On the Fringe of Mentalism

Two shows have grabbed my attention of late. One of them is no big surprise, it's Fringe and it's been around for a while now - almost nearing its first season finale in fact.

I'll tackle this one first. A J.J. Abrams project (the man responsible for Alias, Lost and, in the movie-world Cloverfield and the new Star Trek), a sort of spiritual successor to the X-Files for a new generation, Fringe was of those shows that had the misfortune of attracting masses of hype (mainly thanks to the cultural phenomenon that is Lost) and then receiving a lukewarm reception when it didn't really live up to it.

Impossible really, if you ask me. And I'll confess, I was in agreement.

I found the central character Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv) to be cold and unlikeable. As for Joshua Jackson, taking on the role of Peter Bishop, well, I wasn't really sure where he fitted in. Sort of a surplus to requirements character in many ways, save for providing a route to his infinitely more entertaining father, Walter, played by the excellent John Noble, aka Denethor from The Return of the King.


I think, initially at least, John Noble saved this show. Arguably the darkest and most deviant of all the characters, Walter Bishop was also easily the most likable and watchable. That fact still remains, but following it's season break, now well into the final few furlongs, the others are catching up.

Olivia's relationship where he loser sister and her daughter feels a little crowbarred - possibly intended to give the FBI agent some warmth due to her constant cold snap, but I find the tortured 'psychic relationship/connection' with her former lover (now dead; sort of) John Scott to be much more emotive and interesting.

It's here that she ceases to be a cold fish and gets some heart. Her feelings seem genuine and offer a new dimension to her somewhat two-dimensional portrayal. Bizarrely, in her interactions with Peter, Olivia sometimes comes across as slightly coy and childish - when juxtaposed against her tough-girl image she projects whilst dealing with colleagues, it's an intriguing, if slightly incongruous, mix.

As I've already said, Walter Bishop is still by far my favourite character. He gets all the best lines, never had to compromise and is infinitely endearing, despite his dubious experimental practices and dangerous recreational drug usage.

It's a testament to the quality of the writing in this show (which has more than its fair share of surprises, but is thankfully less obscure and annoying than Lost can be sometimes) that Walter, as its true lynch pin, is so successful.

As the episodes build from one week to the next, case by bizarre case (wholly redolent of the X-Files but without all of that tedious 'Are aliens real?' bs), the meta-narrative builds too and layers are added to the core story strands of the Advancement of Science Destruction theorists and the shady organisation of Massive Dynamic.

It's far-fetched, Fringe doesn't claim to be anything else, but compelling too. There's an ingenuity about the plot that although convoluted and twisting offers answers on enough of a regular basis to keep things from getting frustrating.

I had my doubts about this show, but it's really picking up a nice little head of steam. Let's just hope the sometimes myopic network commissioners don't drop the ball and keep it going.

Oh, and if you haven't seen the show and wonder what the heck all of this is about, I'm not going to explain it here. Check out IMDB for a summary...

Next on my smorgasbord of televisual tidbits is The Mentalist.

This is a much more recent show (at least to the UK/terrestrial - it's been around in the US for a while), currently airing on Channel 5 at 9pm on a Thursday. Though whenever I read the accolade, 'The Hit US show!', I'm instantly dubious (never trust statistics, right?), I thought I'd give this a try.


Suffice it to say, after episode one, I was quietly impressed. Not blown away, admittedly, but I'd enjoyed it a lot and wanted more. Part of the reason was the epilogue, which threw a belt of shade over central character Patrick Jane's (played by Simon Baker, who's starred in such diverse programmes as Home and Away and Land of the Dead) sunny disposition. It was a nice u-turn in the plot and demonstrated careful seeding and planning by the writers. It was an arc thread about a serial killer called Red John...



SPOILER ALERT!!!



...who was responsible for the deaths of Jane's family. The build up to this revelation was well handled and patient, and I'm very intrigued to see where it's going. I think one of my biggest criticisms of CSI (a show which I'm hugely fond of - see the 'Goodbye Grissom' post for more), at least before the whole Miniature Killer plotline, was that there weren't enough serial killers, enough strong narrative threads that bound the episodes/cases together. The Mentalist achieves this with episode one. Big tick in that box then.

I'm not comparing the show to CSI - they're totally different, aside from the fact there's crime solving involved - Jane's a kind of fluffier/sunnier version Derren Brown, using misdirection, showmanship, hypnotism and so on to outfox the killers, kidnappers, thieves etc that the CBI team he consults with are trying to bring to justice.

Talking of the CBI team, it's headed up by Prison Break's Robin Tunney, who plays Teresa Lisbon. She is definitely the straight man/woman to Jane's gadding genius/charming savant, but puts in a solid performance none-the-less.

Also of interest is Gregory Itzin, who plays Lisbon's boss, Virgil Minelli. Fans of 24 will recognise Itzin as former president Charles Logan. He's got a small role in this show, but it's nice to see a familiar face.

I'm only about three episodes in to The Mentalist at the moment, but I'm enjoying it more and more with each viewing. Jane is an interesting character, played exceptionally well by Australian Simon Baker. His performance really makes the show and adds a bit of life to some of the other, slightly more dull, supporting cast.

Only time will tell if it's got some legs, but if you're a crime fan or just like good drama with a bit of mystery, then I'd suggest checking it out.