Site Meter Criminal Minds

Memoriam

by

jane-lynch-and-mgg

Tonight at nine, do not miss the conclusion of last week’s episode. In “Memoriam,” Reid stays in Vegas to investigate some dreams he’s been having and which he feels are connected to the murder of a little boy, Riley Jenkins. Riley was murdered when Spenser was four, and Spenser had a dream that his father was involved. Rossi and Morgan stay behind to help Reid, who confronts his father. Exciting stuff. Tune in!

…and JJ goes into labor a bit early. Going way back to when she was pregnant! Let’s flash back to AJ Cook’s feeling on being pregnant on national TV:

It’s in full force — [my belly] just popped. I don’t want it to look like [my character] J.J.’s been hitting up the doughnut store. It’s going to be interesting. I’m kind of freaked out, because not everyone has to go through their pregnancy on national TV.

But she did it beautifully and looks amazing now.

The Winner…

by

thomas-gibson1
I’m thankful for everyone who emailed/commented about what they thought or hoped would happen during the conclusion of this season’s finale. For my part, I love Hotch (and Thomas Gibson too), so I’m looking forward to an exciting conclusion and lots of Hotch in season five. To select a winner (which I hate to do - I want to thank everyone. I can’t with prizes, but I can with words - so THANK YOU) I went to Random.org. I assigned everyone who entered a number and then used their random generator to pick a number (could’ve just put everyone’ name into a hat, but the internet makes me lazy). The winning number is 3 - and that is Lociloco.

While I’m sorry everyone can’t win, I’m glad she did. She always provides great comments that are thoughtful and analytical of the show. I always look forward to reading them, so I’m happy that it turned out this way. Thank you to everyone and to Random.org for helping me with this hard choice. Lociloco, if you just email me, I can get the Amazon gift card on its way to you ASAP. I can mail it to your address physically or email it so you have it instantly - I’ll just need the email address where you want it sent.
Again, thank you to everyone - and I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the premier - just a few months to go. And I’m sure we’ll have more contests before then!

Also, another reader emailed me with a site that she uses to catch up on CM episodes that she misses. The site is videostic.com. It works with Mozilla Firefox (which you can download if you have Internet Explorer - it’s a different web browser. I have it and it works very well for me.) Ellen offered a tip as well:

**where multiple links are offered, pick the most recent (or highest numbered) choice, as it seems new ones are added when others have failed. I watch a lot of tv on videostic and have no complaints.

Another reader provided a link to Todou which had the finale (link is a few posts below), and that worked well. I am hesitant to recommend video sites I haven’t used, but Ellen says she uses it all the time and has no problems, so that’s a good endorsement for me. To visit Videostic and check out CM, click here. And thanks Ellen.

The Instincts

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spenser
What did you think of “The Instincts”? I remember when I first watched it, I was so anxious to see the conclusion. Even knowing what happens next, it’s good to watch it unfold again. What I find interesting is the mother/child dynamic in this episode. Very different examples of mothers, and yet they all have that one thing in common: their instincts when it comes to their children. Here’s a video of the beginning of the episode, starting with Reid dreaming.
For a very thorough recap from TV.com, read below the cut. And let me know what you thought whether you were seeing “The Instincts” again or for the first time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let the Reruns Begin

by

jane-lynch-and-mgg
Jane Lynch as Diana Reid and Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid. Photo from IMDb.

Tonight, Criminal Minds is on at TEN. At eight to ten is George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert. We’ll be seeing “The Instincts” again, in which the team investigates the kidnapping of a boy in Las Vegas. This was a good episode as far as that plot, and the subplot deals with Reid having disturbing dreams about his childhood. This leads into the conclusion, “Memoriam,” in which Reid investigates a boy’s murder that he thinks is connected to his own childhood.

Jane Lynch guest stars as Reid’s mother - she is absolutely hysterical. In this role, she’s subtly funny and a perfect choice for Reid’s mom. In her other roles (Best in Show, Two and a Half Men, and a million other things), she is hilarious. CM episodes with her are always worth watching.

Tune in - even though it’s a rerun, it’s a great episode.

The Return of Malcolm Winters?

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shemarmoore1
Filed under: This May Happen! Shemar Moore is set to return to his role that won him an Emmy - that of Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless. This is from TB Television:

Fresh off the season finale of Criminal Minds, Shemar Moore is looking to do something more than golfing this summer. He’ll be reprising his role as Malcolm on The Young and the Restless.

Just why Malcolm is returning to the role that made him a superstar is quite clear just yet, but rumours say that the visit will be short and sad. Last year, Moore revealed that former head writer Lynn Marie Latham refused to bring the popular character back, even when Olivia (who was Malcolm’s wife) was brought back to the canvas.

No airdate for Malcolm’s first appearance has been released.

Any Y&R fans out there?

Update and an Answer?!

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Lorraine had a solution for those of us who missed the finale, “To Hell and Back.” This link leads to a site on which you can watch the entire episode. I didn’t stream the whole thing, but it seems to be of good quality. Give it a try and let us all know how it works. Thanks, Lorraine! I hope it works for those who missed it.

I am always really cautious about which video sites I use - so I basically stick to Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube. I checked out Tudou - here’s an article on Wikipedia - and it seems to be a reputable site for video sharing. I don’t want anyone to get viruses, so please be careful about which sites you visit.

HULU

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hulu

I have had some people email, saying their DVRs weren’t working or they missed some or all of the Criminal Minds season four finale, “To Hell…and Back.” Terrible! Unacceptable! What can we do for them? I tried to find somewhere online where we can watch the finale in total and for free. I have yet to find anything. Someone suggested Hulu. I use this all the time to watch Medium because I don’t watch it when it’s actually on TV. They have a bunch of clips from the finale. In fact, I bet you could watch almost the entire episode from the clips. You’d just have to load each one, which isn’t that fun. I am wary of using other sites because video sites tend to be loaded with viruses, and I don’t want to crash anyone’s computer.

Does anyone know of a good, reputable site to watch the whole finale on? Or are we stuck until CBS reairs it? Any suggestions would be much appreciated by a lot of CM fans!

Memorial Day with Joe Mantegna

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memorial-day
On Monday, May 24, PBS is hosting a Memorial Day Concert to honor the men and women who died serving in the military. Originally called Decoration Day, the day was first widely celebrated in 1868 to honor those who had died in the Civil War. Now, it’s become a reason to have a Monday off from work. All good, but it is nice to remember why we have the day off. If you go to PBS’s site, you can hear concert hosts, Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinese talk about the deeper meaning of Memorial Day. The show, which features musical numbers, readings, and much more, is the Nation’s Memorial Service, and admission is free. General admission gates open at five on the West Lawn of the US Capital in DC. For those of us not in DC, you can catch the celebration on PBS starting at eight. An eclectic mix of celebrities will be attending (General Colin Powell, Katie Holmes, Katherine McPhee, Laurence Fishburn, Trace Adkins, and many more). This year is the 20th year that PBS hosting the Nation’s Memorial Service.

For more information, you can check out PBS’s site here. To hear Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinese talk about the meaning of Memorial Day, click here. And finally, to watch this concert, tune into PBS on Monday at eight.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

What Next? After CRIMINAL MINDS Season Finale

by

thomas-gibson

On the season four finale for Criminal Minds, “To Hell…and Back”, Hotch can’t seem to get away from that Boston case. In an earlier season four episode, “Omnivore,” he went back to Boston to work on a case from the beginning of his BAU career. During “Omnivore,” he was offered a deal by the unsub - if he stopped investigating, the killer would stop his crimes. Hotch said he didn’t make deals. After an elaborately planned escape, the killer is back. In Hotch’s apartment. At the end, we see Hotch turn around and look at the guy, who says, “You should have made the deal.”

How will season five begin? Will Hotch return - did he get shot? Was he still wearing his vest? Is he going to freak out like Elle, who was shot in season one? What do you think happens?

Why don’t we have a contest? Good time for it! Before the long summer of reruns, let me know what you think happened to Hotch and what is going to happen in season five. Be as detailed as you like. You can write what you think happens and/or what you HOPE happens. Email me your answer or drop it in the comment section. I’ll use Random.org to select one winner. And that winner will get a gift card from Amazon.com for $15. We’re cheap here at Watching Criminal Minds! No, $15 from Amazon is great for a lot of things or towards a larger purchase. Whatever you like. So send me your answers by Thursday, May 28. I’ll choose one winner (I wish you could all win - I hate picking one winner, so I let Random.org do it for me) and announce it Friday.

Thank you! And tell me what you think happens!! We have a looong summer to speculate, so let’s get started.

Ratings and More for “To Hell/And Back” Criminal Minds Season Finale

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American Idol had its finale on yesterday as well. AI averaged over 27 million viewers during the two plus hours of finale. It handily won the eight and nine o’clock time slots. Criminal Minds‘ second half won the ten o’clock hour.

Here’s a short behind-the-scene video for the finale.

Criminal Minds Finale “To Hell and Back”

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Criminal Minds
Photo from Daemon’s TV

The deal. At first, I had no idea - but then I remembered the case that the team investigates in Boston. It was one of Hotch’s first cases with the BAU. In “Omnivore,” a killer made a pact with the lead detective years ago. If he stopped looking for the killer, the killer would stop. The detective died and the unsub makes the same offer to Hotch. Who says, “I don’t make deals.”

That unsub planned an elaborate escape from police custody back in episode 18 and has been in the wind ever since. So he is back for Hotch. You can get a full recap at BeeSight.com to refresh your memory.

Also, a reader emailed me, wanting to know who played Mason Turner. That is Garret Dillahunt who has been in a million things.

Ok, the episode. In the comment, Izzie wrote that she couldn’t get into the episode. At 9:50, I looked at the clock and said, “My God, there’s another hour of this? What on earth are they going to do?” It seemed like they were just stretching it out for the sake of having a two hour special. But I have to admit that I liked the second half of the episode a great deal. I liked the change in setting, though those pigs continued to freak me out.

I thought Kelly, the girl who Lucas had taken, was a great character. She tried to get Lucas to befriend her. She saw that he was vulnerable - but still very dangerous - and tried to get him to like her and be “friends.” I liked how she wasn’t a helpless victim and basically ensured her own rescue by getting outside and using the phone. It was kind of painful to watch Lucas being nice to her - after all, we see him sawing up people. But he really was very sweet at times. She also tried to protect him when she’s rescued. She seems to know that he’s not a monster. But his brother. Yes, definitely. Quiet a pair, those two. Lucas seemed to be a weird version of George from Of Mice and Men. But instead of squeezing too hard, he does whatever his brother wants. Mason and his mirrors - that was one of the creepier things about the show. It’s hard to pretend to be a victim when you watch everything that goes on. It turns out he was doing experiments on the victims, likely harvesting cells to research spinal regeneration. Because Lucas threw him off the loft.

I liked this episode a lot. As far as a suspenseful cliffhanger, I don’t think it really is. Thomas Gibson is coming back to CM, so there’s not a super lot of suspense there. There goes Hotch again, getting blown up or shot in the season finale. What will they do to poor Hotch next year? I am curious to see how it plays out in the next season though. Hotch seemed awfully calm in that situation. And he’d just set his gun down a second before. I thought that someone from the team would be in danger at the farm - I’d forgotten that spoilers said an old unsub would come back.

Speaking of guns, I did have one problem with the episode. Who left their gun leaning against the house? Where there are bereaved family members of victims? And the man who is responsible lying helplessly inside? That seemed very convenient, didn’t it? I realize that they needed William to kill Mason, but really, what RCMP officer or FBI agent is going to leave a weapon unattended? It’s a bit unbelievable.

I also liked that instead of a quote at the end, Hotch just spoke and said sometimes there were no words to neatly tie up the day.

Overall, maybe not a cliffhanger (because my Hotch has to come back!!), but definitely a good solid episode. If a bit long!

Criminal Minds “To Hell and Back” Recap

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Criminal Minds

David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) in “To Hell and Back” (photo from Daemon’s TV)

The opening scene has a different feel than other CM episodes - a bit edgier. The unsub is cruising around a neighborhood with homeless people, prostitutes, and drug users. He gets to the border crossing into Canada. He’s allowed entrance and then drives into the guard post. He requests to see the FBI, saying he’s killed ten people.

The team is then discussing the case - they don’t know for sure that he’s killed the people. They can’t find any info on them because they were transient. Hightower, the self-confessed killer, was in the armed forces and lost his leg in Iraq.

Prentiss and Morgan comb through the streets in Detroit, while Hotch interrogates Hightower. Through his interview, we find out that Hightower crashed through the post - waiting until all the guards were out of the way - so he could draw the attention of the FBI. He isn’t the unsub - he wanted to ensure that the disappearances of the ten people were investigated. He routinely went through the downtown area in a Detroit neighborhood, doing a bed check type thing to make sure no one went missing. He was doing all this because his sister had left home and lived on the streets. He managed to take her home once, but she left two weeks later, and disappeared.

So now the team is on board, and we get the scene with the pig farmer. Good God, it’s like Hannibal. Very disturbing when he hits that guy with the hammer - after marking the spot with an X. He injects something into the victim (after some lovely shots of dead pigs). Rossi and Hotch ask the RCMP guy (whom Rossi trained) to release Hightower into their custody. Morgan and Prentiss are talking to the Detroit police about the case.

Garcia discovers that around each disappearance, there is a corresponding break-in at a medical supply company (IV supplies, etc.). The team believes the unsub tortures the victims, maybe performing experiments. He keeps them alive to torture them. As they were showing the clips of the unsub with the saw and then the pigs, I kept thinking, “Please don’t show the pigs eating that guy.” And sure enough, there they are chewing on an arm. I think that may be a bit too much for me - I think I found my limit with that.

Through talking to Hightower’s mother, the team figures out a connection to the cashing of welfare checks, around the first and fifteenth of the month. Morgan and the detective ask a street kid where they cash their checks. The unsub’s picked up another victim. He managed to evade the border crossing by hiding a boat and crossing over water.

Garcia’s magical powers give the team a likely crossing (based on Underground Railroad routes). They find a car, run the VIN, and get a name. Mason Turner. Garcia gets an address on him and they find out he has extensive medical education. They go to the house, Morgan and Prentiss finding medical supplies and lots of blood, and Hotch and Rossi finding Mason Turner in bed on a ventilator.

In talking to Rossi, Mason says his brother, Lucas, has done everything. He’s crazy, and he’ll kill you all if you don’t kill him first. Mason claims that Lucus paralyzed him and beat him when he tried to call for help. Rossi doesn’t believe that - he thinks Mason is involved, though obviously not physically. Mason has mirrors throughout his room so he can see what Lucas is doing. Meanwhile, Lucas is holding the victim, Kelly, in some hidden place. Lucas is obviously very agitated.

Garcia comes to Ontario to look at Mason’s computer, and the team is sorting through at least 100 pairs of shoes, presumably from the victims. Morgan finds William Hightower’s dog tags, which he’d given to his sister. Morgan tells Hotch that he has to leave - he can’t take it anymore. Reid finds drawings Lucas has done and says he doesn’t think Lucas is psychotic. When he’s with Kelly, he seems confused, scared, and even concerned about her. Kelly begins to try to connect with him, asking his name and saying they could be friends.

Garcia finds that they have been doing experiments on the victims (harvesting stem cells for spinal regeneration) - William hears Mason talking about it. Prentiss and Morgan are helping with a search. Kelly gets Lucas to go find some food, and once he’s gone, she tries to escape. She can’t, and he comes back with berries. Kelly is able to get outside and turn on the phone. This gives the team enough info to track her down. They get her out safely, but Lucas freaks out, and the police shoot him. Meanwhile, William finds a gun (really, who left their gun sitting around??) and shoots Mason.

At the end, the team returns home. Instead of a quote to tie up the show, Hotch says sometimes there are no words. He goes home, pours a drink, and feels a gun on him. “You should’ve made a deal,” a masked person says. And then we hear a shot.

That was not what I was expecting! I thought someone would get injured with the shooting of the brothers!

I’ll be back with my thoughts on the episode tomorrow. For now, I’m tired and going to bed. Eleven feels very late!

New Schedule

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Three Rivers
Alex O’Laughlin in Three Rivers, to premiere this fall on CBS.

CBS put out its new schedule for the fall. I’d written about Without a Trace and Cold Case possibly being canceled, and it looks like Without a Trace was the one to get the boot. Others to go:
Eleventh Hour, The Ex List, Guiding Light, Swingtown, The Unit, Worst Week. Have some of them even been on anytime recently? Here’s a look at the new shows, courtesy of NewsOK’s TV blog.

NEW SHOWS

••“Accidentally on Purpose” (fall): Jenna Elfman stars as Billie, a single woman who finds herself “accidentally” pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger guy, and decides to keep the baby… and the guy. Also stars Grant Show, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen.

••“The Good Wife” (fall): Julianna Margulies stars as a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce after her husband’s very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Also stars Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski.

••“NCIS: Los Angeles” (fall): This is a new drama about the high stakes world of undercover surveillance at the Office of Special Projects (OSP), a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation’s security. Stars Chris O’Donnell, LL Cool J, Louise Lombard.

••“Three Rivers” (fall): This new medical drama goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel. Stars Alex O’Loughlin, Katherine Moennig, Daniel Henney, Julia Ormond.

••“Arranged Marriage” (midseason): This new series brings the tradition of arranged marriages, which is still practiced successfully by many cultures throughout the world, to the U.S., where it is virtually an inconceivable option for most single Americans.

••“The Bridge” (midseason): A drama about a tough and dedicated police officer who is voted to become the police union’s dynamic leader. Stars Aaron Douglas, Paul Popowich, Frank Cassini, Theresa Joy, Michael Murphy.

••“Miami Trauma” (midseason): This new drama is about a team of expert surgeons who work at one of the premiere trauma facilities in the country, where only patients with life threatening injuries are treated. Stars Jeremy Northam, Lana Parrilla, Elisabeth Harnois, Omar Gooding.

••“Undercover Boss” (midseason): This new reality series follows high level corporate executives as they slip anonymously into the lowest level jobs within their companies. Once undercover, they’ll get their hands dirty with the rank and file, find out what their employees really think of them and discover how smoothly their companies are really run.

CBS’s 2009-10 fall schedule
••Sunday: 6 p.m., “60 Minutes”; 7 p.m., “The Amazing Race”; 8 p.m., “Three Rivers”; 9 p.m., “Cold Case.”

••Monday: 7 p.m., “How I Met Your Mother”; 7:30 p.m., “Accidentally on Purpose”; 8 p.m., “Two and a Half Men”; 8:30 p.m., “The Big Bang Theory”; 9 p.m., “CSI: Miami.”

••Tuesday: 7 p.m., “NCIS”; 8 p.m., “NCIS: Los Angeles”; 9 p.m., “The Good Wife.”

••Wednesday: 7 p.m., “The New Adventures of Old Christine”; 7:30 p.m., “Gary Unmarried”; 8 p.m., “Criminal Minds”; 9 p.m., “CSI: NY.”

••Thursday: 7 p.m., “Survivor”; 8 p.m., “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”; 9 p.m., “The Mentalist.”

••Friday: 7 p.m., “Ghost Whisperer”; 8 p.m., “Medium”; 9 p.m., “NUMB3RS.”

••Saturday: 7 and 8 p.m., Crimetime Saturday (encores of CBS dramas); 9 p.m., “48 Hours Mystery.”

Note: CBS’s 2010 midseason schedule includes the return of “Rules of Engagement” and the debut of “Miami Trauma,” “The Bridge,” “Arranged Marriage” and “Undercover Boss.”

****I don’t see Washington Field on here. They made the pilot but didn’t pick it up? I wonder why not.

Tonight!

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crossing
Tonight is the finale! “To Hell and Back” airs at nine for a two hour special. The team is investigating a killer who targets prostitutes, junkies, homeless people, and others on the outskirts of society of Detroit. He takes them across the border into Canada. One of the agents is in danger. And I’m betting that we will get another cliffhanger to ensure we tune in for season five in the fall.

Make sure to clear your schedule for CM! If you’re tempted to watch the finale of American Idol instead, just tune in at the end of it to see who won. The best of both worlds!

Are you excited for “To Hell and Back”? Who do you think is in danger?

Countdown to Finale!

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I feel like May went to fast and the finale snuck up on me! It’s this Wednesday. “To Hell and Back” airs at nine for a two hour episode. The team is investigating a serial killer in Detroit who targets those on the “fringe of society” and brings them across the border into Canada. And what would a season finale be without some danger and a cliffhanger? One of the team is in serious danger. Stay tuned! Make sure to watch on Wednesday. Until then, here’s a little preview:

About Criminal Minds

Don’t miss any of the drama and intensity of Criminal Minds. The latest information and pictures will keep you up to date with what’s happening on and off the set. Find out what’s on your favorite profilers’ minds with news on Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, AJ Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Lola Glaudini, and Paget Brewster. Missed an episode? New to the show? No problem; it’s all right here at watchingcriminalminds.com.

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