Criminal Minds

The Sun-Sentinal has a good article on the strike’s effects on programming. Negotiations, which were viewed optimistically, broke off on December 7. They won’t resume until after the new year. If there was an immediate end to the strike, we’d still have to wait months for new episodes because of production time. So the first few months of 2008 are going to be reruns, reality shows, game shows, and specials, regardless of whether or not the strike continues.

New shows that are out of episodes include Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty Sexy Money. A lot of others are down to only a few, including Criminal Minds with only “3rd Life” left.

Fox is in pretty good shape, according to the article, because American Idol will be on soon, and that can take as much time as they need to fill. Also, its cartoon lineup on Sunday nights is fine because they need scripts to be written up to a year in advance.

There are some new shows to be seen: Law and Order and Medium will return to NBC with almost an entire season’s worth of new shows. Law and Order: Criminal Intent will return to NBC from USA, but they’ll reair shows that USA already ran. Reality shows will come in strong in the new year, and some new series will premiere.

CBS has Jericho episodes set to air in January. Shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, and Without a Trace will continue to air reruns, which typically do pretty well in the ratings.

To read the entire article click here. It gives a rundown on what each network plans to do to get through the strike.

Even with a rerun, Criminal Minds won its Wednesday night timeslot. CBS won the night overall as well. “Clash of the Choirs” and “Duel” didn’t make huge waves, but they did about as well as they had for the previous airings Monday and Tuesday.

CM reaired “About Face.” This was a good episode, and seeing it again was cool because it was the first time Joe Mantegna made his appearance as David Rossi. At the end of the episode, he and Hotch have a little difference of opinion - Hotch says that they are a team, they think individually but share. Rossi refers to “group think.” Anyway, there was a definate need for adjustment. When Rossi started, they worked solo. They didn’t have all the support -no Garcias, no computers, no jet - so it is a big switch for old-school Rossi. In subsequent episodes, Rossi does take charge on occasion (like when he was interrogating Penelope about who shot her), but he hasn’t really overstepped the team’s boundries.

The story of “About Face” was pretty good. I liked the twist with the second victim, Enid, going missing. She actually bought a gun and is in hiding because the first victim reported seeing the missing fliers and no one helped her. But the killer finds her anyway. It was a rough first day on the job for Rossi - he has to shoot the suspect in the end, but he ends up saving Morgan.

The team dynamics are definately interesting with Rossi instead of Gideon. He gives the show an entirely different tone. Hopefully next week, we’ll see the new episode “3rd Life.” The last new one for a while, so it better be good!

Yes, it is a new episode tonight! Criminal Minds will air “Birthright.” This case brings them to Virginia to investigate a series of crimes involving missing and murdered young women. They bear a lot of resemblance to another set of crimes 25 years ago. Click here if you want a little more info on this episode and the next new one, “3rd Life.”

“Birthright” is on tonight at 9:00 on CBS.

Criminal Minds repeat “Scared to Death” loss in the Wednesday night ratings war. A new episode of Private Practice won the nine o’clock time slot. Private Practice helped ABC win the 18-49 year old group. NBC led in total viewers. CBS rebounded with a rerun of CSI:NY at ten.
That’s to be expected. “Scared to Death” originally aired not very long ago, and Practice was new. CM does have a few more new episodes to offer, so I’m sure the ratings will be back up for those.

And speaking of new episodes, Joe Mantegna’s daughter, Gina, will be making a guest appearance on her dad’s show. Gina Mantegna plays a teenage girl, who is missing and whose best friend is brutally murdered in “3rd Life.”

Miss Mantegna is most well known for her role in the 2006 movie, Unaccompanied Minors.

Some info on upcoming episodes:
CBS will air an original episode of Criminal Minds next week. “Birthright” takes the BAU to Fredericksburg, VA to track down a killer who victimizes young women. He makes them pretend they’re at a party.

