mstaken

Excellent guess, but it's actually not The Reigning Lorelai! Hint: It's from an S3 episode...and it's one of the S3 episodes where Emily is having a Trix-related freakout...and there may or may not be a hockey game taking place... :)

Gah---somehow I still can't master the spacing! Scarecrow ++ The Benders ++ Home -- 31 - Scarecrow 29- Pilot 27 - The Benders 23 - Faith 23 - Dead in the Water 21 - Skin 21 - Devil's Trap 19 - Something Wicked 17 - Phantom Traveler 15 - Hell House 15 - Bloody Mary 13 - Shadow 13 - Salvation 13 - Wendigo 11 - Asylum 09 - Nightmare 09 - Route 666 05 - Home GANKED: Bugs Provenance Dead Man's Blood Hook Man

As if my original list weren't long enough... I love the moments of lightness, warmth and humor that were subtly woven in but well-earned those first four or so seasons. The show is so understandably dark overall that those moments were all the more special. I love how the show casts its one-episode characters: victims, Unsubs, family members, suspects, etc. There have been a few missteps, of course, but overall I've been wildly impressed. I love the wonderfully complex, wholly believable relationship between Reid and Diana and how Reid's own fears about becoming mentally ill "just like his mother" were depicted. I love that this is a crime show which celebrates intelligence, deductive reasoning, insight, persistence and quiet courage over sheer brawn. I love how much I've learned from this show: the statistics and facts about a wide variety of subjects and the more general insights into psychology and human nature. And, as mentioned above, the thought-provoking quotes at the beginning and end of each episode. I, um, may or may not actually write many of them down ;) ...And pretty much all things Reid :)

Oh, zannej, I'm so sorry. I know how acutely painful it is to lose a dog---even when it's not your own. I'm sure your friend is grateful for your support...and the wine ;)

Yeah, in theory I love my procedurals/mysteries with the humor and energy that NCIS brings, but I fell in insta-hate with Tony, Abby and Gibbs. The good thing about CM being more serious is not only that that's more realistic than the procedurals where everyone's constantly quipping at the speed of light, but that the moments of humor and brightness we DO get feel more special and memorable. (Or at least used to, before they started awkwardly shoehorning in the sap and look-see-they're-FAMILY! moments these past few seasons!)

If so:

Hmmm...Lost and Found?

You got it!

I've never even heard of this one! Given that I'm a pathetically raging TV addict, that doesn't happen too often. I'll have to look out for that, since (and this won't be surprising to most people here) I really am fascinated by psychological profiling. How does the overall tone and feel of it differ from CM? Law and Order (Original Recipe) was my first true crime show love. It didn't elicit the emotional attachment that CM did, probably in large part because there were no characters who resonated with me like Reid, old school Hotch and maybe even Gideon and Elle---though I do love the endearing snark machine that is Lenny Briscoe. It also lacks the psychological richness that CM's profiling (sometimes!) lends to the show. When it comes to plotting and pacing, though, I think CM's writers could learn a thing or two from L&O's. Law and Order's mysteries reign supreme for me. Even when CM tries to make the Unsub's identity a mystery (and I love it when they do!), they tend to lack the more intricately plotted, twisty suspense of most of L&o's episodes. However, CM is more watchable for me; once I know 'whodunnit' in most of L&O's episodes, I don't feel compelled to tune again, while with the first four seasons of CM there were always enough insights, geeky stats, inspiring quotes and little character moments to warrant frequent rewatches long after I'd memorized the plot. Both show do, however, bring up some interesting and thought-provoking ethical, sociopolitical issues at times that make me wish procedurals got more credit for being of higher quality than most of my TV snob friends would ever acknowledge!

Trying again...can you guys see this?!

Independent Mind, just so you know, I have friends on the X-files forums here who I'm sure would be thrilled to see you and your pictures :) I'll start that other thread :)

Making a lame attempt to keep this on topic for a CM forum: How would you guys compare Criminal Minds to other crime dramas you've watched? Is CM the first crime drama you fell in love with, or do you have a long history of loving other procedurals?

This is one of my favorite shots of Emma (I know, I know...could my girlcrush on her being any bigger?!) It just seems so quintessentially her to me: she looks tough but vulnerable and is smiling in a way that's hopeful yet self-protectively guarded.

Argh---I think that's from the opener of one of those S4 episodes I vaguely like but can never remember too clearly. Maybe Nanny and the Professor...? If so, an easy one that I couldn't resist posting anyway:

Awww, poor Uncanny Valley Unsub Whose Name I Can't Remember! She really resonated with me as well.

