Did anyone else watch “The Mentalist” last night? (11/19) I thought it was very good. The actors are all appealing, - I’m even starting to tolerate the lead woman - and the show didn’t cop out at the end. (Spoiler ahead, if anyone cares) – I think viewers are divided about the Red John plotline though. I don’t mind if it’s such part of the show. It ties in with why the title character is there with the police in the first place. I do think they might have trouble balancing the light-hearted tone of the show with the darker turn it has taken. It will be interesting to see if his comrades blame Patrick for the officers’ murders, or if he just blames himself.
Just watched it. I try not to think about these types of shows too much or they fall apart. I did enjoy the other day when I was channel surfing and caught part of Encino Man, the Brendan Frazier / Pauly Shore / Sam Gamgee classic, and recognized one of the school girls who was fawning over Link as Lt Lisbon. She’s much prettier now.
I have recorded it and will watch it probably tomorrow. I so totally lust after the red-headed girl. I consider the show to be a bit of fluff, but enjoy it well enough to watch most weeks.
yes, I agree its fluff that shouldn’t be over analyzed. I did enjoy last night’s episode even tho it was unusually dark. I usually watch for the pretty cast, for the most part.
Simon Baker is some serious eye candy. I also really like the guy who plays Cho – or maybe it’s just the character. Great deadpan. (The stuff last week about the rival agent calling them Bert and Ernie.)
Creepy episode last night – yeah, I don’t care for the Red John stories, though as the OP says, you kind of need to to explain what Jane is doing with the rest of the crew.
Is that Cho dude the same one who does the AT&T cable commercials? I think he’s the smart neighbor always telling his dumb (pudgy and balding, of course) neighbor that he needs to switch his cable company for various reasons.
I enjoy the Red John stuff and I really liked last night’s episode. I must say, though, once we meet Red John, he better something special.
In fact, at this point, I’m not sure how they could present him that wouldn’t be anti-climactic.
My satellite reception got goofed up by a short thunderstorm somewhere around 10:50 or so.
What did I miss at the very end? The last thing I saw was:
Jane in the wounded agent’s room. Wounded agent tells Jane that when he finds Red John, to kill him, not arrest him. Jane says “That’s the idea.” Then…???
Was there anything else?
Not much.
Lisbon asks Jane what Bosco said, Jane lies, says “nothing,” then “that I should look after you.” Lisbon’s boss is quitting/retiring; he and Lisbon hug and say goodbye. The usual crew gathers around a desk to toast Bosco with his tequila, and then start singing “Amazing Grace.” Jane leaves the impromptu wake and goes into the other room to start reading the Red John files.
Great. Thanks, twickster
I enjoyed the episode, except for one glaring omission. When the woman was being led away, Red John smeared poison on her directly under a surveillance camera. You can see it in the shot shortly after. It was pointed in the direction RJ came from. No one even mentioned it.
For a few years, I worked as a TV critic for various print publications (mostly newspapers), a job that wasn’t really always fun, believe it. Oh, the crap one had to watch…
One of the methods I used to evaluate individual performances as well as story quality, continuity, etc., was to watch the screener tapes I received of shows in mute, from start to finish, then, I’d cover the TV with a towel or something, and just listen to the audio. You can learn a LOT about a show that way, if you have too much time on your hands.
Anyway, yeah, I watched the episode, and my wife and I are regular viewers. Fluff though it may be, it’s entertaining on enough levels overall to make our weekly TIVO list. I haven’t felt compelled to write about anything television for a long, long while, but this epi raises the bar for the writers and producers, from here out.
If I were writing an actual review, I would direct readers to the “perp walk” at minute 49. Shauna Bloom, as Rebecca, delivers a resume-clip performance in those dialogue-free 55 seconds, all with her face and body language.
Had this been a theatrical release, I’d recommend buying a ticket for those 55 seconds alone. Whether or not the security camera “gaffe” was intentional as bait, Bloom’s middle-aged Squeaky Fromme is riveting as she leaves the elevator, then encounters Red John in the hallway. I haven’t seen a performance like that in a long, long time.
Bravo.
I confess to being surprised by a few plot lines. I also loved Lisbon’s boss’ response to the reporter that made me laugh. Although I am impressed that they show Jane’s darker sides, I prefer my heroes to be less shades of gray.
I knew that the secretary character would play some big surprise role within like 20 seconds of her being introduced a few episodes ago. They gave her too much dialogue, too much camera time for totally mundane interactions. Seemed wasteful to do for just a random unimportant character, so I knew she’d end up playing some big role. I didn’t realize this was what, but it had me watching her suspiciously the whole time since then…
Yes, that’s him. He also appears regularly on the little TV screen on the pumps at the Shell station across the street from me.
I really enjoy this series, especially the Red John episodes. I hope that if/when they reveal Red John’s identity, the show will use Kevin Spacey. He’s already played a character that was Satan incarnate in Seven, so why not another?
picnurse, I noticed that also, but I just assumed that–
Red John had someone else carry out this job for him, after all the secretary was already working for him, one might surmise that he has other people devoted to him.
I love this show, and I love the fact that even though I know nobody who likes the show IRL, I’m bound to find kindred spirits on SDMB.
This episode is going to be a hard act to follow and it has radically changed my perception of Jane as a charming quirky dilettante.