That would be too simple. The murders resemble ones that occured 25 years before. If you want to be surprised DON’T READ ANYMORE!! It turns out that 25 years ago, in similar circumstances, one of the kidnapped women escapes. But she has a child as a product of rape by her captor. The killer’s wife is also pregnant. She figures out what’s going on and kills him so he can’t hurt anymore people.
Anyway, now is the son taking after his father? That’s pretty twisted.

In “3rd Life,” the BAU visits the west coast. This is the episode Gina Mantegna plays in. The case involves two missing teenage girls. One of the girls is murdered, and the team has to race to save the other girl (the still-missing girl is Gina).

“Birthright” airs next week, December 12, and “3rd Life” is scheduled for December 19.

“Scared to Death” reaired last night on CBS. Because of the WGA strike, there are only three more new episodes of Criminal Minds for season three.
An end to the strike doesn’t appear likely. Tuesday, Les Moonves, CBS chief executive, said that both sides were still far apart. “I am hopeful, I’m not terribly optimistic,” Moonves said, as the strike goes into its fifth week.
He added:

We are certainly not going to go dark…Ratings will probably not be as high without the influence of original programming, but costs will be down.

Schedule space can be filled with sports, reality shows, or specials. I said last week that the strike hadn’t really affected me…then CBS aired the best moments in Grammy history. I was wrong. If I didn’t know there was a writers strike, I’d think that there was a contest among the networks for worst evening programming ever.
But there are new episodes, and shows like Criminal Minds, L&O, Cold Case, Without a Trace, and NCIS, tend to do well in repeats. This is part of the reason why CM has been successful - you don’t have to watch it each time to enjoy it. It’s not a serial, so it’s easy to catch up. It’s also easy to watch an episode from last season. Some cast changes may have been made, but you know what’s going on and the episode is self-contained.

In other strike news, Ellen Degeneres and Carson Daly crossed picket lines and resumed production of their shows. While criticised for not supporting the writers, I think this was a good choice. The other people involved in production get to keep working. Some big names have been paying their out-of-work support people. Jay Leno is paying his staff while they’re down. His brothers in late night have done the same. David Letterman, Conon O’brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Craig Ferguson will continue to pay salaries even as their shows go dark. This essentially comes out of their own pockets.

Tonight, CBS is going to reair “Scared to Death.” This is the episode with the pshychiatrist who uses his patients’ fears to kill them.
Not to deter people from watching tonight, but I think this was the weakest episode of season three. If you’ve seen it before, tell me what you think. If you haven’t, definately tune in, because even a weak Criminal Minds episode is worth watching.

The Chicago Tribune’s entertainment section, “The Watcher,” has a rundown on strike-related programming today.
First, Jericho will return with seven new episodes on February 12. CBS was going to cancel Jericho last year, but fans mounted a strong blog campaign and kept it on the air. Their reward is coming soon.

Law and Order is coming back - don’t worry. There will be some cast changes, but new episodes will start airing on January 2. Sam Waterston will still be on the show, and some new talent will arrive. Law and Order: Criminal Intent moved to USA network. NBC needs them back because of their lack of new content. LOCI returns to NBC on January 9.

Also making comebacks are The New Adventures of Old Christine, with Julia Louis Dreyfus, which begins its third season January 28 on CBS.

CBS has announced more scheduling changes and additions for January. Coming back:

*Power of Ten with Drew Carrey
*New episodes of 48 Hours Mystery
*Survivor 16
*The first ever winter edition of Big Brother
*A six part miniseries called Comanche Moon
*A new sitcom called The Captain, with Fran Kranz (”The TV Set”), Chris Klein (”American Pie”), Jeffrey Tambor (”Arrested Development”), Raquel Welch (”The Three Musketeers”), comedian Al Madrigal, Valerie Azlynn (”Two and a Half Men”) and Joanna Garcia (”Reba”)
*A new game show, Do You Trust Me, has also completed production and is awaiting an air date.

CBS will replay its strong shows -Criminal Minds, the CSIs, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, NCIS, Without a Trace, Cold Case, 60 Minutes, and Shark.

