The Mentalist TV Show Pilot Episode Review

The Mentalist is a TV series airing on the CBS TV network. The first episode of the series aired on 9/23/08. Simon Baker stars as Patrick Jane, a former "psychic" who now works for the California Department of Investigations (CBI). Patrick Jane uses his mentalist abilities to help solve crimes. Robin Tunney stars as Teresa Libson, the head of the task force Patrick works for. Warning: my episode review contains plot spoilers.

The pilot episode of the Mentalist was very interesting but a bit confusing at times. Viewers are thrust into the world of Patrick Jane with no back story. Fortunately, the writers are good at giving clues and the plot is easy to figure out after ten minutes of the episode. Apparently Patrick Jane has been working with the CBI for awhile, enough to form relationships with the main characters. Teresa and her team don't seem to really like him at all but tolerates him since they have no choice. I think the team doesn't really like him because he isn't a team player and usually solves the case without them.

The pilot episode does revolve around a murder investigation which is mildly interesting but the main focus on the episode is introducing Patrick Jane. Simon Baker is excellent as Patrick Jane, the former scam artist who is now trying to make up for past mistakes. Simon Baker use to be a fake psychic but unfortunately he ticked off a serial killer named Red John who got revenge by killing Patrick's wife and daughter. This is all learned by interesting flashbacks throughout the episode. The most moving part of the episode is the last scene when the audience sees Patrick enter his now empty house and heads to the bedroom that his wife and daughter were murdered in. The murder happened five years ago. The room has since been cleaned and everything removed except for a mattress and the blood stained signature happy face by Red John. Patrick sleeps underneath the happy face as a constant reminder of the terrible consequences of his former job.

Patrick Jane does have some very funny lines throughout the episode. My favorite is when he is rude to the snotty medical examiner. Teresa tells him to be nice and Patrick says "He irks me. He is irksome." I laughed.

I was very impressed with the pilot episode of The Mentalist and look forward to future episodes. It had the right mix of mystery, adventure, and great acting. I give the episode 5 out of 5 stars.