(Season 1, Episode 12 – “Red Rum”)
Patrick Jane is one of the weirdest characters on television. Think about it, he usually has a smile on his face and says wiseass things, even to parents who have just lost their son. It’s almost as if he does whatever he wants, acts however he wants, and just basks in the glow of the admiration from witnesses and the other members of his team. In real life, you’d want to punch him. In TV land, he’s the hero.
This episode has the team trying to solve the weird murder of a teen boy in the woods. Was it his jealous brother? Was it the witch? Was it one of his parents? Was it the jerky football coach? The best friend? Well, it was one of those people.
Besides Jane being an odd character, this show has an odd tone. It’s a police procedural about murder and family secrets and other crimes, but it has a light tone that runs through it, even in the darker moments. It’s almost as if the writers are saying, “Yeah, this family had something terrible happen to them, but at least Jane, Lisbon, and everyone else will always be safe!” This isn’t a complaint, by the way, just an observation. Though I do wonder if the show will ever “grow.” Will we see something bad happen to one of these characters or see them with a girlfriend or see one of them get married? Or will the characters just remain people to drive the plot along, each having their own place in the team but nothing beyond that?
Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s in the future. This was another good episode, though I wonder why the team didn’t round up those kids on the bike right away. Would have moved things along quicker. I did like how Jane got their attention with the rock and tricked one of them into looking towards the woods. As for the killer, you kinda had to know it wasn’t the witch (even with that weird ceremony that looked like a sacrifice of the younger brother), and you knew it wasn’t going to be the coach because he was the one acting the most mean and one of the people interrogated by the team. It’s hardly ever the person who seems the most guilty. So it had to be the parent. Wouldn’t it have been an odd twist to have it be the mother instead of the typical got-into-a-fight-with-the-abusive-dad route?
But like I said, a good episode. I really like the supporting characters. I’d watch Cho and Rigsby and Van Pelt even if Jane wasn’t in an episode (though it’s better that he is).
(By the way, there’s a new episode of The Mentalist on this Sunday after the football game.)
Clacked by Bob Sassone 
on Jan 14, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
Half a season into it, I’m enjoying this procedural with a quirky side. It’s comfortable, like an old pair of flanel pajama pants.
Watching the Golden Globes, I had no idea Simon Baker was Australian. Quite a surprise :)
however, if the game goes late, the DVR’s will most likely NOT catch the over-run, so anybody who doesn’t watch it live will most likely miss at least part of it.
i would also like to remind CBS, who are obviously trying out their new hit show in a new timeslot, that Shark was a hit on Thursdays and got cancelled in its second season when they moved it to Sundays.