off by giving us a great ensemble of characters that are easy to invest in and fun to watch.Then bonus we have a wonderful cast that does a great job of bringing them to life.

If my word isn’t enough for you, The Mentalist has consistently been in the top twenty most watched shows of any channel in the U.S. since its start, and won The Golden Nymph for Procedural Drama Series – International Audience Award with over 58 million viewers in 2013. In Layman’s terms it won an award for being the most watched Procedural the world over.

The masses have spoken.

9.) Science? We don’t need no stinkin’ science!

 

While science is touched on in the show don’t expect to see many morgues, scientists looking through microscopes, anyone examining anything other than a crime scene, many evidence boards, or blood splatter specialists. Instead you can expect to see The Mentalist, Patrick Jane, play rock, paper, scissors, implant mental suggestions, make people uncomfortable, angry, sad, happy just to see how they react, do magic tricks, cheat, lie to and con people, amongst many other things, and usually in hilarious ways, all to solve cases.

The main pull isn’t in the science, but in human interactions. And Bonus, Jane isn’t the only one who gets to have fun and entertaining human interactions—the rest of the cast is often drawn into the hilarity as well.
 
8.) Mentalist Bosses Vs. Defense Against the Dark Arts Teachers

This show has gone through almost as many bosses as Harry Potter went through Defense Against the Dark Arts Teachers. And not just bosses, but supporting characters in general. The supporting cast includes or has at one point included Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt, Minnelli, Hightower, Wainwright, Laroche, Bertram, Fischer, Wiley and Vega. 

 
Despite the fact that many of these characters have come and gone, as a matter of fact only three characters remain from the original cast, (Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon, and Cho,) each of them left an undeniable mark on the show. Most will at some point make you cry, make you frustrated, make you laugh, make you angry, and will move the plot along in a meaningful way.

And thankfully, none of them will make you wonder why on earth they were introduced in the first place. They all have a purpose and you will see it fulfilled whether they stay or not.

And that’s appreciated. No, really, it is.

 Side note: Characters are often introduced that you will initially hate and then come to love. A lot. Ahem...Abbott...



Kudos to the writers for giving us multifaceted characters.

7.) What’s a Rigspelt?


Anyone who watches scripted television shows knows that probably 90 percent of them, if not more, (okay, so I admit that I have no idea what the percentage is, but I’d be willing to bet it’s a lot,) focus on a love story between the two main characters.

This is not the case on The Mentalist. Instead the main love story for five and a half out of the seven years of the show was between two of the supporting cast: Grace Van Pelt and Wayne Rigsby. Or Rigspelt, as the fans called them. And guess what? It totally worked. I was rooting for those two crazy kids to get together.

I won’t say that I didn’t want the two main characters to fall in love at some point, I especially wanted that for Jane, but it just wasn’t something that could easily happen for him until the main story arc was achieved. I mean, really, Jane was a grieving widower with revenge occupying almost every thought in his brain. Not exactly romantic. So, how do you weave a love story into to that? By pushing it off on the supporting characters—that’s how. Way to think out of the box Bruno Heller.

6.) The Epic Battle Between Good and Evil


In most shows they face three or four really big problems that last a season or two and then it is over. For The Mentalist they only have one: Red John. Of course it's exciting to watch, but overall I love the struggle between Jane and Red John, or in other words between good and evil. This is one of the biggest things that draws me to stories. If it includes this aspect, I will be transfixed. 

5.) It’s Funny

It is.


As a matter of fact it was originally cited as a crime drama and has since been changed to a crime drama/comedy.

Tim Kang, who plays Kimball Cho on the Mentalist, was recently interviewed for Starry Constellation Magazine, and said this:

[…] part of it would be that procedural/comedy drama. I think we did a fairly decent job of marrying those two. We could have really dramatic moments and then have a lighthearted, funny one. It takes a certain style of writing and certain characters to pull that off. We could go from the whole Red John heavy, heavy storyline to Rigsby drinking a Big Gulp. I think that was one of the things that we brought to the table that kind of set us a part. (http://starrymag.com/?p=5271 )

We agree, Tim. We agree.

4.) It’s The Cho



Jane once described Cho this way, “Look at him, look at him go. It’s the Cho. There’s no business like Cho business.”

I think that pretty much sums up the awesomeness that is Cho, but I’ll go ahead and expand a little anyway. If you want a slap in the face, dead panned, hilarious yet often unexpected comment then Cho’s your man. His character is widely known for his stoicism, but regardless of that fact they have somehow managed to make him one of the funniest characters I have ever seen on TV. As my friend Mike put it, “He’s just cool.”

Below is the moment Cho became The Cho in my mind; his coolness forever cemented in my heart:



3.) Saint Teresa


As I mentioned above I like a lot of television shows, and am particularly fond of strong and funny female characters. That said, Lisbon is the only female character on t.v. that has never done anything that I have found remotely irritating. As a matter of fact, she is the epitome of the perfectly written and acted female character. She is how I want women represented.

Lisbon: Fine, you’re the boss on this one.
Jane: Okay, don’t be like that.
Lisbon: Like what? It’s what you want.
Jane: What I want is a little smile.
Lisbon: (Pause.) Well you can’t have everything.

