HOTLIGHT: Amanda Righetti

The Hotlight is a new feature to DMD, where I draw your attention to a particularly foxy lady appearing on British screens in the coming week. It's not a tenuous reason to upload a few sexy photos to usher in the weekend, oh no. First up is American actress AMANDA RIGHETTI, 25, who is amongst the semi-naked prey of Jason Vorhees in the Friday The 13th remake (the ideal Valentine's date movie, clearly.) Amanda also appeared in the comedy Role Models and has been gracing TV screens as Grace Van Pelt in The Mentalist. Quite strangely, Amanda's only appeared on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women list twice (#59 in '05 and #84 in '06). I'm predicting she'll get a much higher ranking in 2009's list, don't you agree?

THE MENTALIST 1.3 - "Red Tide"

Writer: Ashley Gable
Director: David M. Barrett

"Your life is in chaos, you're lonely, you're depressed,
you're addicted to drugs and pornography -- and a
little nuts, to be honest. You're exactly the kind
of man that does terrible things to women."

-- Patrick Jane (Simon Baker)

After a compelling, well-written and intelligent pilot, The Mentalist is losing me very, very fast -- and it's only the third episode. The reasons for my dissatisfaction: there's been no mention of serial-killer Red John since episode 1 (I'd assumed he was the big overarching storyline), Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has taken to doing dumb parlour tricks around the office, and methods used to crack cases are straining credibility…

I was worried about the direction The Mentalist was edging towards last week, but my fears crystallize with "Red Tide"; credibility takes a hike, Baker is made to look stupid with an abundance of goofiness (building a finely-detailed sandcastle?) and I just found it difficult to get invested in a murder investigation where you never knew the victim, or come to understand her posthumously. My sympathy levels were at rock-bottom throughout, and I had no desire to watch Patrick find the culprit. And that's quite a problem for any police procedural.

Here, a teenage school girl's dead body is washed ashore on a Santa Marta beach and suspicion immediately falls on her surfer friends. The formula of the show is set in motion: Teresa (Robin Tunney) takes conventional steps to find the killer with the other cops, as Patrick wanders off to interrogate bystanders psychologically (asking them weird questions; like what animal do they perceive themselves as!) Despite the fact Patrick is a trusted consultant whose expertise are valued by the CBI, Teresa never seems particularly happy about hearing about his left-field input, either. As much as I like Robin Tunney, as an actress she sometimes appears impenetrable on-screen, and she hasn't defrosted enough to make me warm to Teresa yet.

Even Simon Baker's charms can't rescue "Red Tide", as he's made to do tricks and drift around the story like a blonde Derren Brown. I'm very disappointed recent scripts haven't focused on Patrick's observational acuity and psychological skills, but instead write him as a quirky trickster and hypnotist. It makes sense that Patrick would have a wide array of magical skills in his repertoire, but must they be employed in the serious context of murder? I really want to see Patrick crack cases using his insight, intelligence, observation and deduction -- but only the pilot has struck that balance. The last few episodes have seen the plots leapfrog logic; cutting corners by leaning on Patrick's "guesswork" -- that are always, eventually, proven right.

Unfortunately, while I'm willing to believe the writers could find their groove and creator Bruno Heller can improve things, there's just not enough here to sustain my immediate loyalty. As much as I enjoy Baker's performance, this episode proves that even he can drown if the stories aren't strong. Five have purchased the rights to this US drama, so I may check back in when The Mentalist makes its UK debut. By then, I'll have heard from other critics if this series is worth persevering with. I certainly hope so, as the pilot was one of the strongest this year -- but, while a pilot sets the tone and attracts attention, it's the strength of the follow-up episodes that stop viewers swimming away.


