Owen-TV: 'Mentalist' principals discuss their show

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CBS's "The Mentalist" is the only true hit of the soon-to-conclude 2008-09 TV season, averaging more than 16 million viewers weekly, enough to place as the No. 7 prime-time series. The show's success had star Simon Baker smiling happily during a visit to the set in January. It's not a look Baker has sported often on TV in the past, but one featured prominently in "The Mentalist."
In Baker's Pittsburgh-set CBS legal drama "The Guardian," he played a monosyllabic, frequently morose, damaged lawyer with dubious ethics. Could it be that all he had to do to achieve success was turn his frown upside down?
"I think that's one of those simple values that's what people turn their TVs on for," said "Mentalist" creator Bruno Heller ("Rome"). "They want to see people smile. They want to see people be happy."
Baker stars in "The Mentalist" (9 p.m. EDT Tuesday) as Patrick Jane, a fake TV psychic-turned-consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation. He uses his observational skills to help the CBI solve crimes, but he often clashes with no-nonsense senior agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney).
Despite his often-smiling demeanor, Jane has a dark past. His wife and child were murdered by a killer known as "Red John," who remains at large.
"The beauty of the character, as Simon has created it, is that he's a dark character whose heroism is not in muscles or action but in being positive in this life despite what he does and that tragedy that he's faced with," Heller said.
Smiling through a press conference on Stage 14 on the Warner Bros. lot, Baker said his inspiration for Jane's upbeat demeanor came from a friend who often says, "Let your smile be your umbrella." The smile also serves a Columbolike purpose when confronting murder suspects.
"Often it can be used to disarm a person," Baker said. "Most people under scrutiny don't expect the policeman or detective to be as candid and genial and relaxed with them. When you're in a bad mood and someone smiles at you with a warm smile, it's infectious in a way and makes you let your guard down."
Baker's rakish, Cary Grantlike charm may be the star of the show, but it's not the only reason "The Mentalist" has become a hit. The show benefits from the camaraderie of its supporting players, who often contribute the show's lighter moments in a way reminiscent of the characters in its lead-in, the popular "NCIS."
Co-executive producer Ashley Gable ("Crossing Jordan") said the show's writers have gotten to know the actors and written toward their strengths.
"Owain Yeoman, who plays Rigsby, we have learned is a big, funny goofball and he brings a lot of physical comedy to it and that was something fun to discover in the camera," she said by phone last month.
Compared to the lighter tone of "The Mentalist," Baker said "The Guardian" was a more challenging show emotionally.
"I was playing such a depressed character that it did rub off on me," he said. "I never thought I was the kind of actor who would be affected by the role I'm playing. ... When I was doing 'The Guardian,' I wanted to act and move people and move the world and do those things. I was young."
"The Mentalist" reaches its first-season finale on May 19 with an episode Gable said is titled "Red John's Footsteps."
"We delve much deeper into Red John and we get very close to Red John, but I can't tell you if we catch him or not," she said.
Don't hold your breath. In January, Heller said, "I'm certainly not going to tell anyone" Red John's identity this season.

(Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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