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The Mentalist on CBS HD

post #1 of 429
9/7/08 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Figured i'd start a thread for this...

I've seen some promos for this online, thought people might be interested...its a procedural, but no one really does procedurals better than CBS...simon baker was actually pretty good on smith (while it was on)...i dont think i really watch anything else in that time slot either...anyone else interested?
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post #2 of 429
9/7/08 at 10:33pm
Kinda interested. MSNBC's entertainment article about the new dramas said to give it a chance. I'll probably DVR the pilot at least...
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post #3 of 429
9/8/08 at 3:53am
I'm going to give it a shot. However, if I'm reading the promos correctly, doesn't the premise seem to mimic Psych?
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post #4 of 429
9/8/08 at 5:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by petergaryr View Post

I'm going to give it a shot. However, if I'm reading the promos correctly, doesn't the premise seem to mimic Psych?

Watched an advance copy of the pilot and it's less psychic and more "super-observant." Simon's character admits to being a fake psychic on TV who gave that career up to help the police. The other detectives hate him because he beats them to conclusions and he's usually right. I really liked the show. And, no, it's not because I work for the Eye. I happen to think "Worst Week" stinks. And I didn't even finish the pilot to "Gary Unmarried" It was that bad (to me).
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post #5 of 429
9/8/08 at 5:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDon View Post

Watched an advance copy of the pilot and it's less psychic and more "super-observant."

That is the same premise as Psych. The only difference is that on Psych, Shawn disguises his powers of observation with fake psychic flashes. There's no actual supernatural element in Psych. The audience knows he's not psychic because we see his observations being highlighted on screen and his father knows because he taught him his method.

And on Psych, Detective Lassiter hates Shawn, because Shawn beats them to conclusions and he's usually right.
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post #6 of 429
9/8/08 at 5:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by VisionOn View Post

That is the same premise as Psych. The only difference is that on Psych, Shawn disguises his powers of observation with fake psychic flashes. There's no actual supernatural element in Psych. The audience knows he's not psychic because we see his observations being highlighted on screen and his father knows because he taught him his method.

And on Psych, Detective Lassiter hates Shawn, because Shawn beats them to conclusions and he's usually right.

Once again, TV proves there are no more original ideas in Hollywood
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post #7 of 429
9/8/08 at 7:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWinstonWolf View Post

Figured i'd start a thread for this...

I've seen some promos for this online, thought people might be interested...its a procedural, but no one really does procedurals better than CBS...simon baker was actually pretty good on smith (while it was on)...i dont think i really watch anything else in that time slot either...anyone else interested?



I'll be watching and I think all the Psych and TM comparison is repitious . I enjoy Psych too so I'll be watching both shows and enjoy the obvious differences .
I think the promo clips look good and also find Simon Baker a very charismatic actor and I always liked Robin Tunney on Prison Break despite all the negativity thrown at her and her Veronica character. She still is a great actress and her character Teresa looks to be a tough as nails woman who is going to clash with Patrick and I see plenty of chemistry in the brief clips I've seen so I'm going to check this out !
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post #8 of 429
9/8/08 at 10:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by taffyrose View Post

...her character Teresa looks to be a tough as nails woman who is going to clash with Patrick and I see plenty of chemistry in the brief clips I've seen so I'm going to check this out !

You see that start to play out at the end of the show. Without giving anything away, he already knows what makes her tick.. much as she tries to hide herself from him. You get a glimpse of that in the epilogue scene. That tension is going to play out nicely over the course of the series. Assuming it doesn't get the ax.

Off-topic a little, but the "Ex List" also looked interesting. It's kind of like "My Name is Earl" only (for reasons I won't go into) the lead character revisits a former boyfriend from her list in each episode. I'm on the fence with it.
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post #9 of 429
9/8/08 at 11:56am
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/
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post #10 of 429
9/8/08 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by taffyrose View Post

I'll be watching and I think all the Psych and TM comparison is repitious . I enjoy Psych too so I'll be watching both shows and enjoy the obvious differences .
I think the promo clips look good and also find Simon Baker a very charismatic actor and I always liked Robin Tunney on Prison Break despite all the negativity thrown at her and her Veronica character. She still is a great actress and her character Teresa looks to be a tough as nails woman who is going to clash with Patrick and I see plenty of chemistry in the brief clips I've seen so I'm going to check this out !

Interesting you say Baker is charismatic, I've found him to be rather dull and monotonic in most everything I've seen him in. He did do the psycho somewhat well in Smith, but even then it seemed like he was phoning it in.

I'll definitely be checking this one out though, it is CBS and they seem to get it right more often than not.
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post #11 of 429
9/8/08 at 1:07pm
sorry, I can't watch any TV show or movie where the male lead is hotter than the female lead. It goes against the natural order.
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post #12 of 429
9/8/08 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDon View Post

You see that start to play out at the end of the show. Without giving anything away, he already knows what makes her tick.. much as she tries to hide herself from him. You get a glimpse of that in the epilogue scene. That tension is going to play out nicely over the course of the series. Assuming it doesn't get the ax.



I'm hoping CBS gives The Mentalist a solid chance in building the audience it needs but it is CBS we are talking about so that's debatable
But I'm holding out more hope seeing TM make it last than The Unit which CBS stupidly moved to the Sunday Night 10pm timeslot which has me going WTH was CBS thinking ?
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post #13 of 429
9/9/08 at 6:18am
Is this gonna be a show the audience can play along with (i.e. see the clues and try to puzzle it out) or are they just gonna keep tossing out deus ex machina clues at the end?

