Criminal Minds

Tonight, CBS is airing “In Heat,” in which a man who is conflicted by his sexuality becomes a serial killer targeting gay men. Here’s a Youtube of the trailer:

And JJ has a secret…can’t wait to watch!

And thanks for everyone who responded to the contest question. There are some great answers so far to the question who is your favorite character. It’s going to be hard to pick one winner…I want to give everyone something. The winner will be chosen on May 6 and the book sent out shortly after. Thank you again!

It looks like Criminal Minds is off for a week. Tonight, CBS is playing Survivor, Big Brother 9, and CSI:NY. Next week, CM will reair “Birthright,” the episode of father and son serial killers (which was pretty good). I doubled checked and both CBS and TV Guide have those listings -so no CM tonight

But, April 2, we’ll get to see a brand new episode. “Damaged” will have Rossi going to Indianapolis to work on the case that has been haunting him for twenty years.

You’re in luck if you like comedy - CBS is airing NEW episodes of its Monday night comedies tonight. The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Two and a Half Men are all new, starting at eight. (CM fans will have to hang in a little longer for new episodes, but April 2 is coming soon!) Ratings aren’t expected to explode, however. This from The Hollywood Reporter:

“We’re certainly excited to have some shows back, but I don’t think we’ll be at full strenght right away. It’s going to take awhile for people to realize original programming is back,” said one CBS executive.

No surprises in the Wednesday night ratings - American Idol and Moment of Truth beat out the competition. NBC came in second with Deal or No Deal at eight, and won the ten o’clock slot with Law & Order. CBS’s not so popular season of Big Brother placed sixth in the 18-49 group, which didn’t help Criminal Minds or CSI:NY, which ran after Big Brother. Overall, CBS was fourth in the 18-49 group and third in total viewers.

CBS is airing Criminal Minds on a special night - “Identity” will be on Saturday at nine. This is the episode that features a serial killing duo. One partner kills himself, and the BAU has to find the remaining member before a victim dies. (Not one of the greatest episodes but still worth watching.)

Also, CBS has redesigned their Criminal Minds website page. There are tons of photos, episode recaps, and a section where fans can chat about different topics. One thing I notice they don’t have at the moment is Kirsten Vangsness’s blog - hopefully she’s just too busy with work!

Wednesday night ratings were about as to be expected: Fox won again with a combination of Moment of Truth and America Idol. Next was NBC with Deal or No Deal and Law & Order. CBS was third - the new season of Big Brother isn’t proving as popular as CBS probably hoped, but numbers rebounded with CM and CSI:NY.

According to Media Life Magazine, the ratings for ABC, NBC, and CBS are down about eleven percent since the strike, especially more recently as people get more and more sick of reruns and reality shows. But new shows are on the way, so there is good news for both viewers and the networks.

Good news…new episodes of CM will start on April 2…not too much longer to wait! Last night, Dexter made its CBS debut. I wonder if it lived up to all its controversy. It’s a good show - a lot of poeple are saying it’s not appropriate for networks and young viewers and blah blah blah. First of all, it aired at ten at night…not a prime kid viewing time slot. My opinion on it is that if you don’t think it’s appropriate, turn the channel, read a book, or go to bed. No one is forcing you to watch it. There is an opinion piece in the Statesman Journal about how many children (from 2-11) watch shows like CSI, and now Dexter, even though they are on at ten o’clock at night. I have to wonder why this is CBS’s problem. There are very few reasons why your two year old, or eleven year old for that matter, should be up watching tv at ten. Although, I do have to admit, my two year old daughter was up that late last night because of a late afternoon nap. But she was reading her Dr. Suess books, not watching Dexter.

What did you think of Dexter? Is the level of violence a lot more pronounced than Criminal Minds or CSI?

Tonight, Criminal Minds will air new episode, “Limelight.” The team has to profile the contents of a storage unit that has evidence of a serial killer. This is the last new episode for CM, so make sure to tune in.
The writers’ strike is showing no sign of ending soon, but the WGA is saying they’ll resume negotiations with the networks.