The Futon Critic reports today that Criminal Minds delivered its highest ratings since the post-Super Bowl show in February (”The Big Game”). CM was first among overall viewers, 18-49, and 25-54 age groups. The numbers were up from last week, and for the past three weeks, CM’s ratings have won their time slot.
The last three shows have been great - I especially liked “True Night,” with Frankie Muniz. Apparently a lot of other people did as well. He helped them attain their best ratings in almost a year.
This week, CBS will re-air “Scared to Death.” This was not one of my favorites, but maybe the second time around will be better. This is the one with the psycho psychiatrist who uses his patients’ biggest fears to kill them. Take a look on Wednesday night at nine on CBS.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, CM won the Wednesday nine o’clock rating race, beating Pushing Daisies and Bionic Woman. This pushed CBS to a second place finish in the 18-49 group and a victory in overall viewers. Good news for Pushing Daisies though. They rebounded from last week’s poor numbers and had higher than average ratings. Bionic Woman didn’t have the same luck - the show had its lowest 18-49 score of the season. CM had its highest ratings since February 7. Whether it’s Joe Mantegna or the dramatic “Penelope” episode, more viewers are tuning in to Criminal Minds.
The big winner of the night was “Shrek the Halls,” on ABC. The half-hour special had the highest 18-49 rating of the night.

P.S. If you’re a devoted CM fan but want to check out Private Practice or Pushing Daisies, ABC has the full episodes available online. You can also see Bionic Woman online at NBC.com.

Tonight’s episode guest stars Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) as a comic book artist who becomes involved in the search for a serial killer (and those serial killers always love to involve themselves in their own investigations…maybe it’s little Frankie himself).
Frankie Muniz’s role on Malcolm earned him nominations for Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. Currently, he’s involved in racing. He competed in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2007 and placed 22nd overall.
“True Night” airs at 9:00 on CBS.

Tonight’s episode, “Identity,” has the team racing to find one half of a killing duo. The other half killed himself when apprehended by authorities. They travel to Montana to investigate the kidnappings and murders of four women, and another woman is kidnapped.

Criminal Minds has aired six episodes this season, and they have scripts for six more. CBS fares pretty well (not ideal, but ok) in the strike. They have a lot of crime shows in their lineup, which do well in reruns. This summer, Criminal Minds did very well in the ratings with reruns. CBS also has popular reality shows, Amazing Race, Survivor, and Big Brother, which may return early.

The Power of Ten and Password are also ready to go should they be needed, and they can also be produced very quickly. New episodes of Jericho and The New Adventures of Old Christine are also available.

Fox also fares well because American Idol, which can begin as early as January, will fill up a lot of Fox’s airtime. They also have Kitchen Nightmares and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, whose writers are not governed by the WGA.

Shows that are in danger are Pushing Daisies and Heroes. They could disappear from the lineup altogether as they run out of new episodes.

If we run out of new Criminal Minds episodes, we can start checking out the books based on the series.

Advertising Age had a review of Criminal Minds on their website Wednesday. This article was interesting because it was from the advertising perspective (surprisingly enough, coming from Ad Age, right?). Anyway, Ad Age TV Editor Brian Steinberg reviewed new and returning shows to give marketers an idea of the best times and places to show their ads.
Mr. Steinberg had never seen an episode for CM before. After all the when Mandy Patinkin left and Joe Mantegna showed up, he decided it would be a good time to tune in.
Wednesday nights are also very competetive. CM is on, Bionic Woman, Private Practice, Gossip Girl , and Kitchen Nightmares- all at the same time. Advertisers need to know where to put their money, and Criminal Minds is a good bet because it has managed to keep its audience. Each episode is self-contained, so they sell the show as a new must-see thriller each week. Anyone can tune in - not just regulars. This is a good selling point. Steinberg’s verdict on the show is that it’d be a good place to put your ad (if you’re Verizon, Sprint, Singular, AT&T wireless, Home Depot, or a sleep aid manufacturer - those are the big sponsers of CM last year). Criminal Minds does better with older audiences, so if you’re trying to sell a product aimed at teens, you might want to go elsewhere.
This article was also interesting because Steinberg gives his opinion of the show. He says:

“Criminal Minds” is less about the people in the show and more about the crimes they solve…And the profilers are as determined as the crimes are heinous.

