Mental

Psychiatry and psychology is a hot topic these days. We had to wait for too long for a psych series to come out. We had a psych thread in Sopranos, it was great but it was not the core of it. We have In Treatment which I find fascinating. But this comment is not about it...

So lets have an old, inhuman psychiatric ward. Filled with doctors and patients with various kinds and sorts of problems. And lets put a messiah doctor inside who is kind with patients and will carry out a revolution. And we also need special and fascinating cases from the broad range of psychiatry.

Hm.. sounds good. Except... We have seen something like this. Ah yes it is House MD. One of the first and still best 'new line' series. Is it a good idea to copy a leading show? Hm... maybe but then you have to accentuate the differences and you have to make it a quality product. Unfortunately MENTAL failed in both of these aspects.

As a med student and aspiring psychiatrist I can say the medical cases are of varying degrees crap. But of course I am the only one who might be disturbed by this.

The characters are 2D. Simple and uninteresting. There is nothing interesting about acting or visuals. The overall plot about the evil doctor conspiring against our precious good doctor is childish and too simple. To tell the truth I lost interest before it could turn out what is up with Mr. psychiatrist and his not answering ex. sorry...

I was really enthusiastic about this show because it is about a psych ward. I tried really hard to enjoy it. But failed. I think you will also fail to do so....

When I first started watching, I wasn't sure if I liked it or hated it. After watching every episode, I've decided that I love it!

It's a really odd show. The style sort of reminds me of a reality show, and the characters are really strange. I'm a sci-fi fanatic, and I think the fact that the show is so weird is probably what appeals to me more than anything.

A lot of people have compared it to House, but it's so completely different. It's much more weird, and in my opinion, better. I like House, but every show is exactly the same. This show always surprises me.

I saw this for the first time end of 2011. I loved it. I just love the way this guy actually cares about his patients - which is really the only way to heal people (engage with them). I love the way he is outside of the box and isn't a tame psychiatrist who belongs to the health authority, but uses his expertise and humanity to do what needs to be done. He takes one person at a time and enters into their take on the world & holds them steady while they do what they need to do. It comes at a cost to him of course. He doubts himself & gets hurt, and can make choices that don't turn out well - welcome to the real world. But no decision is really wrong, and it's only from engaging that you learn anything at all. I loved this. All trainee psychiatrists should have to watch it.

please tell me this wasn't the series finale.... .We watched as he walked away last night wondering if the entire cast was going to continue, or would just he pick up somewhere else.....We were waiting to see if the one doctor, Carl Bell. was going to be found out as the jerk and manipulator he was portraying, and if the pharmaceutical representatives would be seen as forcing favors on individuals and hospitals for the opportunity to use them as guinea pig farms. Would the department head Nora Skoff find enough funding to be able to toss them (Bell and the drug representatives) out on their whatever. There were so many unanswered questions hanging at the end of this episode, we're hoping that it will return with some slowly released answers as the regular stories emerge.

Think House meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But change cranky, gimp-legged diagnostician Dr Gregory House with an impish, boy toy shrink and Nurse Ratched for a comely cougar chief administrator and Voila! . . . a FOX prime time TV series targeted at soccer moms on meds. But why stop there with the similarities to House? Why mess with success when you can plagiarize the play book of "Maverick White Hero Triumphs Over 'Diversity' and Teaches Uppity Women and Nervous Nelly Minorities a Lesson in How to Terrorize Your Patients Using Rogue Medical Techniques". Start by hiring a British actor, place him in a cold, sterile institution that frowns upon "genius" and staff it with earnest, well meaning staff who prefer to "play it safe and by the book" while our unconventional hero uses his rakish charm to enlist the support of his former lover who just so happens to run the hospital. Former lover should be an aging albeit hot brunette on the wrong side of forty conflicted by her burgeoning sexual attraction to recently hired doctor/ex-boyfriend, and her desire to avoid the inevitable lawsuits resulting from his "inspired" treatments. Replace Dr House's acutely observed misanthropy with cutely observed musings on the "mysteries of the human mind" and you have 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo House . . . and Dropped a Great Steaming Load' aka 'Mental'.