The Irrational

My first encounter with the talented Jesse L. Martin was in the 2005 movie of the stage play "Rent." He is a very talented singer and has also proven to be an accomplished actor. I enjoyed him more recently in the weekly series "The Flash."

Here he is a producer of the new "The Irrational" weekly series and stars as Alec Mercer. My wife and I watch it streaming on Peacock a day or two after the episode airs, that fits our schedule better.

The concept of a weekly 30-minute or 60-minute TV series is as old as TV. Very few of them over the years have been outstanding but they are competent, they serve a purpose, as mostly light entertainment where we can enjoy the actors and an interesting story line.

Alec is a professor, his theories involve the fact that given certain circumstances people often do irrational things. He uses this when called upon to help solve a crime. In the second episode, which we watched last night, a well-know author comes to him asking help to solve a murder, her own. Seems she was poisoned with Polonium 210 and is dying. (In the story, I found out tobacco can contain small concentrations of Polonium 201, a deadly radioactive substance.)

Anyway, I see there are a few very negative reviews of this show, in my opinion each of them is off base. This is a pleasant show and pretty well stands up to the hundreds or thousands of weekly TV shows over the decades. No one needs to watch it but there is also no reason to bash it.

It's a standard police procedural case of the week, thin season plot deal.

Jessie of flash fame, plays it straight, this role is a bit different from his joe cop / dad / humble guy.

It's ticking all the boxes of classic tropes and cliches, nothing really new or special but it's off to a good start for watchable police drama that isn't cringe or too dumb.

I would compare this show to will trent with out the darker tone, it's light enough not to be icky but tackles the psycological angle over the tried and tested police / law enforcement.

It's probably could be linked to the other / many non police consultant solves crime shows, but this is show isn't white washed it's taking the minority / black / coloured route.

Review stuff : well acted, well directed, writting is acceptable ( run of the mill ). Edited well, and smooth transitions.

It is always great to see academics utilized for a television show, but this a shallow version compared to Numb3rs. That show had depth in storyline, characters, and overall purposes.. Numb3rs actually educated and presented storylines involving critical thought, philosophy, personal psychological and even spiritual growth. This show barely delivers anything on behavior psychology, the supporting characters drift by , and half way into the show I wasn't really sure what the episode was about.

Jessie Martin does a fine job with what he has to work with, but he is so much better than others that it is notable. Martin has no buddy smart guy to riff off of, and the others mumble their meaningless lines.

The first few episodes made the show seem compelling, but by episode 4, the show started to become less adult focused and more cartoony. The characters seemed to be slowly becoming flat, yet stereotypical and the writing seems to increasingly insult my intelligence with each successive episode. Initially I expected this to be a bit more of an Americanized and more exciting, stylized version of a Professor T. Certainly, casting the charismatic Jesse Martin in this role could more than pull that off. However the supporting characters are exaggerated and the side story arcs feel like time fillers. This is really a shame - I was really excited for this series.

Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) teaches and does research in Behavioral Science at Wylton University. He is sometimes called in to consult with law enforcement when they need his professional talents.

This show has the bones of a police procedural, but it is more than that. Mercer can help solve cases because he is observant and he understands human psychology. But he also deals with criminals in hostage situations or any time the police think an understanding of human psychology might help in dealing with a crisis. Because local government officials know of him, he may also be used behind the scenes in delicate situations where public relations are top priority.

But one of the most interesting facets of this series is that Mercer explains the psychology behind his decisions, often citing well-known behavioral experiments. And he can use his academic resources to help conduct his own experiments to test theories.

Jesse L. Martin is perfecting suited to this role. And he is surrounded by a good cast. The first two episodes were about interesting cases, but viewers who like learning about human psychology may enjoy this series most.