Criminal Minds in review
Since I've been laid up for a while, I've been watching a lot of TV. Sounds like fun as long as you can do something else, but due to the amount of time I'm watching and that I have three channels showing Criminal Minds in syndication (A&E, as well as the East and West Coast feeds for ION, which show the same things, just at different times), I've watched several episodes spread out over the run of the series.
OK, first a confession. I liked Mandy Pantinkin when I first started watching the show, and after he left, I didn't really see the point of them adding Joe Mantegna to the cast. Looking back at things now, I think it was for the best Pantinkin left. He was burning out in the role and it showed. Mantegna's Rossi is not just the "mentor" figure, but more of a paternal figure at times. Hotch is in charge of the team, but Rossi seems to have taken to the role for looking out for the team's mental health, including Hotch's.
I actually got to see the first episode, and wow, what a difference a pilot makes. The characters had a different "style" to them, such as Derek wearing suits and Garcia not being her colorful self in words and wardrobe. Though considering Garcia was, from what I've read, originally going to be a Hispanic male, I've got to thank my stars we ended up with Garcia, who geeks out and sees the best in everyone despite what she sees at her work. It would have been great to get some Hispanic representation on an ongoing basis, but I wouldn't give up Garcia for the world.
Speaking of first episodes, the pilot was based on a script Jeff Davis (creator and showrunner of Teen Wolf) sold to CBS Television. He gets a "created by" credit in the opening credits due to that, and also has a producer credit from the show's start in 2005 until 2007, or a total of 31 episodes according to IMdB. I've noticed a lot of Teen Wolf fans defending Davis' work on that show by pointing to his work on Criminal Minds as proof of how good he is. The fact is, he really didn't do much besides sell a script, and the network adapted it into what it eventually became, and he hasn't been involved for about seven years or so (though I'm certain he gets money from the show due to the creation credit). There's no way of knowing what remained of his original script, but one thing I'm pretty sure is his is Reid finding the unsub has been playing Go, and his playing style was "extreme aggressor" which in turn is the title of the episode. After watching season 3B of TW and how chess and Go played into the plot, I'm 99% certain the Go reference in the pilot came from Davis.
CM is going into season ten, and it's had a lot of cast changes. Some were unexpected, as Pantinkin left without warning, leaving the writers in a lurch to find a way to write him out. Some were planned temporary regulars when an actress was out on maternity leave (it was written into the show that way as well), but the one that got a lot of notice is when apparently CBS told the showrunners to get rid of the two female field agents, leaving only Garcia to be the computer oracle stuck at the office. Fans protested the change and the two came back, but one only stayed a season before departing on her own terms. Jeanne Tripplehorn has been playing the role of Alex Blake, but at the end of the ninth season it's heavily implied Blake is leaving (which is truth, since Tripplehorn didn't renew her two year contract). I'll admit I never got as attached to her as I have the rest of the regular cast, but I think that was partly because I didn't see a lot of her first season of work until after the fact due to a conflict with another show (have I mentioned how much I love my DVR recently?). Overall, some cast changes worked, others didn't, which is to be expected in such a long-running show.
[Season 10 casting spoiler (click to open)]Now, we've got Jennifer Love Hewitt joining the cast as a regular. She will play Kate Callahan, "a former FBI agent whose exceptional work earned her a spot on the Behavioral Analysis Unit." You know how there are some actors that just don't work for you in anything? Yeah, JLH is that way for me. I just don't like her acting, from what I've seen of it. Maybe she'll surprise me with this character, but I'm doubtful. I just can't picture her as part of the cast.
I'll be the first to say Criminal Minds isn't necessarily the best procedural ever, but what has worked for me so well is the "team as family" vibe that's attracted me to other shows (waves at Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis). I love the unusual mix of core characters and how they interact, and a lot of the secondary characters (spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and kids) are still part of the family even if we don't see them often.
Anyone watching, or have watched and gave up for any reason? I almost did, but now it's on the DVR schedule, and it doesn't make me actively angry like some shows (unless someone attempts a fake Texas accent, OMG NO), just a little too grossed out by some episodes, so I keep watching. Unless they're doing something gross with eyes or tongues or... a lot of things. I can usually turn away if it does get too gory, but I think it's overall less grossout shocker that it once was, it's just some episodes hit on something that really bothers me.
