Sunday, January 10, 2010

Is the Mentalist really the Equalizer?

I’m on board with THE MENTALIST.

Yes, it’s a formula cop show. Yes, its “hook” (the star has extraordinary powers of observation and is eccentric) is the same as five other police series. And yes, at the end of the day you don’t really give a rat's ass who “did it”. But Simon Baker is fun to watch and at the end of the day isn’t that all that matters?

What sets him apart is this insouciant I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude he has that I find very refreshing. Especially since every other TV crime fighter is driven and earnest to a fault. Hey, lighten up guys. It’s only murder.

The Mentalist has the obligatory hot partner. In this case, Robin Tunney. Since it’s CBS the one requirement is that she’s a brunette (Les Moonves loves his brunettes. Check out the CBS schedule. It’s filled with them.) She’s the serious one. She questions all the suspects while Simon hangs back, bemused, and after five minutes of getting nowhere, Simon pops in with one offhanded query and the suspect pours out his most innermost secrets. You don’t have to be a mentalist to see it coming a mile away but it works. Baker pulls it off. Robin of course finds him exasperating but unlike the bitch in CASTLE she's more tolerant and even thanks him more than once a year.

Then there’s the mandatory police staff supporting drones – interchangeable from any procedural except one of the members of this group is that Asian guy from the cellphone commercials and I just hate him. He’s probably the world’s greatest person but he always plays smug assholes that you just want to slug.

Last week’s episode was particularly entertaining. They entered the world of a biker gang. Great scene where they went to a biker bar to question a suspect. All these angry looking tatted dudes and in steps Simon in a tweed jacket completely at ease. Fearless Robin is there too. (I love, by the way, that she always introduces herself by flashing her badge and snarling “CBI” as if anyone knows what the hell that means. For reference: California Bureau of Intelligence, which no longer exists in that form.) The biker gang leader is ready to turn the Mentalist into a hood ornament but is instantly disarmed when Simon perceptively tells him he came from a dysfunctional family and had childhood issues. Wow! How did he know??? This leads me to a possible spinoff idea. “Dr. Laura Schlessinger: Homicide”. I want part creator credit if this ever happens.

One of the purposes of the police staff is to do all the action sequences. Case in point in this particular episode – Robin and the hot young red head (I’m sure Moonves was told was she’s a light brunette) handled a thrilling car chase while Baker gave a suspect a driving lesson.

The fact that Baker would probably call for a stunt double if he has to get up from a dinner table quickly is precisely why I love this show. It reminds me of my other all-time favorite urban drama, THE EQUALIZER.

This mid-80s series starred British actor, Edward Woodward as a former secret agent who now lives in Manhattan and helps protect regular citizens from bullies or the Mafia or biker gangs. When he made this series Woodward was already in his mid-to-late fifties and looked like Winston Churchill with a hairpiece. Not what you’d call imposing. Still, he’d walk into those biker bars and instead of the Hells Angels yelling, “What the fuck do you want, grandpa?” they’d cower. Why I never knew but I loved loved loved it.

My favorite episode found The Equalizer and a dangerous thug locked in a tense showdown. Both held handguns at their sides. But then the Equalizer flicked his wrist, raising his gun just a few inches and the thug was so intimidated he dropped his weapon. Zowie!! You just can’t choreograph action like that!

The older I get the more I appreciate these series. If that’s all it took to thwart vicious criminals than hey, I could still be James Bond!

Simon Baker is still a few years away from that but I have a feeling THE MENTALIST could last long enough to where he might not have the flexibility and dexterity he has now. And I’ll still be watching. Oh, and by the way, it did not go unnoticed that all the commercials on the show last week were for drugs and ointments.

55 comments :

rob! said...

TV in the 80s is probably unfathomable to audiences of today--remember Joe Don Baker as "Eischeid"? A middle-aged, overweight, sloppy, perpetually-squinting character actor as THE STAR of a series?

That show would probably look to the kids of today like cave paintings do to us.

Bob said...

I'd happily watch Dr. Laura Schlessinger: Homicide, provided Dr. Laura plays the victim every week.

WV: meingion - get your own damn gion.

HEATHER said...

I like this show, but I will tell you I am irked by the butch way the gals on the show are dressed. It's not just this show, all females on cop shows now are dressed like this. Doesn't anyone remember Pepper Anderson?! She was tough, sexy and she dressed like a chick!

