Search - The Mentalist: The Complete First Season on DVD

Jean W. from JORDANVILLE, NY
Reviewed on 7/4/2014...

we loved this first in series of the Mentalist and plan to add subsequent years. Well worth watching.

If you like "Life" you'll like "The Mentalist"--no spoilers

Ehkzu | Palo Alto, CA United States | 12/31/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This TV show, in its first season, is, like "Life," a police procedural with lots of flavor--in this case, a former phony psychic who, years ago, talking insultingly about a serial killer on his psychic TV show.



The killer was watching the show, apparently, took offense, and proceeded to murder the guy's entire family.



After much soul searching, our hero quit his pseudoprofession and now works with a police agency doing for crimes what Gregory House does for his hospital--solving the cases no one else can solve. He uses his ability to read people and situations that stood him in good stead during his stint as a phony psychic.



Of course, like the cop in "Life" his merry, mischievous exterior conceals an iron core of permanent, near-psychotic rage. The Mentalist works with the police agency he works for in order to find the serial killer to killed his family, and he has told his boss there, in merry seriousness, that if/when he finds the guy, he will take him apart in a way Dexter (as in the HBO series) would admire.



All this is backstory. No spoilers, as I promised. There's considerable interaction with his boss, her boss, and the three person team that also works with the boss, and they're all competently played, seemingly pretty much credible as detectives.



So both this and "Life" have:



1. fine actor in the lead role--with "The Mentalist," Aussie heartthrob Simon Baker, who every woman appears to find irresistable (according to my wife).



2. multilayered plot, with an ongoing story arc on top of the case du jour, and evolving relationships among the team members.



3. light and shadow--lots of comic moments alongside very dark stuff indeed. In painting this would be called chiaroscuro (think Rembrandt paintings of interiors illuminated by candles).



If you like "Life" I'm certain you'll like "The Mentalist" even if the more run of the mill procedurals (all the CSIs for example) don't appeal to you. I'd also put "Bones" in this category FWIW.



And this is about as good as we can expect until Joss Whedon's next show shows up (presumably "Dollhouse" with Eliza Dushku, herself a master of chiaroscuro).



"

Simon steals the show... and my heart

Ehkzu | 06/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am just a teenager, and generally not interested in the stuff my parents love to watch (currently they're obsessed with "24"), but one evening I decided to settle down with them and check out what they were watching, and it happened to be, "The Mentalist." It was love at first sight.



The Australian-born star, my heartthrob Simon Baker, stars as the coy and undeniably hot guy with brilliant mentalist abilities who "just pays attention," Patrick Jane. After criticizing a serial killer on a TV show (sorry Simon, but how dumb can you be???), Jane returns home to find his family slaughtered by the very killer, Red John, to get revenge on him for his earlier actions on TV. Shocked and heart-broken to the core, Patrick decides to change his ways and use his abilities for better purposes, seeking out the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI)and offering his help on serious crime cases. The season continues as it sheds some light on Jane's past and as he grows closer to his new colleagues at the bureau, yet his obsession with finding Red John does not die.



I found myself intrigued immediately by "The Mentalist." I can't quite explain it. Something about the show just clicks, and that's why it's become so overwhelmingly popular with us viewers. Simon definitely steals the show, but not only do we love him, we feel something for Simon's character. He hides his pain of his family's murder with a coy, playful, and cunning face, and though he is all of this, it's only skin-deep, and in the finale episode, "Red John's Footsteps", the veil is pulled for a brief moment and we see how angry and obsessed Jane is with finding Red John, ready to die himself to solve the terrible crimes.



This keeps the audience hungry for the next episode every time one finishes, and not only that. This show is incredibly rare and beautiful, because how often do you find a show that you love all the cast members, you enjoy the plot, it's got lots of humor, it's not dumb, and it has an awesome writer? Answer? Hardly ever. Even "Ghost Whisperer" and "CSI" get tiring, and "The Mentalist" is a cute, quirky, and intriguing new show that makes me fall in love with Simon all over again whenever his face goes on screen.



I can't wait for these DVD's to come out, because they are definitely worth the buy. I absolutely loved the first season, with hardly ever a dry spot, and I just hope that they keep the second season and any seasons after that as good, because I'm telling you, if someone screws this show up, I will be ready to kill. ;P"

A fun show w a twist

Cineander | Mar Vista | 03/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another light-hearted investigative drama along the lines of Bones or The Closer. Good ensemble cast. Main character w a special talent. And an emotional back story that gives the series lots of heart."