This murder mystery (Sunday 8.30pm, Win) has been "fast-tracked" from the US, apparently to stop us from downloading it from the internet as we were sick in Australia of waiting for an American show to air here months after it had there.

Australian Simon Baker, famous for his roles in `E Street', `Home and Away' and `The Guardian', stars as a detective who solves crimes simply by, as he admits, "paying attention".

This guy can tell if a bloke's gay of if a person likes skiing simply by observing.

It was a skill he had used previously as a fake psychic (think John Edward).

If some of this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Even before I saw the first episode I thought about the comedy series `Psych' where the main character helps the police by pretending to be psychic.

`The Mentalist' takes the dramatic route, and doesn't do a bad job.

Like many cop shows, `The Mentalist' keeps you watching to see who committed the crime, but I wonder how long it will take for the audience to realise how far-fetched it is.

What will people think when they see Baker's character finding the missing piece of evidence seemingly out of nowhere each week?

It will be interesting to see where the writers and producers take his insomnia, which began after a serial killer murdered his family.

`The Mentalist' has a point of difference to shows like `CSI' and `Law & Order', but will be gimmick wear off?

What do you think?