In non-CM news, Dexter is coming to CBS in February. It’s going to be edited down for acceptable network language and violence level. It really is a great show - interesting, so at least there will be something new (kind of, if you haven’t watched it on Showtime).

In even more non-CM news, the comment filter that we have is undergoing some treatment. It’s been filtering the good comments out as spam, so they’re working on that. In the meantime, I do appreciate your comments - keep writing - don’t give up!

American Idol’s seventh season premiered last night - they’re at the stage where they audition all the freaks in the entire country. Tuesday’s two hour show will be followed up by another two hours tonight. If you’re already in need of a break from all the talent America has to offer, don’t worry. Criminal Minds is on CBS at nine. “Limelight” has the team investigating the contents of a storage unit which contains evidence of a serial killer. This is the last new episode for season three, and maybe the last for a while…make sure to check it out.
All hell is breaking loose with the WGA strike - writers’ contracts being terminated, production on new fall shows not taking place. I think we’re in for a lot more gameshows.

American Idolreturns to Fox in the coming week - and this leaves Fox in a great position over the other networks during the WGA strike. Idol is immenesely popular - with about 30 million viewers pers show last year - and because nothing new is on except game shows, it’s predicted to become even more huge this year.

And Fox is taking full advantage. They are charging even more for ad time during Idol. TNS Media Intelligence estimates that Idol took in $810 million in ad money last year, and it could rise as much as 20% in this new season. While ad space on original episodes of Survivor or Grey’s Anatomy cost about $250,000 to $450,000, ad space has been going for $750,000 for Idol, with the price increasing to an even million as the show gets closer to its finale.
Fox is by far faring better with the strike than any other network. Not only do they have Idol coming up, the Superbowl will also air on Fox. Ad spots for the game have all been sold, some for as high as $3 million. Idol also pushes the Fox shows that run after it to higher ratings. House was in danger of being cancelled in 2004 until it played after Idol.

The other networks have reruns and game shows to offer. Wall Street analysts say CBS is in a very weak position. It is more dependent on advertising than the other networks, and the new fall shows failed to get any big reviews or audiences. Reruns of CSI and Criminal Minds have been bright spots, pulling in viewers, and the NCAA tournament will probably increase ratings for CBS.

Check out Watching American Idol for more info on what Simon has to say about season 7.

“3rd Life” helped propel CBS to a second place finish Wednesday night. CSI:NY also had a new episode. NBC was the top network, with new episodes of Deal or No Deal, which was more popular than CBS’s Power of Ten. The New York Times reports this morning that both CM and CSI:NY were tops in their timeslots. ABC was third, but had decent numbers for Wife Swap and Supernanny.

“3rd Life” was the first new episode we’ve seen in a few weeks and was much anticipated because of the guest appearance of Gina Mantegna. It was great to see a new episode, but it was disappointing in that that was one of the last new one for a while. I thought the episode was not one of the best CM has to offer. The whole plot twist with the witness protection thing was strange to me. I know it made sense because of the way they lived, how Lindsay was able to stay alive, and why her father faces no consequences for his actions. It just seemed kind of thrown in there. The character Gina Mantegna played also was odd to me. Again, this is because they were trying to show that she had a totally different view point than your average 15 year old, but it was still very strange seeing her. I know I have repeated the words Odd, Strange, and weird a lot, but that’s what this episode was for me. One bright spot was Spenser. I haven’t been loving his character much this season. Maybe that’s because they haven’t focused much on him personally, like they did last season. But two things stuck out in “3rd Life.” Just before the team finds out that Jack is in witness protection, they see that his buddy (aka a federal marshal) has a gun. Immediately, they all draw their guns. Spenser wasn’t hesitant at all. He looked like a real FBI agent. Not shaky or scared. Go, Spencer! The other was when Spenser happened to be the one to find Lindsay, Jack, and the kidnapper in the bathroom of the high school. He tries to talk Jack down from shooting the kid who took his daughter. Jack shoots him anyway. Spenser just looks shocked afterwards. During the whole scene he is very sure of himself, but after, he is just astonished. It made his character seem a little more grown up, like he could take care of himself and didn’t need the rest of the team to protect him.
Other than that, this was not one of my favorite episodes. Next week, “Limelight” will be on. The contents of a storage unit in Philadelphia are bought at an auction. Inside, there turns out to be evidence of a serial killer. The team must look at the items to profile the killer. A local agent becomes a focus of the investigation.

