Product Description
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The Mentalist: The Complete First Season (DVD)
Golden Globe nominee Simon Baker stars as Patrick Jane, an
independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation
with a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes using
only his razor sharp skills of observation. Notorious for his
blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic
(whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned), Jane's
role in cracking a series of tough high-profile cases is highly
valued by his fellow agents. However, no-nonsense Senior Agent
Teresa Lisbon alternates between reluctantly acknowledging Jane's
usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and
dangerous lack of boundaries. Lisbon's team includes agents
Kimball Cho, Wayne Rigsby and rookie Grace Van Pelt, who all
think Jane's a loose cannon but admire his charm and knack for
clearing cases. Give your mind a workout with episodes from
Season One of THE MENTALIST.
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The Mentalist is nominally a procedural (and an excellent
one), but its characters are especially richly written, and
there's romance and torment hinted at in equal measure throughout
the series. All of this--and the star turn by dreamy Australian
actor Simon Baker, whose smoldering good looks take a back seat
to his nuanced acting--make The Mentalist one of TV's top drama
series. Season 1 sets the action in motion immediately, as the
viewer quickly learns the backstory: Baker's character, Patrick
Jane, was once a questionable TV psychic (à la John Edwards) who
professed to help people contact their deceased loved ones. But a
crazed killer--"Red John"--was watching one day when Jane
mentioned assisting California on his case, and in
retribution he committed a horrific crime with staggering
personal repercussions on Jane. Jane leaves his sham life behind,
but it turns out he's actually quite gifted as an observer of
subtle human behavior--a "mentalist," who, he tells the
California Bureau of Investigation, "is a master manipulator of
thought and behavior." So Jane joins the CBI in tracking tricky
cases, including that of Red John.
The rest of the cast is terrific, especially Robin Tunney, who
may have found the role, and series, of a lifetime, as Teresa
Lisbon, the head of the squad, who must keep Jane on track but
give him enough lead to assist the often skeptical power
structure. There's undeniable chemistry between Jane and Lisbon,
yet any potential romance is superseded by a very real-feeling
mutual respect and admiration, which shows its own kind of
tenderness. Other stellar cast members include Tim Kang (the
all-business Kimball Cho), Owain Yeoman (the ambitious rookie
Wayne Rigsby), and Amanda Righetti (the doe-eyed newbie Grace Van
Pelt, who may have a lot to learn in traditional work, but
who has a deep understanding of and respect for Jane's psychic
abilities). Another star worth mentioning: The location s all
around California, which give the show a life and depth seldom
seen on network series. The lush real settings--a mansion in San
Francisco, a weedy rural road outside Bakersfield--add to the
immediacy and intensity of the story lines.
The first season boxed set is a bounty and includes all 23
episodes, a fantastic featurette with the cast and creators on
making the series, as well as a mini-doc on the difference (and
there is one) between a mentalist and a psychic. Fans of the
series won't want to miss the gag reel, either--the cast clearly
has as much fun making the show as its fans do watching it.
--A.T. Hurley