The Irrational

Too many tropes in this show to enumerate. There's the brilliant college proffessor who does this crime-fighting thing as a sideline. Of course he has a dark past with some damage, in this rare case visible to the naked eye. He drives an oddball car that stands out. He is well respected by his (naturally) ex-wife and students, but not so much by other professionals in various disciplines. And on, and on, and on.

This thing is kinda predictable, like a not-well-written Columbo episode with the clowns all dropping their hints flat on the floor in front of the audience -- and the coppers. I don't think I'll have the patience to struggle through another episode of this show. The first one was enough to turn me away.

Conclusion: not terrible, but not good either. I just don't have the time in my limited entertainment budget to waste on bland pate like this.

Ever since Tim Roth stopped playing Cal Lightman in Lie to Me (2009) I've been craving a smart psychologist fighting crime.

Then came Perception (2012), but Erick. McCormacks character was just a tad too crazy.

I had big hopes for. Mind Games (2014), but Christian Slater played an extremely annoying role, so it was cancelled as no one could stand watching it.

Enter The Irrational (2023) where an expert in human behavior helps law enforcement. We are immediately exposed to his backstory, which I am sure we will further explore in forthcoming episodes.

The crime he solves in the pilot is okay. We are not as audience convinced that he's a genius (yet), but he does drop a few interesting tidbits from time to time.

My wish list for future episodes: Writes, take a look at "The Mentalist" and "Lie to Me" and see if you can add a bit of that magic to the show.

I will continue watching.

... and so I did. Just finished watching episode 10 of season 1, which is the weakest so far. Something has been bugging me and that's how the writers makes professionals do or say things that a real professional would never say or do. These kind of shows works because they have a foundation. There really is such a thing as behavioral science. But it''s not just the science - sometimes law enforcement agencies are involved, and there we see a multitude of small errors. Calling CIA officers for agents. Wrong use of weapons and tactics, etc.

Both Lie to Me and The Mentalist had real, bonafide professionals helping them with the science. That would be a great step going forward if this show should have a future.

It's a standard police procedural case of the week, thin season plot deal.

Jessie of flash fame, plays it straight, this role is a bit different from his joe cop / dad / humble guy.

It's ticking all the boxes of classic tropes and cliches, nothing really new or special but it's off to a good start for watchable police drama that isn't cringe or too dumb.

I would compare this show to will trent with out the darker tone, it's light enough not to be icky but tackles the psycological angle over the tried and tested police / law enforcement.

It's probably could be linked to the other / many non police consultant solves crime shows, but this is show isn't white washed it's taking the minority / black / coloured route.

Review stuff : well acted, well directed, writting is acceptable ( run of the mill ). Edited well, and smooth transitions.

Had to speak up after seeing the pro reviews that gave this new series a rotten rating elsewhere. Those critics seem to have gotten pretty jaded. Maybe watching one too many procedurals? None, repeat none, of these tried and true TV tropes have ever been perfect. But to damn "The Irrational" for being what it is, is, well, NOT rational. The show's an example of a pretty familiar but often successful format and its pilot masterfully established both its star and premise with panache and in record time. It set itself apart from other murder mysteries for me, as much for its arguably endearing and interesting star turn as the very real science the character's mini-storytelling makes accessible. I suspect that the more I watch this series the more I'm going to like it -and the more I'll learn about my OWN motives!

My first encounter with the talented Jesse L. Martin was in the 2005 movie of the stage play "Rent." He is a very talented singer and has also proven to be an accomplished actor. I enjoyed him more recently in the weekly series "The Flash."

Here he is a producer of the new "The Irrational" weekly series and stars as Alec Mercer. My wife and I watch it streaming on Peacock a day or two after the episode airs, that fits our schedule better.

The concept of a weekly 30-minute or 60-minute TV series is as old as TV. Very few of them over the years have been outstanding but they are competent, they serve a purpose, as mostly light entertainment where we can enjoy the actors and an interesting story line.

Alec is a professor, his theories involve the fact that given certain circumstances people often do irrational things. He uses this when called upon to help solve a crime. In the second episode, which we watched last night, a well-know author comes to him asking help to solve a murder, her own. Seems she was poisoned with Polonium 210 and is dying. (In the story, I found out tobacco can contain small concentrations of Polonium 201, a deadly radioactive substance.)

Anyway, I see there are a few very negative reviews of this show, in my opinion each of them is off base. This is a pleasant show and pretty well stands up to the hundreds or thousands of weekly TV shows over the decades. No one needs to watch it but there is also no reason to bash it.