Criminal Minds

(Writers of America’s Next Top Model held their own strike in July of 2006. They weren’t represented by WGA-West and in November the writers on strike were taken off payroll.)

The writers strike has been getting a huge amount of attention, and rightly so. The issues they are fighting for are groundbreaking - a bigger cut of digital and internet revenues. The actors are also affected by the strike. A lot of shows have already shut down production - the AP reports that at least seven sitcoms, including The Office, and popular shows like Desperate Housewives have stopped production.

The writers strike not only affects the writers and the actors. There are hundreds of support personnel whose livliehoods are at stake. Gary Gentile of the AP writes:

They’re not on screen or on strike, but somewhere way behind the scenes in Hollywood, legions of workers are off the job as writers strike against studios.
A growing number of caterers, hairdressers, set builders, crew members and people who rent everything from trucks to portable dressing rooms have been idled in this industry town, as filming shuts down and studios yank funding from production companies.
With no deal is sight, the toll will only mount.

There are people being harmed by the strike that we would never think of. The entertainment industry contributes $80 million a day to LA’s economy. Without the money pouring in, spending on restaurants and shopping will decrease. The cost of the strike in 1988 was $500 million, and I assume that it would be much more now.

Gentile writes:

A study commissioned in 2001 by then-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan concluded that a possible walkout of several months by writers would put 130,000 people out of work. Nearly one-third of those jobs would never return, the study concluded.

That is an enormous amount of people thrown out of work, and some of them have doubts about the strike. While they want to support the writers, many of them wonder if they’ll get the deal they want. More importantly, will production resume in time for these support people to go back to work?

There is a lot of support for the writers - deservedly. They create the shows, and give our favorite characters life. Some other sites have suggested sending donations to buy the writers pizza as they strike. This is a nice idea, but I have to wonder about the hairdressers, costume designers, cooks, and everyone else who contribute to the shows we watch. What about them? They are out of the spotlight and out of work. When the actors and writers go back to work, what will happen to them?
To see what’s happening with your favorite shows, check out 451 Press.

Julia Louis Dreyfus supports the writers.

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.

Yesterday I wrote about Wednesday night ratings. Today, Contact Music.com is saying that Criminal Minds was the top rated show of Wednesday night, beating out Private Practice. Hmmmm….guess it depends on the ratings area? In Australia, Private Practice won out over CM by 9%.
Media Week.com also reports CM as having won the night. So congratulations, Criminal Minds. It’s a solid show, consistently in the top twenty for the week.

On the potential writers strike: The New York Times reported this morning that union leaders will inform members whether or not they are striking by Friday afternoon. As an entertainment lawyer said yesterday, the Writers Guild has two weapons. A strike and the threat of a strike, so this could very well continue to be unsettled for days. We’ll see by this afternoon what they decide to do.

It’s a harsh world we live in when television shows are awarded because of their portrayal of torture. Human Rights First chose to create their Excellence in Television award because of the prevalance of torture on tv. According to their statistics, incidents of torture on tv have increased greatly since 2000.

I became aware of this because of its connection to Criminal Minds. Of course, the episode that was recognized was “Lessons Learned,” in which Gideon interviews a Guantanamo Bay detainee. Also nominated were The Closer, The Shield, Lost, and Boston Legal. On HRF’s website, you can view clips of each of these shows, as well as a 14 minute feature on torture in television. (This is very interesting.)
What I found equally as interesting was all the criticism surrounding 24 and torture. I should say that I have never seen 24 - in which a season follows the course of events of one single day- so this was surprising to me. Everytime I would read about torture and television, 24 inevitably showed up.

Joel Surnow is the executive producer of 24. In his office is an American flag that once flew in Iraq. It was presented to Surnow by soldiers who had shared a collection of 24 DVDs.
In a recent New Yorker article, Surnow says:

The military loves our show. People in the Administration love the series, too. It’s a patriotic show. They should love it….Isn’t it obvious that if there was a nuke in New York City that was about to blow—or any other city in this country—that, even if you were going to go to jail, it would be the right thing to do?

