Criminal Minds

Joe Mantegna is someone who definately likes to keep busy. Having a great tv show doesn’t stop him from acting in movies. In 2008 alone, he’s been involved in a bunch of things: International Departures, Lonely Street, West of Brooklyn Childless, Redbelt, The House That Jack Built, Justice League: The New Frontier(voice), Witless Protection, The Last Hit Man, and Hank and Mike.

The movie Nine Lives from 2005 caught my attention. It is directed by Rodrigo Garcia and deals with the lives of nine women in little stories, some of which intertwine. Each story is done as a single shot and lasts from 9 to 14 minutes. Robin Wright Penn, Patricia Gay Hamiliton, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Amy Brenneman, Kathy Baker, Glenn Close, and Dakota Fanning are among the outstanding female actresses. Joe Mantegna plays Richard, the husband of Camille (played by Kathy Bates).
Here’s a clip - Camille is facing a masectomy.

Nine Lives - Take Care Of Her

It looks like an intriguing movie - but not something you’d want to watch if you’re in a light mood! I’ll definately give it a try.

So You Think You Can Dance won the ratings for 9:00 Wednesday night, but Criminal Minds landed in a solid second. Overall, in the 18-49 group (the key demographic) CBS finished third. Fox was first, and NBC second - they aired Game 6 of the Stanley Cup.

Back to “Doubt.” I liked it as much as I did the first time, and at the risk of beating a very dead horse, I love Mandy Patinkin. The show is very different without him. Maybe not better or worse, just different. Next week, CBS will reair “In Name and Blood,” which resolves “Doubt’s” ending.

Home Media Magazine reports that CBS and Yahoo worked out a deal that would allow top CBS shows - CM, CSI, Survivor, NCIS, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Two and a Half Men, and more, to stream ad-supported programming online.

Tonight, CBS is reairing “Doubt,” which was the first episode of season three. The episode was originally supposed to play during season two, but was pulled because it was set to air shortly after the Virginia Tech shooting. This was a great episode, and one of the last two that had Mandy Patinkin. Make sure to watch tonight at nine.

Last week, CM was in the top ten - #6. Last week’s episode was “Open Season” from season two. Crime shows like CM and CSI typically do well in reruns, so they should have a strong summer before we get new episodes.

Shemar Moore will be on the Ellen DeGeneres show today. Check him out.

You’ll have to wait until September 16 to see season three of Criminal Minds on DVD. The set will cost $55.98. If you preorder it, though, you can get it for $38.99. Click here for that. You can also get all three seasons shipped to you - but it isn’t a special box set or anything. They just wrap up the three seasons and send them to you together. That costs $112.99.

Matthew Gray Gubler joins the other side in the upcoming movie, How To Be a Serial Killer. Here’s a synopsis from Buddy TV:

How To Be A Serial Killer follows the story of Mike Wilson (Dameon Clarke), an educated and alluring young man who has found his life’s purpose in murdering people. Determined to share the joys of serial killing, he decides to recruit a lost soul named Bart (Matthew Gray Gubler) to be his apprentice. In due course, Mike guides Bart through the ethics of serial killing, teaching him various strategies for disposing corpses, balancing work and play, methods of killing, and other aspects of exterminating. However, their killing spree is interrupted when Mike’s girlfriend finds out what’s beneath her boyfriend’s amiable exterior. Now, Mike and Bart must kill their way out of being discovered by the cops.

We’ll also be able to see him in Porn Star and 500 Days of Summer. I’m not sure of release dates, but Serial Killer and Porn Star (two dubious careers to say the least) are in post-production and should be out soon. 500 Days of Summer will be a little later. So hopefully we’ll have some non-CM Matthew to gawk at soon.

Tonight’s Criminal Minds episode takes us back to season two, with “Open Season.” This is the one where the brothers are literally hunting their prey. I’m thinking we’ll see more of previous seasons because we’ve already seen third season reruns because of the strike. Here’s a clip:

According to TV Squad, CM executive producer, Ed Bernero said of last night’s explosion, “one of our team is going to be severely injured and viewers will have to wait all summer to find out who it was.”

Severely injured. I didn’t think they’d kill a character in the next season. So now, who was it? It does take away some of the tension, though. Like with CSI last season finale, when we didn’t know if CSI Sarah was going to live (that was more interesting because CBS wouldn’t say if they renewed her contract). So, any guesses? Who is it?

I actually got some little shivers at the end. CM saved its best for last - which is great, but bad because now I want to know what happens and have to wait until September. The team traveled to NYC to investigate a series of seemingly unrelated shootings. They soon discover that the shootings were done by different people, in broad daylight and in crowded places. Like the DC snipers, it seemed like anyone could have been a target, which is terrifying enough. But as it turns out, everyone is a target. Terrorists are using the shootings to gauge emergency response times at points of entry and exit to Manhattan. At the end, each of the BAU members is seen getting into a black Suburban (someone should talk to the FBI about hybrids or something). The last shot shows one of them exploding.
So - who is in the car? Any theories?

This was definately the most suspenseful episode of the season. What are your thoughts on the end of the third season?

Uh-oh…I think someone is going to blow up. Read this from The News Tribune.com:

When “Criminal Minds” ends its turbulent third season at 9 tonight, one of the show’s seven FBI profilers will explode. Of course, who and why is a cliffhanger secret to be revealed next season.
The season finale required the building of a replica New York subway station because filming on a Los Angeles Metro line didn’t cut it.

“That’s how you know the difference between a hit show and one that’s not,” Mantegna said. “When you can build a subway station like that in one week.”

The heart-thumping finale begins with a Son of Sam-style story that evolves into perhaps the most complex and dangerous probe the unit has encountered. When the episode began filming last month, virtually no one on-set knew who would be in the blast.

“Someone is in grave danger,” Mundy teased.

“It will be huge and costly,” Bernero added.

CM is on tonight at nine on CBS.

Only a few more days until the season three finale! Here’s a promo from YouTube.

Looks exciting!!

AJ Cook recently attended a breast cancer awareness event called Climb Against the Odds. Celebrity Baby Blog has a picture of her, looking amazing for being five months pregnant. I say “Amazing” because I am five months pregnant also - I wish I looked like that!! You can see that picture at CBB by clicking here.

The Press-Telegram also has a story about Joe Mantegna, who will be hosting the upcoming Memorial Day Concert on PBS which will air on May 25. Also in the article, Montagna talked about his new role on CM and his old show Joan of Arcadia. Here’s an excerpt:

I named the character [Rossi] after a real LAPD officer who I knew and respected.”
Happily ensconced in “Minds,” Joe still mourns the loss of “Arcadia,” which was surprisingly canceled after just two seasons. “I thought the show was such a great show and deserved to be on the air, really family programming,” he said. “It wasn’t in the top 10, but it had a strong following. But what are you gonna do?”

Don’t forget to tune into CM on Wednesday at nine. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out House on Fox at nine. Check out Watching House.com for more info…Randi is super-excited and has outdone herself in preparation for the finale. It should be worth watching.

Another good episode of Criminal Minds. In this one, Hotch, Reid, and Morgan are visited by a case they worked on four years ago. The supsect they were chasing then fell off a roof and put himself into a comma. He wakes up and doesn’t remember anything. The prosecutor plans to proceed with trial and needs the BAU to unlock the memories. At first, the suspect really doesn’t remember, which makes you feel kind of sad for him. Then, gradually, it comes back. It also comes out that his biological mother was visiting him in the hospital, and her rejection of him when he tried to be part of her life was what set him off. Reid stopped one of the victim’s fathers from killing him, and then he manages to escape from the courthouse and go back to the scene of his earlier crimes. At the end, before he gives himself up, he’s cradling a skeleton - his first, he said.

Some CBS news: CBS is bringing back its veterans and Shark and Moonlight are being cancelled. There will be four new dramas and two new comedies. For more information on the lineup, check here.

Men’s Fitness named Shemar Moore to its “Fit List,” along with other stars, Will Smith, Daniel Craig, Brady Quinn, Barak Obama, and winner Tiger Woods.

Tonight, CBS airs “Tabla Rasa,” in which a killer wakes up from a four year coma and can’t remember his crimes. The BAU has to investigate and prove them. Then next week is the season finale, in which several random crimes are believed to be linked.

I can’t believe it’s time for the season finale already - of course, having a big hole cut out of the middle didn’t help. I feel like I didn’t get enough - I’ll just have to put the other seasons on Netflix and watch them again.

What are your thoughts on season 3? Was it as good as the previous two? Better?

(Cathy, just go to the right side of the screen, click on contact me. That will go to my email address. Thank you!)

After a dip in ratings (and lots of Big Brother, Survivor, and some game shows), scripted shows have brought CBS back on top.
CBS had four of the top ten shows: CSI, Two and a Half Men, NCIS, and CSI:Miami. And from the top twenty, CBS had ten, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Survivor, CSI:NY, and Cold Case.

CM has been doing its share with great ratings (though it is against impossible-to-beat American Idol on results night).

“The Crossing” was the latest episode. JJ, Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid go sans bosses and investigate a stalking case. While others question the use of manpower on anything less than a serial murder, JJ sticks with it, and they get their man. Rossi and Hotch are interviewing a woman in Massachusetts who murdered her husband, trying to determine if she had been abused. At the end, JJ announces to her detective boyfriend via phone that she is pregnant.

This week, “Tabla Rasa,” features a killer who wakes after being in a coma for four years. The BAU has to prove his guilt because he supposedly remembers nothing. Sounds interesting. That must be a cruel surprise upon waking up from a coma, huh?

(To Nichole and Cathy - I need your addresses to send the books. If you don’t want them, let me know and I can give them to someone else. Thanks!)

It was hard for me to chose one winner for the Killer Profile book contest - so I picked two. I wish I could give everyone something because everyone’s answers were great. But, two it is. The first winner is Nichole. Her favorite character is Spencer Reid, as was most people’s. The second winner is Cathy, whose favorite is Hotch. (Cathy, email me a mailing address so I can get the book right out to you.)

Thank you all for reading and commenting on Watching Criminal Minds. I appreciate it and loved hearing your answers. There will be more contests in the future, so stay tuned!