Aired after lead-in JAG and then spin-off NCIS, The Guardian gave the Australian heartthrob a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Nick Fallin. A handsome attorney working at his father (Dabney Coleman)’s corporate law firm, he was busted for the use of drugs and was sentenced by the courts to do 1,500 hours of community service as a child advocate. The Guardian was a modest success and lasted three seasons (2001-04) on CBS.
But it was The Mentalist that made Emmy nominee Simon Baker a household name as Patrick Jane, a fake psychic on an endless quest of redemption: fighting evil and injustice as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while searching for the elusive Red John, the serial killer responsible for murdering Jane’s wife and child.
Now on Thursdays at 10pm, The Mentalist didn’t suffer the “sophomore slump” with the writers didn’t just focus on Jane solving crimes week after week, but also further developing the characters of Lisbon (Robin Tunney) with “Red Badge”, Cho (Tim Kang) with “Blood In, Blood Out”, and furthering the romantic tension of Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti), but their relationship is going to be put to the test with Lisbon and new by-the-book boss Madeline Hightower (Aunjanue Ellis), who shares a great deal of respect for Jane and his skills.
Speaking of Jane, he butt heads with Lisbon’s former partner and mentor Sam Bosco (Terry Kinney, Oz), who took over the Red John case in the first half of season two, and has no love for him despite the fact that he close cases, which led Jane to going to prison in “Black Gold and Red Blood”.
Like Nick Fallin, Patrick Jane is an anti-hero: manipulative, rule-breaking, sarcastic, charming, ruthless, and intelligent, but also loyal, troubled, compassionate, and tragic at the same time.
Get a double dose of Simon Baker with season two of both The Guardian and The Mentalist — currently available on DVD.
