Aussie hunk makes light of darkness; Dramatic double bill brings curtain down on series of blood and guts cop show.

Byline: GRAHAM KEAL

THE MENTALIST - FINALE NIGHT

THURSDAY, FIVE, 9pm

ONLY The Mentalist could turn up to a bleak murder scene featuring a gory, severed hand and turn to a windswept, despondent, hungry colleague and ask, "Why so glum?"

In less deft, er, hands, this queasy cross between horror and humour might seem cynical, yet Simon Baker's light touch as playful but uncannily perceptive Patrick Jane means he gets away with it - just.

And as Five's big finale for the series demonstrates, the adventures of the ex-showbiz psychic turned cop have struck a chord in the UK just as they have in the US, where season one averaged 17.7m viewers.

Baker said: "The numbers are hard to get your head around but it feels good to go to the set and work with a great crew, when they know the show is being watched by so many people."

Aussie heart-throb Baker, 40, has gained a Best Actor nomination at September's Emmy Awards, though there will be stiff competition from Hugh Laurie for House, Jon Hamm for Mad Men and Michael C Hall for Dexter. The finale opens with The Mentalist: Revealed, a documentary filled with clips of Jane in action plus comments on what makes him so appealing and how Simon made the role his own.

Having an input early on with series creator Bruno Heller helped: "The character wasn't 100 per cent on the page and I thought I could interpret it.

"I didn't want to do a TV show and be told what to do and where to go and how to play it. It's creative death to me."

You have to wonder if Baker is referring to Oz soap Home and Away, which gave him an early break, or The Guardian, his only previous major US series (also showing on Five).

It features a hotshot lawyer who takes on cases involving kids as a community service sentence for his drug offences.

Finale night continues with Inside The Mentalist, showing a day's work on set and a double bill which concludes with an episode called Red John's Footsteps, in which our hero resumes his quest to find the serial killer who murdered his wife and child. Baker's real-life wife, actress Rebecca Rigg, has twice appeared in The Mentalist in minor roles and the couple have three children aged seven to 16.

Rebecca is an old friend of Nicole Kidman from the days when they were both unknowns and Nicole is godmother to one of their children.

Now Rebecca has to get used to her hunky husband becoming a global heart-throb with The Mentalist being sold all over the world.

As Patrick Jane, he appeals to men because he's witty, self-assured, perceptive and a bit subversive, while women love his empathy, wisdom, good nature and ability to listen.

As one female US critic pointed out: "It doesn't hurt that he's totally hot."

CAPTION(S):

TIME FOR REFLECTION: Simon Baker as Patrick Jane