Red John's Footsteps
- Episode aired May 19, 2009
- TV-14
- 44m
A victim is discovered in a park deliberately disposed of in CBI jurisdiction with evidence that Red John is involved. The team learns there may be another victim, and suspects Red John is l... Read allA victim is discovered in a park deliberately disposed of in CBI jurisdiction with evidence that Red John is involved. The team learns there may be another victim, and suspects Red John is luring Jane.A victim is discovered in a park deliberately disposed of in CBI jurisdiction with evidence that Red John is involved. The team learns there may be another victim, and suspects Red John is luring Jane.
- Frankel Fogarty
- (as Sally Brooks)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRed-haired actresses: Alicia Witt, Kate Vernon.
- GoofsWhile presumably blind Rosalind Harker could type and send a letter by touch typing a keyboard, it is unexplained how she could read the address on the business card she found to know where to send the envelope.
- Quotes
Patrick Jane: Yeah, it's Red John all right. But someone else is involved. Else why would he change his M.O. so radically. Skywriting?
Teresa Lisbon: Well, he wanted to make sure that the CBI, that *you*, would be put on the case. He's obviously trying to lure you into some kind of trap.
Patrick Jane: Well that's part of it. But why take them from a car instead of catching them home alone like he's always done before. And why two victims at once? Twins. Why break pattern?
Teresa Lisbon: He's broken pattern before.
Patrick Jane: Yes. Because it was personal. He wanted to punish me.
The Mentalist fits that bill, which is why I am now here, writing this despite having spent 5 solid minutes laughing and mocking the title when I first heard of it. The show is another of the endless production line of detective shows with a quirky central character or quirky hook, that trades off the hook week-by-week with solid mystery plots while keeping a bigger drama in the background for season finales or to help it out if ratings dip. Here the quirk is that Thomas Jane has fantastic observational skills and uses them to pose as a physic, suggesting his insights come from supernatural powers but now he is working as a consultant helping the police on high-profile cases. If it sounds familiar then you are probably a fan of Psych, a show that has the same idea but plays it more for laughs while The Mentalist in theory is more of a drama.
I say "in theory" because I am not convinced that the show wants to do anything other than fill an hour of television with material that viewers can enjoy as they are comforted by its familiarity, engaged by how accessible it is but never threatened or challenged by any part of it. As a result the whole Red John thing is never more than a shadow in the background and the best we get in regards real pain or darkness in the character of Jane is the occasional bit of staring off into the background or talking about revenge. Otherwise we have the status quo – an odd character who is quite brilliant at what he does but doesn't play by the rules of others but gets results despite rubbing people up the wrong way with his odd behaviour. The weekly mysteries play out well enough and aren't really ever dull or bad across the season, but The Mentalist (and the many other shows like it) are rarely to be criticised for being "bad" per se in the same way as mid-value copies of big brands (like the supermarket version of Coke or Pepsi for example) are not often "awful" because they are working with the same base formula even if the things that make them unique are lacking.
So it is with The Mentalist as it does everything you expect it to do in a way that is safe and accessible but never does anything to standout as special or to excite the viewer. The plots are there as per normal, the characters may differ in race and gender but ultimately the dynamics are what you expect and each episode provides a solid mystery that is solved in the same way each week, so that you know if you like one then you'll like the next one – whether you can spot the difference between one episode and the next is by the by. It's all professional enough though and I quite liked it as a safe background thing that I could follow with most of my brain on another task. The drama aspect of it never offers much and, when it feels it has to offer "depth" it only ever does so in a sort of "Hallmark" soft-music and distance-staring way that does nothing other than reinforce the "by the numbers nothing special" feel it has.
Baker is light in the lead and when he enjoys himself with his character the show is quite fun to watch. Asked to do more he cannot perform but he can do the basics. Talking of doing the basics the support cast could easily be built by machine. Tunney is "authoritative but shyly-appreciative of Jane's methods" in the usual way and this is what she does. Righetti is "the sexy one", Yeoman is the "tough but likable one" while Kang is the dry rather humourless one. They all do as requested but nobody is particularly memorable.
The Mentalist season 1 is a by-the-numbers affair. It is too professional and "on-formula" to be "bad" but this also means it is rather unmemorable and blends together with itself and lots of other shows selling the same product. It is accessible and undemanding, which many people look for – were it down to me I'd leave it at that but my girlfriend is planning to watch season 2 and I suppose is nothing else I will be curious to see if they just do more of the same or if they try to lift their game now that the show is more established.
- bob the moo
- Mar 13, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Pepper Tree store, 9750 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita, California, USA(store where the elephant was bought)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro