Mind Games: The Complete First Season

ABC canceled this show after only five episodes, and no one ever even heard of it. But the premise is intriguing, the acting is excellent, and the characters are... well. Messed up. But that's part of the fun, as we watch these people who in no way have it together themselves try to help others with their problems by changing minds--using science and psychology.My only caveat on this print-on-demand product is the fact that it DOES NOT HAVE SUBTITLES. In this day and age, that's highly irritating, and dropped my rating from five stars to four, since I'm rating the actual product as a whole and not just the show.

I heartily recommend this product. American audiences might only remember the first 5 episodes of the show _Mind Games_, because that was all that aired on broadcast TV before the show was pulled due to low ratings. Which is a shame, because watching this full-season set of discs one can see the show’s improvement and potential. This review will feature more heavily the last 8 episodes of the show as opposed to the first 5, but that’s probably what brought you to this page, to see the unaired episodes. As such, my SPOILER posture will assume the reader has seen the first 5 but not the “back eight.” Mind Games is about the Edwards brothers, ex-con Ross (Christian Slater) and disgraced psychology professor Clark (Steve Zahn), who found a company to use psychological techniques to help people by influencing those around them. They set up complicated plans to trick or manipulate people into helping their clients. They are joined at Edwards and Associates by Latrell (Cedric Sanders), an accountant friend of Ross’; Megan (Megalyn Echikunwoke), an aspiring actress; Miles (Gregory Marcel), a grad student and disciple of Clark’s; and Sam (Jaime Ray Newman), another ex-con and friend of Ross’.***SPOILERS AHEAD**** A lot of the faults of the initial episodes get corrected for in the back eight. Critics initially blasted the show for the gang’s plots being too complicated, but in the back eight, the plots become slightly easier to follow. Clark (Steve Zahn) becomes less comically frenetic, and more competent as the series goes on: eventually, he becomes the CEO of Edwards and Associates, and is even seen playing undercover roles in some of the gang’s plans. It’s almost as if the actors and writers were finally finding their way around the characters, just as the show got cancelled. Each of the regulars gets their backstories expounded upon. The Clark-Ross feud (in addition to the fallout from the cliffhanger in Episode 5) gets resolved by episode 7. Latrell and Megan each get the B-plot of an entire episode. Miles doesn’t get a whole episode, but he has key scenes here and there, starting all the way back in Episode 5. And Sam gets not one but two subplots, one of which becomes the main arc of the final third of the season. The show moves away from scheme-of-the-week to more of the story-arc format ubiquitous to modern American TV. The final three episodes of the season are taut, as the main storyline comes to a head. This is to be expected as, when the show aired in Japan and Great Britain, the final two episodes were really a two-parter. But there is no bogging down. None. There are some memorable guest appearances. Eddie McClintock plays a washed up boxer. Larry Wilmore plays a psychiatrist. Jamey Sheridan plays a father figure. Vinney Jones plays a tough guy. And Luis Guzman’s breakout turn as affable henchman Nate is so memorable that, had the show somehow been renewed for a 2nd season, there’s no doubt in this reviewer’s mind that the writers would have found a way to shoehorn him in as a recurring guest star. The series does have its flaws. The storytelling becomes clichéd at times. There’s a big twist that can be seen coming at least two episodes in advance. And there’s a romantic subplot for a couple of the characters that becomes so clichéd that the writers even reference _Casablanca_, as if to poke fun at themselves. And there is a lot of willing suspension of disbelief involved in the plots. All in all , though, this product is worth purchasing.

I enjoyed the episodes that were on broadcast tv. I was very excited to finish the rest of the series. It is full of psychological fun. Steve Zahn's character is high strung and can make your head spin, but also brings the morality to what they are doing. Christian Slater's character keep s the more complex ideas at a level that anyone can understand while showing the moral ambiguities in any science. It's a little far fetched but still entertaining. I really enjoyed it.

AMAZING show. The best since x files went off the air. The network should be cancelled for cancelling it!!! I absolutely love Steve Zahn and Christian Slater.

Great! Love Christian Slater and am quite impressed with Steve Zahn and the other main characters.

Creative, intelligent and lots of fun. I didn't hesitate to purchase this series.

It's great to finish off this series! Great product and fast shipping.