My partner and I have tried to like this series but the problems for us is Patrick Jane. I don't know whether it's the actor or the character but Patrick Jane comes across as truly insufferable. He's manipulative, patronising disrespectful, entitled, egomaniacal, destructive - I could go on. His 'charm' irritates and his constant smug smiling certainly doesn't help matters. He uses the CBI as his private army for his creepy personal vengeance agenda and reduces Lisbon to the role of his faithful little lapdog to do so (and he's not above deliberately putting his colleagues lives and jobs at risk). It stretches credulity why he is allowed to get away with his outrageous behaviour- are the CBI and FBI totally incapable of solving crime without the (dubious) contribution of one dodgy 'consultant'? And why do such crime series feature a strong independent woman boss only to have them manipulated and undermined by a man who needs to dominate and possess them (Bones, Castle)? When he finally got together with Lisbon we were screaming at the screen 'don't do it!'. We dislike the self-satisfied PJ so much that I don't think we could bear to watch anything else starring Simon Baker.
Review of The Mentalist
