tenaya | The Mentalist musing. (Reply)

I'm really enjoying the Mentalist. Sitting here, I can't remember much about the plot, but I'm really liking how they are writing the regulars. It's like NCIS and Bones in that way--the plot is merely there to provide interaction between the characters. The balance reminds me more of Bones. There is UST between the leads, though not so much on The Mentalist. Instead, the relationship that has potential (realized on Bones) is between the supporting cast. As such, the romance can grow but it shouldn't affect the audience viewers as much as on Moonlighting. I think that's why it totally didn't work to bring on MD on NCIS. I think the writer's might have toyed with the idea of getting her together again with Gibbs and all those flashbacks to their hot and heavy affair just came across as uncomfortable for me.

Jane is appealing because of the playful humor, the attention and care he pays to the people around him, and the humbleness (a lesson he learned the hard way.) The character is much more balance as the show progresses. And of course it doesn't hurt Simon Baker is easy on the eyes. I admit to being surprised he's Australian as he does a very good American accent.

I think Lisbon is the least well defined. I'm glad she isn't playing the world weary detective any more as it didn't suit her. The only women who are that weary, that young are hookers or girls that have been abused.

Cho is great, but you have to pay attention to the little things. In fact, that's true for all the little tidbits they give us about the characters. Many shows I just listen to/half watch, but you can't do that with this show as you will miss many of the nuances that are the heart of the show. Anyway, back to Cho. A man of few words, quick to try to discern Jane's tricks but is not hostile to him. In fact, all of the team appreciate Jane's help and act on whatever he says, no matter how unsubstantiated it seems. I very much appreciate that no one on the team is jealous of Jane's skill or in denial about his abilities. That gets old fast and beside, it's not very teamy.

Van Pelt is a great female character--strong, feminine, smart and quite capable. Rigsby did not fare well in the first episode as I thought he was a sexist oaf, but he's turned into a nice guy. He's the muscle of the team, but it's his quiet yearning for more of a relationship with Van Pelt that is so sweet. I can totally get behind shipping these two (well, not writing it, but at least wanting them to get together.) She says no because they work together and after the bullshit on SG1, this is such a relief. I think she would be receptive to Rigsby, but she won't allow her feelings to go there.

Which makes me wonder why I like this but didn't like Sam/Jack. I think because the ship was there on the first script for TM, while it was a hard right turn on SG1 after 69 episodes. While one person is openly yearning for the other, it's in the background on TM while we had to view close ups of dewy eyes on SG1 and they wrote whole episodes to highlight it. On TM, Rigsby is not bothering Van Pelt with his attentions while on SG1, Carter kept approaching Jack trying to pry/force some sort of reciprocation from him. RDA never gave any indication Jack felt reciprocation and it made Carter's attention for him--for years--so unhealthy and to me, creepy. Of course, The Mentalist has only given us 12 episodes so I suppose they could yet screw this up but time will tell. For the moment, it's a very enjoyable hour of tv.