Jonk said...

Simon Baker's a Aussie, not a Brit. The laid back attitude is just standard issue in this country.

Tallulah Morehead said...

I never watched THE EQUALIZER. For me, once Edward Woodward burned up in THE WICKER MAN, he was over.

What I have noticed, and I've seen every episode of both of these shows broadcast so far, is that THE MENATALIST and CASTLE are THE EXACT SAME SHOW. I can not detect any difference between the hostile-but-that's-just-because-she-doesn't-want-admit-she's-in-love-with-him butch women the protagonists work with. I can't tell the Asian guys on each apart (Is it two different Asian guys, or is the smae actor playing the same role on both?), except I have noticed that the Asian guy on THE MENTALIST delivers every line in his Jack Webb impression. Really, the Asian guy thinks he's on DRAGNET. It's a pure Jack Webb performance.

At least CASTLE has Susan Sullivan being funny.

THE MENTALIST's greatest gift to us so far was that enabled David Letterman to tell this joke a few weeks ago: "The Mentalist is so perceptive, he can detect the subltle, sub-atomic-sized differences in the various characters played by Kelsey Grammar."

A. Buck Short said...

Actually, as you probably know, although Patrick Jane the character might very well demand a stunt double to get up from the table, Simon Baker is probably the most athletic person on the set. In fact, I heard the only thing that delayed his entry into show biz was the single sentence, “What, and give up water polo?”

Currently some of us here in the rural heartland are in the process of developing a new procedural crime show for the RFD Channel called “The Mendelist.” Essentially the story of Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, to be played by an actor who is sort of a cross between Edward Woodward and Ed Wood. The cross pollination of the two is noteworthy, because the character, Mendel, gives up a promising career in academic research to devote the rest of his life to upholding the laws – of heredity. To that end he will stop at nothing -- in one episode methodically observing over 29,000 garden pea plants to solve a single case.

Although our effort has been dismissed by both of America’s broadcast networks, ABC and CBS, as “just another formula crop show,” we also hope for a DNA Cable Network spinoff, “Allele McBeal,” sponsored by Calvin Klein designer genes.

Yes. I AM truly sorry.

Matt said...

It has a similar premise to the show Psych, but I like the comedy better in Psych.

Buttermilk Sky said...

I always thought "The Equalizer" was a low budget, New York-set version of "The A Team," with just one guy organizing elaborate schemes to get justice for the downtrodden. And Mr. Woodward had a heart attack while shooting and went back to work, so I don't see why Simon Baker needs a stunt double to get in and out of cars for him. He's forty.

Sorry, but I've never heard of "Castle."

Anonymous said...

'that bitch on castle'? That was completely uncalled for.

gwangung said...

one of the members of this group is that Asian guy from the cellphone commercials and I just hate him. He’s probably the world’s greatest person but he always plays smug assholes that you just want to slug.

And all the Asian actors in town want to grow up to be just like him. (What? Smug assholes are wayyyy better than all the usual crap roles Asian actors have to play....).

(Oh. That figures. "Ching" is my verification word).

gwangung said...

I can't tell the Asian guys on each apart (Is it two different Asian guys, or is the smae actor playing the same role on both?),

Same guy. You know there's a designated Asian Actor that plays all the roles that pays residuals on network TV.

Tim W. said...

The Equalizer was cool. And when you're that cool, you intimidate the hell out of everyone around you.

The thing I remember about that show, that always puzzled me, is that he didn't charge anyone for hiring him. They just owed him a favour, that I assume he'd use on other cases. How did he make his money, then?

kimshum said...

Robin of course finds him exasperating but unlike the bitch in CASTLE she's more tolerant and even thanks him more than once a year.

I am sensing some hostility toward dear Det. Beckett. Can't imagine why.

But if comparing The Mentalist to anything, it should be to Psych. They're basically the exact same show. Though I guess that doesn't have the same nostalgia-factor. Ah, well...

D. McEwan said...

"gwangung said...
Same guy. You know there's a designated Asian Actor that plays all the roles that pays residuals on network TV."


Then are the two hard-bitten brunette female cops the same actress as well? Because they are also indistinguishable. (Ken can perceive that one is a bitch, and the other not, but this distinction escapes me.) Les Moonves isn't the only one fond of brunettes, it would seem.

