Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

A so-so Blu-ray release nearly spoils an otherwise solid first season...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown October 14, 2013

No tricks. No deception. No sleight of hand. Bruno Heller's The Mentalist has grown into quite the addicting series over its six-season run, and with little more than good ol' fashioned TV know-how. Its similarities to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes are so unmistakable the show may as well be labeled a loose adaptation; one that beat BBC's Sherlock and CBS' Elementary to the punch by several years. Simon Baker's Patrick Jane is Holmes with a roguish, perhaps even boyish charm. Ever the deductive genius, Jane aides the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in solving crimes no one else can. He also single-handedly makes the series one of the most watched and most watchable hours of procedural drama on television, and continues to keep viewers entranced as he comes closer and closer to uncovering the identity of Red John, the enigmatic serial killer who murdered his wife and daughter. And if Jane is Heller's Holmes and Red John his Moriarty, the CBI team comprise Heller's Watson. Lisbon (Robin Tunney) is Watson as honorable caretaker and stabilizing agent, Cho (Tim Kang) the no-nonsense, crackshot former soldier, Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) the good-natured romantic, and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) the awestruck investigator.

Haunted by the past...

The Mentalist isn't without its procedural hangups or formulaic shortfalls, though, nor is its first season stronger or as rewarding as those that follow. Patrick's crucial role in solving every case tends to make the CBI agents look inept and inadequate, Lisbon and company aren't nearly as complex or engaging as Jane (at least in Season One), the cases are too complex (with a near perfect murder lurking in most every episode) and, once you lock onto the series' rhythm, it isn't hard to see what Jane is up to or just how far off track the rest of the CBI is. That said, The Mentalist's first 23 episodes lay serious groundwork for the show Heller's popular hit quickly becomes, and the mounting subversion of procedural mechanics and expectations make for a fun, often surprising, sometimes dark riff on a genre that -- let's face it -- has grown tedious and tiresome over the last decade. (Particularly as spin-offs have begun to beget additional spin-offs.) Taken together, it's enough to make the series' debut season well worth watching. And with Baker's wry wit and magnetic charisma driving the show at every turn, chances are you'll also find it to be well worth your time.

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Mentalist's first season fares pretty well in high definition thanks to a dated but decent 1080p/VC-1 encoded video presentation. From the beginning, the image's flaws are somewhat obvious, and reveal a season source prepped for its DVD release some years ago, not the shiny new Blu-ray WAC is offering. That's not to say the HD upgrade isn't significant, or that it's by any means dishearteningly similar to its DVD counterpart. Improvements abound; flaws at the BD-source level simply interfere with each episode's potential. Noise is pervasive and uneven, fine detail isn't always up to snuff, artificial sharpening and edge halos are apparent, white and black crush take a small toll from time to time, skintones are sometimes peaked, flushed or unnatural, contrast isn't exactly consistent or ideal... on and on and on. As encodes go, it's proficient. No serious macroblocking, banding or aliasing to report. Every issue seems to trace back to an over-processed image. Still, colors can be striking, black levels are deep, definition is sharp, closeups are occasionally quite revealing and textures sometimes notably crisp, and the presentation bests its standard definition cousin in every regard (even if the benefit to more problematic scenes is only marginal). Should WAC decide to release subsequent seasons, here's hoping the source is either truer to the series' original photography or that Warner is willing to start from scratch and give The Mentalist its proper Blu-ray due.

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

No lossless audio here, Mental-fans. Instead, WAC has included -- brace for déjà vu -- a dated but decent 640kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. Dialogue is clean and clear, without any glaring prioritization mishaps of note. LFE output does well by the first season's shootouts, chases and occasional explosions as well, with enough weight and heft to lend any given action beat some extra oomph. The rear speakers, though, are used rather sparingly, often leading to a front-heavy listening experience, and the soundfield is fairly flat on the whole. If Warner Archive hopes to build any viable market around Blu-ray television releases, it needs to further differentiate its BD seasons from their DVD counterparts. Lossless audio would have gone a long way toward righting The Complete First Season's wrongs. Besides, it's 2013. No need to take a step backwards.

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Evidence of a Hit Series (SD, 24 minutes): Series creator Bruno Heller and actors Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman and Amanda Righetti delve into the series' genesis, development and production, its characters and performances, and its tone and themes.
• Cracking the Crystal Ball: Mentalist vs. Psychic (SD, 18 minutes): Science vs. parapsychology, mentalists vs. psychics. Skeptics, law enforcement officials and professed psychics debate the powers Patrick Jane insists are a hoax perpetrated by con artists.
• Surveillance Video (SD, 7 minutes): A mildly amusing first season gag reel.
• Deleted Scenes (SD): Deleted scenes are available for three episodes.

The Mentalist: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Mentalist remains a solid hour of television, even six seasons in. I'd even argue its sixth (currently airing weekly on CBS) might just be its best so far. The series' first season is its shakiest, yet sets an entertaining stage for everything that follows. Simon Baker's Patrick Jane is one of the most memorable TV characters in recent memory, the scripts almost always involve a slight twist onto what might otherwise quickly become a stale formula, and creator Bruno Heller has a good bit of fun flipping the procedural drama on its head. It isn't a perfect first season -- growing pains are in full swing -- but it's absorbing enough to warrant further investigation into subsequent seasons. Unfortunately, the 4-disc Complete First Season Blu-ray release isn't as easy to recommend. Its video presentation is decidedly middle of the road (despite representing a somewhat significant upgrade), its lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track comes as a disappointment, and its rather slim supplemental package leaves too much to the imagination. I'd love to see the Warner Archive Collection release other seasons in high definition. I'm just not sure such a hit or miss first season release will garner enough praise or attention to convince WAC there's a future in Mentalist Blu-rays.