My girlfriend and I watched Criminal Minds for the first time last night, and wow, it wasn’t bad at all. One question we couldn’t figure out, though: What is the relationship between the black detective and the hefty, nerdy hacker girl? He seems to always be at her house and they tell each other “I love you” a lot, but they never have any further intimate physical contact than a kiss on the forehead. What’s up with them?
Their names are Dereck Morgan and Penelope Garcia. They maintain a kind of flirtatious brother and sister relationship. They’ve never gone out or gotton physical, but they do depend on and support each other more than the other members of the team.
They are borth straight, and both have had dates and sexual relationships with other people.
Thanks for the info. I’m glad at least one cop show out there was capable of writing in a relationship more complex than cop partners who are strictly business or cop partners who secretly harbor strong romantic feelings for each other.
Ceiminal Minds plays all the investigators as supportive friends to each other. They go out to eat and to bars together, and have scenes of basic kidding when they are on the plane.
I’m pretty sure the character Garcia is still in a serious relationship with another FBI god-level hacker techie who appears occasionally. Her role in the team is changing now that that blonde public affairs agent left the team in recent weeks.
that’s not just any god-level hacker, that’s zander from buffy.
I thought they got a new blonde agent.
Haven’t seen this week’s episode (12/15) yet…but the new blonde agent was a Clarice Starling style trainee called up to the big leagues because her dad was a serial killer (where do they find these people!?)…wasn’t expecting her to become a “regular”, yet, anyhow. Last year they had that one episode with Forrest Whittaker which is booting into a mid-season replacement spin-off series this year (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, no debut date yet), figured this was going to be similar, setting up a character to join the team in a future season after she “graduates” the Academy.
The Clarice character was not in the opening credits, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, either.
I always thought the relationship was vaguely insulting. He can flirt with her and call her baby girl, but obviously, they can’t be in a REAL romantic relationship because he’s a tower of hotness and she’s a blonde pudge. I’d have a lot more respect if the show put them together in a more meaningful way.
The Clarice character is Agent (or Cadet?) Ashley Seaver, played by Rachel Nichols who looks uncannily like Jodie Foster in this episode.
I haven’t seen the latest ep (15 Dec), but according to IMDB, she’s in this and the next one in January.
Meh. They’ve danced around the idea of them dating for awhile and I think it was finally ended when Morgan told Garcia “I’m too fucked up to date anyone.” And it’s more or less true. He’s had one girlfriend in the entire series and she was shuffled to the side with no fanfare a few years ago. Meanwhile, Garcia found a soulmate in the guy who played Xander on Buffy.
Reid’s need to show his intellegence does grate on the others though, especially Hotch.
Ahem.
Garcia is a tower of hotness 
And when hell is a frozen wasteland, I’m sure they will.
This was addressed in an episode in which Garcia is hit on by a seriously attractive man and The Prettiest Man Who Ever Lived expresses skepticism, which triggers Garcia’s anger at his apparent inability to imagine an attractive man desiring Garcia.
Of course, Prettyman’s skepticism is later borne out when the attractive man shoots Garcia…
Watch CM again last night. It’s a really good show!
Another question: I know these guys are special detectives, but why do they get to fly around in a private jet? Who is paying for that?
The good taxpayers of the Criminal Minds world. 
Seriously, that’s a little artistic license on the part of the show. The FBI does have a Gulfstream jet, but it’s for counterterrorism missions (or occassionally for flying the Director around, which got some bad press a couple of years ago). In the real world they would be flying coach like the rest of the schlubs.
Tell me if I’m correct or misremembering: it seems like when I first started watching the show they did more casework back in DC, slogging through files and analyzing material Garcia collected, or was sent to them.
Now, though, they’re flying out to the scene every week, usually busting in on the perp when he’s just about to gut the latest victim.
Disclaimer: I am not watching the show in its current season, but in reruns DVR’d from another channel: ION Television (whatever that is).
No, I think they were always jet-setters. Pretty much every episode takes place in a different city. There’s an episode that takes place in DC and everyone is surprised that they don’t have to travel - and they run into jurisdiction problems.
I think you’re half right. I remember a few early episodes where Reid (or some other team member, but I distinctly remember Reid) stayed behind and helped analyze the data/evidence.