Welcome to the 2008-9 TV season, where even the shows that aren't remakes might as well be.
"The Mentalist," unlike most of the freshman class both at CBS and elsewhere, wasn't adapted from a foreign show nor is it technically a reinvention of an older hit. But fans of USA's "Psych" won't have to look too closely to see how similar their favorite show is to this new one.
On "Psych," the hero solves crimes while pretending to be a psychic, when in fact his only real ability is an acute attention to detail. "The Mentalist" is essentially about what would happen to the guy from "Psych" if he grew up a little and told the cops the truth.
Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, who made a lot of money as a celebrity psychic and occasional detective until an encounter with a serial killer shamed him into fessing up. Now he works as a full-time consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation, using his knack for observation to pick up clues the real cops miss.
In the series' opening sequence, he visits the home of a family whose daughter was just murdered, and within 30 seconds of studying the photos on their fridge, he can tell exactly what happened and why. Later, he meets a new member of the CBI team and asks if her father was a football coach. When she asks how he knew that, he says, "It's obvious from your whole demeanor."
That kind of Sherlock Holmes insta-profiling isn't remotely as novel now that we have not only "Psych" guy, but Gil Grissom, and Monk, and Robert Goren and a bunch of other crime show stars who can similarly size up a stranger with a brief glance. For "The Mentalist" to distinguish itself from all the other procedurals, it needs some style and a compelling leading man.
It comes up short on the former. Though creator Bruno Heller was also responsible for HBO's memorable "Rome," and director David Nutter is a veteran of spooky, atmospheric TV ("The X-Files," "Supernatural," "Without a Trace"), it's an unremarkable pilot in terms of look and tone. It's all but mandatory for one of these shows to have an interesting visual signature (the computer zoom-ins on "CSI," the rapidly-aging witnesses on "Cold Case"), but all we get to show Patrick's observations are quick cuts, and not even all the time.
So that leaves Simon Baker, whom CBS has been trying to make into a star for a while now. First there was "The Guardian," an interesting but deliberately cold legal drama where he was never allowed to smile or show much emotion. Then there was "Smith," a heist show that lasted all of two weeks, though he was by far the best thing in it, charming as a sociopath sniper.
By now, CBS has him calibrated just about right. There isn't much humor in "The Mentalist," but Baker gets to enjoy himself as he insinuates his way into other people's business. The CBI agents he works with suspect he usually figured out whodunit immediately, then lets things play out for a while just to enjoy watching what happens. Baker has an unforced masculinity that allows him to play likable bastards like this, and with the other regular characters (played by Robin Tunney, Owain Yeoman, Tim Kang and Amanda Righetti) so far ciphers at best, he's able to carry the show by his lonesome. Heller seems reluctant to make Jane or the show too funny (because then he'd only be aiding the "Psych" plagiarism suit, no doubt), but Baker makes the rare light moments work.
But unless the storytelling gets more interesting, you have to really like Baker to make "The Mentalist" more than something you pay casual attention to at best.
"The Mentalist" (Tonight at 9 on Channel 2) A former TV psychic uses his real powers of observation to help solve crimes in a new drama starring Simon Baker.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at asepinwall@starledger.com, or by writing him at 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, N.J. 07102-1200. Please include your full name and hometown.