Criminal Minds

(Exec Producer Ed Bernero and Shemar Moore)

By now, I’m sure most of you know about the situation with the Criminal Minds writers. According to a blog called TheTwoCents, five CM writers will not be returning for season five. I think that’s an incredible number - staggering really. Some of the writers cite personal reasons and the wish to move on to different projects, while others say that the economy has forced CBS to make some painful budget cuts. The writers are: Holly Harold, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Deb Fisher, and Andrew Wilder.

I received an email from a reader, who wrote:

I am having a hard time understanding why a show in the top 10 nearly every week is losing writers. Who are they going to get to create a whole season of stories?

I don’t know. Another question: is the economy the only thing behind this seemingly sudden upheaval? I don’t know. I know that CM preforms strongly every week, even pulling in great numbers in second place behind American Idol. I don’t know if the economy has effected other shows - though Jay Leno is making the move from late night to prime time in an effort to save millions of dollars for NBC. Cable channels seem to be doing well, as more people stay home during tough times. At home, they watch TV, so they’re not giving up cable and DSL yet. So I don’t know. The economy has forced several CBS affiliates to cut positions, but I don’t know about the big boys. There are a lot of “I don’t knows,” and I’m sorry I can’t offer an answer. I wish I knew, but I do think the terrible economy is to blame. It has hit some areas very hard, and I think it’s caught up to TV. It is terrible that so many writers had to go - though again, five just seems like a huge number to me. I’m sure they’ll pull together a great season five - there has been absolutely no hint of rumor of CM being canceled, so I think they’ll just have to dig in and make it work with fewer people.

Again, I apologize for the lack of information. There is so little out there on it or on CBS’s struggles with budgetary issues. As soon as something concrete comes up, I’ll let you know.

Update: As it happens, Yahoo has a video on Hollywood cutting budgets, even those of huge stars like Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and Scarlet Johansson. You can check that out here.

One more update: I just wanted to talk a little bit about the possibility of actors being let go. This has not been mentioned in any news report, nor is CBS saying that. I think that if worst came to worst, they would not hire high profile guest stars like they have in the past. They would cut down on extras. I don’t think that they will let go one of the stars of the show. There are so many cuts to make before that would even become a consideration. They can forgo yearly raises, cut back on some production costs and/or salaries; there are ways to do this without changing the fundamental structure of the show. Losing five writers is very sad and a very big deal. While it doesn’t exactly bode well, it does indicate that the show is making tough decisions so it can remain on air. I don’t think this is a case of CBS/ABC studios being the big meanies. I think that they’re doing what they can to provide quality content cost effectively. Our economic situation is in many ways unprecedented. It’s terrible, and my heart goes out to the writers. I really do feel so sad at this. But - I don’t think we need to worry about losing any actors. Until we hear something definitively, I’m going to assume it’s business as usual for the BAU. They’ll make do with a smaller bullpen of writers and continue to do the best job on TV.

Yet another update: Last month, I wrote a post on two CBS procedurals that may be in danger of cancellation. These were Cold Case and Without a Trace. The ratings didn’t support the amount of money it takes to produce these shows. They’re working on cost cutting measures, but these shows may be canceled. I haven’t heard a word about CM being canceled, nor an actor being let go. Recently, I was given the advice to stay away from reporting rumors, and I am heeding that. I haven’t read any news reports that indicate that an actor will be let go, and believe me, I’ve searched high and low for them so I can report them to you. And I’ll continue to look. In the meantime, we have a new episode to look forward to on Wednesday and some excellent guest stars coming up. I’m going to try to enjoy them and wait to react to cast changes if and when they occur.

(Joe Mantegna and Matthew Gray Gubler at the Special Olympics on March 29. Photo from Wire Image)

Last night was my second time watching “Masterpiece,” and I have to say that I like it as much. One reader commented that the element of surprise definitely made the show the first time - which I agree with 100%. But I’m the type of person who can see a show with a surprise ending at least twice. Because the first time I am caught unawares, and the second time, I think “Oh, here comes the surprise.” So it works for me. My fiance, who watches CM with me, says this was one of the better episodes of this season. And I quote, “The bad guy’s kind of lame, but this is one of the better ones.” He should be a TV critic. But I think he’s right. Good episode.

