The Thin Red Line

Season 1, Episode 8, Aired
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Episode Summary

CBI are called to a murder scene, when the State's witness in a drug trial and a girl are found dead in a motel room. Local police are quick to decide that Rick Carass, the drug dealer on trial, is behind the murder, but Patrick Jane thinks otherwise.moreless
8.0
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • Flawed episode

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By pavlosnumerouno, May 26, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode though interesting as always. Had one flaw, at the beginning when there checking the Crime Scene there is a gun silver on the dresser. During the episode nobody mentions a shoot out, only one gun is mentioned a 38.
    Yet at the end when the guy confesses he mention the dead guy pulling a gun, but the gun was on the dresser.
    it was not self-defense as he made out but cold blooded murder, both victims were facing the door, nobody turned to grab a gun. Yet Jane does not pull him up on it. This is a favourite show of mine, it could do without these silly little flaws. The producers/editors should be like Jane and look at everything.

    thanks pavlosmoreless

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    5 18

  • The story is unfocussed and the investigation feels sloppy.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By whiteraven2005, Jan 31, 2010 Report Abuse
    This episode felt very unfocussed, the story was erratic and not very well laid out or explained. A Bit disappointing.

    Three different cops are accused of the crime, cops are arrested, careers and reputations ruined before they finally get the right guy. It all feels so unprofessional, not to mention messy.

    Then there's the evidence when Sam explains, he touches both the door handle and the light switch without gloves and there were no fingerprints?!

    Bradford Tatum?! I haven't seen hide or hair of him in over a decade! He hasn't aged well which is tragic 'cos he was gorgeous when he was young.moreless

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    0 0

  • A bit obvious but a reasonably enjoyable episode.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By hrgaffney, Dec 07, 2008 Report Abuse
    Although it seemed to me fairly obvious early on that Sam Blakely was the killer, the twists and turns of the episode were enthralling none the less. The scene where Sam is set up and shoots the dummy in the car was really good. It was obvious it was a set up but enjoyable anyway. The other members of the team are less wooden than in earlier episodes but Patrick Jane is still the only decent character in this. The back story about Patrick's family was ignored in this episode, it comes across as unimportant. Surely that should not be the case.moreless

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    3 0

  • Episode 1x8: The Thin Red Line The Bottom Line: My favorite episode of the series.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Tsilatnemeht, Nov 29, 2008 Report Abuse
    I have to admit this is my favorite episode of the series, so far. Also, I suspected the killer was Officer Sam Blakely from the get-go, but, when they said it was his first his first time coming up on a killing, I kind of let that theory slide. Well, that is about all I have to say, but, I only have Sixty-three words, so, I will just have to keep typing until I meet the 100 word goal. 80, and 82, and 84, and 86, and 88, and 90, and 92, and 94, and we are just about DONE!moreless

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    3 1

  • Several police officers end up as suspects.

    7.7
    "Good"
    By thefanof, Nov 26, 2008 Report Abuse
    I will admit that I actually had a difficult time following this plot. I was unsure of what exactly was going on, although I was able to complete the sinecure of picking out the killer from the get-go.

    The final scene with the fake girl in the car and the son being arrested was a good payoff, but I worry that if The Mentalist has to rely on these generic twists this early in the series if the longevity of the program is in question. Luckily there was enough Patrick Jane greatness to make up for my confusion. From eating food and offering it to a witness to see the scars on his hand to getting punched in the face to not understanding the expression "you made your own bed now lie in it". Overall a good episode, but not the best of the series.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • The motel used as crime scene in this episode is the same set as the motel used in popular comedy series My Name Is Earl. Edit
    • A gun is found on the night stand of the motel room where the murder took place, but in the flashback later on, you can see the victim grab the gun and go down with it in his hands. Edit

  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Tenká červená linie (Thin Red Line) Edit
    • Simon Baker (Patrick Jane) and Mark Rolston (Detective Dale Blakely) previously worked together in the movie Not Forgotten (2009). Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Chile: February 5, 2009 on WC The Netherlands: February 12, 2009 on SBS 6 Norway: February 25, 2009 on TV3 Belgium: March 18, 2009 on VT4 Denmark: March 23, 2009 on TV3 Hungary: March 24, 2009 on RTL-Klub Germany: April 19, 2009 on SAT 1 United Kingdom: May 14, 2009 on Channel Five Finland: October 22, 2009 on MTV3 Czech Republic: January 18, 2010 on TV Nova Slovakia: February 22, 2010 on Markiza Poland: October 25, 2010 on TVN Edit

  • Quotes

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    • (Jane has stated that he can always tell when Lisbon is lying) Jane: Where're we going? Lisbon: To the zoo. They have new tiger cubs. Jane: Oh. Liar. Lisbon: Oh, very good. Edit
    • Cho: Let's do this right. Go in too quickly, someone will get hurt. Presiado: This is real police work, sonny, people get hurt. Go push some paper. Edit
    • Jane: Nice to be nice. But if you wanna get ahead in life, sometimes you have to be a bitch. I know you know how. Van Pelt: Gee, thanks. Edit

  • Allusions

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    • The episode title, The Thin Red Line is the title of two movies from 1964 and 1998. The 1998 movie was an adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the Second World War. The variant Thin Blue Line has also been used many times, notably by Errol Morris' 1988 documentary about an alleged cop killing. Edit

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