Criminal Minds

AJ, looking stunning here on the red carpet, is celebrating her birthday today. I hope she has a great one! Lots of July birthdays for the Criminal Minds cast!

And more good news: President Obama had been schedule to speak tonight, preempting Criminal Minds, but “Roadkill” will run in CM’s normal time. “Roadkill” has the team investigating a series of murders by car in Oregon. Not my favorite season 4 episode, but worth tuning in for.

One tiny bit. On TV Guide’s Mega Buzz feature, they had a little season 5 opener news (a very tiny, little bit). Here it is:

I’m going crazy because there hasn’t been any news on Criminal Minds. Please, tell me something about Hotch’s future! — Francesca
MATT: You and many other Mega Buzz readers seem rather concerned about the gun that went off during Hotch’s unexpected season-finale face-off with the serial killer known as the Reaper. Well, you should know that is not the only gunshot that plays a pivotal role in the Sept. 23 opener.

So, not much to go on, is there? We’ll just have to wait a few more months and see how this turns out.

You can find news on SVU, CSI, True Blood, Saving Grace, Lie to Me, and more here.

Enjoy Criminal Minds “Roadkill” tonight, and let me know what you think after the show!

I know many of you are fans of Alex O’Laughlin. He played a vampire in Moonlight and an unsub in Criminal Minds, and now he’s coming back to his own prime time show on CBS. Three Rivers is a medical drama. Here’s a promo with little interview snippets. Enjoy!

My kids. Man, they make me tired. The baby is eight months old, and he’s going to be trouble. He has no fear. And he is extra motivated to walk/talk early so he can keep up with his sister. Who is already trouble. And I have a lot of work that I am unmotivated to do, and I’m neglecting my blog, and I’m just cranky in general.

So I thought today would be a good day for a Shemar Moore sans shirt picture. Feast your eyes:

I was looking for yummy pictures and you know, there are a lot of Shemar in this exact pose.

Quite honestly, if I had a stomach like that, I would never wear a shirt. That may present some problems and embarrass my children, but wow! I hope that made everyone a little less cranky (it worked for me) and set the tone for the rest of your weekend. Have a wonderful weekend, and we’ll talk some serious Criminal Minds on Monday. Or look at more shirtless pictures. I wonder if there are any of the other CM boys….

More about Emmy awards in a minute. But first, I found this great site with a post on Matthew Gray Gubler, and some videos. He sort of documents his activities and things on video - you can find these on youtube if you’re looking for some MGG entertainment before September. Anyway, that’s here.

And another item of interest is an article I found on Emmys. In the last post, I linked to an article that talked about how procedurals are often overlooked (ok, almost always overlooked) for Emmy awards. This article talks about how serials (like Lost), that require viewers to watch every week tend to get the Emmys while procedurals (like Criminal Minds) have the advantage of longevity and ratings. This article is great, and Ed Bernero, the exec producer of Criminal Minds talks about the appeal of procedurals - which are self-contained episodes. So you can catch CM one week, miss it, catch it another week, and you can catch up. With Lost, if you missed an episode - any episode of any season - you’re lost.

This is good news for Criminal Minds because some people tune into American Idol, and when that ends, they can switch to CM and have no problem knowing what’s going on. Each story is independent, while there are some storylines among the characters, we can get the point. It makes it more approachable. Here’s what Bernero says:

“Procedurals offer the basics of storytelling that people want to hear. It’s very Arthurian and basic to human experience. People like to think that, while they can be scared and pull the blanket up around them, there are heroes out there who will save the day. It’s very comforting, and that’s why there will always be a huge market for cop shows: People need to know there are heroes.”

The heroes don’t get Emmys though! Too bad, but we know this show is among the best on TV, and the ratings confirm that. To read the rest of this great article, click here.

Old School Alvin and the Chipmunks

My sisters and I used to come home from school and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks everyday after school. My favorite was Theodore, the short chubby one. Coincidentally, I was the short chubby one. This paragon of the eighties was actually conceived much earlier. In the 1950’s, Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. released records under the name of David Seville and the Chipmunks. This was enormously successful, so it spawned animated series. (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were the names of executives for Bagdasarian’s record label.)
The voices were all done by Bagdasarian, and his high-pitched characters earned him two Grammy Awards for engineering. He recorded his voice and then sped up the playback. And speaking of the eighties, you could recreate this voice effect by using a tape recorder to record your voice and then fast-forwarding it. Fun times.
Anyway, check out Wikipedia for more info on Alvin and the Chipmunks - it’s actually pretty interesting.

So what does Alvin and the Chipmunks have to do with Criminal Minds? Sometimes I write about random stuff with absolutely no connection, but I do have a point this time. The character of Simon is given his voice by Matthew Gray Gubler, our cute Dr. Reid in a new version of the classic.
The trio is given an updated look - they lose the weird nightshirts or whatever they are and put on some sweatshirts. The animation is brighter and more 3D-ish.
In the movie, the three chipmunks are living in the forest. Their home gets cut down to take to the city to become a Christmas tree. They end up living with Dave (played by Jason Lee). He creates the trio, which becomes a huge success. But trouble comes when a record company exec tries to take over the act.

Matthew plays Simon, who is tall, thin, and intellectual. From the official Alvin and the Chipmunks site:

The moral and intellectual center of the group, Simon is the most balanced member of the Chipmunks, preferring to solve problems through logic and/or negotiation.

The chipmunks look different but don’t worry, they still have those squeaky voices. One of my friends went to see it with her son (Randi at Watching House). We are products of the eighties, so she didn’t know if she’d like it as well as the original. But she did. It’s supposed to have a more modern sense of humor, and the actors/voices are great. So I’ll have to check it out soon since there aren’t any new CM episodes.

