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Primetime Show Reviews

"The Mentalist" Series Premiere Review by Eva 10/5/08

The Mentalist CBS Tuesday 9 Eastern 8 Central time

The Mentalist stars Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, a former psychic who admits he faked his ability and took money from people. Patrick now uses his wonderful eye for detail as a consultant for the California Beareau of Investigation to solve tough crimes. When I saw the first show, I thought, "This is Monk meets Columbo." Patrick Jane notices things that nobody else would, just like Monk, except he doesn't suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. I also found another similarity to Monk in the pilot episode. Patrick wants to catch the elusive serial killer "Red John" because the man killed his wife and child. He is tortured because he has not yet been able to catch the killer in much the same way that Monk always wants to discover who killed his beloved wife, Trudy.

The show is similar to Columbo in that Patrick solves the case much sooner than the audience thinks by pretending to the suspect that he doesn't have any idea who committed the crime. Then he sets a trap to catch the criminal. The show is, however, a little slow in its story-telling and faces huge completion from NBC hit "The Biggest Loser" and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" (the results show).

I give the show a 3 out of 5 because I honestly don't think it will survive this season against tough competition from the other networks, although I hope I am wrong.

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