I’m still - even after seeing the episode twice - unsure of Jason Alexander. I like how they set up his confession to Reid and Rossi (and how Rossi was the cool one to the college students!), but the first thing I notice about Professor Rothchild is the hair. I can’t get past the hair. I get that they may have been trying to get him to look as far from George Costanza as possible. Flowing white hair does the trick. But it looks so long and flowy, like he thinks he’s a poet. But again, that may have been the point as well. So the hair I can see, I guess. Another part that kind of took me out of believing in him as a killer is at the end. Rossi angers him, spoils his big finale, and then he sort of attacks him. Fine. But they slowed down the speed, and I (who have the worst reflexes ever) could have seen that coming. Maybe if they’d done the reverse and sped it up a bit, it would have been more intimidating. And yet again, though, that may have been their intent: like how could this little guy expect to be more big and bad than the FBI and the famous David Rossi? I can see that. I can see a reason behind everything about the character, but I’m still not sure I liked him in this role.

Any thoughts on that? He definitely was smug and arrogant, which fits the part. And he became extremely uncomfortable when Prentiss entered the interrogation room - a beautiful brunette, which is who he targeted.

Something particularly effective about the episode was the black and white images of the children and the daycare provider -who are presumed to be the five remaining victims. They show them with oxygen masks, screaming, struggling. This was haunting to me because I have children. Now I don’t want to let them out of the house ever. What struck me was the powerlessness that the woman must have felt at being unable to help the kids. While it was frightening to me, I felt that it added suspense and tension to the episode.

And we got to see Jordan again. Did anyone miss her? I’m glad to have JJ - and AJ - back.

So what did you think of the episode? Love/like/meh?

Update: Criminal Minds came in second last night. American Idol on Fox was first and Lost was third.

(This is me live blogging -join me!)

I wasn’t going to do live blogging tonight because CBS was airing a rerun. But I changed my mind because reruns can be a good time to pick up things you missed or focus on other things. Or just chat. Whatever! I thought I’d give it a try. If you’d like to join, come to this site at nine - it works really well if you have a laptop or if your computer is in the room with your TV. If not, then you can pop on during commercials and add your thoughts. I’ll be doing a summary as the show goes on, and any questions, comments, or thoughts are always welcome.

Tonight’s episode is “Masterpiece.” Jason Alexander (from Seinfeld) guest stars as a serial killer. He confesses to killing seven people and says more will die, so the team has to both interrogate him and search for the victims while he plays this little game.

Enjoy “Masterpiece,” and stop in to say hi if you want.

*Note: If you haven’t been here in a few days, scroll down. We have a few great pictures of Shemar Moore from Men’s Fitness, some spoilers courtesy of Kirsten Vangsness and E!, and some AJ Cook baby weight news.

How did I miss this when it came out? Maybe I should read Men’s Fitness? What did Kirsten Vangsness call Shemar Moore - the human ship of gorgeousness? I like her way with words. Shemar Moore made the cover for the March issue. Here’s what he says:

What I love about Criminal Minds is that Morgan is an ex-marine, ex-SWAT. To do those things you have to be a pretty badass dude. It’s a great incentive to stay in shape.

I knew Morgan was a cop before the BAU, but I didn’t know he was a Marine and a SWAT guy. And look at this picture. Very Marine -y. My brother-in-law is a Marine, and those guys are crazy strong, so he definitely looks the part here:

He stays in shape with a 70 (yes SEVENTY) mile bike ride every Sunday - he keeps his biking muscles strong for his annual benefit race for MS money and awareness. And just because he’s not hard on the eyes, here’s some more pictures from the Men’s Fitness:

E! had this on their website - which also has great news/spoilers on a bunch of shows. Check it out here. This is an excerpt on CM:

Diane in Queens, N.Y.: The lack of Criminal Minds spoilers is killing me!
Lucky for you, then, that we just caught up with Kirsten Vangsness, and she told us the two finale episodes of Criminal Minds this season are “companion pieces” and that we should expect a year-end cliff-hanger, and that “I finally got to have some scenes with my real boyfriend on the show [Nicholas Brendon] and my real fake boyfriend, Shemar Moore, on the show. It’s been a while since we got to aggressively flirt, so that’s been good. And we have a callback [to past storylines]—we have some unsubs [returning] that you’ve seen before.” Hmmm…any guesses about which bad guys are returning? P

We were just talking about this a few posts ago about the unsub in “Omnivore.” He was Hotch’s first BAU case, and now it’s personal with Morgan as well. Will he be returning? Any other ideas? Any other unsubs you’d want to see more of?

