There have been many popular TV shows made in the past. Breaking Bad, the Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, Psych, the Big Bang Theory, the Office, Once Upon a Time, and so forth, however out of all of these highly grossing TV shows, I believe that the Mentalist has the award for best TV show ever made.
The Mentalist has all of the things that makes a good TV show: suspense, comedy, romance, wittiness, unforgettable characters, an amazing overall plot, and enough drama but not too much drama. Some TV shows capitalize on a single one of these aspects or maybe two of them. The Office for example (the American version of course) is mainly focused on the comedy aspect. The stupidity and the ignorance of Michael Scott and how he runs his branch of Dunder Mifflin. There are certainly those unforgettable characters and times they get you on the edge of your seat, but overall it’s just a comedy TV series. The same can be said for the Big Bang Theory. This is mainly a comedy TV series that was based around sexual impulses and jokes to more of a drama-centered storyline focused on Sheldon Cooper and his roommate Leonard Hofstadter.
The Walking Dead is another good and iconic TV series. It’s a really great series with a base storyline that appears to follow a pattern like the show Once Upon A Time. In this series, the sections of the show are trying to survive these groups that appear, other than avoiding the Zombies of course. Every now and then, a new faction comes which adds on more problems to the whole story. There is a good balance of romance and action enough to satisfy the average American. However, some people may not have a thing for Zombies and that sort of stuff. The whole apocalyptic genre is definitely not for everyone but it does reach a fairly wide audience.
Another TV show that matches a pattern such as this is Once Upon a Time. This show is in its sixth season I believe and is still going. It’s about fairy tale characters who have come to live in a small town of Maine and are trying to fight against the bad characters. However, this TV series has become rather predictable and not as exciting as its debut years. You have some pretty good characters with their own struggles however every season seems to follow a very set problem with minor differences along the way. Something usually involving memory loss and not knowing what the heck is going on. Plus, it seems like one of those TV series that are now making it up as it goes along. Not the strongest base line for a story or the strongest foundation for a good TV series.
Now, I have to discuss the Clone Wars TV series because I am a huge Star Wars fan and this was one of my top picks. This is not the best TV show however because it focuses on only certain aspects. It is a very war based TV series on the events taking place between Episode II and Episode III of Star Wars. Not at all for everyone. Later on in the series it became a little more centered around the drama but still had a good mix of action packed fun. There are definitely amazing story lines and phenomenal new characters and outstanding animation (once you get past around season 2). The reason why I am not ranking this number 1 is because, just like other TV series like this one, it’s focused towards a certain group of people. The sci-fi community and, once again, not for everyone.
We could go into a long list of all of the Disney/Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network shows, but I think that we can agree that all of them are a bit childish and those of them who aren’t, sort of inappropriately adult-ish. I do not think that they are for everyone and to even have them considered to be on the top picks for best TV show would be insulting for all of the way better made ones out there. If you don’t like that opinion of mine then that’s fine, it’s my blog, not yours.
The TV show that hits really close to number 1 for me is Grey’s Anatomy. Yes, everybody loves the story of Meredith Grey who falls in love with Mc Dreamy and their struggle to become soul mates and stay together throughout the series. There is enough drama to have your head spinning for days and is definitely a TV show to digest. Although they are in their 13th season and have lost many of their main characters (Spoiler Alert), Derek Shepherd, (End Spoiler Alert), each new episode still has fresh material for fans to gobble up and to discuss about. Although it’s an amazing show to get into and to watch all the characters change and develop throughout the years, it did not make my number 1 choice and here is why: it seems to have lost its original feeling to it. Yes, each new episode is great and all of the characters are amazing and such but it doesn’t feel like the original Grey’s Anatomy anymore. It’s no longer a complete drama-centered story around the lives of Christian and Grey but now a drama-centered story around the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital in general. I don’t know if this is a bad thing or not but it definitely does not feel like the oldies and that is an important trait to have. Also, it’s quite evident that they are trying new things and ideas which means that they did not have a storyline based out for the entire show from the beginning. Some episodes with Grey’s in season 12 was a hit or miss.
Now for my main argument of why the Mentalist is the best TV series. And for some haters out there who would make the case that it’s just a rip-off of Psych, here’s why it’s not. In the show Psych, the main story line is of two guys in which one is pretending to by psychic and the other one is being dragged along. Pretty much, they are trying to keep the idea in law enforcement that the main character, Shawn Spencer, and along the way there is drama and romance and all that fun stuff. The main reason why the Mentalist is better than Psych is the basis of the storyline and what the Mentalist is really about.
The Mentalist is about a man named Patrick Jane. Patrick Jane does not pretend to be a psychic to fool the police but makes it well known that there are no such things as psychics. He also uses mental acuity and observation to make it appear that he is psychic when he really isn’t. The reason why The Mentalist is way better than Psych is because Patrick Jane has joined law enforcement to seek personal revenge on a serial killer named Red John who killed his wife and daughter. Instead of having a TV series based off of two people trying to fool the police and seeing if they can do it or not and adding a bunch of crime solving and witty drama to it cannot even begin to compare on the Mentalist’s level. Not only do we have five and a half full seasons of suspense of whether or not Jane can catch Red John, but we get another amazing season and a half after that to finish up the loose ends and to have an amazing conclusion with enough closure for anyone to ask for. First off, this TV show was not made up as it went along when it comes to the base storyline. I know this due to re-watching the show and seeing stuff from season 1 allude to stuff in season 6. The show’s producers also wanted the show to be as realistic as possible bringing in actual professionals in law enforcement, still enlisted and retired, to revise, edit, and train the actors on how to behave in all of the situations. This TV show also brings to the table a set of five unforgettable characters that are the stars of the show. These characters are explained and developed very artistically and creatively throughout the show to give you a sense that you know all five of them very intimately by the end of the show. Not only do you watch the struggle of Jane and the loss of his family and his seemingly endless pursuit of a crafty serial killer but you also get to watch the struggle of romance between two partners, Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt, who want to be together but everything in life seems to get in the way. Then you have the stone faced unwavering Kimble Cho who has his own set of problems yet witty humor and the hard cold yet heart felt Theresa Lisbon who you can watch blossom in an amazing partnership with her colleagues, especially Jane. From the beginning of the show to the end of the show, it never loses its original feel. Everything is crafted in the nostalgic Patrick Jane sense, drama, and humor as the first season entailed and his craziness just gets better every season. With each episode possibly being connected to Red John, you get a new and innovative way on how to catch each killer. It’s just a phenomenal TV series that combines all aspects genres and appeals and draws in any viewers attention. Once you start watching, you won’t be able to stop.
