(S01E18) This was a fun episode of The Mentalist, reminiscent of parts of the psychic episode, "Seeing Red," in that we got to see Jane in a comfort zone of his, something that he knows well. The difference is that Jane believes in hypnosis.

And we got to see Jane do his thing tonight ... his hypnosis thing anyway. He was clever enough to put the tracer in Rigsby's pocket, but my favorite episodes of The Mentalist are when Jane knows whodunnit ahead of time and sets them up. When Jane is a step -- or two -- ahead of everyone else, he shines.

(S01E09) I had been craving more Jane, and also more interaction with the team, and I got my wish on both counts in this week's The Mentalist. The opening scene with Jane reading Lisbon's mind was so much fun, and I love the little seed he planted: "Now I have access to your innermost thoughts."

Simon Baker continues to please with his larger-than-life presence. He reminds me a bit of Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen in Burn Notice -- just one smart smile can say so much.

Just when I was starting to think I was The Mentalist, because I could predict the killer in the first act of the show, they threw me off a bit. Ah, something's got to keep my ego in check, I suppose. I have to say, I had a bit more fun not knowing, even though I get that it is about Jane's thought process and not really a whodunnit.

(S01E07) After reading the premise for tonight's The Mentalist, I can't tell you how forward I was looking to seeing Jane at a seance. How could that not be fun? Yeah, well, it was just OK, since he rigged it and all. But we got more from this episode than just Jane's antics.

In fact, I think the Jane antics have died down a bit, and I miss them; he was definitely more outrageous at the beginning of the series. That said, Jane seemed to have met his match in the spiritual advisor this week, and that was fun to watch.