14 October 2008
CBS, 9/8c

Cast: Simon Baker (Patrick Jane), Robin Tunney (Teresa Lisbon), Tim Kang (Kimball Cho), Owain Yeoman (Wayne Rigsby), Amanda Righetti (Grace Van Pelt), Owen Beckman (Andy), Brando Eaton (Danny Kurtik), Jamie McShane (Jack Tanner), Michelle Page (Hope), Will Rothhaar (Win), Hayley Chase (Darlene Pappas), John Lacy (Kyle Rayburn), JF Pryor (Philip Handler), Brett Cullen (Dane Kurtik), Gregory Itzin (Virgil Minelli), Kaylin Stewart (Lisa Tanner), Harley Graham (Girl #1) & Kathrine Herzer (Sandcastle Kid)

TV News: Ashes To Ashes, Doctor Who, Torchwood, V and US Ratings

I'm reviewing so many TV shows that my semi-regular TV news updates have fallen by the wayside. So, this is a brief look at the most exciting and intriguing TV-related gossip from shows covered by DMD.

ASHES TO ASHES. Details of season 2 have been released. The new series will be set in 1982 as the Falklands conflict begins. The regular cast will all be back, together with a new character called DS "Supermac" Macintosh (V For Vendetta's Roger Allam), a "force legend" who upsets Gene Hunt's delicate balance at CID.

DOCTOR WHO. Actress Velile Tshabalala is playing the companion of David Morrissey's Doctor in this year's Christmas special "The Next Doctor". Her character is described as "an East Londoner, very Cockney". Well, that makes a change!

TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH. The five-part third season is filming now for an early-'09 broadcast, and four new cast members have just been confirmed. They are: Lucy Cohu (Cape Wrath) as Alice, "a woman keeping many secrets from the past"; Susan Brown (The Riff Raff Element) as Bridget, "a character vitally connected to the government, which plays an important part in this story"; Cush Jumbo as Lois Habiba, "a secretary who hacks into some vital information"; and Rik Makarem as Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, a "junior doctor at St Helen's hospital who gets drawn into Torchwood's investigations".

V. Cult '80s alien invasion drama V is being revamped by ABC, with The 4400's co-creator Scott Peters in charge of the reimagining. The will involve new characters, primarily focusing on a Homeland Security agent called Erica Evans, whose troubled son learns the truth about supposedly benevolent alien visitors to Earth.

US RATINGS

Most of the big TV shows have started (or re-started) in the States, but how are they faring after a prolonged hiatus? "Fringe" started with a disappointing 9.05 million viewers (blamed on people downloading the pilot from the internet over the summer), but picked up with its second episode to attract 13.36 (helped by House as a lead-in). Since then, viewers have slipped to around 10 million. Fortunately, Fox have ordered a full 22-episode season because it's performing very well in the 18-49 demographic.

"The Mentalist" is one of the sleeper surprises of the autumn. The procedural, about a crime-fighting psychic illusionist, premiered with a mighty 15.5 million viewers and the second episode retained 98% of that audience! CBS have ordered 6 more episodes, and a full-season is very likely. Astonishing.

Bad news for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", sadly. The sci-fi series is struggling in the midst of a very competitive Monday night. The first season benefited from being one of very few new TV shows on-air because of the writers' strike (averaging of 11.4 million per episode), but those audiences are deserting it now. Season 2 premiered with just 6.4 million and now averages 5.5 million. There is rampant speculation Fox are weeks from axing the show, which is a real shame. Please watch it!

The sophomore slump of Sarah Connor has been blamed for the knock-on bad performance of "Prison Break", which directly follows it on Mondays. The fourth season started with 6.48 million, but has dropped to around 5.4 million. It's still performing well in the 18-49 demographic advertisers love, though -- and Fox has always supported the show, so it should avoid the axe.

Over on NBC, "Chuck" got a full-season order from the network before a single episode was aired of season 2. They appear to have jinxed the show, with the spy-comedy's premiere attracting just 6.62 million viewers (Chuck's lowest ever audience) and then dropped to 5.89 the following week! It's unlikely to be axed given NBC's public commitment, but US audiences clearly have very short attention spans. The gap between seasons this year (because of the writers' strike) is being blamed for the downturn of many returning shows.

NBC's other big series, "Heroes", came back for its third season after an infamously terrible sophomore slump. Despite a huge campaign to lure back fans, the premiere got 10.22 (season 1 started with 14.3m, and season 2 lured 14.12m), and has since fallen to around 8 million. Heroes has never dropped below 10 million until now. Fortunately, the show performs well in the 18-49 demographic (50% better than any other NBC series) and it's still a popular show around the world.

