Over seven seasons, the show has gathered a million-strong army of fans around the world. The recognition of viewers and critics brought a nomination for the Golden Globe and a number of other television awards. Guessed that the series “Mentalist” would become the hero of our article? Reviews, a brief summary, facts about its production and many other interesting information you will find further.
Embellishing Reality
Despite the fact that the series is about the California Bureau of Investigation, at the time the filming of the first season started, it no longer existed. No, it was before, but then a reorganization took place, and the creators decided to take this idea as a basis. In general, in the series there are many fictional places. And the story itself may seem a little unrealistic - a young and incredibly smart man is taken to help the Bureau in the most difficult cases. To describe its essence also becomes problematic. Who is he, consultant, detective, medium, manipulator or professional psychologist? But it is precisely such a character that the series “The Mentalist” presents to us. The reviews from the audience unanimously proclaim Patrick Jane a simple observer who analyzes the events with the utmost care. He skillfully debunkes the myth of "sleight of hand and no magic." And the work of his brain is beyond description!
And although the production of the series took place entirely in the United States, the main role was given to the Australian Simon Baker. Prior to being invited to the show, he starred in episodes of various television series and feature films, such as: “Bell 2” and “The Devil Wears Prada”. And his conquest of Hollywood began with the criminal thriller "Los Angeles Secrets". The “mentalist” for Baker has become an excellent platform for self-development.
Heroes need to know in person
Patrick Jane - a figure quite independent. Out of kindness and for the sake of personal interest, he helps the Bureau in major crimes when his participation is really necessary. The content of the series “The Mentalist” is structured according to the scheme “each episode is a new story”. Moreover, events that occurred in the past often intersect in the plot. A single line can be traced even in the names for each series, when any mention of red color is invariably present. This is connected with the name of the main antagonist of the series, the criminal, whom Jane has been trying to track down for many years. Settling personal scores remains for him an additional interest, which helps Patrick stay afloat.
Not a new idea, new images
Many compare the Mentalist hero with the Clairvoyant, Sherlock Holmes, Castle, and other screen characters. And this is partly true. With its inherent simplicity and charm, Patrick Jane helps colleagues set the right accents, always giving the right clues. His brain, like a shutter of a camera, takes pictures at the right moments, looking for something that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Simon Baker creates the image of the right, easy hero, and the actor himself is simply reincarnated into it.
The show is able to keep you on the screen from the very first episode. How can one combine drama, detective, comic so skillfully? Quite the series “Mentalist”, reviews of which contain mostly positive ratings, is a direct confirmation of this.
Unmanaged team
Joining the Bureau, Jane became a partner of the senior agent Theresa Lisbon. There is still no romantic line between them, but for now they are trying to work together, although this does not always work out. No less talented and so different colleagues help them. Each of them is incredibly individual, and together they are a great team complementing each other. It is impossible to imagine what the Mentalist (TV series) would have been without any of them. The actors are harmoniously selected, and each fit perfectly into their image.
Battle of the psychic
The detective line is the main component of the project. But what distinguishes him from other shows of a similar orientation is Patrick’s ability to find a criminal using logic, guesswork, observation of manners and habits of people. The criminals themselves “help” him in this. As a rule, those who committed the crime for the first time do it “out of inexperience”, therefore it is not difficult to calculate them.
However, there remains the “main” maniac, which was already mentioned earlier, periodically appearing throughout all seasons. His searches become a kind of obsession for Patrick, and it is extremely interesting for any viewer to find out whether he will eventually find this person.
The plot includes a detective line, psychology and subtle humor, helping to easily perceive each episode. If you are interested in a combination of these genres, then you will definitely come to see the “Mentalist” (TV series), all seasons of which can be easily found on the Internet.
A few words about the shortcomings
Nevertheless, there are several negative reviews about the series. Many viewers believe that Patrick Jane in some moments behaves extremely unworthy. So, he can speak unpleasantly, take someone else's food, and sometimes just annoys with his “lunges”. It also creates the impression of the main person “here and now”, who should be idolized. What else did the audience pay attention to while watching the series “The Mentalist”? The reviews critically describe situations where, when examining evidence, the hero can touch them with his hands, although according to the laws of forensics does he have such a right? Here, for some reason, the authors emphasized Jane’s ability to use her skills (and accordingly, evidence is generally useless), and they simply turned a blind eye to the basic rules of working with them.
The coordinated work of Patrick and his team, of course, remains a great help in solving crimes. But to know a little more about the personal life of each of the secondary characters would not hurt. Otherwise, they, on the one hand, are perceived by the team, on the other, by strangers. I would like to see their development in professional growth. But in fact, in addition to changes in the personal life of Patrick and Teresa, we have nothing more.
Love in Russia
The series found a response in the hearts of Russian viewers. They note interesting plot twists, clearly defined dialogs and specific humor, which together give a pleasant viewing experience. I especially want to highlight the musical accompaniment. From series to series, it helps to empathize and keep in suspense.
An increase in the army of fans was also helped by the voice acting of the series “The Mentalist”. The voice was given to Simon Baker by actor Sergei Nabiev, who has been dubbing films for many years. According to him, he immediately fell in love with the protagonist, so it was extremely easy to work.
In the footsteps of the original
Domestic cinema, as you know, has a tradition of copying foreign series and adapting them to your audience. In 2016, a joint production of Ukrainian and Russian film companies released a remake of the eponymous show. How did he get it?
As the audience noted, the Mentalist (TV series, Russia) is much worse than the original, although the basic idea has remained the same. The protagonist Daniil Romanov works in the criminal police department, helping in the capture of criminals with the help of his distinctive abilities. Once, he, like the character of Simon Baker, survived the tragedy, because the search for killers remains for him also a personal motive.
When trying to adapt, the creators, unfortunately, did not work out a number of important points. So, the details were missed when, as in the American “Mentalist”, trifles are given their proper place, because it is precisely on them that the main character draws his attention. Almost complete copying of plot stories looks implausible in some places, the peculiarities of our country and mentality are not fully taken into account; exacerbates the picture and the weak scenario. Actors are poorly selected, they do not give out any emotions, their game is reduced to a mechanism. And finally, the worst thing that the fans were afraid of is that the main character appears completely different not only externally, but also internally: sometimes his “discoveries” and guesses seem ridiculous and ridiculous. He does not feel the approach and sparks with which Patrick Jane approaches his work.
As can be seen from the reviews, Mentalist (the Russian series) did not exceed expectations. The show did not last one season. Maybe you should still enjoy the American original?