The National Post of Canada has an article today about the WGA strike. Both sides have indicated that they will resume talks next Monday. The strike started on November 5, and viewers haven’t felt the impact for the most part. The strike has, however, affected the thousands of people who are employed in the entertainment industry. This ranges from costume designers to hair stylists to maintainance people. It overflows into the community as well. Coffee shops, restaurants, and stores lose business when these employees cut spending. The entertainment industry pumps a lot of money into the local economy, and that lack of money is hard felt by the citizens.
In the face of this economic hardship, it behooves both sides to end the strike quickly from a PR standpoint.
The writers have been supported by actors and even politicians. Barack Obama has publically sided with the writers, and CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been calling for a quick end to the strike so the effects his state aren’t as profound.
Economic effects are also being felt in Canada. About twenty US shows, including Criminal Minds and Bionic Woman, are made in Vancouver, Canada, where production has shut down.
The full article is at The National Post.
The Vancouver Sun also has a good article about the effects of the WGA strike on Canada.

Shemar Moore made People’s list of sexiest men for 2007. He came in at #10!

IF Magazine listed Criminal Minds as its #4 show to watch for the week of November 12. In the upcoming episode, Jamie Kennedy plays a cannibalistic serial killer. If you’re looking for something else to watch this weekend, check out IF.

The Sydney Morning Herald is sassy again this morning. David Dale writers about the Hollywood Writers Strike. Since a lot of us Americans are egocentric (not me, though), it’s interesting to see what other places think of the strike.
It doesn’t seem Sydney will be affected too much in the short-term. According to Dale, Australia’s favorite US shows, Criminal Minds, House, The Simpsons, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, and My Name is Earl, have plenty of new episodes to last through the end of Australia’s ratings season, which ends in three weeks. Shows more affected by the strike, Heroes, Bionic Woman, and Prison Break, are not getting big audiences anyway.
Dale sees three big advantages to the US writers’ strike. First, better shows:

In the case of Heroes, which has been slow this season, the creator, Tim Kring, phoned Entertainment Weekly magazine from the picket line promising to make good use of his time off: “The message is that we’ve heard the complaints and we’re doing something about it.” According to EW, “The cliffhangers are back. Narrative purpose has been discovered. Old favourites such as Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Horn Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman) take centre stage.” A good omen for other strike-affected programs which have been disappointing us lately.

Second, Australia will start shopping around for shows in Canada and England. Dale believes this will “widen our understanding of the world,” while at the same time diverting funds directed to US shows. Hopefully, he says, the Australian networks, Seven, Nine, and Ten, will produce more Australian-made shows. Shows such as Kath & Kim, and City Homicide are home-grown successes.

Third, television writers will have a precedent for demanding more of a share in digital revenue, and “Australia’s best writers will be able to give up their part-time jobs as waiters and cleaners.”

(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.

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.

WGA members and networks couldn’t reach an agreement, so the writers have gone on strike. WGA - East is set to strike Monday in front of NBC headquarters. LA writers will stand on the picket line from 9-5 protesting until a deal is reached. Negotiations with a federal mediator failed to resolve the big issue - a bigger cut of digital revenue. After 11 hours of talks, writers were informed that there was to be a strike.
Check out the full story on yahoo.

Writers are ready to strike. They decided Thursday night that they would strike if they didn’t negotiate a contract agreement with the networks. They put it off, leaving the networks and tv lovers in suspense. Will they strike tomorrow?
There were last-ditch effort talks on today to see if an agreement could be reached. Writers want a bigger cut of the revenue that is brought in from dvd and also from shows and movies streamed over the net or cell phones. Their contract expired November 1, and it was four years old. It gave the writers 1.2% of revenue for shows streamed online for one-time viewing. The don’t get anything for shows or movies downloaded from sites like iTunes.
AFP reported on the possible strike and gave an example of this:

…if an entire blockbuster film supported by ads is shown free of charge on the Internet, writers get no money because studios label the display “promotional.”

A writers stike could cost the entertainment industry as much as a billion dollars. First affected woud be late-night talk shows, like David Letterman, who depend on writers for content. TV shows would be affected if the strike lasted longer. This means a lot of game shows, news shows, and reality shows, which aren’t covered by the Writers Guild.
A federal mediator was called in to help with negotiations. If they don’t reach one, WGA leaders and network officials expect a long strike.

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.

Today, the AP is reporting that a writers guild strike could happen as soon as Friday - tonight, members will meet to discuss whether to keep working without a contract or walk out.
The writers and networks haven’t reached an agreement on payment for dvd sales, digital revenue, and shows shown online. Writers get paid pennies on the sale of dvds. They want a cut of the advertising revenue when shows and movies are streamed over the internet for free (right now, they’re getting nothing).
The networks counter by saying that dvd sales offset the increased costs of production, and they don’t want to committ to paying more money in an uncertain economic climate.

John Handel is an entertainment lawyer who once served as counsel to the WGA. He says that delaying a strike benefits the writers.

The writers guild has two weapons: one is a strike, the other is the threat of a strike. It has no reason to toss that weapon away without using it for a bit.

If writers do strike, primetime shows and movies would not be affected immediately. The first ones to feel the strike’s effects would be late-night talk shows, which depend on writers for monologues and skits. They depend on current events and there will be no one to write them up. After the shows ran out of scripts, they’d have to run reality shows, reruns, and game shows to fill up the gaps.

So writers are meeting tonight and may decide to strike tomorrow. Or they could postpone the decision for a few days. It doesn’t seem like they’re going to get what they want from the networks - which is money from digital/dvd sales. Let’s see what happens.

Check out 451Press for more on your favorite shows - which hopefully will continue showing new episodes!