The Mentalist
The Mentalist 2008 Intertitle.png
Genre Police procedural
Comedy-drama
Created by Bruno Heller
Directed by Chris Long
David Nutter
Starring Simon Baker
Robin Tunney
Tim Kang
Owain Yeoman
Amanda Righetti
Opening theme "Theme from The Mentalist"
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 102 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Bruno Heller
David Nutter
Producer(s) Charles Goldstein
Location(s) California
Running time 40?43 minutes
Production company(s) Primrose Hill Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run September 23, 2008 (2008-09-23) – present
External links
Website

The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series that debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS.[1] The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also its executive producer. The show follows former "psychic" Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), who is now a consultant to the fictional California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), using the highly developed observational skills he previously employed to "read" peoples' minds. The Mentalist was released on iTunes on October 1, 2012.[citation needed]

On March 14, 2012, CBS announced that The Mentalist had been renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on September 30, 2012.[2]

Contents

Synopsis[edit]

The Mentalist follows Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the fictional California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. Although not an officer of the law of any sort, he uses skills from his former career as a successful, yet knowingly and admittedly fraudulent psychic medium to help a team of CBI agents solve various crimes. The ultimate goal of Patrick Jane and his cooperation with the CBI is to track down the killer known as "Red John" who was responsible for the brutal murders of Patrick's wife and daughter.

Patrick Jane formerly had a lucrative career as a con man, successfully posing as a psychic medium and enjoying near-celebrity status. He appeared on television to claim that his paranormal abilities helped the police profile a serial killer named Red John. Red John, angered by the perceived slight, murdered Jane's wife and young daughter in revenge. Jane subsequently abandoned his job as a psychic and teamed with the CBI, using his skills to help them solve various crimes. His main focus is on the cases involving Red John or Red John copycats. He admits to faking the supernatural aspects of his skills, often asserting that "there's no such thing as psychics," yet he has finely honed skills in cold reading, hypnotism, and pickpocketing, as well as powerful observational skill and a deep insight into the human psyche and behavior. These skills come in handy in every episode, but his unorthodox and bizarre techniques to solve crimes sometimes offend the team of agents with whom he works.

Production[edit]

The show often sets episodes in fictional locales with names like Salinger Mill and Rancho Rosa. Like the majority of American television shows, The Mentalist is mostly filmed within the studio zone in Los Angeles County, but occasionally films a few scenes on location in Sacramento.

On October 15, 2008, CBS ordered a full (the first) season of The Mentalist.[3] On May 20, 2009, CBS renewed The Mentalist for a second season, which premiered on September 24, 2009, in the US[4] and on September 22 on CTV in Canada,[5] as well as September 28, 2009, in Australia. On May 19, 2010, CBS announced that The Mentalist was renewed for a third season.[6] On May 18, 2011, the show was officially renewed for a fourth season, and on March 14, 2012, CBS renewed the show for a fifth season.

Cast and characters[edit]

Main characters[edit]

Recurring characters[edit]

Minor characters[edit]

Episode list[edit]

DVD releases[edit]

Warner Home Video has released the first three seasons on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4. Season 4 will be released on September 18, 2012[7] in Region 1, October 8, 2012[8] in Region 2 and on October 31, 2012 in Region 4.[9]

DVD Name Ep # Release Dates
Region 1 Region 2 (UK) Region 4 (AUS)
The Complete First Season 23 September 22, 2009[10] March 8, 2010[11] September 23, 2009[12]
The Complete Second Season 23 September 21, 2010[13] November 8, 2010 November 10, 2010[14]
The Complete Third Season 24 September 20, 2011[15] October 10, 2011[16] October 26, 2011[17]
The Complete Fourth Season 24 September 18, 2012 October 8, 2012 October 31, 2012

Reception[edit]

The pilot episode had an audience of 15.6 million viewers in its first airing, and 7.8 million in a re-airing three days later.[18] The December 2, 2008, episode ("Flame Red") was the highest-rated television show of the week, marking the first time a program in its first season had achieved that distinction since Desperate Housewives four years earlier.[19]

The show has been criticized as being a rip-off of Psych.[20][21]

Awards and nominations[edit]

File:Underdown Mentalist.jpg
Director of Center for Inquiry West IIG West, James Underdown presents Editor Jimm Gadd with award August 21, 2010

U.S. ratings[edit]