I have a lot of respect for AJ Cook because not only did she just have a baby, she looks incredible, AND she’s back on TV. With her sassy new ‘do, she looks great. What I like about her so much is that she isn’t an unhealthy person. She looks wonderful, and she’s losing her baby weight in a healthy, safe way. In an interview with Health Magazine, she says:

I gained 40 pounds during a difficult pregnancy on national TV! That was tough—it’s hard to see your body change and have no control over it. But now I want people to see that I have to work just as hard as anyone else to take it off. And I really feel strongly that it’s important to do it the healthy way.

But my goal is to get back to a toned and healthy body, even if I don’t get all the way back to my prepregnancy weight. And, honestly, I’m OK with that now because when I come home after a long day and see Mekhai smile at me it’s all worth it!

I like how her goal is to be healthy, not uber-skinny at any cost. She also says:

This past month, I experienced a lot of mom guilt. Who was I to put time for myself—like fitting in workouts—before time with my baby? But I finally realized that by taking care of myself, I would have more energy for my son and could better take care of him and my family. That kept me going.

I’m sure a lot of you are moms - and dads - and this really is true. If I do one thing in a day, it’s taking a walk or something. Does wonders for the mood! I’m glad I ran into this site: you can follow her weight loss. I think this is so valuable for new moms who look at celebrities and wonder why they can’t lose weight as quickly. Angelina Jolie, for instance, had TWINS and looks as thin as ever. It makes me feel bad! AJ Cook, I feel, sets a great example for moms because she sets realistic and healthy goals. And because I am clawing my way towards losing my baby weight (coincidentally, my son was born a week after Mekhai), I need all the encouragement I can get. So, if you are a mom and want some encouragement, check this out. She’s using the Health Feel Great Weight Loss plan, which you can find here.

The fun part of watching awards shows is seeing what the celebrities will be wearing. There are whole shows devoted to this: it’s fun. The outfits go from understated and classy, eg Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to atrocious, like pretty much anything with feathers or black lace or both. So this little blurb on StarPulse.com caught my eye. Fashion and Kirsten Vangsness. That’s always an explosive combination. The above ensemble is what KV wore to the 2009 Genesis Awards. Each year, entertainment and media outlets are recognized for calling attention to animal rights issues. Dateline, for instance, had a show entitled “Under the Big Top” about the cruelties faced by circus elephants. Kirsten was doing her part for our furry, scaly, and thick skinned friends by attending the event.

But hey, why talk about animal rights when we can talk about her dress? Let’s prioritize. So on to her outfit. Here’s the blurb from StarPulse about her dress from last year:

Kristen Vangsness may play a savvy audio/visual tech girl on CBS’ “Criminal Minds,” but she sure isn’t as wise when it comes to her red carpet fashion choices. At the same event as Hal Sparks, Kristen appeared as if she were channeling her inner Madonna (circa 1980s) with those gloves slash inner dominatrix with that corset belt slash inner June Cleaver with that puffy dress. This, in the end, equaled an outer disaster. Which we, unfortunately, had to witness.

To me, part of Kirsten Vangsness’s immense charm is her unique look. She’s just fun. It’s always interesting to see what Garcia wears each week. I usually love her glasses! (Cool glasses would’ve looked good with the pink dress, no?) She’s always interesting, always different, and always her. I wouldn’t wear a dress like that but I wish I had the confidence she has to pull it off. I don’t think many people could. I’m glad she breaks out of the cookie cutter mold and gives us something different to look at both on the show and on the red carpet. All that while doing good for animals and the world. Quite a woman!

What do you think of her choice for this year’s Genesis Awards? I like it! If I had one word to sum it up with it’d be “adventurous.” Maybe fun and bright too.

I found an old article on Parade Magazine’s website about Thomas Gibson. It’s from 2007, and I’d never seen it before. It was ironic because in it, he discusses why he keeps his private life so well shielded and why he’s so private. Here’s a quote from Thomas:

I never envy the guys who get attention for partying too much or behaving badly. They’re acting out like bad kids. If I felt that would make me a better actor, maybe I would do it. But I figured out it just makes you a bigger celebrity.

