“Scared to Death”
Last night, “Scared to Death” aired on CBS. This was Criminal Minds first Mandy-free episode, though his character was mentioned several times. When the show opens, Spencer is sitting at his desk rereading his letter. They quickly move on to other matters - a serial killer in Portland, Oregon. The team travels there to investigate and eventually figure out that the deaths had to do with phobias. From there, they need to figure out who is responsible. Through a lucky spotting of a flier in a laundromat, they are led to Dr. Howard (aka Dr. Goodman), in time to save his latest victim from being buried alive.
I really like Criminal Minds, I write a blog about it. But did anyone else think “Scared to Death” was kind of…boring?
The doctor was torturing these people, recording their responses, while having flashbacks to his mom making him sleep in the dark. Michael O’Keefe as Dr. Howard was kind of creepy, but it seemed like they crammed all of his motives into 45 minutes, and it didn’t quite work. It did cover all the bases; his abusive childhood, his naggy wife, his change in behavior, his treatment of his daughter. But it seemed like they hurried to put this all in so it’d make sense at the end.
Criminal Minds can be very creepy - like in “Revelations” or “North Mammon,” from season two. This one didn’t have the same feeling to it. It also felt like the characters were kind of wooden; they didn’t seem as dynamic as they usually are - with the exception of Spencer and Morgan getting stuck in the elevator…that was pretty funny.
What was interesting, though, was their response to Gideon leaving. Spencer is clearly upset. He talks to Emily at one point and says that Gideon confronted the most violent, dangerous criminals in the world. If he had enough courage to do that, why did he just leave a letter? Emily tells him to read it again and figure out why the letter was written to him. Out of all the people he left behind, why did he only bother to explain to Spencer?
Morgan also brings him up. On the flight home, he says that the team is doing just fine without Gideon.
Besides Gideon leaving, the only personal note was when Hotch tells Morgan that Haley has left, and he didn’t know if she was coming back.
“Scared to Death” was all right. It wasn’t one of their best episodes, but it was still entertaining. I’m looking forward to Joe Mantegna’s debut (on October 31 - Halloween) to bring some tension to the team and move some action along.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:21 am
These folks are idiots. I missed the premiere and have scoured the web to watch it . . . like every show does.
I’ve yet to find Wednesday’s premiere. With credit card in hand, I’m willing to PAY to watch it. I even checked Itunes.
But noooooo. These fools are behind the times. Even ‘Lost’ and ‘Heroes’ has enough sense to provide the missed episodes.
Geez. This show might make it another season or two.
October 12th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Steven,
I’ve tried to find episodes of shows and haven’t been able to - it is frustrating. On the CBS website, they have Innertube, which shows full episodes, but Criminal Minds isn’t one of the shows that is offered. I agree that they should make the episodes easily available for people to watch - you’d think they would for paying customers, right?
Do you mind if I ask you if you like the show despite this?
November 15th, 2007 at 5:02 am
[...] third season started off well with “Doubt.” I was less impressed with “Scared to Death,” but the subsequent episodes have been exciting and entertaining. Next week’s offering, [...]