"Buttermilk Sky said...
Sorry, but I've never heard of 'Castle'."


It's an identical show, only on ABC and a different night, and with Nathan Fillion playing Simon Baker with darker hair. And he's a novelist who solves crimes for the police instead of a nightclub fake psychic that solves crimes for the police. How do the real police manage to solve real crimes without the aid of dilettantes?

They entered the world of a biker gang. Great scene where they went to a biker bar to question a suspect. All these angry looking tatted dudes

You may have noticed that the leader of the biker gang, the baddest of the bad-ass dudes, was Mark Pellegrino, the actor who plays "Jacob," the mysterious lord of The Island on Lost. Perhaps Patrick Jane will be brought in at the end of Lost to explain to us what the hell has been going on there, and solve Jacob's murder. Yes, we saw Ben Linus do it, but at the behest of whatever is disguised at Locke. Who is he, and why did he do it, and why did he have to go through five seasons of immensely complicated rigamarole to accomplish it?

D. McEwan said...

"gwangung said...
Same guy. You know there's a designated Asian Actor that plays all the roles that pays residuals on network TV."


Wait a minute! No there isn't. Because those two identical (not just in appearance, in characcter and function within the show) characters are certainly not played by Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin on Lost, and who neither looks nor acts anything like either of him. Tried to slip one over on me, eh?

D. McEwan said...

I haven't seen Psyche, but isn't it about two guys, therefore a "buddy" show, who have a detective agency, and therefore not about a dilettante crime-solver working with a female police officer who refuses to admit she's in love with him, and masks it with cynical rudeness and disdain, backed up by a team of intercangeable police detectives, including at least one male Asian cop of about 30 teamed with a white cop with whom he can exchange banter?

Unless Psyche matches that description, then Castle, not Psyche remains the doppleganger show.

I am amused by The Mentalist's "CBI," it's non-exisitent police agency that steps in and exerts a fictional authority over the local cops anywhere in California. And no matter whether the crime takes place in Malibu, San Francisco, Fresno, or Bodega Bay, it's a 10 minute drive from the CBI headquarters. I was always amused at how Lt. Columbo had jurisdiction in murders all over Los Angeles County, as though there was no such thing as precincts, and I've never quite figured out the precint boundaries on any Law & Order show, as they seem to encompass the entire island of Manhattan, but the no-such-thing-as CBI is just a few blocks from anywhere in California, and can butt in and take over cases whenever they feel like it.

Murder is still really a crime, isn't it? Because nothing else in these shows is real.

Anonymous said...

The Equalizer, Robert McCall, was a former CIA contractor. He made his money in "wet work," His Robin Hood act was an act of redemption. In the best episodes, he called in favors from his former team of contractors to intimidate the bad guys. The show was great when it stuck to its premise. McCall was smarter and more dangerous than the bad guys because of his knowledge and his contacts. He used spycraft to win. It was silly when he used martial arts without a weapon.

mcp said...

And now it's time for arcane corrections!

"D. McEwan said... I was always amused at how Lt. Columbo had jurisdiction in murders all over Los Angeles County, as though there was no such thing as precincts."

Lt. Columbo was probably assigned to LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD). According to lapd.org, "Robbery-Homicide Division detectives attend quarterly homicide meetings with detectives throughout the City, where they review suspect information and crime trends. This practice ensures that investigations of serious crimes are shared across geographic boundaries."

"HEATHER said... I like this show, but I will tell you I am irked by the butch way the gals on the show are dressed. It's not just this show, all females on cop shows now are dressed like this."

There was a point for three or four wonderful years where every woman detective and CSI showed massive amounts of cleavage (possibly on the orders of Les Moonves). I think the trend ended when Emily Proctor's character on "CSI Miami" had this drammatic scene where she tried to save a man from falling but all you could do is look up her blouse (Must get the DVD).

And finally, I don't think of Det. Beckett (Stana Katic) as a bitch. She and Castle enjoy sparring with each other. That's part of the fun of the show.

Jonesey said...

Apparently Moonves never forgave Jerry Bruckheimer for casting blonde Marley Shelton in Eleventh Hour, and this was a factor in its cancellation. That, and the fact that his people cut a lousy deal to beat ABC to the show.

carol said...

Since you brought it up, I am wondering what you think of the show Castle overall. (I'm assuming the 'bitch on Castle' was a tongue in cheek sort of comment.)

