"The Mentalist" Red John's Footsteps (2009)

Director:

Chris Long

Writers:

Bruno Heller (creator)
Bruno Heller (written by)
(more)

TV Series:

"The Mentalist" (2008)

Original Air Date:

19 May 2009 (Season 1, Episode 23)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A victim is discovered in a park deliberately disposed of in CBI jurisdiction with evidence that Red John is involved. The team learns there may be another victim, and suspects Red John is luring Jane.

Plot Keywords:

Twin Sister | Sheriff | Blind Woman | Break In | Broken Pattern

Cast

Simon Baker	...	Patrick Jane
Robin Tunney	...	Teresa Lisbon
Tim Kang	...	Kimball Cho
Owain Yeoman	...	Wayne Rigsby
Amanda Righetti	...	Grace Van Pelt
Michael William Freeman	...	Morgan Gutherie
Michael Mosley	...	Sheriff Hardy
Geoff Pierson	...	Noah
Kate Vernon	...	Arden
Sally Ann Brooks	...	Frankel Fogarty (as Sally Brooks)
Christopher Darga	...	Store Keeper
Freda Foh Shen	...	Korean Store Owner
Alicia Witt	...	Rosalind Harker
Gregory Itzin	...	Virgil Minelli
Ron Althoff	...	Deputy Duke
Jonathan Kells Phillips	...	Drake
Coco Walker	...	Maya
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Diana Cosma	...	Emma (uncredited)
Ashli Cotton	...	Bystander (uncredited)
Travis Seaborn	...	Young Deputy (uncredited)

Directed by
Chris Long

Writing credits
Bruno Heller		(creator)
Bruno Heller		(written by)
Ken Woodruff		(story editor)

Produced by
Andi Bushell	....	co-executive producer
Ashley Gable	....	co-executive producer
Gary Glasberg	....	co-executive producer
Charlie Goldstein	....	producer
Bruno Heller	....	executive producer
Peter Lauritson	....	associate producer
Chris Long	....	co-executive producer
Eoghan Mahony	....	producer
Leanne Moore	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Blake Neely		(music by)

Cinematography by
Geary McLeod		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Glenn Farr
Anthony J. Rivard		(as Anthony Rivard)

Casting by
Eric Dawson		(casting by)
Carol Kritzer		(casting by)
Robert J. Ulrich		(as Robert Ulrich)

Production Design by
Michael Novotny

Set Decoration by
Bryan Thetford

Costume Design by
Julia Schklair

Makeup Department
Kymber Blake	....	makeup artist
Ketty Gonzalez	....	hair stylist
Jonathan Gording	....	contact lenses: special
Judy Lovell	....	makeup artist
René Dashiell Kerby	....	key makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Leanne Moore	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Pryzibilla	....	second assistant director
Ron Rapiel	....	first assistant director
Alexis Schmidtberger	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
Rick Kyker	....	property master
Julie Walker	....	assistant art director
Liza Chenault	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Jason Zev Cohen	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Kali Record	....	buyer (uncredited)
Derek Scouler	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Oscar Thompson	....	leadman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ed Carr	....	re-recording mixer (as Edward C. Carr III)
Daniel P. Church	....	sound mixer
Thierry J. Couturier	....	supervising sound editor
Todd Grace	....	re-recording mixer
Mark Allen	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Damon Cohoon	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Javier M. Hernández	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Wayne O'Brien	....	m&e re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Jason Oliver	....	adr recordist (uncredited)
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Shelley Roden	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Deron Street	....	first assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
George Zamora	....	special effects coordinator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Michael Caplan	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Adam Simpson	....	visual effects editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Thomas H. Adisi	....	stunt double: Patrick Jane (uncredited)
Jeremy Dunn	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Chrimes	....	key grip
Jason Blaise Cunningham	....	grip (uncredited)
Michael Goi	....	additional cinematographer (uncredited)
Colleen E. Hayes	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Marc Korgie	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Ron Provenzano	....	lighting board operator (uncredited)
David Thielhart	....	best boy electric (uncredited)
Bela Trutz	....	b camera operator (uncredited)
H. Mark Vuille	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laura E. Little	....	key costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Chris McGeary	....	music editor
Jenny Leite	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)
Michael D. Simon	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Gregory Sweeney	....	music coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Holly Ollis	....	publicist
Karl Sonnenberg	....	technical advisor
Anthony Astrino	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Arek Bagboudarian	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Tada Chae	....	key assistant location manager/scout (uncredited)
Mark Desch	....	craft service (uncredited)
Matthew Devahl	....	production coordinator (uncredited)
Elizabeth V. Diamond	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)
Mandy Friedrich	....	studio teacher (uncredited)
Tiffany Grant	....	assistant to actor (uncredited)
Suzanne E. Johnston	....	intern (uncredited)
Mitch Kim	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)
Teresa Jolene Lee	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Jordan Macadangdang	....	assistant production coordinator (uncredited)
Todd Manes	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Elisabeth Miller	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Jannie Penvari	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Megan Roy	....	intern (uncredited)
Mindy Stevenson	....	accounting auditor (uncredited)
Daniel Villalobos	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bruno Heller		creator

