Mind Games

I'm afraid I was somewhat underwhelmed by the debut of Mind Games. At first it sounded like a version of "Psych", but the first few minutes of the show made it clear that the two precepts had nothing in common.

I really enjoyed Steve Zahn's performance in Treme, but I found him just a little too frenetic (and loud) as the bipolar brother here. And Christian Slater, who was supposed to be the "normal" brother, came off as a bit unhinged as well - in his case, more sociopathic.

I'm not writing it off after only one episode, but I'm hoping that these portrayals will mellow out just a bit as the series continues. If I want to see erratic behaviour and people bouncing off the walls, I can find something closer to home.

Like Christian Slater. REALLY like Steve Zahn. So I tried this for about halfway through the pilot, and found Zahn's character especially so manic, so loud, so annoying, I had to shut it off. If I had to watch his character every week, I think I'd start pulling the wings off butterflies, or something. Fairly weak writing, as well. Decent premise, truly annoying execution. There are too many good series on TV right now to make room for this one. I've known bipolar people before, had a close friend for years who was afflicted with it, but never experienced anyone like this. Too manic, and so grating. Sorry to repeat myself, but had to fill up ten lines; in short - PASS ON THIS ONE!

"Mind Games" is the old "Mission Impossible" with a soft, mushy heart and a helping of humorous lunacy.

I don't mind the mushy heart or humorous lunacy. What needs to be fixed is the setup & believability of the schemes employed and their eventual conclusion. With "Mission Impossible" the plans were very straightforward, understandable & clear, A+B=C. Problems would come up, and they'd have to adjust (just like in 'Mind Games'). The difference is Zahns character is so manic and all over the place one gets the sense his inspirations are founded perhaps less in logic and more in THC. In order for me to properly get engaged in the plot and suspense, I need to be able to believe in it. I think this can be fixed with a little better/longer setup of the initial plans.

The characters are interesting & good looking, the acting is good, direction is decent (didn't like the circular merry go round camera shot in the second episode) & Chicago is a great setting. The team aspect is a big attraction to me. Like the original "Mission Impossible" (not the Tom Cruise versions) having a group of different people covertly work together to passionately achieve ethical goals just makes me feel good.

The greatest asset going for this show is its theme of scientifically manipulating human behavior to achieve a goal. "Mind Games" is intelligent, identifiable and lends itself to interesting, compelling introspection. I hope the show improves and succeeds.

The character of Edward Clark really lets this show down. The concept of him is great but the fact he has to ALWAYS do something wrong and then ALWAYS throw a tantrum and then ALWAYS attempt to fix things and ALWAYS fail but then ALWAYS succeed.

The rest of the characters are not as thought out (maybe that is the good thing!) but I was really intrigued with getting to know more about them. I want to know less about Edward Clark please. He is the one bringing the series down even though the whole thing is focused around him! Christian Slater is great but wouldn't expect anything less. He also manages to give his character quite a bit of depth and mystery.

However, I cannot bear the agony of sitting through a whole episode with the most annoying man on earth so I will give this a miss.

PS I watched 4 episodes in the hopes the formula would change. It did not.

I was a fan but this last episode about guns was super annoying! Why does there always have to be someone's political agenda shoved in my face?! I seriously liked this show but I'm not watching again I get enough politics in my life. I don't want to think about politics or have someone's emotional views about gun control shoved down my throat while I'm just trying to relax and to be entertained by a t.v. Show. Talk about mind games! Couldn't you have tried to be more subtle about it sheesh! And what is all this malarkey about my review needing to be ten lines? I just want to say my piece and be done for real! Abc I'm done with you! Be warned it's all propaganda!