“The Mentalist” is a TV show from 2008 that went on for 7 seasons and 151 episodes. Throughout approximately 113 hours of television, Patrick Jane (in this role Simon Baker), former carnival trickster and conman, helps the law enforcement agencies close criminal cases in California and subsequently in Texas.

The show’s creator, Bruno Heller, mastered the very rare and difficult to navigate window of ‘predictable-but-not-boring’. Most of the episodes follow very similar recipe: a new case, development of relationships between main characters, a little dive into Jane’s lore and the closure of the case. A few times per season, we get the episode centered on Red John – the serial killer who murdered Patrick’s wife and daughter, and whom Jane swore to find and kill himself. And it works very well. The episodes flow smoothly, with major surprises sprinkled throughout the seasons. Surprises that made me gasp more than once.

This show does not rush unnecessarily and it does not overstay its welcome. It was created in times when it didn’t take three years to release a new season and by the time it is ready, nobody really cares anymore. It was back in the good ol’days when viewers didn’t need to be hit in the eyes with lasers and CGI every five seconds to prevent them from accidentally picking up their phone. 

The writing is relaxed, thought through, balancing entertainment and mature themes. We are treated to backstories, throwback episodes and side plots that have time to unravel with their own coherent beginning, middle and end. The director trusts his viewers to follow and no camera zoom is redundant. If you pay attention, you will get the satisfaction of guessing who the killer is. But you don’t have to try to guess. Even a completely passive watch of the episode is enjoyable.

Dynamics between main characters don’t shift radically, yet just enough to bring a little breeze of fresh air. Either it is a new direct boss of the team or a partner, it brings a bit of change necessary to not stagnate. Chemistry within the main group of agents – Lisbon, Rigsby, Cho, Van Pelt and Jane is also the right amount of friendship, professional and occasionally romantic. 

The criminal cases are written in a way that even an avid crime fiction fan won’t get bored. Information about the main characters is dosed slowly, organically, there are no info dumps and expositions in the middle of the action because the writers forgot to create any other believable scene. There are serious consequences of serious situations, so we don’t sit in the bubble of the fictional world with plot armor stretched to the impossible.

Perhaps the greatest merit lies in the main character of Patrick Jane. He is an incredibly intelligent individual, gifted in the area of observation. Officials put up with his antics and non-traditional ways of solving crimes simply because he is useful and boosts close cases statistics. He gets called out on questionable behavior and quite often we can see how his incredible trauma of losing his family in a brutal murder affects his way of perceiving the world and interacting with others. All this makes Jane believable, real and no eye-rolling occurs when he does his ‘genius’ thing. As an ardent fan of Sherlock Holmes, I was reserved at the beginning of the show but Patrick Jane won me over with his complete lack of ‘wannabe’ energy. He is his own character and darn great as well.

Season 6 brings us the resolution of Red John chase. It is doing a really good job in keeping the viewer engaged and participating in unraveling the infamous serial killer’s identity with frequent recaps and summaries without being patronizing. And even though I was personally a bit disappointment in the choice of character that turned out to be Red John, I had so much fun placing bets and pausing the show to discuss the clues with my fiancé that I couldn’t hold the grudge for too long.

Especially because the final season number 7 is excellent. It is a roller coaster condensed in 13 episodes that brings incredibly satisfying closure of plots, heartbreaking death and beautiful bow to the story. 

“The Mentalist” goes on the list of my favorite TV shows as the absolute pinnacle of the comfort television era. And special agent Kimball Cho on the list of my favorite fictional characters for being an absolute legend. Bravo, Mr. Heller.