He talks about Mandy Patinkin leaving and Joe Mantegna joining the cast.

The show is exactly the same as it was before, only with a new sheriff in town, so to speak. But since the show isn’t really about sheriffs, or people, just crimes and arrests, “Criminal Minds” should proceed apace with few bumps in the road.

This definately lives up to CM’s reputation of being a solid, consistent show for CBS. I do agree that the crimes and criminals make the show different and entertaining. But I also like the characters - I think that they’re becoming more developed as the show progresses. We’re about to learn some more about Penelope. Criminal Minds strikes a good balance - it appeals to people who tune in occasionally because each episode can be understood on its own. It also appeals to people who regulary watch because you do find out more info on your favorite agents week after week.

A lot of people must have been celebrating Halloween last night. TV ratings for everyone fell. Private Practice was the evening’s top show among the 18-49 crowd, but it had its lowest ratings ever. Criminal Minds tied its lowest ratings of the season last night.
CSI:NY had a better night, winning the ten o’clock timeslot. CBS had the highest ratings of the networks.

And speaking of last night’s Criminal Minds, Film.com has a review of “About Face” and Joe Mantegna’s long-anticipated arrival. This excerpt is taken from Film.com:

Last night’s case — which was about a man who leaves “Have You Seen Me?” flyers and then kidnaps the woman shown on them — wasn’t especially involving. The main purpose of the episode was setting up Rossi’s relationship to the rest of the crew. While technically serving underneath Thomas Gibson’s Hotchner, Rossi primarily followed his own hunches and seemed uncomfortable with the collegial nature of the BAU. Right now it seems like an ill fit, especially the disconnect between Mantegna’s new role as the show’s titular star and his subordinate role on the team.

What do you think - Is David Rossi - or Joe Mantegna - an ill fit for Criminal Minds?
For this week anyway, the ratings aren’t really an indication. They were low for everyone, so we’ll see what next week brings.
Scroll down for a poll on David Rossi and cast your vote. So far it looks like we miss Gideon.

The Futon Critic has some great little blurbs on coming attractions on CBS.

This excerpt is taken directly from a CBS press release on the Futon Critic site.

CBS’s Hit Dramas, Comedies and Reality Series Take Center Stage
The 12th Edition of the Five-Time Emmy Award-Winning Reality Adventure Series “The Amazing Race” Premieres Nov. 4

Among the guest stars appearing in November are Heather Locklear (RULES OF ENGAGEMENT), Frankie Muniz and Jamie Kennedy (CRIMINAL MINDS), Richard Kind, Jenny McCarthy and Robert Wagner (TWO AND A HALF MEN), Christopher Lloyd (NUMB3RS), Dean Cain and Leslie Hope (CSI: MIAMI), Sherry Stringfield, Brenda Strong, Titus Welliver (SHARK), Ralph Waite and Michael Constantine (COLD CASE).

To read more of CBS’s November happenings, read on, or click on the Futon Critic site above.
(more…)

The Writers Guild of America has voted to strike as nearly as Thursday, November 1, if an agreement with networks is not reached - which seems unlikely at this late date. CNN reports that networks have enough scripts in stock to last through New Year, and possibly into February. After that, it’s reality shows, game shows, or reruns. The writers strike could also affect next season’s shows.
The AP reports that “[p]ilots for next fall are being written now and the development process, which includes rewrites and casting, extends through the spring.” If the writers aren’t working, the process is stalled.
The impending strike would affect networks, and advertisers as well. If not as many people are watching tv, because they’re sick of reruns and reality, much less money is being generated. The writers and their families, though, are the ones who have to deal with the uncertainty of their futures: their jobs are in jeopardy, and they’re not getting paid their usual salaries.

For more info on the Writers Guild strike, click on the CNN link above, or visit an earlier post I did that is in a little more detail.