I love Castle because it is well-written and the cast has amazing chemistry together, and it's like comfort food of television. It's like Remington Steele, which was a show I adored back in the day.

Jon Johnson said...

I thought it was California Bureau of Investigation...not Intelligence. But, what do I know? I don't live there.

And I loved the tag line on last week's end of show teaser. Jane was asked if he really didn't go to high school and he replied, "I was busy".

olucy said...

I haven't seen Psyche, but isn't it about two guys, therefore a "buddy" show, who have a detective agency, and therefore not about a dilettante crime-solver working with a female police officer who refuses to admit she's in love with him, and masks it with cynical rudeness and disdain, backed up by a team of intercangeable police detectives, including at least one male Asian cop of about 30 teamed with a white cop with whom he can exchange banter?

Unless Psyche matches that description, then Castle, not Psyche remains the doppleganger show.


Psych is a buddy show of sorts, but the main character was taught keen powers of observation from his father cop, and uses them to solve cases while passing himself off as a psychic. The Mentalist was a hustler passing himself off as a medium, and now uses his keen powers of observation to solve crimes.

Hence, the comparison.

The similarities between Castle and The Mentalist (brunettes not admitting they're smitten, interchangeable cops, etc) seem more like comparing window dressing than actual premise.

Agree: Susan Sullivan is fun in her role. She looks like she's having a good time.

Greg Morrow said...

Psych strikes me as a USA Network order to its suppliers "Give me more Monk, only different". Same ridiculous levels of observation, same comedy-over-mystery aesthetic, only the one is a fake psychic instead of OCD.

"Embuss": Speaks for itself, really. There are a lot of people in Hollywood I'd like to embuss; and a few more that one would like to emblunderbuss.

Vermonter17032 said...

As a Castle fan, I have to chime in with a defense of Stana Katic... even though her name sounds like some kind of dreaded eye disease. She's not all that bitchy, and when she is it is usually just flirtatious banter with Nathan Fillion. Castle is, in fact, one of the few network shows worth watching, in my opinion.

Nathan said...

I have absolutely no memory of The Equalizer other than having worked as a day-player on it a half dozen times when I first moved to NY. I think they paid PAs $70/day. Woof!

Tom Quigley said...

Ken said...

"Les Moonves loves his brunettes. Check out the CBS schedule. It’s filled with them."...

Considering whom Les Moonves is married to (Julie Chen), I'm surprised they're not all Asian too...

AlaskaRay said...

I dodn't like The Mentalist too much but I love Castle. Maybe I'm just waiting for Nathan Fillian to fly off in his Firefly, which he almost did on their Halloween episode. Det. Becket is very hot and they have fun chemistry together. I also like Psych, but it's starting to get old.

Ray

WV: tenopra - one is really more than enough

Anonymous said...

THE MENTALIST had me in the first episode when the redhead referred to "a real psychic" and Simon Baker replied "There is no such thing as a real psychic." Wow. Loved hearing that. They brought it up again in the next couple of episodes, but now sadly have dropped much of that talk. Too bad. It was nice to hear a voice of reason while being entertained.

WV: fredums: what tea-baggers think they are being robbed of.

Rock Golf said...

That "Asian Guy" who portrays "smug assholes" is Tim Kang, and I think he's hilarious in the role. As Tallulah indicated, he's channeling Jack Webb in every scene he's in.

I also love the fact that in one episode of Law & Order: Trial By Jury, he played Dr. Liam Kelly. Not exactly typecasting there.

Chris Riesbeck said...

A running gag on Psych has been referring to The Mentalist. "What do you do?" "Have you seen The Mentalist?" "Yeah." "Like that, only for real."

WV: facesma -- what happens to the brat whose dad let him get away with it

dr laura schlessinger said...

You write it...and we'll see! warmly, Dr Laura Schlessinger

Allison DeWitt said...

I think of "The Mentalist" as being a crime version of "House".

Simon Baker's just less obnoxious and way cuter. I'd like the stories to be less predictable but that's me.

Roger Owen Green said...

I LOVED The Equalizer; hated the fact that it was up against St. Elsewhere for much of its run.

Anonymous said...

Psych was the rather famous result of someone pitching to USA at a time when Monk and Dead Zone were its two most popular shows.

USA is pretty much the home of 80's era action tv now with Burn Notice being the best example of it.

blogward said...