THE MENTALIST 1.2 - "Red Hair And Silver Tape"

Writer: Bruno Heller

Director: David Nutter

Cast: Simon Baker (Patrick Jane), Robin Tunney (Teresa Lisbon), Tim Kang (Kimball Cho), Amanda Righetti (Grace Van Pelt), Owain Yeoman (Wayne Rigsby), John Bishop (Joe O'Keefe), Dylan Minnette (Frankie O'Keefe), Todd Felix (Randall), Judith Hoag (Sandra Boatwright), Eric Stonestreet (Malcolm Boatwright), Xander Berkeley (Sheriff McAllister), Elpidia Carrillo (Mercedes O'Keefe), Douglas Spain (Hector Ramirez), Robert A. Johnson (Deputy), Sharmila Devar (Meera), Sarah Hernandez (Raquel) & Jillian Bowen (Melanie O'Keefe)

"You made her feel like a captured princess instead of a small town
choir nerd. And she made you feel like a dashing pirate instead
of what you are... sort of a bad-tempered pharmacist."

-- Patrick Jane (Simon Baker)

The "Pilot" did a good job of making me forget The Mentalist is just a serious-minded Psych clone. I was also pleased to see Robin Tunney back on TV after she was killed off in Prison Break's second season (a blessing in disguise?), and Simon Baker made a strong impression as the lead; mentalist Patrick Jane, who uses his showbiz powers of observation and psychological trickery to help the police catch criminals…

"Red Hair And Silver Tape" finds Patrick and Teresa (Tunney) investigating the murder of small-town waitress Melanie O'Keefe (Jillian Bowen), whose body was discovered in a vineyard. Teresa suspects the obvious culprit in this scenarios: a spurned lover. But Patrick comes to believe a fledgling serial-killer is responsible -- his theory given credibility when a similar murder involving a red-haired teenage girl is dug up on file.

This episode wasn't as involving as the "Pilot", primarily because Patrick's skills weren't utilized as intelligently (see: the "rock, paper, scissors" moment), and the episode even decided to involve hypnotism -- with Patrick persuading a witness to tell him the truth. I was pleased to see the other characters, particularly Teresa, kick up a stink about Patrick's unconventional method in that scene -- but, considering it worked, might every episode involve Patrick putting the weak-minded under his spell?

One thing I enjoyed about the "Pilot" was how it made me believe psychological illusionists (like our own Derren Brown) might be invaluable crime consultants, but if The Mentalist starts edging into hypnotism, it's a slippery slope to a land of mumbo-jumbo. Can we just stick to perceptive observations, lateral deductions and body-language analysis?

As before, Simon Baker is very good and already looks extremely comfortable in the role. Tunney is playing catch-up to her co-star, but understandably the series wants its audience to invest in the charming Baker right now. As a crime-fighting duo, I'm not sensing much chemistry between them just yet (or is a will-they/won't-they relationship too cliché these days?) Still, I enjoyed a scene where tranquil Patrick becomes trapped in a life-or-death situation he can't charm his way out of, and is rescued by Teresa and her physical approach to crime-fighting. He's the brains, she's the brawn; a fun twist on audience preconceptions.

The supporting cast are just background hum right now as the leads assert themselves, so a moment when dopey Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and sexy Grace (Amanda Righetti) work together as part of an operation to lure out the killer didn't carry much weight or humour. Although I salute writer Bruno Heller for devising a way to get leggy Amanda Righetti into a tight red dress by episode 2. Bravo. It was also nice to see Xander Berkeley (24's George Mason) as a shady Sheriff. And for once the unwritten rule that a recognizable guest star on a cop show will be unmasked as that week's villain didn't hold true. They even toyed with the idea for a bit.

Overall, this wasn't as strong as the "Pilot", but the premise is still appealing and Baker undoubtedly holds your attention long enough for the plot to take grip. But, as with all US police procedurals (especially ones with a high-concept gimmick -- remember Raines?), 43-minutes isn't long enough to really satisfy murder-mystery fans. This genre works best as feature-length special or as a three-part mini-series, if you ask me.