Season Episodes Timeslot (EST) Original Airing Rank Viewers
(in millions)
Season premiere Season finale TV season
1 23 Tuesday 9:00?pm September 23, 2008 May 19, 2009 2008?09 6th 17.52[27]
2 23 Thursday 10:00?pm September 24, 2009 May 20, 2010 2009?10 10th 15.37[28]
3 24 September 23, 2010 May 19, 2011 2010?11 9th 15.24[29]
4 24 September 22, 2011 May 17, 2012 2011?12 12th 14.57[30]
5 22 Sunday 10:00?pm September 30, 2012 2012?13 TBA TBA

Distribution[edit]

On November 6, 2009, TNT announced that it had obtained exclusive syndication rights for The Mentalist and would begin airing old episodes of the series starting in the fall of 2011.[31] In Greece, the series premiered in 2009 on pay-TV service NovaCinema 1, the first season premiered in February 7, 2011 on Star Channel, and so far season 2 has been broadcast. In India, The Mentalist premiered on November 2010 on Zee Cafe and was re-aired from May 14, 2012 (Season 1 to Season 4).

References[edit]

  1. ^ Michael Schneider, "CBS sets premieres after debates," Variety June 26, 2008
  2. ^ Gorman, Bill (March 14, 2012). "CBS Renews 18 Shows: 'The Good Wife,' 'Blue Bloods,' '2 Broke Girls,' 'The Mentalist,' 'Mike Molly' Many More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 27, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Breaking News ? Cbs Gives A Full Season Order To "The Mentalist"". TheFutonCritic.com. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  4. ^ "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 24, 2009. 
  5. ^ "CTV.ca". CTV.ca. Retrieved September 7, 2009.  Text " The Mentalist (HD)" ignored (help)
  6. ^ "CBS Announces 2010?2011 Primetime Schedule". 
  7. ^ "The Mentalist DVD news: Announcement for The Mentalist?The Complete 4th Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  8. ^ "(UK): The Mentalist Season 4 DVD ? Free Delivery". Play.com. Retrieved 2012-06-06. 
  9. ^ "Mentalist, The - The Complete 4th Season". Ezydvd.com.au. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  10. ^ "The Mentalist DVD news: Press Release for The Mentalist-The Complete 1st Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  11. ^ "The Mentalist Season 1 [DVD] [2008]: Amazon.co.uk: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Amanda Righetti, Tim Kang: DVD". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  12. ^ "Mentalist, The - The Complete 1st Season (6 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  13. ^ "The Mentalist DVD news: Box Art and Release Date for The Mentalist ? The Complete 2nd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  14. ^ "Mentalist, The - The Complete 2nd Season (5 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  15. ^ "The Mentalist DVD news: Announcement for The Mentalist - The Complete 3rd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  16. ^ "(UK): The Mentalist Season 3 DVD ? Free Delivery". Play.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03. 
  17. ^ "Mentalist, The - The Complete 3rd Season (5 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  18. ^ "Breaking News?CBS WINS PREMIERE TUESDAY WITH ITS LARGEST AUDIENCE ON THE NIGHT SINCE 2001". TheFutonCritic.com. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  19. ^ Collins, Scott (9 December 2008). "CBS takes weekly ratings as 'Mentalist' soars". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  20. ^ "Psych vs. The Mentalist". 
  21. ^ "Will "The Mentalist" rise above Psych's shadow?". 
  22. ^ "People's Choice Awards 2009 Nominees". People's Choice Awards. Retrieved 2011-11-24. 
  23. ^ "61st Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations". Academy of Television Arts Sciences. Retrieved 2011-11-24. 
  24. ^ Allen, Kate (7 September 2009). "Coben, Cole, Atkinson vie for crime awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  25. ^ "The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved 2011-11-24. 
  26. ^ "IIG website". Iigwest.com. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  27. ^ "SEASON PROGRAM RANKINGS (THROUGH 5/24)". ABCMedianet.com. May 24, 2009 (2009-05-24). Retrieved April 12, 2010 (2010-04-12). 
  28. ^ Gorman, Bill (16 June 2010). "Final 2009?10 Broadcast Primetime Show Average Viewership". Tvbythenumbers.com. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  29. ^ "2010?11 Season Broadcast Primetime Show Viewership Averages". Tvbythenumbers.com. June 1, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011. 
  30. ^ Gormam, Bill (May 25, 2012). "Complete List Of 2011?12 Season TV Show Viewership: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops, Followed By 'American Idol,' 'NCIS' 'Dancing With The Stars'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 25, 2012. 
  31. ^ McDuffee, Debbie (November 6, 2009). "TNT: The little network with the smart decisions". CliqueClack TV. Retrieved November 6, 2009. 

External links[edit]