OK, first a confession. I liked Mandy Pantinkin when I first started watching the show, and after he left, I didn't really see the point of them adding Joe Mantegna to the cast. Looking back at things now, I think it was for the best Pantinkin left. He was burning out in the role and it showed. Mantegna's Rossi is not just the "mentor" figure, but more of a paternal figure at times. Hotch is in charge of the team, but Rossi seems to have taken to the role for looking out for the team's mental health, including Hotch's.
I actually got to see the first episode, and wow, what a difference a pilot makes. The characters had a different "style" to them, such as Derek wearing suits and Garcia not being her colorful self in words and wardrobe. Though considering Garcia was, from what I've read, originally going to be a Hispanic male, I've got to thank my stars we ended up with Garcia, who geeks out and sees the best in everyone despite what she sees at her work. It would have been great to get some Hispanic representation on an ongoing basis, but I wouldn't give up Garcia for the world.
Speaking of first episodes, the pilot was based on a script Jeff Davis (creator and showrunner of Teen Wolf) sold to CBS Television. He gets a "created by" credit in the opening credits due to that, and also has a producer credit from the show's start in 2005 until 2007, or a total of 31 episodes according to IMdB. I've noticed a lot of Teen Wolf fans defending Davis' work on that show by pointing to his work on Criminal Minds as proof of how good he is. The fact is, he really didn't do much besides sell a script, and the network adapted it into what it eventually became, and he hasn't been involved for about seven years or so (though I'm certain he gets money from the show due to the creation credit). There's no way of knowing what remained of his original script, but one thing I'm pretty sure is his is Reid finding the unsub has been playing Go, and his playing style was "extreme aggressor" which in turn is the title of the episode. After watching season 3B of TW and how chess and Go played into the plot, I'm 99% certain the Go reference in the pilot came from Davis.
CM is going into season ten, and it's had a lot of cast changes. Some were unexpected, as Pantinkin left without warning, leaving the writers in a lurch to find a way to write him out. Some were planned temporary regulars when an actress was out on maternity leave (it was written into the show that way as well), but the one that got a lot of notice is when apparently CBS told the showrunners to get rid of the two female field agents, leaving only Garcia to be the computer oracle stuck at the office. Fans protested the change and the two came back, but one only stayed a season before departing on her own terms. Jeanne Tripplehorn has been playing the role of Alex Blake, but at the end of the ninth season it's heavily implied Blake is leaving (which is truth, since Tripplehorn didn't renew her two year contract). I'll admit I never got as attached to her as I have the rest of the regular cast, but I think that was partly because I didn't see a lot of her first season of work until after the fact due to a conflict with another show (have I mentioned how much I love my DVR recently?). Overall, some cast changes worked, others didn't, which is to be expected in such a long-running show.
[Season 10 casting spoiler (click to open)]Now, we've got Jennifer Love Hewitt joining the cast as a regular. She will play Kate Callahan, "a former FBI agent whose exceptional work earned her a spot on the Behavioral Analysis Unit." You know how there are some actors that just don't work for you in anything? Yeah, JLH is that way for me. I just don't like her acting, from what I've seen of it. Maybe she'll surprise me with this character, but I'm doubtful. I just can't picture her as part of the cast.
I'll be the first to say Criminal Minds isn't necessarily the best procedural ever, but what has worked for me so well is the "team as family" vibe that's attracted me to other shows (waves at Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis). I love the unusual mix of core characters and how they interact, and a lot of the secondary characters (spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and kids) are still part of the family even if we don't see them often.
Anyone watching, or have watched and gave up for any reason? I almost did, but now it's on the DVR schedule, and it doesn't make me actively angry like some shows (unless someone attempts a fake Texas accent, OMG NO), just a little too grossed out by some episodes, so I keep watching. Unless they're doing something gross with eyes or tongues or... a lot of things. I can usually turn away if it does get too gory, but I think it's overall less grossout shocker that it once was, it's just some episodes hit on something that really bothers me.