30 September 2008
CBS, 9/8c

PREVIEW: THE MENTALIST 1.1 - "Pilot"

Writer: Bruno Heller
Director: David Nutter

Cast: Simon Baker (Patrick Jane), Robin Tunney (Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon), Tim Kang (Kimball Cho), Owain Yeoman (Wayne Rigsby), Shaun Toub (KJ Patel), Amanda Righetti (Grace Van Pelt), Kelvin Han Yee (Davis), Peter Ocheltree (Airport Passenger), D. David Morin (LAPD Captain), Tara Karsian (Medical Examiner) & Lana Asanin (Kelly)

A crime consultant with heightened powers of observation, who once used his skills to fake being psychic, helps the police track down a serial-killer...

Every review about The Mentalist is going to mention this, so let's get it out of the way: this show has exactly the same concept as Psych. In both shows, a "psychic" who used his powers of observation and deduction to fake supernatural abilities, turns his back on showbiz trickery to help the police catch criminals.

Fortunately for The Mentalist, not many people watch Psych, and its tone is at the opposite end of the crime procedural spectrum. While Psych is a light-hearted, humorous companion to Monk, The Mentalist is more sombre and treats its audience with a bit more intelligence. The deductions made here are less signposted, more intriguing and very plausible.

Australian-born Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, the eponymous "mentalist" who gained minor celebrity by pretending to commune with grieving peoples' dead relatives on TV, before turning his back on that deception to become a crime consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Baker gives a good performances of nuance and intellect, while he's sure to be a hit with the female demographic. He uses humour well (particularly amongst his colleagues) and the character has a fun way of capturing bad-guys in a web of trickery, deception and mind-games. Imagine if Derren Brown decided to join the police force, basically...

Robin Tunney (Prison Break) plays Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, an investigator who isn't comfortable with Patrick's unorthodox methods, but has to grudgingly admit he gets results. It's a bit cliché, but you need a character who doesn't embrace Patrick's abilities, although Tunney doesn't get the chance to show many other facets in this Pilot. Still, I've always liked Tunney, and it's nice to see her in another big drama after being unceremoniously killed-off in Prison Break.

Likewise, the supporting cast don't really get much to do, but that's to be expected in a Pilot focusing on its main character and explaining a premise, while delivering an enjoyable introductory plot. But there's promise already in their interactions and welcome presences: Tim Kang plays likeable Kimball Cho; Owain Yeoman (a dead-ringer for The Incredibles' super-dad) is Wayne Rigsby, a shy muscle-head; and pretty Amanda Righetti plays Grace Van Pelt, object of Rigsby's affections and firm believer in the supernatural.

British creator Bruno Heller (Rome) uses this Pilot to set-up a recurring storyline about serial-killer "Red John", which will likely to be returned to throughout the season, and who predictably has a connection to manhunter Patrick. Red John should provide cohesion to the season and Patrick's vendetta will be interesting to see develop -- so, although it's a plot-device we've seen countless times in the past (Profiler, Millennium, etc.), it worked brilliantly for Dexter just recently, too. And The Mentalist won't be chasing Red John in every episode, so it's just something extra simmering away in the background.

Production-wise, with The X-Files' David Nutter at the helm you can't really fault anything. Nutter's made a career out of helming TV Pilots; setting a tone and aesthetic for regular directors to inherit. See: Dark Angel, Roswell, Smallville, Supernatural, Without A Trace and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. This episode benefits from his vast experience and directorial eye for glossy, shadowy details.

Overall, it's still annoying The Mentalist has "stolen" Psych's concept so obviously, but I feel Bruno Heller has a better grasp of how the idea can, and should, be used. For a TV Pilot, this ticked all my boxes: I want to see more of the lead character, I sense the supporting cast have more to offer, the plot was effective and easy to follow, the direction was assured, the writing was quite sharp, groundwork was laid for a season-long story-arc, none of the performances irritated me, the storyline sometimes surprised, and the time flew by.

A good, solid start that earned my attention. One to watch.

Premieres: 23 September 2008 (CBS)