The Mentalist

I have been know to agree with the statement: "Television has been the ruination of this country." Certainly it has been a major factor in changing almost everyone's life since the 1950's.

As Mom aged she watched more Iowa Public Television than anything else. As she said, "There's nothing worth watching on the other channels." (ABC, CBS & NBC - she didn't have cable.)

I'm finding as I age, I agree even though we have Direct TV and get umpteen channels, I'd rather watch IPT or read.

There are a few exceptions and tonight is one of them - I have watched "Bones" from the beginning and finally got Bud to watch it. And we have both watched "The Mentalist" from the time of its debut in September, 2008. We love Patrick Jane's (Simon Baker) power of observation which enables him to solve the 'who dunnits'.

Smart, insightful, observant protagonists are also the reasons I watch "House", "Monk" (sadly, no more), "Law & Order" and, used to watch, the original "CSI" (until Wm Petersen left).

One of the reasons I have given up on network tv is that too many times I have begun watching a series, gotten invested in the characters and story line, only to have it canceled. I'd rather not watch at all than to be left in the lurch. "Vengeance Unlimited" with Michael Madsen was such a program. (1998-99 season) I loved the way Mr. Chapel used people he had helped in the past to carry out intricate scams to help his current deserving client and ultimately best the bad guys.

Solving crimes using the powers of observation are nothing new. Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" is the most famous for doing so. When I think of Sherlock, I see Jeremy Brett who played the master detective on tv for ten years. (Bud's first thought is Basil Rathbone.) We recently saw the Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law movie version of Sherlock Holmes and both enjoyed it.

I doubt Simon Baker's 'Mentalist' will last ten years as Jeremy Brett's 'Sherlock' did. I'm hopeful it will be on for another year or two at least. If not, Laurie R. King is still writing her "Mary Russell" books, so I have those to look forward to.