I am so proud of this character. Of course she’s strong, smart, witty and an awesome counterpart for Patrick Jane, but she’s so much more than that. Here is written a female character that is an amazing boss—knows when to be stern and when to be lenient, doesn’t get angry without a good reason, and has the loyalty of everyone she works with. She’s also calm, controlled, logical, a stickler for rules, but not afraid to break them when necessary, loyal, humble, moral, kind, honest, and wise. I love that while she frequently doesn’t know what Jane is planning, she always knows when he’s planning something, even if he doesn’t want her to know.

She’s also, as Jane put it, “a healthy moderating influence,” on Jane, and I’d argue on the rest of the team as well, they not only want to impress her, but are also fiercely protective of her and want what’s best for her. She is the heart of the show.

Cho: Remember the first day we worked together?
Lisbon: Sure?
Cho: I almost quit.
Lisbon: Really? Why?
Cho: Rigsby. (They chuckle.) Then I saw the way you worked. I knew I had to stay. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you. […] it’s been an honor.

I think this could be one of the longest and most demonstrative things Cho has ever said on the show. My jaw may have dropped. And now that you know how cool Cho is, (see #4,) you know this is absolutely a ringing endorsement.

I could go on and on, but out of interest of space, I’ll reluctantly move on.

2.) The Bruno Triangle

No, I’m not talking about a love triangle, at least not the kind you're thinking of, I’m talking about Bruno’s idea for the three points of Jane and Lisbon’s relationship, as mentioned in the special features on the season one box set: Parental, Sibling, Flirting. 

Parental

Sounds like what relationship dreams are made of, huh? It may seem confusing to picture how two character’s can go from condescending to one another, to tricking and punching and teasing, to flirting, and then back to being fiercely protective of one another, to “I can bug her, but you can’t,” to meaningful glances, (one more round,) to scolding one another, to laughing at others together, to “love you,” but really it seems as natural as sitting in front of the t.v. on Wednesday nights for a new episode. We can thank great writers and actors for this. 

Sibling

In creating this triangle they were able to give everyone watching, with different ideas about love, something to grasp onto. You have the more mature understanding and selfless love of a parent for a child, the mutual affection and teasing of siblings, and a hint of there being something more. Anyone can watch this show and relate to these characters relationship in one way or another. 

Flirting

The simple truth of the matter is that people like to project what they want onto characters they love and by creating this triangle they were able to do that for many different kinds of love. There is literally something for everyone.

I’ve never seen this done on any other show, and once again am completely impressed with Heller’s ability to think outside of the box.

And, not surprising, I’m sure, but Jane and Lisbon can banter with the best of them. Which is an entire reason to watch the show on its own.

1.) Patrick Jane

There are so many things to love about this character that it is incredibly difficult for me to limit it to just a few. He is my favorite t.v. character ever. However, again, in interest of space, and let’s be honest, time at this point, I’ll limit it to three. He’s heroically happy, he’s not perfect, and he cares.

He’s Heroically Happy


From the very first episode we learn that Jane is working with the California Bureau of Investigation, helping them solve cases using his abilities as a mentalist in exchange for working with the team responsible for the investigation into a serial killer named Red John; the same serial killer who murdered Jane’s wife and daughter.

The Red John storyline is woven through nearly a full six seasons of the show and as you watch you will see how much it weighs on Jane, as you would clearly expect it to.

Regardless of that fact, Jane is a happy person. He’s hilarious and is always doing something to amuse himself and thankfully us in the process. I’m always excited to see what he’ll do next.

Sure he has his days, and yes he does punish himself for not having been there for his family, amongst other reasons, but he still makes an effort to be happy. He laughs and smiles in every episode, so much in fact, that when he’s sad it seems strange and hits you hard.

I love, love, love this. He has every reason in the world to be sad, but chooses to be happy. It can’t be an easy choice to make, but he does it. So even in the midst of an epic battle between good and evil, Jane is still being heroically happy. 

He’s Not Perfect


He’s not a perfect character. It drives me crazy in cop shows when you have a character, one character that somehow manages to do it all, and therefore makes all the other characters seem incompetent. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Jane never does that, but each of the characters has their own strengths that Jane often defers too.

He Cares



Jane can be extremely blunt and most the time it’s enjoyable because he’s calling out suspects in hilarious ways. He also says things that you’d like to say, but don’t because you know it would be inappropriate, which is awesome, but on occasion he can be a jerk to his teammates, sometimes even getting them in trouble. That said, he apologizes when it’s called for, and always tries to make amends when he does something wrong.

He has also proven his affection for his team and others on the show in many different ways. In first season Jane saves Lisbon’s life losing the best lead he’s had to finding Red John in order to do so, in second season he helps Cho find the murderer of his best friend, in fourth season Lisbon is suspended and her team reassigned and Jane makes it very clear that he won’t work with any but Lisbon while surreptitiously bringing the team back together, in season six he helped save the lives of Rigsby and Van Pelt, and recently has taken on the troubles of his current boss, Abbott, in season seven.
           
Those are just a few examples and don’t even include some suspects, victims and family members of victims that he’s helped as well. Then to top it off, he hates to be thanked, which is a very endearing quality in a character.

Bonus: He’s hilarious. You can visit these links to see what I mean: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI5vFSOk9iY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkaW1CO6Gkw

If I missed something about the show that you love, please comment and let me know. Thanks for reading!

A special thanks to the cast and crew of The Mentalist for making this show what it is. I believe I can speak for the fandom or at very least myself when I say that I love this show so much and am grateful that I've gotten to watch it.

1 comment:

  1. Holy crap, this was AWESOME! And spot on. I just want to give you a big Jane hug! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete