An attempt at conversation

[blythechild]

In the last episode comment posting in this community, some folks lamented the general atmosphere of crickets here, and then a_blackpanther suggested that some members might want to discuss more general themes related to the show, sooooooo... yeah, I decided to do a thing. And since things can be daunting for some, I decided to fill the thing with fun little

Comments

[dunderklumpen]

I guess I'll stick to the show until the bitter end. After the last two seasons, which were quite frankly pretty awful, my expectations were low. I expected it to continue like that but this season I actually enjoy. Of course there still are some hits and miss but all in all I like it. And we also got some interesting character plots. Yes, they're all over the top - but I get that the writers try to match the background stories to the cases. So they have to be intense.

The one thing that really became worse the further we came along is how much of the torture they show. IMO the show was better when they gave us hints and our imagine had to do the rest. Now it seems like they think showing more violence and brutality in every detal makes the story better. And that's wrong.

[wagrobanite]

What drives me absolutely batshit crazy is showing the unsub in the first 5 minutes! I watch earlier seasons on A&E and many times the unsub isn't shown until 45 minutes into the show. I miss this.

I agree with dunderklumpen in that they're showing way more violence than they use to and I'm not a fan

[philstar22]

That doesn't bug me so much. Its nice to be surprised, but its also nice, IMHO, to watch the team struggle to figure out what we already know. Its a different watching experience, but no less enjoyable for me personally.

[full_metal_ox]

Bear in mind, also, that not all mystery plots can be summarized as Whodunit; there's also Whattheydun, Whytheydunit, Didtheyevendoitatall (see "Riding the Lightning", for example), and Whattheygonnado (to name a few.) I was extremely impressed with "Final Shot"'s fresh twist on the unreliable POV angle. for example.

[philstar22]

Oh, yes, totally agreed. And Criminal Minds is especially good, given its angle, at the whytheydunit angle, which is one of the things i find most interesting.

[rebak1tten]

Look check boxes! My favorite seasons were 4 and 5 so watching is mostly just a habit now. And as others have said it really does seem much gorier than before.

[blythechild]

Checkboxes just for YOU, blossom!

I was surprised that the overwhelming thing that people chose to do without was the gore factor. I thought it was just me and it was because I'm becoming a cranky old broad.

[philstar22]

I started watching the show way back in season 1. I used to be really obsessed with criminal profiling. I have all the books by John Douglas and a few of the books by other people. So I started watching for the concept. But I quickly fell in love with the characters. I feel the show is less about actual profiling now, but I still love the characters and will stick around until it goes away. Even if Hotch leaves. Because its about the whole show for me, not a single part or character

[wagrobanite]

John Douglas rocks ;)

I don't mind the gore either (you should see my bookshelves... four forensic anthropology bone manuals...) but it just gets to be too much all the time...

See now if Hotch left, I'd be done...I started watching for him (huge Dharma and Greg fan) but I do love the team.

I wish they would incorporate more history with not so famous killers (which by the way have you read Psycho USA: Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of by Harold Schechter?)

[philstar22]

That one's on my bookshelf too. I too wish they'd incorporate some of the less well known killers, but I guess the general audience wouldn't know what they were talking about.

The only gore that gets me is anything involving eyes. If it involves eyes, I'm out.

[blythechild]

Ugh... I'm with you about the eyeballs... *shivers*

I had a bone to pick with the inclusion of Paul Bernardo/Karla Holmolka in the last episode as an example of couple killers. Although a relatively famous Canadian case, Reid claimed that the couple were responsible for over 20 rapes and murders which is, well, WRONG (they were responsible for 3 murders together - Holmolka was never implicated in Bernardo's Scarborough Rapist crimes). I think that the writers could reference lesser known cases if they wanted to, considering that they'll juggle the facts to suit the story that they are writing.

[_nextboldmove_]

It's so unbelievable. This team profiles the bad guy and gets them in sometimes one single day. Most profilers spend weeks, months, and YEARS trying to finalize a profile. Also, the characters are so traumatized, I mean honestly it's boring and insulting to my intelligence. It's got nothing new to offer when there are much more intelligent crime dramas out there.

[szarabasjka]

And there's no SWAT or police officers anymore, is all done my them.
I used to love the details like the gloves, or the surgical shoes, and the fact that they were hardly ever involved in the violence itself, since they're profilers they're not like real active agents or anything, right?

[_nextboldmove_]

When I read books by real former profilers I'm like....what? WHAT? You mean you don't go out in the field like, hardly ever?

Also, I'm a few months away from becoming a certified behavior analyst. You know what we do? We teach children with autism, we don't track down serial killers. I wish the FBI would get its head out of its butt and realize what they do is educated guessing that is less than 20% successful (I read this somewhere, can't find the article so don't take it for gospel).

/rant

[szarabasjka]

Don't worry, but I kinda get your point.
I've been forced to a six months rota of forensics (actually it was a selective rota...)and trust me is nothing like CSI either... and we working with victims? mostly battered wives and fights, nothing like serial crimes or murders.