It's surprising just how many hit shows and great films the late Edward Woodward was in - a great actor and a lovely man.

wv: porks. No comment.

Dave Creek said...

I also have to come in with a defense of Det. Beckett on Castle. She's the hottest woman on television right now, and the more she spars with Castle the better I like it!

Stana Katic more than holds her own with Nathan Fillion, in both comedic and dramatic scenes, which is key to the show.

And I also like that the show is a return to the two-character light-hearted show (even though it's about murder). As much as I love edgy ensemble shows like THE SHIELD it seems EVERY show has to be like that. Let's have some variety, please!

Dana Gabbard said...

An acquaintence complained to me he felt Simon Baker's chartacter was much nastier this season. If true I chalk it up to the pressure of being a top rated drama in an era where such are rare things and thus the desire to up the ante to keep up the ratings.

I just would worry the premise would wear out very quickly. But I guess Baker has been able to do a lot with a limited character, much like Hugh Laurie on House.

By Ken Levine said...

I like CASTLE too. But come on, are we watching the same show? Stana Katic, while I readily admit is gorgeous, comes off cold and judgmental. These flashes of humor that some of you suggest she has, I haven't seen it. Not that Robin Tunney is Lucy with a gun but she seems warmer and respectful of the Mentalist.

Hey, that's my opinion. That's how I see it.

Tallulah Morehead said...

"Jon Johnson said...
I thought it was California Bureau of Investigation...not Intelligence. But, what do I know? I don't live there."


It's "Investigation," and live where? Because there is no such agency in the real California.

"Greg Morrow said...
Psych strikes me as a USA Network order to its suppliers 'Give me more Monk, only different'. "


I believe those were the exact words on the show order.

"Tom Quigley said...
Considering whom Les Moonves is married to (Julie Chen), I'm surprised they're not all Asian too..."


So Les split his idea into two characters, hence the necessity of having the Asian guy, whom Les is imaginning in drag? Does Julie talk like Jack Webb at home, do you think? (Wouldn't surprise me.)

"Anonymous said...
THE MENTALIST had me in the first episode when the redhead referred to 'a real psychic' and Simon Baker replied 'There is no such thing as a real psychic.' Wow. Loved hearing that. They brought it up again in the next couple of episodes, but now sadly have dropped much of that talk."


A very recent episode was full of flashbacks to Jane's youth and training in conning by his dad, so the point that psychics are all fakery and tricks has not been dropped.

"dr laura schlessinger said..."

I couldn't read past those words. Ew. We're not getting the class of creeps in here we used to.

"Dana Gabbard said...
I just would worry the premise would wear out very quickly."


Solving a murder every week is about as duable a premise as exists. In any event, if the audience enjoys spending time with the characters, a show can run and run and run. Likability is supreme.

DodgerGirl said...

One of the things that was really great about The Equalizer was the score by Stewart Copeland of The Police.

gwangung said...

Considering whom Les Moonves is married to (Julie Chen), I'm surprised they're not all Asian too...

Because the Designated Asian comes in male and female types, and, boy...is Kelly Hu, I mean, Ming Na, I mean Lucy Liu BUSY these days.

Brian T. said...

Long time reader, first time poster. Love the blog.

I had a hard time watching The Mentalist for a while because I couldn't help thinking of it as somebody trying to do a more serious version of Psych.

Other than the ongoing Red John plot, the only real difference between the two shows is that Shawn on Psych pretends to be a psychic so he can get around laws that would require him to become a licensed private detective.

The first couple of times I saw scenes where Jane talked about his wife and daughter, I couldn't help thinking, "This is what Psych might be like if they killed off Gus and Shawn's dad and then had Shawn hang out more with Chief Vick. What da fudge, CBS?"

It didn't help at all that Cho was pretty much a less funny version of Detective Lassiter from Psych before he evolved into Asian Jack Webb or that Rigsby (the doofy white guy) is practically the same character as a recurring uniform cop named McNab on Psych.

I like The Mentalist now, but it took me a long time to accept it as its own thing instead of thinking of it as "Psych without the cheesy pop culture references I love so much."

The Equalizer was indeed awesome, but I don't really see any similarities other than protagonists in nice clothes.

haircoloroptional said...

