In many ways it’s a terrible show. They have a computer specialist who is able to pull all sorts of information about almost anyone who has ever existed. Really, in one episode she figured out the dirty secrets of a bunch of small town citizens despite using nothing but her computer while being hundreds of miles away. Somehow the BAU team get warrants to search people’s homes or arrest them based on the most tenuous evidence. Or maybe they don’t get warrants. At least I can’t recall anyone saying “Hey, don’t we need to get a warrant before we get the tactical team together to break down this door?” Finally, there’s the magical process of psychological profiling used to determine who the suspect is. There was recently a Great Debates thread discussing the efficacy of Criminal Profiling so I won’t go into it in great detail here. In real life it’s akin to voodoo and nothing like what you see on the television show as far as accuracy and utility.
Despite these flaws I find the show to be entertaining and I watch it once in a while. It’s not the most intelligent show out there but it’s a fun little ride.
I agree with this. In particular, it has really fallen into the realm of terrible lately. One recent episode reached the point of laugh out loud ridiculous, so much so that I simply walked away. It was the episode with the SUV driven by the bad guy that has gone into the water. Morgan dives in to save the victim, and is in jeopardy, until in a surprise move Hotchner floats up from underneath the vehicle to cap the bad guy. Sheesh!
I will say that the episode where Mandy Patinkin bonds with a woman on death row (“Riding the Lightning”) is very powerful and well-crafted, and it made me cry. Mandy Patinkin was wonderful in it, as was Jeanetta Arnette as the death row inmate – they connected beautifully.
what **kapri **said: now THAT is some fine eye candy for the ladies… i watch pretty much for that reason and the character interaction, being particularly fond of the genius geek. i think he’s adorable.
i also like the gal playing the computer techie. her scenes with xander (forgotten the actor’s name) from buffy the vampire slayer are a hoot.
i miss jj and wish they’d bring her back. not sorry to see the other brunette hit the bricks. i didn’t like her any better than her predecessor. the new blonde is bland. no opinion on her one way or the other.
for the record, i prefer mantegna to patinkin by far, and thomas gibson couldn’t out-act a fence post, but his ability matches his character - fortunately - and makes it work.
outside of the characters, i agree that the storylines can vary from unsavory to outright creepy at times. nature of the beast, i guess. ymmv.
The best part about this series is that there are long term consequences in the show - Reid got shot, the injury was played out about the amount of time it should have been - he was kidnapped/tortured and drugged early on - he still has issues with that.
They cheated with a recent death, but that happens - maybe it will pay off in the end, but it was better if they hadn’t cheated - Mandy’s character arch was played out pretty well, etc.
Yes, the show is definitely up there on the creepiness - the recent 2 parter with Tim Currey was excellent - the depths of depravity they have in some episodes is downright horrifying (there was a pedophile episode this year that was nightmarish).
That being said, damn, every show on right now (CSI, NCIS, etc) all deal with serial killers - nothing is ever mundane or pointless - so, its starting to get a little old.
And we definitely didn’t need the spinnoff - that show just wasn’t needed, and the actors just don’t cut it - which is surprising, since I generally like the ones they have playing the parts.
I like Criminal Minds, it’s a cut above most of the shows on TV and it’s not as predictable as most crime dramas. Psychological profiles are interesting, even if they are pseudoscience.
Yeah, its basically a darker NCIS without the snappy dialogue. It does a good job creating characters and coming up with horrible crimes to solve, but the writing is really bad whenever anyone opens their mouths.
Dexter, Mad and Dead are three of the all time greats, although Dead and Mad are both a challenge at first. That Dexter didn’t grab you I don’t quite understand, but I know a lot of people have a problem with the fundamental premise.
The Killing SHOULD be pissing you off, because it’s a terrible, horrid, unforgivable mess that has no excuse for itself, since it took a GREAT show ***Forbrydelsen ***and stupidly, badly, pointlessly and inexcusably mangled it. They could have easily translated it with almost no changes and made a great show; the American actors are very good (not as good as the Danish) but they are being screwed by a shit script.
If you can get your hands on the original Danish, with subtitles, do so. A superb and riveting series.
I have no problem with the premise behind Dexter; think it’s kinda cool, actually. What made me stop watching after probably three episodes was the character of Dexter’s sister. She annoyed me no end, and she was the sole reason I shelved it.
I was giving The Killing some slack up until this most recent episode (the one where Linden’s son goes missing and the odd couple spend the entire hour searching for him). I’ll watch the remaining two or three - whatever is left - but I doubt I’ll be looking for any future episodes.
mmm
I hear you very loudly. But don’t let it ruin it for you…her obnoxiousness smooths out a lot and it’s an amazing show. Particularly the season featuring John Lithgow.
Who is probably a nice guy. But his character as portrayed in the first seasons (I quit watching it after that) was an adult male with a pre-teen’s haircut who increasingly said nothing other than the painfully obvious. One of my favorite shows was when the bad-guy-of-the-week got a hold of him and beat him silly.
Add to that the Darma and Greg boss who walks around pissed off all the time, usually because some stupid decision he made backfired and the goofy gal who answered the phone (Character’s name - Not Abby) and the show actually drove me out of my living room. (Actually Mrs. BD would kick me out for continually pointing out the stupid decision made by the CM investigators)
Mandy made it watchable. His exit exposed it for the crap it was.
Just my two cents, but it’s the only TV show I actually watch at all, and I’m there every Wednesday tuning in like a slave. Nothing else- no crime shows, not House, not Glee- can catch my interest in the slightest, and the only reason there even is a TV in my home is to preserve the sanity of my aging father. I don’t tend to notice how gory or scary it’s considered to be until somebody points it out, and though I’m fond of a few of the main characters I’m not sure what the magic formula is that keeps me coming back. Considering five minutes of NCIS makes me beg the other person to turn the TV off, I’d say there must be something unique about CM.
It’s also recently gone through some cast changes (with much weeping and gnashing of teeth from fans), so if you almost liked it or didn’t like it before, trying it again with the new characters might be worth your while, or might make you finally hate it.
