Good start for the show. I was pleased this character is not similar to his Law & Order role. Jesse Matin's role as a professor of behavioral science is nicely done. He does not have over-the-top magical powers. Good balance between law enforcement and behavior science. The only potential downside is the storyline of him, chasing the person who inflicted the burns on his face. I would not want to watch a show each week of him chasing the same person. Hopeful that storyline will not last long. The ex-wife as an FBI agent seems to work well. They are evenly matched intellectually. The daughter's role has not been fleshed out yet at this point. The District attorney role hinted at a possible romantic involvement. Overall, great first show, lots of potential.
6 Reviews
Good outing for likeable Jesse L, Martin
ArchFrenemy30 September 2023
This show and "Will Trent" ought to be on back to back; they both feature unusually perceptive men who are dealing with deep personal trauma born of events from decades past. Each man comes across as likeable, with Jesse L. Martin's "Alec Mercer" having a bit of an edge there (but Robert Rodriguez' "Will Trent" is catching up over the episodes of his show IMO). Both men are surrounded by coworkers and friends who realize their genius and let them run with their theories, for the most part.
Episode 1 covered quite a bit of exposition and backstory through dialogue and flashbacks, so we learned a lot right away, with a promise of some additional mystery as the main characters make sense of a developing larger picture. So far, so good. I'll watch.
Now if only someone will bring back "Poker Face." That one was great!
Episode 1 covered quite a bit of exposition and backstory through dialogue and flashbacks, so we learned a lot right away, with a promise of some additional mystery as the main characters make sense of a developing larger picture. So far, so good. I'll watch.
Now if only someone will bring back "Poker Face." That one was great!
Hopefully future episodes will be as good as this
bmiller5927 September 2023
This pilot was outstanding. I could have rated it a 10, but for Jesse Martin but it's a good thing. I'm a huge fan of Mr Martin but he kept getting in the way. I was so caught up in/with his role I kinda lost track of everything else. Jesse Martin was outstanding.
I said to my wife that his role and the plot reminded me of The Mentalist. He changed his story of his facial burn a couple times, has he not come to terms with it?
I think this show has a huge upside, much promise. I knew from the start I was going to like it, and I did. Are the next episodes going to build on the pilot or are they going to be stand alone.
With the writers going on I was ready for something other than reality shows and repeats of shows that I have already seen.
Am looking forward to the next episode.
I said to my wife that his role and the plot reminded me of The Mentalist. He changed his story of his facial burn a couple times, has he not come to terms with it?
I think this show has a huge upside, much promise. I knew from the start I was going to like it, and I did. Are the next episodes going to build on the pilot or are they going to be stand alone.
With the writers going on I was ready for something other than reality shows and repeats of shows that I have already seen.
Am looking forward to the next episode.
Plot too manipulated to prove its own assumptions
Paris_Pa18 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The professor conducts experiments to prove his points, but the outcomes of the experiments are questionable. For example, in one experiment, he falsely accused students of breaking an expensive piece of equipment, and the students believed it without argument. However, this is not realistic, as people generally do not accept blame for something they didn't do, even when they have actually broken something.
Another weak point of the episode is that the killer was the only one with a 5-year sobriety medal, which he, of course, left at the crime scene. I think that the police or the FBI would not have believed the boyfriend so easily and would have investigated the ownership of the sobriety medal.
Finally, it seemed that the professor understood that someone had visited the court in the last scene, but he decided to follow the person after a while. Nevertheless, courts have many cameras to identify the person. And don't tell me that the person was hiding their face, as guards would have arrested them.
I was not impressed by the first episode and will not continue watching.
Another weak point of the episode is that the killer was the only one with a 5-year sobriety medal, which he, of course, left at the crime scene. I think that the police or the FBI would not have believed the boyfriend so easily and would have investigated the ownership of the sobriety medal.
Finally, it seemed that the professor understood that someone had visited the court in the last scene, but he decided to follow the person after a while. Nevertheless, courts have many cameras to identify the person. And don't tell me that the person was hiding their face, as guards would have arrested them.
I was not impressed by the first episode and will not continue watching.
A grabber
lor_15 October 2023
The self-assured, calm and authoritative manner of Jesse L. Martin (series exec producer and star) draws one immediately to an offbeat mystery concept. As a psych professor and extremely inquisitive individual, he explores his psychological theories by investigating real-life mysteries. It's a wonderful dramatic approach and won me over rather quickly.
As Jesse tries to piece together all sorts of disparate clues to come to some feasible theories as to what really happened and whodunit, in this case primarily to solve the murder mystery of a popular social influencer, the audience follows along in the same process. He's shrewd and of course a master of psychology, but unlike say a Columbo, who the audience is given a head start in each episode by the reveal of the culprit at the beginning of the show, here we have the fun of surprise as each clue is resolved according to Jesse's ability to piece together the underlying psych connections. And the gradual revelations about his character Alex's back-story -how he was severely burned in a bombing incident, are most intriguing, i.e., compel one to want to keep tuning in to find out more.
With the delays in launching many new shows caused by the writers and ongoing actors strikes, the playing field is opened for this series to succeed (as flashier and more expensive, large-scale new competition is either delayed or not made) so "The Irrational" logically is set for success in attracting an audience.
As Jesse tries to piece together all sorts of disparate clues to come to some feasible theories as to what really happened and whodunit, in this case primarily to solve the murder mystery of a popular social influencer, the audience follows along in the same process. He's shrewd and of course a master of psychology, but unlike say a Columbo, who the audience is given a head start in each episode by the reveal of the culprit at the beginning of the show, here we have the fun of surprise as each clue is resolved according to Jesse's ability to piece together the underlying psych connections. And the gradual revelations about his character Alex's back-story -how he was severely burned in a bombing incident, are most intriguing, i.e., compel one to want to keep tuning in to find out more.
With the delays in launching many new shows caused by the writers and ongoing actors strikes, the playing field is opened for this series to succeed (as flashier and more expensive, large-scale new competition is either delayed or not made) so "The Irrational" logically is set for success in attracting an audience.
Disorganized for a pilot
wildbowpig7 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
You've seen the trope before, the specialist helping the police. But here, the timeline stood out to me as not making sense. Crime happens, they interview the 'killer', he confesses. The next day, Alec teaches a full class, then gets asked for help, he interviews the subject, visits the crime scene, and they're only just starting to process it, putting obvious evidence into bags, body still lying on the ground.
Two full days after the crime (three if you take the dark lighting during Alec's interview of the 'killer' to be night), someone breaks in to remove evidence before the police can get to it?
It all ends up feeling very contrived, as if everyone's waiting for Alec to show up to do stuff. People don't push particularly hard to close a case with a confessed killer, everyone acts as predicted and required for plot. There's no sense of urgency, he even finds the time to run a full scientific experiment and writes a paper on it to make a point when talking to the D. A.
None of it rang particularly true.
Two full days after the crime (three if you take the dark lighting during Alec's interview of the 'killer' to be night), someone breaks in to remove evidence before the police can get to it?
It all ends up feeling very contrived, as if everyone's waiting for Alec to show up to do stuff. People don't push particularly hard to close a case with a confessed killer, everyone acts as predicted and required for plot. There's no sense of urgency, he even finds the time to run a full scientific experiment and writes a paper on it to make a point when talking to the D. A.
None of it rang particularly true.
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