Criminal Minds ongoing thread

Patrick Sun · 09-22-2005, 03:59 PM

This show hasn't gotten good reviews, but it premieres on CBS right after CSI in the 10 p.m. EDT timeslot, and moves to Wednesdays nights next week, IIRC. The show features yet more FBI profilers, starring Mandy Patakin, Thomas Gibson (Greg on "Greg & Dharma"), Shemar Moore (previously on Y&R, and "Birds of Prey"), Lola Glaudini (previously on "The Handler", and "The Sopranos").

Will_B · 09-23-2005, 01:05 AM

Any series with Mandy Patakin is worth checking out, IMO (based on his solid performance in Dead Like Me).

I tuned in and while it was great to see Patakin again, I couldn't help but wish he had simply become a regular on an already established show such as CSI or one of the many CSI variants. Or one of the Law & Order series.

Maybe one reason why Criminal Minds didn't feel as dramatic as those series was the decision to include a "young genius geek sidekick." Shoehorning an unreal character into what is meant to be a semi realistic drama/thriller was a bad decision. No complaint about the actor playing him, it just didn't work for me.

Get Patakin onto CSI or Law & Order.

And someone please release Shemar Moore's Birds of Prey series on DVD.

Todd Stout · 09-23-2005, 01:54 PM

I enjoyed the first episode of the show myself. I'll have to admit to falling asleep and missing the last 10 minutes or so (long day at work I guess). Of course I woke up 10 minutes after it ended so I was a bit ticked off. What happened at the end?

My biggest complaint is that its regular time slot is opposite both Lost and Veronica Mars. I still haven't decided which one of those two to watch and which to record.

Will_B · 09-24-2005, 01:48 AM

Crimmy Minds did good, here's thelink to the ratings.

About how the show ended, there was actually a bizarro epilogue that came out of left field which seemed intended to wrap the series up in case the show never made it past the premiere. But setting aside that epilogue, the actual end of the story of the episode involved...

Spoiler:

Parker Clack · 09-24-2005, 03:16 AM

It was ok as far as a pilot episode. I was just expecting Patakin to say "You kill my father. Prepare to die!" at some point in the show. (Sorry I couldn't help myself.) Time will tell whether or not it sails or sinks.

**HTF Ads**

David Williams · 09-24-2005, 03:52 AM

Quote:

there was actually a bizarro epilogue that came out of left field

It was the case they were currently working on before the Seattle unsub got dropped in their laps. The Footpath killer who stutters. it just happened that Gideon uncovered him by accident... or not?

I thought the show was okay. I liked the characters pretty well. I can't figure out why every critic in America seemed to think the violence in this show was so over the top... maybe I've watched too much TV and become inured to it, but I thought The Inside was way more icky (plus they had the way better show).

Patrick Sun · 09-24-2005, 10:04 PM

15 years ago, Silence of the Lambs was a R-rated thriller, now, you see the same kind of story on episodic TV with much of violence intact, have we come a long way or not?

Having a genius on-board gives the writers such a short cut to get from plot nugget A to plot turn B. If they over-use the genius, it'll get too cutesy for me.

Mandy was good, Shemar was too casual, Thomas was staid and boring, but his TV wife shows that there is life after Dawson's Creek (Meredith Monroe), Lola's character might have come across a little too strident and over-anxious.

Wasn't the stutterer Lukas Haas (the boy from "Witness")?

David Williams · 09-25-2005, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Wasn't the stutterer Lukas Haas (the boy from "Witness")?

IIRC he was the first guest listed at the beginning of the ep.

Will_B · 09-25-2005, 01:26 PM

Quote:

I can't figure out why every critic in America seemed to think the violence in this show was so over the top..

Because they read Entertainment Weekly, which had a big article about it. Other critics parroted EW's complaint because they're fans of EW.

David Williams · 09-29-2005, 07:18 PM

This week's episode was much improved over the pilot, which was pretty good. I really enjoyed how the organically tied both episodes together. Guess Gideon isn't the insanely-impressive genius I thought he might be. Still what are the odss the head of the BAU is going to stumble upon a serial killer?

Dr. Reed didn't make any logical leaps this week and the tension of trying to stop a killer arsonist was palpable. The team works very well together except that Hotch doesn't seem to have much to do. I really like the tech specialist, Garcia(?), who has such a playful banter with the team. The new cast/team member, J.J., has even less to do than Hotch.