Mr. Holmes, Meet Mr. Jane
OPEN: JANUS FILE #0275
Earlier this week, I watched the series premiere of The Mentalist. I was intrigued by the promos that CBS ran during the summer, and as I watched them, I began to develop a pretty good idea about the title character.
Here's a quick rundown, for those of you who may have missed the promos and the first episode. Patrick Jane is the aforementioned mentalist; a former TV psychic who now works as a consultant for the California Bureau Of Investigation. (There is a flashback to Jane's days as a TV psychic, and he seems to remind me of John Edward more than anything else.) As Jane himself clearly states more than once, has no psychic abilities; he is just very, very good at observing the people and places around him.
As I said, I began to develop a theory about the character from the promos. As I watched the first episode, my suspicions were confirmed:
Patrick Jane is Sherlock Holmes.
If you have doubts about my reasoning, pick up a volume of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. In most of them, within the opening paragraphs, Holmes is astonishing his latest client (and usually, Dr. Watson) with several important facts about the client -- all of which Holmes has gained just from a brief initial observation. One of the best of these recitations may be his initial encounter with Jabez Wilson in "The Red-Headed League." My personal favorite, however, is in "The Greek Interpreter," where Sherlock and his older brother Mycroft begin alternating observations on a couple of men on the street outside the Diogenes Club.
Patrick Jane shares more than a few similarities with Sherlock Holmes. He is highly intelligent -- at one point in the first episode, he casually refers to himself as being the smartest person in the room. He pays attention to the smallest of details, and is able to reach an accurate deduction based on those observations. (He also seems to share Sherlock's assertion that modesty is not a virtue).
But while Jane shares more than a few personality traits with Sherlock Holmes, he does share one thing in common with the other Holmes brother, Mycroft. While he might be able to tell you who committed a particular crime, he is unable to provide the evidence that would send the perp to prison. (With Mycroft, this was due to what Sherlock called a lack of ambition and energy. With Jane, it seems to be more a case of a lack of authority and training.) So, he is merely a consultant for the CBI, working with a quartet of Inspector Lestrades (or perhaps Inspector Gregsons). They are the ones who follow up (at least with some degree of suspicion) on his leads. They also apparently have the unenviable task of keeping Jane on a short leash when his hypotheses become overly outlandish -- something that seems to happen on a regular basis. And the newest member of this team is firmly convinced that, despite Jane's assertions that he has no psychic powers, he genuinely is a psychic.
Based on what I saw in the series premiere, the producers of The Mentalist are going to be playing fair with the viewers. For the most part, we will be seeing what Patrick Jane sees; we will be given the same clues that he is given. It is up to the viewer to see if he can reach the same conclusion that Jane does. Here's a hint: Follow his eyes. If it isn't feasible for the viewer to see what Jane is seeing, we will see him looking at something -- for instance, when he (correctly) states that a murder victim is gay because he noticed the victim's pedicure in the autopsy room. If the viewer wants to match wits with Patrick Jane, he will have every opportunity to do so. On the other hand, if the viewer just wants to sit back and be amazed by his talents, that's perfectly fine, too.
I'm looking forward to more episodes. I think I will especially be looking forward to the DVD releases, so I can watch some scenes in slow motion, and catch the details I missed with the first viewing.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0275
Earlier this week, I watched the series premiere of The Mentalist. I was intrigued by the promos that CBS ran during the summer, and as I watched them, I began to develop a pretty good idea about the title character.
Here's a quick rundown, for those of you who may have missed the promos and the first episode. Patrick Jane is the aforementioned mentalist; a former TV psychic who now works as a consultant for the California Bureau Of Investigation. (There is a flashback to Jane's days as a TV psychic, and he seems to remind me of John Edward more than anything else.) As Jane himself clearly states more than once, has no psychic abilities; he is just very, very good at observing the people and places around him.
As I said, I began to develop a theory about the character from the promos. As I watched the first episode, my suspicions were confirmed:
Patrick Jane is Sherlock Holmes.
If you have doubts about my reasoning, pick up a volume of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. In most of them, within the opening paragraphs, Holmes is astonishing his latest client (and usually, Dr. Watson) with several important facts about the client -- all of which Holmes has gained just from a brief initial observation. One of the best of these recitations may be his initial encounter with Jabez Wilson in "The Red-Headed League." My personal favorite, however, is in "The Greek Interpreter," where Sherlock and his older brother Mycroft begin alternating observations on a couple of men on the street outside the Diogenes Club.
Patrick Jane shares more than a few similarities with Sherlock Holmes. He is highly intelligent -- at one point in the first episode, he casually refers to himself as being the smartest person in the room. He pays attention to the smallest of details, and is able to reach an accurate deduction based on those observations. (He also seems to share Sherlock's assertion that modesty is not a virtue).
But while Jane shares more than a few personality traits with Sherlock Holmes, he does share one thing in common with the other Holmes brother, Mycroft. While he might be able to tell you who committed a particular crime, he is unable to provide the evidence that would send the perp to prison. (With Mycroft, this was due to what Sherlock called a lack of ambition and energy. With Jane, it seems to be more a case of a lack of authority and training.) So, he is merely a consultant for the CBI, working with a quartet of Inspector Lestrades (or perhaps Inspector Gregsons). They are the ones who follow up (at least with some degree of suspicion) on his leads. They also apparently have the unenviable task of keeping Jane on a short leash when his hypotheses become overly outlandish -- something that seems to happen on a regular basis. And the newest member of this team is firmly convinced that, despite Jane's assertions that he has no psychic powers, he genuinely is a psychic.
Based on what I saw in the series premiere, the producers of The Mentalist are going to be playing fair with the viewers. For the most part, we will be seeing what Patrick Jane sees; we will be given the same clues that he is given. It is up to the viewer to see if he can reach the same conclusion that Jane does. Here's a hint: Follow his eyes. If it isn't feasible for the viewer to see what Jane is seeing, we will see him looking at something -- for instance, when he (correctly) states that a murder victim is gay because he noticed the victim's pedicure in the autopsy room. If the viewer wants to match wits with Patrick Jane, he will have every opportunity to do so. On the other hand, if the viewer just wants to sit back and be amazed by his talents, that's perfectly fine, too.
I'm looking forward to more episodes. I think I will especially be looking forward to the DVD releases, so I can watch some scenes in slow motion, and catch the details I missed with the first viewing.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0275