Makeup Department
Brian Steven Banks	....	hair stylist
Corinna Liebel	....	key makeup artist

Other crew
Robert Parker Clemente	....	production assistant
Rachel Mullin	....	production assistant
Kristin Starns	....	production assistant
Taylor Thompson	....	production assistant (2008)

Production Companies

• Primrose Hill Productions
• Warner Bros. Television

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (2009) (USA) (TV)
• A Channel (2009) (Canada) (TV)
• Five (2009) (UK) (TV)
• Nine Network Australia (2009) (Australia) (TV)
• RTL Klub Televízió (2009) (Hungary) (TV)
• Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) (2009) (Ireland) (TV) (RTE1)
• SBS6 (2009) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Sat.1 (2009) (Germany) (TV)
• VT4 (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) (2009) (Austria) (TV) (ORF1)

Special Effects

• Engine Room (visual effects) (uncredited)

Runtime:

44 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Primrose Hill Productions

Quotes:

Patrick Jane:Yeah, it's Red John all right. But someone else is involved. Else why would he change his M.O. so radically. Skywriting?
Teresa Lisbon:Well, he wanted to make sure that the CBI, that *you*, would be put on the case. He's obviously trying to lure you into some kind of trap.
Patrick Jane:Well that's part of it. But why take them from a car instead of catching them home alone like he's always done before. And why two victims at once? Twins. Why break pattern?
Teresa Lisbon:He's broken pattern before.
Patrick Jane:Yes. Because it was personal. He wanted to punish me.

Soundtrack:

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Season 1: Safe, predictable and formulaic – easy to watch but a little dull, samey and bland as a result of its approach

Having watched as much rubbish for the sake of watching it as I have done over the years, I'm really in no position to judge how my girlfriend views the role of media in her life. See for me it is something I actively take in whereas for her it mostly acts as a sort of passive relaxant that is all around her without her having too focus too hard on it at the end of a long day. What this means in practice is that In Treatment, Mad Men, Six Feet Under and other shows she considers to require attention sit unwatched on the shelf while I scour the TV listings looking for undemanding and easy television to provide this relaxing glow. It is the reason why there will always be a market for this sort of thing in my house.

The Mentalist fits that bill, which is why I am now here, writing this despite having spent 5 solid minutes laughing and mocking the title when I first heard of it. The show is another of the endless production line of detective shows with a quirky central character or quirky hook, that trades off the hook week-by-week with solid mystery plots while keeping a bigger drama in the background for season finales or to help it out if ratings dip. Here the quirk is that Thomas Jane has fantastic observational skills and uses them to pose as a physic, suggesting his insights come from supernatural powers but now he is working as a consultant helping the police on high-profile cases. If it sounds familiar then you are probably a fan of Psych, a show that has the same idea but plays it more for laughs while The Mentalist in theory is more of a drama.

I say "in theory" because I am not convinced that the show wants to do anything other than fill an hour of television with material that viewers can enjoy as they are comforted by its familiarity, engaged by how accessible it is but never threatened or challenged by any part of it. As a result the whole Red John thing is never more than a shadow in the background and the best we get in regards real pain or darkness in the character of Jane is the occasional bit of staring off into the background or talking about revenge. Otherwise we have the status quo – an odd character who is quite brilliant at what he does but doesn't play by the rules of others but gets results despite rubbing people up the wrong way with his odd behaviour. The weekly mysteries play out well enough and aren't really ever dull or bad across the season, but The Mentalist (and the many other shows like it) are rarely to be criticised for being "bad" per se in the same way as mid-value copies of big brands (like the supermarket version of Coke or Pepsi for example) are not often "awful" because they are working with the same base formula even if the things that make them unique are lacking.

So it is with The Mentalist as it does everything you expect it to do in a way that is safe and accessible but never does anything to standout as special or to excite the viewer. The plots are there as per normal, the characters may differ in race and gender but ultimately the dynamics are what you expect and each episode provides a solid mystery that is solved in the same way each week, so that you know if you like one then you'll like the next one – whether you can spot the difference between one episode and the next is by the by. It's all professional enough though and I quite liked it as a safe background thing that I could follow with most of my brain on another task. The drama aspect of it never offers much and, when it feels it has to offer "depth" it only ever does so in a sort of "Hallmark" soft-music and distance-staring way that does nothing other than reinforce the "by the numbers nothing special" feel it has.

Baker is light in the lead and when he enjoys himself with his character the show is quite fun to watch. Asked to do more he cannot perform but he can do the basics. Talking of doing the basics the support cast could easily be built by machine. Tunney is "authoritative but shyly-appreciative of Jane's methods" in the usual way and this is what she does. Righetti is "the sexy one", Yeoman is the "tough but likable one" while Kang is the dry rather humourless one. They all do as requested but nobody is particularly memorable.

The Mentalist season 1 is a by-the-numbers affair. It is too professional and "on-formula" to be "bad" but this also means it is rather unmemorable and blends together with itself and lots of other shows selling the same product. It is accessible and undemanding, which many people look for – were it down to me I'd leave it at that but my girlfriend is planning to watch season 2 and I suppose is nothing else I will be curious to see if they just do more of the same or if they try to lift their game now that the show is more established.