It’s been a long time since I wrote about Criminal Minds. I seem to have mentioned it in pieces about as varied topics as NCIS, Weeds, Dark Blue, Eleventh Hour, and Cold Case, but it’s been a long time since I’ve directly addressed our favorite Behavioral Analysis Unit. Well, that’s about to change.
Like a number of shows that I watch, Criminal Minds doesn’t go heavy on a continuing story line. Some might even turn their noses up at it. But, like I said about Law & Order: SVU before this, procedurals can only really get noticed for their cast of characters.
Um … have you met Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler)? Hotch (Thomas Gibson)? Morgan (Shemar Moore)? JJ (A.J. Cook)? And yes, I suppose even Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), and Prentiss (Paget Brewster), too, although I could go either way on them. And while Rossi (Joe Mantegna) doesn’t do the show any favors, do you recall hearing the name Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) ever? And yet, it’s an NBC affiliate (USA Network) that claims to have cornered the market on great characters? Please.
As commenter Abigail points out, Criminal Minds, like SVU, has gotten more and more gruesome as time has passed. (Although, that Criminal Minds has been doing it at 9PM for years bodes well for the newly relocated SVU.) And yet I’ve never so much as considered passing on the show. It’s hard to explain why, but I think that the mix of people in our BAU is so perfectly complimentary, as to have been divined. It sounds crazy, but something just clicks so intensely on the show, that I was more mad than upset when the FBI was threatening to tear them apart. Even with Rossi in place of Gideon, and Prentiss in Elle’s (Lola Glaudini) spot, the motor on this show just keeps on humming along. Strongly.
There are a few threads still left dangling as we open on season 5. Hotch and his wife, Haley (Meredith Monroe), have yet to resolve the current status of their relationship, Hotch’s rights regarding their son, Jack (Cade Owens), or really if they’re even still on speaking terms.
Reid is still battling with his chemical demons, and the anniversary medallion he got a few episodes before season four’s close has to come into play somehow; so, too, must the senior FBI agent who gave it to him (no?). I also enjoy our glimpses into Reid’s childhood whenever his mother, Diana (Jane Lynch), figures into the story. Minds like his often come from very tortured pasts.
I can’t recall if Rossi is still battling with old cases that haunt. I know this show is one of the ones that will make it so even when it hasn’t been, but I also remember that he recently closed the book on one of the big ones from his career. Eventually, the reasons for his leaving the BAU in the first place will start to tug at him, as was inevitable from the moment he joined the show.
I find it interesting that Morgan’s potential for advancement has fallen by the wayside. Just because he turned down that offer in season three, or whatever happened exactly, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t still be on the brasses’ radar. JJ’s new baby, and her budding relationship with Detective LaMontagne (Josh Stewart) really should be dominating at least some of her focus; it’d be nice to then see that materialize onscreen, particularly with more opportunities for Stewart.
Garcia and her romance with Kevin (Nicholas Brendon) is nice, but it doesn’t do anything for me. Instead, I’m just surprised that she has yet to act on her obvious crippling crush on Morgan. Prentiss hasn’t really had much of a personal story on the show … we just know that her mother is someone high up somewhere in the State Department, or something along those lines. Oh, and she, and Brewster (or is it the former because of the latter?) are both kind of stiff.
The show creeps along on developing these stories, because as stand-alone plots, they’re not heavy on depth. But intertwined with the work that the BAU does? It’s the personal that helps us to understand how each one of these investigators approaches their job.
Plus, Reid and Hotch? Completely, totally, and absolutely fantastic fun to watch (is that okay to say, even though this is a serious show?). They should do their own spin-off buddy cop show (only while still starring on Criminal Minds, of course).
Catch them, and the rest of the BAU, as Criminal Minds premieres on Wednesday, September 23, at 9:00. For all your other premiere needs, check out our fall 2009 schedule.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 17, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Thanks for the shout-out!
I was THRILLED when Elle left the show– I always felt she was a weak character, but worse, really irritating.
It’s hard for me to believe that Prentiss is played by the same actress who played Kathy on Friends, the girl who Chandler and Joey both dated and caused Chandler to live in a box. Crazy!
*POST AUTHOR*
Yeah; that’s an example of melting into a role. Or, at least looking really different with a different haircut!