The rest of the article is really sweet. It discusses his family life a bit. His wife and three children live in San Antonio, and he’s away shooting most of the week. He says:

My wife, Cristina, is an amazing mother, and I know by the time I get back home, she’s ready for a break. [Smart man!]…Cristina will say, ‘Enjoy your nap on the plane.’ That’s the most sleep I’ll get after I hear those voices calling, ‘Let’s play Daddy Monster!’ They have insatiable energy. My mother tells me I was just like that—bouncing off the walls.

It’s a great article. Click here to read the rest.

Criminal Minds is up against some tough competition on Wednesday nights: American Idol pulled in 25.6 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings. CM was second with 14 million viewers, up from last week by over half a million viewers. Lost was third with 8.8, and Scrubs had 5.3 million viewers. Against AI, I think CM does an outstanding job, and when AI ends, I think the numbers will be even better.

In other news, ION will be showing reruns of CM and Ghost Whisperer weeknights from 8-10, and lead into Durham County, Boston Legal, or NCIS. I don’t get ION, unfortunately - I love both CM and Ghost Whisperer. If you do, however, you can also look forward to some new dramas. Here’s a blurb on each from
MediaWeek.com:

Durham County tells the tale of a homicide detective from Toronto (Hugh Dillon) who moves his family to Durham Country to start over after his partner is killed and his wife is diagnosed with breast cancer. But the situation gets even worse when he realizes his neighbor may be a serial killer. [That sounds interesting!]

Dramas The Border and The Guard will join the prime time lineup (also expected at 10 p.m.) in 2010. The Border is a procedural drama focused on Canadian immigration and customs agents and how they deal with various border security issues. The Guard follows four Canadian Coast Guard specialists who face daily danger out on the Pacific Ocean.

This week, “Masterpiece,” guest starring Jason Alexander, will re-air on CBS at nine. How did you like it the first time? Are you looking forward to seeing it again? Does Jason Alexander transcend his old character George Costanza into a believable serial killer as well as James Van Der Beek did?

Do you want to know a secret? Shhh…I used to work nights at a store and during slow times, I read the trashy celebrity magazines. Will Brad leave Jen? Is Britney Spears pregnant? (this gives you an idea of the time period anyway). So, I came across this article from Star Magazine - I wasn’t reading it, I swear. But it was about Thomas Gibson, so I took a look. I love him, I love Hotch. I would marry either one of them. Anyway, here’s what the article says:

Has Thomas Gibson been taking cues from Christian Bale?
The Criminal Minds star threw a profanity-laced tantrum on the L.A. set of the CBS drama on March 9.

Instead of heading to his trailer to regroup, Thomas flipped out and started screaming at the crew and extras. Fifteen minutes later, someone in production was able to cut in and explain the source of the noise. It was just water that was dripping on the roof! Oops!

I can’t picture Thomas Gibson as this type of person. Mandy Patinkin (whom I love also!) maybe. Thomas Gibson, though? Not so much. So I thought I’d share some trashy “news” with you and let you decide. Star is one of those magazines that take a grain of truth and then twist it up. So did this happen? Who knows? And who really cares? I think Thomas Gibson does a great job week after week as Aaron Hotchner. That’s what matters to CM fans.

Edited: I actually thought a lot about whether or not to post this. In the end I decided to simply because it’s related to Criminal Minds. What I like about this site and the people who read and comment is that while we love the show, we aren’t blinded to it. That is, we don’t expect it or the actors to be perfect. It is the same reason that I posted news of Shemar Moore’s DUI a million years ago. I feel like I am honest about the show; I love it, but there are episodes I don’t enjoy as much as others. I feel free to write that. I’m not going to lie and say every last episode is absolute perfection. And I appreciate when people give me their honest opinions. I posted this “news” because it was deemed newsworthy by a magazine and I wanted your opinion. Yes, it’s trashy. Yes, the truth of it is questionable. But in the end, you should be given the chance to see for yourself. That’s why I posted it. Normally, I focus on the show and the incredible things the actors do in their spare time - all the charitable work is unbelievable. This is just one post among hundreds of others and doesn’t take away from my love of the show. I hope you agree, and I appreciate opinions from all sides. Rest assured, though, the focus is on the show 99% of the time. Thanks!

