Meet Patrick Jane. He works for the California Bureau of Investigations. And apparently he’s quite good at what he does. So much so, in fact, that he has license to break most of the conventional guidelines of law enforcement information gathering in order to substantiate his theories. And since he’s so damn good, he can get away with it. Think of it as House M.D. if he worked as a federal investigator.

Before I issue the inevitable ** Spoiler Alert ** as part of my recap: this is a really good show. I strongly urge you to watch it yourself if you can.  Full episodes are available on cbs.com for those of you within the USA.  (For those of you in Canada — CTV is airing it this season as well.) There’s so much more that you’ll get out of it from watching rather than reading a rinky-dink recap.

SPOILER ALERT: RECAP

The episode begins with a press conference at a nice, upper class home. The neighbor boy has been taken away in handcuffs — presumably for the murder of the cliche teen daughter.  The girl’s father is giving a statement thanking the police for finding the alleged murderer so quickly. The girl’s mother is there as well, looking very uncomfortable standing next to her husband. She’s looking troubled.

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) notices this. He enters her house, proceeds to make himself a cup of tea and a sandwich, and waits for her to come in. When she does, he tells her many things he’s observed about her - as trivial as her secret thrill when a neighbor gained five pounds. He does this to gain her trust: he knows that she thinks that her husband committed the unspeakable murder, and he wants her to confront him so the truth can come out. But things escalate rather quickly, and in the heat of anger she pulls out a gun and shoots her husband.  The snafu gets Jane suspended from the CBI for a bit.

Fast forward after a bit of time — another crime, another time.  But this one has a calling card attached to it — a smiley face made of blood on the wall of the murder scene, which is the M.O. for a serial killer named “Red John.” Jane makes it clear that he needs to be back on the job to work this case. Apparently  the Red John murders are his baby.

Through a series of flashbacks we see Jane’s backstory: he was a television psychic a la “Crossing Over with John Edwards.”  He even appears on a television talk show demonstrating his “abilities.”  When he’s interviewed by the hosts, he tells them that he’s using his psychic powers to help the police with the Red John murders. Everyone is impressed by the way he’s using his special powers for good and not for evil.

This murder scene, however, is very, very slightly different to Jane.  He believes that it’s a fake — and thinks that someone in the victims’ lives is using the Red John trademark to cover his tracks. The victims are a woman and her gay best friend/physician. Was it the husband? The husband’s brother, whose DNA was at the scene? Jane’s head is spinning on this one, so an appointment is made to see the dead physician’s partner to see if he can score some sleeping pills.

During the consultation we (but not the doctor) learn more about Jane — he arrived home the night after he had been on that talk show where he told of his cooperation with the police about the Red John murders. On his bedroom door he found a typed note from Red John — calling his bluff about being a real psychic. Because if he actually was a real psychic, he wouldn’t have to open the door to see what had happened to his wife and son.  And sure enough — he opens the door and finds Red John’s trademark. And that’s how Jane apparently became involved with the Bureau.

But he holds his cards close to his chest. Ultimately he has the doctor in a trap — since he was the one who murdered his partner (financial reasons) and the woman he was with (as a distraction).  It’s a game of Jane reading someone so well that he can anticipate his next move.

There is a supporting cast as well. Robin Tunney is Agent Teresa Lisbon, a hard-ass by-the-book agent-in-charge who tries (and usually fails) to keep Jane in line. She trusts Jane’s talent, however, and goes to bat for him on occassion. Amanda Righetti is rookie Agent Grace Van Pelt, who asks Agent Jane stupid questions like “do real psychics know that you’re a fake?” And he reads her so incredibly well that he predicts the inevitable hookup between her and Agent Rigsby (Owain Yeoman).  The rest of the team doesn’t interact with Jane nearly as much as Lisbon does — but that’s mostly because she isolates them from this supposed bad influence.

Great show. I can see why it’s been, thus far, the most watched new show of the season.

This is the week of weeks folks! The week your TiVo and clicky finger get the chance to shine! It’s the big one!

Most of the 22nd is filled! It’s my favorite night of TeeVee. There’s The Big Bang Theory. I absolutely love Sheldon! There’s also How I Met your Mother, Two and a Half Men, And Dancing With The Stars. But really.  What is a Monday night without Heroes!
Heroes starts off with a countdown to the new season at 8:00PM, then there are two episodes back to back. Sweet!

The 23rd and the 24th bring the crime dramas back. With Law and Order, NCIS, Without a Trace and the new show The Mentalist.

The 24th also is the start of Jay Mohr’s new show Gary UnMarried. I guess we know who’s missing their shadow on Ghost Whisperer.

The 25th will be My Name Is Earl, ER, The Office and Ugly Betty.

The 28th will keep a lot of people happy and hopping from channel to channel. Though I am mostly waiting for Dexter. Yum. You can see a video preview on Hilly’s post: Dexter Season Three.
You can also watch David Duchovny act out his addictions on californication.

All in all this is one great ass week of TeeVee!

Sept 22:                                       
Boston Legal (ABC)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
CSI Miami (CBS)
Dancing With The Stars (ABC)
Heroes (NBC)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Two And A Half Men (CBS)
Worst Week (CBS)

Sept 23:
Dancing With The Stars (ABC)
Law & Order (NBC)
The Mentalist (CBS)
NCIS (CBS)
Opportunity Knocks (ABC)
Without A Trace (CBS)

Sept 24:
Criminal Minds (CBS)
CSI: NY (CBS)
Gary Unmarried (CBS)
Knight Rider (NBC)
Lipstick Jungle (NBC)
New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

Sept 25:
ER (NBC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
My Name Is Earl (NBC)
Office (NBC)
Survivor (CBS)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

Sept 27:
48 Hours Mystery (CBS)

Sept 28:
Amazing Race (CBS)
American Dad (Fox)
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Californication (Showtime)
Cold Case (CBS)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Extreme Makeover (ABC)
Family Guy (Fox)
King of the Hill (Fox)
Little Britain USA (HBO)
Simpsons (Fox)
60 Minutes (CBS)
Unit (CBS)

Sept 29:
Chuck (NBC)
Life (NBC)

Sept 30:
Scare Tactics (SciFi)