The Mentalist is a Good TV Show Like Life is a Good Cereal

Last updated on: February 28, 2017 at 11:25 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

The Mentalist is a Good TV Show Like Life is a Good Cereal 2017-02-28T11:25:55-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Sometimes a man wishes for great television and sometimes he just wants to enjoy some sound entertainment. The best of all cold cereals, Peanut Butter Crunch, is too good for daily use, it is for the Holidays. However, Life cereal combines just enough sugar and oat goodness to endure the breakfasts of February.

Life is comfort cereal: sweet, but not too sweet. You can eat it with anything, but it does not taste too bland either. And this brings us to how to choose a television show.

Some television is great (Andy Griffith), some is not so great (Star Trek: Enterprise), and some has greatness only when it goes to streaming. This is the show not memorable enough to keep you in gear over the long hiatus between seasons (Who is that again?), but that shines when you can zip through the whole thing.

This is Life television: comfort viewing.

(Used for review purposes)

Except for sports, we give “live” video a pass and wait until a series is done. At that point it becomes our end of the day treat and we fly through the canon without commercials or breaks. We see the characters grow and the actors age in a matter of weeks as there is no break between seasons. In fact, the season cliffhanger (generally) has to be watched in conjunction with the next season opener, because inquiring minds want to know.

Some favorites seen this way are The Grinder, You, Me and the Apocalypse, and the original Hawaii Five-O. None are great television, but all were good comfort television: just smart enough not to be foolish, but not so smart to make two tired teachers bring their best thought. Two recent failures were Person of Interest, which decided not to about people and of little interest, and Black List, where the absurdity level of the plot drove even me away (and I think some of third season Star Trek TOS is good).

In other cases, the show is too good to consume this way: we let The Run of His Life happen to us week by week. There was too much to consider.

The Mentalist (we are in season four) is formulaic. A psychic, Patrick Jayne (Simon Baker), is conning his way to fame and wealth when his pride attracts a serial killer, Red John. Jayne loses his wife and child, gives up his scam, and sets out to find the murderer. He becomes a consultant for the ludicrously named CBI (California Bureau of Investigation), a group so implausible the show makes jokes about people never having heard of it. You must forget how he manages this. Not surprisingly, he joins a madcap team that becomes his family. Led by Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) the crew closes case after case. Each season brings them closer, one hopes, to capturing Red John.

Jayne is Sherlock Holmes with a group of Watsons. Where Watson got the girl in Sign of Four, my bet is that Patrick and Teresa will end their studies in scarlet (each episode relates to the color red) by getting married. At least that is what we hope. The rest of the cast is fine with Kimball Cho (Tim Kang) channeling the Jack Webb method of acting better than even Dan Ackroyd. The show is recent enough that one is shocked when nobody has a smart phone and then they start appearing.

Life doesn’t need The Mentalist, but just as Life cereal can get you through a still-too-dark winter morning, so The Mentalist can put you to sleep with style. Apple TV has it now and it is worth your time.

Culture

Pop Culture

Previous Post

February 27, 2017

What Love Says to Perfect Love

Next Post

March 1, 2017 Malory and Machiavelli: Just Now We Need Both

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What book comes after Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalms Ecclesiastes Isaiah Daniel

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »