Criminal Minds

I thought I’d just be shallow and take a look at looks today. Hair is a major part of anyone’s looks…which of our Criminal Minds ladies has the best locks?

AJ Cook:

Here’s AJ in her CM ‘do. Straight and classic.

A nice little updo.

Paget Brewster in CM mode:

Here’s Paget a little more relaxed…straight and a little messy.

And last, but not least, Kirsten Vangness.

Kirsten looks professional, fun, and awesome in this style.

A cute, fun look.

And her on the town look:

Last night, I was watching Criminal Minds with my fiance, who can be at times the most insensitive person alive. But he surprises me on occasion. After the show, he said that something about the show is different. He said maybe it was just this episode but the mood was entirely different. So I tried to pump him for information, but that’s really all he said, other than that it was more action-based, where the others were more pensive. There is usually a race to save another victim, and this didn’t happen in “True Night.” There was also not a lot of profiling going on, which I didn’t really notice until he said something about it being different. This was an episode that focused on the killer instead of the BAU members. As the episode progressed, you could kind of profile him yourself. John’s (Frankie Muniz)flashbacks let the viewer understand what was happening. He kept calling his girlfriend’s phone and getting her message that she was out living her life. This was emphasized so much that of course she was dead. My fiance was right: the tone was very different. It almost made you feel crazy as John relived the attack on himself and his girlfriend but didn’t really seem to realize that it actually happened. And he had no idea that he was killing people (all gang members, who were responsible for the attack). He drew the crime scenes as pages of a graphic novel.

John’s agent talks to the FBI and tells them about the behavior he’s noticed in John - the erratic behavior, calling his girlfriend’s cell, the change in his work. When John’s led into the police station, he looks confused, and you can almost hope he didn’t do it.
When he’s being interrogated by Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss, they have to convince him that he’d been attacked. A huge scar lays across his abdomen. It’s like telling him his girlfriend is dead all over again, and he finally remembers.

At the end of the episode, he is in a hospital/institution, and he’s surrounded by drawings of his girlfriend. Still calling her cell phone to listen to her voice.
On the plane home, Prentiss wonders if anyone is capable of this. John went from a writer and artist to a murderer in six months. If he could do that, anyone could.
I was kind of surprised that cute little Malcolm in the Middle could be a convincing serial killer. He was really good. He looked the part, but still managed to have an innocence about him.

I really did like this episode. It was different and more unsub-focused. The profilers played a very small role in “True Night,” which I wouldn’t really enjoy watching week after week, but it was a good change.
The more I think about it, the more that this episode is one of the ones I like best. It’s not often that shows can make you feel a certain way, but you definately feel John’s emotions and feel sorry for him at the end. Even my aforementioned insensitive fiance felt bad for him.
What did you think of the episode? Good, bad, ugly?

If your favorite show has run out of new episodes, it’s a good time to check out what’s new on DVD at TV on DVD. - I am still waiting anxiously for the second half of the last season of The Sopranos to come from Netflix.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - it’s one of the only times I get to see my whole family. (Except for my brother - Happy Thanksgiving), so I love it.

Also, one of my favorite tv sites, Buddy TV, has some details on upcoming CM episode, “Birthright.” Birthright is expected to air on December 12 at nine. Sounds interesting…I guess you can inherit anything from your parents.

Anyway, on to our “Penelope” recap…

Good episode. This one was the best of the season, and the most exciting one since Reid was kidnapped. We got to learn a bit more about Penelope - losing her parents, how she was recruited by the FBI. It’ll be interesting to see if this episode did as well as last week’s, which topped Private Practice in the ratings for the first time.

At the beginning of the episode, she’s weaving in and out of consciousness. As the BAU, sans Morgan, gather at the hospital, Hotch tells Rossi that the EMT said it didn’t look good. Morgan is in church and isn’t answering his phone.
Pretty early in the episode, we find out that Garcia is going to be ok. But no one knows what happened. She tells them that her date shot her and that she should’ve listened to Morgan. The team is told not to investigate the case because Garcia has been suspended. She encrypted a program with the team’s info, and the internal affairs unit is investigating this. It comes out that she was hired by the FBI because she was a dangerous hacker. They wanted her on their side.
Morgan takes Penelope home from the hospital and stays with her. They patch up their friendship, which is a sweet scene. While he’s there, though, he’s awakened by gunshots. The officer guarding the door is shot by Penelope’s attacker. Morgan chases him but isn’t able to get him.
After this, the team gathers at Garcia’s house. They aren’t getting anywhere, and all of a sudden, David Rossi starts yelling at Garcia. Telling her to spit it out, what does she know, what was she working on. Morgan is telling him to stop, but he continues, while Garcia looks scared. Finally, she tells them that she counsels victims’ families. Sometimes she is asked how cases are going. So she’d flagged a few so the lead detetective would know the FBI considered them priorities. She doesn’t have authority to do this, which is why she didn’t want to tell them. But it provides the vital clue.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Brendan appears to try and crack Garcia’s system. It’s very cute when he’s in her office and she’s at home. They’ve never seen each other, but they are almost flirting as they try to beat each other into the system. (I really liked his character. He looked like he rolled out of bed, took a shower the day or so before, threw on some clothes that were on his floor, and left. Not like he was trying to look like he didn’t care, but really didn’t.)
Anyway, it turns out that a few cases Garcia flagged involved the same deputy sheriff - who is none other than her date.
So, he’s in the BAU, being questioned by internal affairs (they don’t know yet he did it). The computer tech (whose name I’ve honestly forgotten) and Garcia communicate with each other and he’s sending her video of the BAU. They see the deputy and call Hotch, who is there. The deputy starts getting suspicious. The team calls JJ, who is in her office. They tell her what’s going on, and she is able to get behind the attacker, who is holding the internal affairs guy hostage. She shoots through a window, getting the guy right in the head. It was an amazing shot, especially from JJ (who for some reason I didn’t expect to be able to shoot like that).
Anyway, at the end, Garcia meets the tech. She tells JJ that everything happens for a reason. So the two computer techies are gazing into each other’s eyes, impressed by the other’s abilities. It’s very cute and sweet.

I really liked this episode. I liked how Rossi went at Garcia. He knew it was the only way to get the information and that he was the only one who could do it because he was the one without all the ties to her. It was also nice to see how much Garcia means to the team. She’s so different from the rest of them, but also so important to the team and to their lives.
I wonder if Nicholas Brendan will appear in any more episodes…they’d make a cute couple.

David Rossi made his first appearance in the BAU last night - and it was pretty quiet. He didn’t come in and take over, he didn’t act like he was superior because he’d created the BAU. At first. Later in the episode he leaks some information to the press without Hotch’s consent - now he pulls out his experience and tries to tell Hotch he knows what he’s doing. If you missed “About Face,” TV.com has a detailed recap (TV.com is the place to go if you miss an episode of anything - their summaries are really exhaustive).
There’s a back story with Rossi - he carries a bracelet with three children’s names on it, and throughout the episode, he had flashbacks. Section Chief Strauss thinks he has an ulterior motive for rejoining the BAU, and she’s right. The story will continue to unfold throughout more episodes, but Rossi obviously has some unfinished business.

How did you like Joe Mantegna as David Rossi? I liked him -especially how his character contrasts to Gideon. He’s very cool and collected.

P.S. If you’re a Tom Green fan, stop over at Sarah Lee’s Watching Tom Green for a cool contest. Great prizes and EASY to win. Hurry over.

Tonight’s episode, “Scared to Death,” has Hotch and his BAU profilers tracking down a serial killer. Not just your average ordinary killer - he may a psychiatrist. The team thinks that hte doctor finds out what his victims fear most and uses that fear to kill them. The victims have all recently moved to Portland and have not developed strong ties to the area. (Michael O’Keefe plays Dr. Stan Howard.)
“Scared to Death” will air on CBS at nine tonight and will be Criminal Minds’ first Gideon-free episode.