First, I am so happy so many of you stopped by to chat during “House on Fire.” Criminal Minds fans are the absolute best, and I’m especially partial to the ones that read Watching Criminal Minds! So thanks again. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe we can do it again for the next new episode. Next week, we have a rerun -”Masterpiece” (with George Costanza, I mean Jason Alexander). The next new one is “Conflicted,” on April 8. In it, the BAU is called to Texas to investigate a serial killer who is targeting vacationing students on spring break on South Padre Island. This is the one which guest stars Twilight star Jackson Rathbone.

On April 22, we’ll see “Shades of Grey.” Here’s a blurb from TV.com:

During an investigation of a series of child abductions and murders, the BAU concludes there is a possibility that one of the kidnappings may not be the work of the serial killer who had been apprehended.

April 29 brings “The Big Wheel,” guest starring Alex O’Laughlin, formerly of Moonlight:

When a serial killer sends a videotape of one of his crimes to the BAU, the team discover a hidden message from the murderer begging for help in stopping the killing.

And lastly, we had a little poll on who was in most need of a makeover. The winner…

Dr. Spenser Reid. I think this is because we would all love to take him home and take care of him, like a lovable puppy. Well, at least I do. Prentiss was close behind in second place. While Matthew Gray Gubler is always dressed fabulously in real life, his fictional counterpart might need some work. But then again, he wouldn’t be him if he looked different, would he? Like Garcia. If she dressed in dark FBIish suits, she’d be far less Garcia-ish. Maybe, though, we could move away from the cardigan sweaters Spenser wears. Please. You can still be dorky and quirky without a cardigan.

And speaking of Paget Brewster (we kind of were, right?), this little blurb ran in the National Ledger about her:

DEAR STACY: Please give some information about Paget Brewster of “Criminal Minds.” Where from? Mariried? I like her, and I know I’ve seen her on other shows. — K.H., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DEAR K.H.: The 40-year-old actress, who plays FBI Special Agent Emily Prentiss on CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” hails from Concord, Mass., and attended a New England boarding school where her parents were teachers. She has an eclectic background. She attended Parsons School of Design for a year, sang with a rock band, headed off to San Francisco where she became a popular local TV personality with “The Paget Show,” moved to Los Angeles and landed a recurring role on “Friends.” Her first starring role in a series was in CBS’s “Love & Money.” Other credits include indie films and the series “Huff” and “Andy Richter Controls the Universe.” Paget, who is single, says she loved “Criminal Minds” even before joining the cast. “I’m obsessed with serial killers — it’s probably the only reason I got the job,” she jokes.

I’m glad she liked CM before she was even on it!

Live blogging starts now! Join me or check back tomorrow for a summary of the show. Enjoy!

CM offering is “House on Fire.” The team has to track down an arsonist who is terrorizing a small town. Now, the past two weeks I’ve been doing live blogging, which is sort of like a chat. And I was thrilled when someone came on to chat! And last week, thrilled again. Until after the show ended, and I realized that I missed THREE PEOPLE! I have to approve the comments, which appear on the side of the screen. Once I approve you, your comments move to my main screen. So I put my focus on that main screen, neglecting the side. So I missed some people, which made me feel awful! One poor reader was trying to ask a question and I totally ignored it. Unintentionally, of course, but I still felt bad. It’s totally my fault.

I missed my mom and my best friend, so the other person was at least in good company. My mom thought it was her slow computer that was the problem, but I had to tell her I screwed up! I did, I screwed up. Doing two things at once…seems to be a problem for me. But in my defense, I was watching the show while my sister, her boyfriend, and their brand new dog came to visit. And my daughter was still up because when Aunties visit, it’s like Christmas. Oh, and the live blogging. So forgive me. I’m going to try it again, though, and I hope you’ll give it a try with me. I promise to pay more attention and respond to your questions and comments.

Who else is loving JJ’s new haircut in this season? She looks a bit more sassy with this razored look than the straight sheet that she was sporting (pretty, but this is more sophisticated I think).

Who else could use a little sprucing up this season?