Monday, September 16, 2013

After a serial killer named Red John murdered Patrick Janes wife and daughter Jane dedicated his life to hunting down and killing Red John. To that end he gave up his lucrative pretense of being a psychic and joined the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as a consultant to the team responsible for investigating the Red John case led by Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon. Using Janes exceptional gift for observation and his mentalist tricks the team is able to close an unprecedented number of cases but Janes unconventional and often outright illegal methods also bring much censure down on Lisbons head making his assistance both a blessing and a curse. Meanwhile the hunt for Red John continues...

Review

I've only seen about four of five episodes of this show and I liked it but as others have said it follows a rather familiar vein. Trying not to compare it to anything else though I found it to be enjoyable at face value. The lead character is likable and keeps the interrogations and methods of discovery light and conversational which is nice. I like that his part isn't really dark and sinister which was an avenue obviously available to the writers given the main character's back story.

I liked the charisma between Baker and Robin Tunney and I like that his character doesn't take himself to seriously. Yes the writers do ask you to suspend your belief occasionally and to get viewership the writers have had to make the stories bizarre and convoluted which isn't necessarily a problem it just makes it look like they've got heat from network people to make it edgy when it could be more mindbending instead.

It's a fun show that can be watched at leisure and enjoyed without a serious dedication to it which can be nice in an age of shows with yearlong story arcs. If you miss one you're not totally out of loop. If you've got an hour to spare give it a shot. It's enjoyable.