Dear Ken,

I am a blonde actress with alabastor skin, demitasse cups and huge feet.
Well, maybe my feet aren't t h a t big. Nine and a half most days. Size ten post running.
Point is, I think you are onto something. BRUNETTES! Right.
What say I schedule an appointment with my colorist to transform myself from said blonde into a Les Moonves Brunette. Then, I check back in with you over the next few months and report on my work status.
I'll refer to myself as a Quigley blonde turns Moonver Brunette and see what happens.
Balls out, I'm gonna do it.

By Ken Levine said...

Haircoloroptional,

I love your experiment. Please keep in touch and let us know how it goes. And when you become a huge star on CBS try to remember us little bloggers.

Ken

Tom Quigley said...

Haircoloroptional,

You have my full permission to use the term "Quigley blonde".... Uh, do I need to sign something?....

te said...

I'm a big fan of the current cop show trend of having civilians (or at least people who are neither detectives or uniformed officers) doing cop-like work:

"Help! I'm being robbed! Somebody call a Mentalist!"

"I'm a crime novelist, and You're under arrest!"

"Stop, thief! I'm a crime scene investigator!"

And my favorite:

"Why, this looks like the corpse of a hooker -- bring in our mathematical consultant; we need an algorithm!"

Brian T. said...

Well... At least with Numb3rs, there are actually situations in real life where a math geek who is good with computers would be useful when dealing with white collar crime.

So they can balance out the less plausible stuff by having Charlie and Amita do things that a math professor/hacker could do in real life... eventually. I find it easy to willfully suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride.

But a mystery writer? Even considering Jessica Fletcher's success rate, I have a hard time accepting that all the cool trivia a mystery writer learns for the sake of veracity would be useful on a regular basis when solving real crimes.

Writers fudge details and just make stuff up sometimes. They don't necessarily know all the stuff their characters are supposed to know.

Wouldn't it be better to find a forensics expert who reads a lot of detective novels?

Take Remington Steele, for instance. Sure, he solved crimes through his amazing power of having watched a ton of old movies and understanding genre conceits. But he was also a successful cat burglar and con artist who knew useful stuff about how crooks operated.

Practical experience has to be at least a little better than "I make crap up for a living."

te said...


So they can balance out the less plausible stuff by having Charlie and Amita do things that a math professor/hacker could do in real life... eventually. I find it easy to willfully suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride.


Oh, me as well. I watrch all those shows I mocked; as well as Bones, which I forgor to include.

And I'm enjoying Numb3rs much more now that they don't have to come up with things for Peter McNichol's character to do. I like him as an actor, but...good riddance.

olucy said...

But a mystery writer? Even considering Jessica Fletcher's success rate, I have a hard time accepting that all the cool trivia a mystery writer learns for the sake of veracity would be useful on a regular basis when solving real crimes.

Writers fudge details and just make stuff up sometimes. They don't necessarily know all the stuff their characters are supposed to know.

Wouldn't it be better to find a forensics expert who reads a lot of detective novels?


Unlike Numb3rs, where Charlie is asked to share his expertise, the NYPD isn't asking for Castle's input. He's using his friendship with the mayor to get assigned to tag along on cases to get experience/material for his books. He was foisted upon them.

D. McEwan said...

"te said...
'Help! I'm being robbed! Somebody call a Mentalist!' "


te, you made me laugh out loud.

Regarding hair color, my mother, who was a brunette, many, many, many years ago, dyed her hair blonde for a year. To her dying day, she swore she got more attention from men, and more flirtations from men, and more dates when she was a blonde. Of course, Les Moonves wasn't born yet then.

haircoloroptional said...

Quigley Blonde discovered something interesting in her mission brunette. Did you know that there is a kit for your flower? Seriously! To help the muff match the cuff....I had NO idea and lemme tell you....just, wow! A little something called The Betty and all sorts of other coloring options. The hair on my head still remains priority number one...although D. McEwan gives me pause....

Anonymous said...

Which Asian detective are people referring to in Castle? The Hispanic guy, Esposito?

Also, there's Alyson Hannigan in the CBS redhead camp, so it's not ALL brunettes over there.

Anonymous said...

I've been a fan of Simon's for years. He had it then and he's just getting better with age. The show, however, is simply ridiculous. But I can handle ridiculous when it comes to Simon Baker :)

Teamsja said...

Does Simon Baker wear a hairpiece. Please settle this issue between my wife and I. Thanks

jeff said...

My guess is YES hairpeice. Jeff