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5.23.11

Surprising Conclusion on The Mentalist

I like The Mentalist because I'm a fan of detective shows; I find I watch crime and courtroom dramas the most out of my TV viewing. The Mentalist often mocks paranormal type subjects; the main character, Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker ) was a con man, a trickster, an ex-carny, and at one time, a well known stage medium along the lines of a James Van Praagh who now manipulates people quite happily and adeptly in his new role as para-detective.

Jane mistrusts anyone who promotes such things as "new age," or the supernatural. And yet, one season had a story line going of his involvement with a professional psychic who seemed to be geniune. He also has a darker side: his wife and child were murdered by a serial killer who continues to appear now and then, taunting Jane with his madness. This history haunts him of course, and now Jane, working for a California police agency, helps solve murders in his role as a consultant.

A recent episode was about a murder victim who believed he'd been abducted by aliens. He had joined an alien abduction support group and was deeply affected by his UFO experiences. While the usual stupid jokes about being probed and "little green men" were a part of the episode, there was the surprising and refreshing non-conclusion as to the "reality" of aliens. It wasn't revealed at the end of the program that the murder victim was crazy or the victim of a hoax; typical endings of most mainstream programs. The UFO, alien, monster, etc. wasn't real at all, just a trick. Basically, Scooby Doo for grown-ups.

But in this episode of The Mentalist, one of the detectives matter of factly corrects someone who remarks that the aliens were "green," "Gray. They're gray." he says matter of factly and very seriously. Clues to this particular detectives own experience along these lines were interesting, leaving us to consider he knows a lot more about this than some may know.

Being a mainstream TV show about crime and not anything remotely paranormal (although the main character was involved with what appeared to be a legitimate psychic a season back) they had to throw in some disparaging stuff about the alien abduction group, mainly, that the leader of the group had been convicted of fraud years ago. Which either negates everything about aliens, UFos, and abductions, the show seemed to say, or, not, since the character freely acknowledged his crime and that was a long time ago. The question remained open: no ultimate answer to the murder victim's abduction "beliefs," and experiences. The murderer was caught, the motives given, but as to the reality of UFOs and alien abductions, the question remained open.