I'd rather see a TV version of an adult style "Encyclopedia Brown" than yet another show where they get that "final clue" 5 minutes from the end and browbeat a "confession" from a random guest star based purely on circumstantial evidence. I realize this is the MO of almost every procedural show from CSI to Bones but it would be nice to mix it up a bit :P
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post #14 of 429
9/9/08 at 6:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason10mm View Post

I'd rather see a TV version of an adult style "Encyclopedia Brown" than yet another show where they get that "final clue" 5 minutes from the end and browbeat a "confession" from a random guest star based purely on circumstantial evidence. I realize this is the MO of almost every procedural show from CSI to Bones but it would be nice to mix it up a bit :P

You've just summed up why I don't watch procedurals. If it ain't heavily serialized, I ain't bothering with it. And that's all due to the DVR. I would have thought the proliferation of those magical gadgets, which means one never again has to miss an episode of his favorite show, would have helped bring on a new age of wonderfully plotted serial shows. Instead, they seem to inspire a devout following of True Believers, while the cookie-cutter procedurals continue to draw the mass audiences to their nice, neat 42 minute packages of mass produced blandness.
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post #15 of 429
9/14/08 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by barth2k View Post

It goes against the natural order.

Lol
New Episodes Start Tuesday, Sept. 23
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post #16 of 429
9/14/08 at 11:34am
Thread Starter 
im not sure if the mentalist is going to be a straight on procedural...there seems like theres going to be enough back story to keep and underlying plot going for the entire seasons...that alone keeps me interested...
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post #17 of 429
9/14/08 at 12:58pm
I'll watch, because I'm a fan of Psych and it will be interesting to see the concept played out as a serious drama as opposed to a comedy.
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post #18 of 429
9/15/08 at 2:20pm
That aint right. How can you go and rip-off Psych? The yin-yang of Gus's pessimism and Shawn's side-show are what keep that show afloat; don't see how Mentalist can pull this off. But I could be wrong.....nah....
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post #19 of 429
9/16/08 at 8:44am
Thread Starter 
thats the thing, i dont think they are going for that comedy aspect...unless its a dry sardonic type humor...psych has more straight on gags (not that thats bad in any way)...show doesnt need a gus type character for him to play off of..
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post #20 of 429
9/18/08 at 5:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason10mm View Post

Is this gonna be a show the audience can play along with (i.e. see the clues and try to puzzle it out) or are they just gonna keep tossing out deus ex machina clues at the end?

I, too, would like to know this. Willing to give it a shot if it is inviting the audience to figure it out as the episode goes. Little clues in the shots along the way. That would be fun... I'll watch the pilot to find out.
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post #21 of 429
9/21/08 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
anyone seen these viral videos they put out for the show...pretty interesting...good time killer..
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post #22 of 429
9/21/08 at 3:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWinstonWolf View Post

anyone seen these viral videos they put out for the show...pretty interesting...good time killer..

Seen the whole first ep. What's scary is when I offered up the DVD to everyone else at work, only one person was interested. Hope that's not any kind of indication of the general interest in the show.
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post #23 of 429
9/21/08 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tighr View Post

I'll watch, because I'm a fan of Psych and it will be interesting to see the concept played out as a serious drama as opposed to a comedy.

I'm a big fan of Psych but I only put up with the concept when combined with a lot of humor. As a serious procedural, I don't think so, unless you put it in an exotic location, like Betelgeuse or Alpha Centauri.
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post #24 of 429
9/22/08 at 7:46am
A sci-fi crime procedural could be pretty cool If they put some thought into their techno-babble and kept it internally consistent it might actually work!

Anyway, how was the first ep? If I remember I'll add it to the DVR.
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post #25 of 429
9/22/08 at 7:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason10mm View Post

A sci-fi crime procedural could be pretty cool If they put some thought into their techno-babble and kept it internally consistent it might actually work!

Anyway, how was the first ep? If I remember I'll add it to the DVR.

I thought that was what 24 was, other than "put some thought into their techno-babble and kept it internally consistent it might actually work!" part
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post #26 of 429
9/23/08 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason10mm View Post

A sci-fi crime procedural could be pretty cool If they put some thought into their techno-babble and kept it internally consistent it might actually work!

Anyway, how was the first ep? If I remember I'll add it to the DVR.

Actually the first ep is airing tonight at 9...i dont have a tuesday night show, so ill be watching..
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post #27 of 429
9/23/08 at 7:22pm
I liked the pilot and will add it to my list of shows to watch. Hope the show gets impressive ratings though since its competition is Fringe ( another good series ) and it is also taking the place of the timeslot previously owned by The Unit which is moving to Sunday Night and The Unit did great after NCIS so I am curious seeing how TM does !
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post #28 of 429
9/23/08 at 10:12pm
It was better than I expected. Though I'm sick of lead characters who are tortured souls.

Did anyone else notice the guy has never met an iron?
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post #29 of 429
9/24/08 at 4:59am
Watched about one-quarter of the episode then tuned out...permanently. Seemed like "Monk" minus the quirkiness, and the lead actor doesn't carry it IMO. Too many crime-based shows on my viewing list already.-- John
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post #30 of 429
9/24/08 at 6:55am
How is Jane allowed to work on the Red John case if his family was killed by Red John? Is his team unaware that he has a personal vendetta going on?
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