24 creates a sense of urgency - each hour of the show represents an hour in the lives of the characters. Without a digital countdown clock, split screens, and immenent disaster, tension builds until it seems logical, patriotic, and even necessary to torture information out of people.
Surnow acknowledges that the show is formed from people’s anxieties, their fear of being attacked. “America wants the war on terror fought by Jack Bauer. He’s a patriot.” Of course he always saves the day. Why wouldn’t we want someone like him working on our side?
This attitude reaches all the way up - as Surnow says, the Bush Administration loves the show.
From the New Yorker: “Not long after September 11th, Vice-President Dick Cheney alluded vaguely to the fact that America must begin working through the ‘dark side’ in countering terrorism.”
This dark side is sanctioned by the Bush administration. Through secret memos and decisions, harsh interrogation tactics have been authorized. They found that “combined effects” were allowed. This means that the interrogators could use physical measures along with psychological ones to extract information. Among the physical tactics are head slapping, simulated drowning, and frigid temperatures. “Enemy combatants” are sometimes short-chained to the floor or in a fetal position with out food or water. Sleep deprivation and extremely long interrogations are also allowed. The New York Times has an extensive article on this.
But still, if a little sleep deprivation and a day without food or water is necessary to prevent an attack, why not? Professional interrogators agree that it does not work. It is not an effective means of getting information. And, oh yeah, it is inhumane. But concentrating on the effacacy: even the co-creater of 24, Bob Cochran, acknowledges that the situations in the show are not true to life.

Most terrorism experts will tell you that the ‘ticking time bomb’ situation never occurs in real life, or very rarely. But on our show it happens every week

Col. Herrington, a veteren interrogator, said on NPR that in his entire career he’d never come across a “ticking time bomb” type of situation. They simply do not happen, he says.

By using talking and nonviolent techniques, and by treating the detainee as a person, information is more forthcoming. This may sound naive but it’s said again and again by military interrogators who have done this for decades.
It is true that it is entertainment - it’s a television show. But the harm comes when young soldiers or recruits watch 24 and shows like it and think that’s the way the world works. And they do watch it, as Surnow proudly states. In Rachel Thomas’s TV Dramas blog, she writes:

Some U.S. soldiers have even gone so far as violating the Geneva Convention, citing the entertainment industry as the catalyst.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to California in November to meet with the producers of 24. He believes that the show adversely affects American soldiers.

The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.

Another interesting point that I read was that extremists will not talk. If they are willing to die for their cause, they will not break down during torture.
Jane Mayer, in her New Yorker article writes:

Cochran (24’s co-creator) demanded to know what the interrogators would do if they faced the imminent threat of a nuclear blast in New York City, and had custody of a suspect who knew how to stop it. One interrogator said that he would apply physical coercion only if he received a personal directive from the President. But Navarro (an FBI expert on questioning techniques), who estimates that he has conducted some twelve thousand interrogations, replied that torture was not an effective response. “These are very determined people, and they won’t turn just because you pull a fingernail out,” he told me. And Finnegan argued that torturing fanatical Islamist terrorists is particularly pointless. “They almost welcome torture,” he said. “They expect it. They want to be martyred.” A ticking time bomb, he pointed out, would make a suspect only more unwilling to talk. “They know if they can simply hold out several hours, all the more glory - the ticking time bomb will go off!”

This is why, in “Lessons Learned,” Gideon has to lie to the detainee. He knows that he will not give up any information otherwise. Not through talking, and definatley not through torture.

There is a lot of information out there on this topic - it’s so important. How the US treats detainees influences the rest of the world’s opinion of us. It seems like the current administration thinks that life is a tv show and that they have to get the bad guys before they get us - and so they can use whatever method they want, including severe physical and emotional pain to get answers to their questions. It’s a scary world that we live in and we live in fear of a terrorist attack. We should also fear losing our humanity.