Trivia: The song that Katie is singing on her weblog and at the end of the episode is “Umbrella,” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z. Here’s a Youtube of the song.

The New York Daily Post is reporting today that CBS will fill up some airtime with Dexter. This show features a sociopathic serial killing blood analysis tech who kills other serial killers. I love it!! He’s a good serial killer. The show is actually really interesting if you like that kind of thing. He’s not completely sociopathic - though I don’t know if there are degrees to that sort of thing. I’m surprised CBS is going to play it…it’s like having The Sopranos on a network.
Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, and CBS will air the entire first season starting on February 17. One episode per Sunday. CBS hopes this will help retain viewers during the WGA strike. Dexter will have to be edited down for language and time. It usually runs a full hour on Showtime but will be cut to about 48 minutes, which is still five minutes longer than the average network crime drama.

Here’s a YouTube from Dexter, in which he explains his attitude towards his “work.”

Here’s another. I don’t like the tone or music of this video, but it does give a little rundown of Dexter’s jobs. Skip if you want to be surprised by season one.

Tonight, Agent Morgan is in the spotlight as CBS replays “Profiler, Profiled.” He returns to his hometown for a visit only to have a murdered child show up. He becomes the focus of the police investigation, and his BAU team members are working to clear this up. He refuses to talk about his past, which leads them to the conclusion that he’s hididng something. This episode from season two is a good one if you missed it the first time around, and good for giving some background and depth to Shemar Moore’s character. “Profiler, Profiled” on on at nine tonight.

“3rd Life,” guest starring Gina Mantegna, will air on January 9. This has been pushed back a few weeks from its original airdate. This episode is eagerly awaited for two reasons: one, star Joe Mantegna is the father of Gina, who plays the missing teenager. Also, it’s the last of the new Criminal Minds episodes for the foreseable future.

(The picture above is from People Magazine - which named Shemar Moore as one of the sexiest men alive. He came in at a very respectable #10.)

January 2’s Criminal Minds episode will be “Profiler, Profiled.” This is the episode from season two in which Morgan is arrested for murder in his hometown of Chicago. The BAU tries to dig around in his past to exonerate him. He’s hiding something he doesn’t want them to know. This was a good episode; it’s interesting to see the profilers interact with their families.

CBS has fared pretty well throughout the strike, thanks to its popular crime dramas, the three CSI’s, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, and Cold Case. I’m actually becoming a bigger fan of CSI:NY - they’re reairing episodes too, but they’re new to me. The good thing about these shows is that they can play episodes from various seasons.

For the week ending December 23, CBS had eight of the top ten most watched shows. CM came in at #7.

Mandy Patinkin returned to CBS in the form of a Criminal Minds rerun. CBS reaired season two episode, “Distress.” CM won the night in total viewers, but a rerun of Law and Order: SVU won the 18-49 age group.
The only original programming CBS aired Wednesday night was the Kennedy Center Honors, whose ratings dropped by 37% from last year.

Happy Day After Christmas!!
Tonight, CBS will reair an episode from season two. If you missed Mandy, this is a good time to tune in. “Distress” takes the BAU to Houston to investigate a series of murders surrounding construction sites, believed to have been done by a homeless person. This is the one where the homeless man turns out to be a former soldier. This was a sad episode, but good. There is a little more info at Criminal Minds Wiki.
Also, this is shortly after Reid was kidnapped and tortured so there are some differences in his character. This, by the way, is bugging me about season three. They have made very little reference to his supposed drug problem - so is it a problem? There’s not a lot going on with his character in season three. Anyway, hopefully, we can get some new episodes soon that look into him a little more.

This episode is at 8:00. At 9:00, the Kennedy Center Honors are on.