ON THE DOLE

Even before it first aired, 'The Mentalist' on CBS was being compared to 'Psych' from the USA Network. Both shows were about men who falsely claimed to be psychic and who were now working with the police in California. But that would be like saying 'Columbo' was like 'The Shield' since both were about detectives working in the Los Angeles area.

With the latest episode of 'The Mentalist', the producers decided to have a little fun with this comparison. Near the end, a key clue was provided through a little bit of hypnotic prodding by Patrick Jane, the so-called psychic - the killer had a smell of pineapple.
When Teresa Lisbon, Jane's superior officer from the CBI heard that, she realized that the sheriff's deputy who was accompanying her was the killer - he had a pineapple-shaped air freshener hanging from his truck's rear view mirror.

The in-joke is that pineapple serves as the "Hitchcock" in 'Psych'. Every episode either shows a pineapple in some form - as a lamp shape, an Hawaiian shirt design, or as a pizza topping, for example - or the word is used in some way.
This use in 'The Mentatlist' doesn't serve as a link, just to be clear; it's just a fun way for the producers to tip their hat to Shawn Spencer and company.

BCnU!
Toby O'B