Friday, I posted a link to an article from Entertainment Weekly (ew.com) which said that Thomas Gibson’s character, Aaron Hotchner, would be leaving the show. I hope I made it clear that it was something I didn’t know was a fact. I just wanted to pass the information - or rumor - along. There’s always a lot of rumors flying around the entertainment industry, like whether Jorja Fox will return for the eighth season of tv’s most popular forensics show, CSI.
So is Hotch leaving? I haven’t found anything else that would suggest that, and because there are always rumors, I would expect to find something.
A commenter, Lociloco, wrote:

I think it is a fast one, I read that Hotch is “requesting” a transfer, but that doesn’t say he gets it or stays where he is going for very long. I have not seen any press except for this EW thing that you posted. It would be very strange if there wasn’t more notice of this if is official.

I definately agree.

The Monaco Revue has an interesting article about Mandy Patinkin’s departure from Criminal Minds. Mandy was in Monaco in June to promote CM at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Speaking with journalists there, he said:

I loathe those violent images and I want no part of that type of violence. I work with the writers and producers constantly to try and tamper that violence down.

Excessive violence has been a criticism of the show since it began, but as FBI BAU agent Jim Clemente says the violence is actually very much toned down in the show.

I want to see more humour coming to television…. I want to live long enough to see the appetite for comedy become greater than the appetite for violence.

Earlier this summer, Shemar Moore also spoke of his costar’s sensitvity:
The content is tough, but at the end of the day, I’m an actor who learns lines and I say my lines and then I distance myself from it and go back to my life. (Patinkin) took it a little more personally.

Moore also said Patinkin was an “emotional guy” and someone you felt “you had to take care of.”

Patinkin told journalists in Monaco:

It is a great burden; many people who are great writers, and actors and musicians take their lives because they can’t bear what’s happening in the human condition. Certainly that’s not an answer, but you understand that it’s because of an oversensitivity to human nature.

In this Mandy Patinkin seems to be very much like his character, Jason Gideon. He was by far the most emotional and affected by the violence that the team dealt with. How can you be mad at someone for leaving for this reason?

Just a little update: Shemar Moore, who plays Agent Derek Morgan, on CBS’s Criminal Minds was sentenced to 36 months of probation and community service after he pleaded no contest to charges that he was intoxicated while driving and going over 65 miles per hour on a city street.
Shemar has made the news quite a bit recently with his arrest, as well as the revealing pictures of him taken at a nude beach in Hawaii (yes, those photos are available somewhere online).
Well, at least he gave me something else to write about other than Mandy Patinkin - no, no news there yet.

Since there are no new episodes for the entire (long) summer, I like to go around the internet looking for interviews to read. This interview with Thomas Gibson about his role on Criminal Minds dates back to April, but it’s definitely a good read if you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.

At one point he describes Hotchner’s straight-laced demeanor:

It’s partly Hotch’s mentor status that influences his austere demeanor. “We do have our moments of levity. Unfortunately, he has a very, very, probably-dusty-it’s-so-dry sense of humor. It’s pretty dark. It’s pretty bone dry. We all need a little levity, but I wouldn’t necessarily look for him to break into song and dance,” Gibson explained.

True, but wouldn’t it be great to actually see him do a song and dance number for just a second?

Although we don’t have much back story to his character beyond the very basics, the article quotes one episode that sums up the constant stress that Hotch feels in the pull between his work and his family.

Hotchner: I catch killers, I save lives, I’m a hero until my key hits my front door, and then I’m just the father and the husband who is never there.
Gideon: Yeah, I got that one.
Hotchner: Here’s the thing: when I’m home, I’m in this silent panic because I know that I have to be as good as I can, as fast as I can. Because any minute the phone is going to ring and my time is up.

It’s a great article about a great character (and equally awesome actor), and definitely worth perusing while you too wait for the hiatus to end.

(Photo courtesy CBS/Nigel Parry)