The Mentalist Forums

I've never watched any of the Mentalist and I don't intend to but I was watching this interview of James Roday and Dule Hill on the Today Show and they pretty much made it seem like the Mentalist was just a poor imitation of Psych. What surprises me most, however, is that Psych premiered in 2006, a whole 2 years before the Mentalist first came on air meaning that CBS must have known about the show and yet still went ahead and started airing it despite the fact that the show's core concept is exactly the same as Psych's. Ok, I'm sure there are various sub-plots in the Mentalist that are completely different to those that feature in Psych but come on, the main idea is exactly the same as Psych's.

Is there anyone here who has watched both shows? I'd be interested to see your take on the whole Psych/Mentalist concept theft that seems to have occured.

I've never watched Psych before the Menatalist but I keep hearing people campare to the two so i decided to give Psych a try to see what the big hoopla is about. After having watching both here's what I have to say;

If movie terms, Psych is like a "B Movie" where as "The Mentalist" is a "triple A" title. Comparing the Mentalist to Psych is like comapring the NFL to the Candandian Football league.

Mentalist has a better cast of characters (more fleshed out), better production values, better direction, better dialogue, ect. ect.

However, maybe my comarisons aren't fair because I've watched a whole season of the mentalist but only 3 episodes of Psych. But let me say this, it only took one epsisode of the mentalist to get me hooked and to get me caring about the main character, Jane. Where as by the third episode of Psych, I still don't care about the show, and would probably stop watching now. I feel like I wasted my money renting the first season.

People should really stop comparing the two, they're in totally different leagues. What I find interesting is that the people who compare the two for the most part....haven't even watched both.

It's always..."I heard this from..." or "I read on a forum...."

That's kind of silly don't you think?

Kind of like you, I have only watched a few episodes of "The Mentalist" but have watched "Psych" since it started. I can't really make a comparison, because they are totally different kinds of shows. I said the same thing, when I heard that CBS made a show about a cop that was like a psychic, but wasn't. "Oh, they stole Psych!!"

But when I watched an episode of "The Mentalist," I realized that "Psych" is rather fluff. They do an awful lot of rather unbelievable things, (the main one being not having a real job in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.) get away with very illegal things by being cute and charming, and even though it's funny as hell, it is just not the same type of show.

"The Mentalist" is made to be more serious, believable and "deep" (for lack of a better word on my part.)

Nothing that wasn't said below, I guess; but I'm not sure if it was a knock-off or an expansion of an idea...

whatever this shows gr8 i dnt care if its lyk another show. I see loads of similarities in shows.

I just thought I'd throw in with the same opinion and advice - Watch some Psych and form your own views instead of counting on what others say. Maybe spoilers ahead!

I greatly enjoy The Mentalist. Robin Tunney and Amanda Righetti are just great in their respective roles. Great support from Tim Kang and Owain Yeoman.

I mean, when you hear Tim Kang deliver the a line like: "banging your wife like a big bass drum." and he just deadpans the delivery in the interrogation - that's something!

Psych is, by far, the much lighter side of the scales. It's littered with obscure 80's references and that buddie play between Roday and Hill. The bad guys are 'bad' but not in the league of what Jane deals and is dealing with.

So, there's plenty of room for both shows in my opinion.

I really don't think the two can be compared, with one being a comedy and the other a drama. I would have to say that unlike a lot of the posters in this thread I believe that Psych has way higher production standards than The Mentalist.

The writing on Psych is also far more intelligent and superior to the mentalist. Psych is not trying to take anything serious, especially the show itself. The attention to detail on Psych is what makes it really shine.

The flash-back scenes paint the background for why father, son and best friend have grown up to be who they are and give much more depth to the characters than anything on the Mentalist, and that includes Jane with his back-story of swiddling people to the death of his family.

The way Psych lets you see the things that Shawn picks up on and then try to figure out how it fits into the mystery is really nice. Jane often just walks into a room and decides without even looking at the surroundings or talking to the people what happened and who did it, like he really is sycic, then the rest of the show is about catching them with some mind trick fake out.

People say Psych is outlandish for what they get away with, but Psych is supposed to be a comedy and be absurd. The mentalist has Jane do things that he would be locked up for period with no chance of being saved by the department. He breaks the law in more serious ways all the time than Shawn and Gus ever do. Like locking the guy in the barn and dumping flammable fluid on him. Most of the arrests made on the Mentalist could be thrown out of any Court with the defendant representing themselves there are so many breaks with procedures and rights violations. Its so over the top in its own way its absurd too, which while fine in a comedy that is trying to be absurd is not fine for a crime drama.

The attention to detail like changing the opening and closing theme music to fit the episodes, the much more intelligent dialog, and the fact that all the characters are just plane likable on Psych makes it a much more enjoyable series to watch. I've watched both series from the beginning and think Psych is one of the best series I have ever followed (age 44 so I have followed a lot of series over the years) and the first series that I have ever purchased every single episode for (Amazon VOD / Roku player), where as the Mentalist is getting old already and Janes attitude and character when dealing with even his fellow team members is beginning to seem like House without the redeeming parts...that sums it up nicely...House has no redeeming features to his personality and he is still more like-able than Jane.

Didn't we do all this a year ago? http://www.tv.com/the-mentalist/show/75200/like-psych-much/topic/90042-1075663/msgs.html

Sherlock Holmes was the first hyper observationalist detective, thus Psych/Mentalist is a rip off of a 120 year old fictional character, the end