Let me journal about something no one cares about!
So, wee bit o' backstory: kphoebe induced me to watch Criminal Minds, in that way she has where she is generally right but I resist and then I give in, and it turns out she is right! (Persons who are also generally right: jamjar, and marici.) She said, (I summarize,) that the characters were all decent, smart people, trying to do good, and that it was nice to watch TV where you were able to root for everyone. Oh! And she said it was crime TV that didn't make the crimes sexy, and was generally quite feminist. As already noted, she was right.
(For those unfamiliar with the canon: Criminal Minds is about the FBI's behavioural analysis unit, (BAU) and its profilers, and it's at least 1/3 profiling in a given episode, although there is a touch more running around with guns than I suspect actual profilers really do.)
So, I mainlined three seasons in about a month and half, through the magic of the internet. My impressions: Shemar Moore is dreamy, Penelope Garcia is adorable (and I will give hugs and kisses to anyone who can find decent fic of them,) I have a strange, sick crush on Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid is also adorable, J.J. is kickass and she will kick your ass very politely. \o/ Also, it treats its audience as if they are smart, and doesn't hammer home the obvious, which, gosh, how much do I enjoy that?
But season three has introduced some changes, and I don't think I like them. Most obviously, Jason Gideon, played by everyone's favourite Spaniard, Mandy Patinkin, has been replaced by David Rossi, whose main characterization seems to be that he's kinda an asshole.
But also, there seems to be a weird, and in my case, very unwelcome, attempt to add some kind of... I don't know what to call it, 'supernatural' element. Let me give examples:
308: In this episode with Satanic elements, Hotch warns the team to be alert for the effect the myth of Satanism may have on members of the team. This is bizarre, since the team already dealt with a "Satanic" killer in S110, and Hotch didn't give them any kind of warning, nor did the team seem much affected. Morgan angsts about his faith in God, and in the end, questions whether the killer may really have had supernatural help, given the series of coincidences that allowed him to get so far. When Garcia and Morgan talk about a decision she needs to make, he tells her to "Go with [her] instincts." This seems pretty much the opposite of what profiling is about.
309: Morgan spends time in a church praying, and later questions whether his prayer may have been what helped Garcia pull through surgery when the odds were against her. Garcia is very shaken by her shooting, partly because, she says, she believes that "Everything happens for a reason," and can't fit the shooting into that belief. In the end, however, it seems that the shooting has introduced her to a man who seems to be a possible romantic connection.
I dunno. Listen, I would be watching Touched by an Angel if I wanted a story about higher powers. Hell, I could watch X-Files if I wanted a story about people trying to discover if there was a higher power. I want stories about people who stop serial killers WITH THEIR BRAINS.
Bah.
(For those unfamiliar with the canon: Criminal Minds is about the FBI's behavioural analysis unit, (BAU) and its profilers, and it's at least 1/3 profiling in a given episode, although there is a touch more running around with guns than I suspect actual profilers really do.)
So, I mainlined three seasons in about a month and half, through the magic of the internet. My impressions: Shemar Moore is dreamy, Penelope Garcia is adorable (and I will give hugs and kisses to anyone who can find decent fic of them,) I have a strange, sick crush on Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid is also adorable, J.J. is kickass and she will kick your ass very politely. \o/ Also, it treats its audience as if they are smart, and doesn't hammer home the obvious, which, gosh, how much do I enjoy that?
But season three has introduced some changes, and I don't think I like them. Most obviously, Jason Gideon, played by everyone's favourite Spaniard, Mandy Patinkin, has been replaced by David Rossi, whose main characterization seems to be that he's kinda an asshole.
But also, there seems to be a weird, and in my case, very unwelcome, attempt to add some kind of... I don't know what to call it, 'supernatural' element. Let me give examples:
308: In this episode with Satanic elements, Hotch warns the team to be alert for the effect the myth of Satanism may have on members of the team. This is bizarre, since the team already dealt with a "Satanic" killer in S110, and Hotch didn't give them any kind of warning, nor did the team seem much affected. Morgan angsts about his faith in God, and in the end, questions whether the killer may really have had supernatural help, given the series of coincidences that allowed him to get so far. When Garcia and Morgan talk about a decision she needs to make, he tells her to "Go with [her] instincts." This seems pretty much the opposite of what profiling is about.
309: Morgan spends time in a church praying, and later questions whether his prayer may have been what helped Garcia pull through surgery when the odds were against her. Garcia is very shaken by her shooting, partly because, she says, she believes that "Everything happens for a reason," and can't fit the shooting into that belief. In the end, however, it seems that the shooting has introduced her to a man who seems to be a possible romantic connection.
I dunno. Listen, I would be watching Touched by an Angel if I wanted a story about higher powers. Hell, I could watch X-Files if I wanted a story about people trying to discover if there was a higher power. I want stories about people who stop serial killers WITH THEIR BRAINS.
Bah.