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Sorry if this has been discussed before (imposible to do a proper search on TM on that title since "mentalist" is used in every other sentence) but an American TV-series called "the Mentalist" is starting on Norwegian television today.

Anyone seen it? Any good?

Summary from TV.com:

The Mentalist tells the tale of Patrick Jane, who is employed as an independent detective working with the California Bureau of Investigation to solve crimes. He was making a living as a psychic and would assist the police on cases -- only his life changed when he lost the two most important people in his life to one of those serial killers he was helping track. He uses his refined observation skills to help them solve cases.

I've suffered through two full episodes and find it seriously wanting... then again, the lead actor has made a career of running through shows that almost work.

I simply find it boring and nothing remotely close to "Entertaining"

There is a new program coming onto the Fox network, I don't recall the name... The Human Lie Detector or something along those lines; it is based on the work of Dr. Paul Eckman, one of the team responsible for the FACS technique -- a system that allows you to not just know when people are lying to you but a myriad of other things. I have my hope that it turns out well because it is fact based and his methods are actually used by the Military and numerous law enforcement agencies.

I watched one episode. It is complete sh*t.

Queen Of Clubs pretty much summed it up there. My family loves all these crime drama shows, and they forced me to sit through an episode the other night and while there are worse crime drama shows(I'm looking at you "BONES") it is still not worth your time. I forsee American networks cancelling it in the (hopefully) near future.
In short, stick to the old school Law and Order or older CSI shows and you'll be better off.

I thought it sounded a bit like an American Jonno Creek when I heard about it, then I saw a promotional clip and realised... it wasn't. To be honest it did remind me of something like CSI.

The thing with having a mentalist using his keen insight to solve the crimes limits it somewhat - the emphasis is on the killer's thoughts and motives, which makes it pretty indistinguishable from any other such show, which always has a lateral-thinking sleuth as its lead. It works as a nice rationale, but... meh.

What made Jonathan Creek really shine was the fact that he was a magician, which allowed Renwick to have Creek solving impossible mysteries... a killer disappearing from a solid garage surrounded by armed police, a painting vanishing from a locked, empty room, a dead gambler climbing up a flight of cellar stairs, that kinda thing. The emphasis is not just on the who, but the how, which really sets it aside from other contenders in the genre.

flaw07 wrote:Queen Of Clubs pretty much summed it up there. My family loves all these crime drama shows, and they forced me to sit through an episode the other night and while there are worse crime drama shows(I'm looking at you "BONES") it is still not worth your time. I forsee American networks cancelling it in the (hopefully) near future.
In short, stick to the old school Law and Order or older CSI shows and you'll be better off.

'The Mentalist' is unlikely to be cancelled any time soon - it has proved the most successful new show of the season, achieving very high ratings.

I've seen every episode, and they're very variable. At its best, the show is great fun. Selfishly, I wish they would flash back to Jane's previous life as a fake psychic (decide for yourself whether that's a tautology), and employ more of his little tricks like the rock-paper-scissors routine. Without those touches, it does become somewhat just another show where the hero has greater observational/deductive powers than everyone else.

I found out about this show when I was searching imdb for info on Gerry McCambridge's TV show.

I was intrigued - not least because the lead guy was also in Land of the Dead, and I've got a very odd love of Romero's horror flicks.

But I haven't had the opportunity to watch it (don't think it's made it onto Freeview yet). I suspect it'll be part CSI, part Cracker.

Is this the same as the US programme called "Psych"? (Showing in the UK on the Hallmark satellite channel.)

They hyped it quite a lot when it first came out, so even though I don't watch it, I've got the gist. It's about a man who has photographic memory, a great eye for detail, and excellent skills of logic and deduction. He assists police investigations, but claims to be psychic instead of mentally gifted.

Which always struck me as being a Really Dumb Idea for a TV show. Surely the police would rather have help from someone with keen perception and logic, rather than some flake claiming to be psychic.

My own guess is that somebody wanted to make a series about a psychic detective, but was then persuaded that it might offend the fundamentalists in the Bible Belt, so they changed it to a fake psychic.

Robbie wrote:Is this the same as the US programme called "Psych"? (Showing in the UK on the Hallmark satellite channel.)

They hyped it quite a lot when it first came out, so even though I don't watch it, I've got the gist. It's about a man who has photographic memory, a great eye for detail, and excellent skills of logic and deduction. He assists police investigations, but claims to be psychic instead of mentally gifted.

Which always struck me as being a Really Dumb Idea for a TV show. Surely the police would rather have help from someone with keen perception and logic, rather than some flake claiming to be psychic.

My own guess is that somebody wanted to make a series about a psychic detective, but was then persuaded that it might offend the fundamentalists in the Bible Belt, so they changed it to a fake psychic.

No, it's a different show,which only aired for the first time in the autumn.

The character here used to be a TV 'medium', but now openly admits he was a fraud and that his apparent 'powers' are nothing of the sort.

Robbie -

If you actually watch the show Psych - it's pretty obvious that the creators never had a series about a genuine psychic in mind. It's actually gone out of it's way to poke fun at psychics more than a few times.

I've watched both - the Mentalist is incredibly boring, and the lead actor is dull. Psych is intentionally campy, but still funny. Don't tune in expecting great theater - and you might enjoy it.

Craig mentioned "Lie to Me" which is the new show on Fox. This show actually has some potential. Tim Roth is excellent in the lead role, and the concept is engaging.