I swear that I meant to mention Megan (and how much I adore Hotch in that particular episode), but I was so busy rambling about other deliciously creepy sickos that I seem to have forgotten! And since you guys know I'm fascinated by the younger Unsubs and mentally ill Unsubs, what do you think happened to Clara from Compulsion? Is she 'cured'? Has she forgiven herself? Have others forgiven her? Is she leading something resembling a normal life...? Oh, and best Unsub who isn't yet officially declared an Unsub: Will, aka Mr. JJ :)

I actually liked the Unsub from Zoe's Reprise as well. Especially if by "like", one means "was totally creeped out by." He didn't KNOW why he did these things; and, no matter how well they profiled him, the team didn't quite know either. He just WAS this way, you know?! Deeply, inherently 'off.' There's something fascinatingly scary about that. And, oh, who could forget Kentucky Fried Unsub? I'm convinced he was *deliberately* over the top...right?!

While I agree wholeheartedly with the dislike of Laurel and the actress who plays her, I actually think even Laurel---yes, even she!---deserves better than Oliver, who deceived her, cheated on her with lord knows how many women, and shows no compunction about jumping into bed (AGAIN!) with her own sister. I agree that the idea of them back together on any level is far more cringe-inducingly dysfunctional and gross than 'epic', but it's in large part because I honestly can't begin to understand why she would want anything to do with him at this point.

I've probably rambled about this elsewhere, but I have a soft spot for the Unsubs who are genuinely mentally ill rather than just coldly sociopathic (though those can be interesting as well!) It makes things more ethically sticky and complex when the Unsub is too psychotic to be held fully responsible for his/her actions. Of course, one could argue that all serial killers are 'crazy' to an extent, so where does one draw the line?! Anyway, I'd love to know how some of the mentally ill Unsubs are faring---did they receive the treatment they need? IS there genuinely effective treatment for what ailed them? Have the people in their lives forgiven them? Have they forgiven themselves? I also find myself fascinated, albeit creeped out, by the youngest Unsubs. Is there any 'curing' them?! I'd love a followup, even in fanfic form, on Nathan Harris. And is there any redemption possible for the kids from Boogeyman and Shade of Grey?!

Oh, I somehow just saw your reply NOW...I'll be back in a minute with a new photo :)

I'll forever love the show for giving us Spencer Reid and introducing me to MGG, who I'd never heard of before CM. I love the carefully planted, subtle early hints at the team's characterization---deliciously intriguing and endlessly fun to speculate over. I love the rich psychological insights and geeky facts and stats...yes, I really am THAT much of a nerd :) I love that despite the dark and grim subject matter, there's often the quietly uplifting message that intelligence, persistence and bravery CAN often prevail, or at least save one or two souls along the way. I absolutely love the quotes that begin and end the episodes. I'm a lifelong quote collector, so the show's fondness for them helped solidify from the outset that this was 'my' show :) I love how some of the cases still resonate with me emotionally and provide us with tons of thought-provoking ethical questions no matter how frequently I've seen them. I love how so many of the episodes explore the eternal 'nature' vs 'nurture' debate. I loved getting to see Paget Brewster, one of my biggest 'girl crushes', on my screen for so many seasons. I loved the sneakily sweet Elle/Reid dynamic, not to mention Reid/Hotch Hotch/Gideon and, in many ways still the most fascinating and touching for me, Gideon/Reid.

I'll gently remind you ;) My votes: Star-Crossed -- TDDR -- CW -- 21 - The Third Lorelai 19 - Double Date 19 - Concert Interruptus 19 - Rory's Birthday Parties 17 - Emily in Wonderland 15 - Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers 15 - Forgiveness and Stuff 15 - Pilot 15 - Lorelais' First Day at Chilton 15 - Love and War and Snow 15 - The Breakup Part 2 13 - Kill Me Now 11 - That Damn Donna Reed 11 - Cinnamon's Wake 07 - The Deer Hunters 01 - Christopher Returns Eliminated! Love, Daisies and Troubadours P.S. I Lo... Paris is Burning Kiss and Tell

Home -- Skin -- Devil's Trap -- 29- Pilot 29 - Scarecrow 25 - The Benders 23 - Skin 23 - Faith 23 - Dead in the Water 21 - Something Wicked 21 - Devil's Trap 17 - Phantom Traveler 15 - Hell House 15 - Bloody Mary 13 - Shadow 13 - Salvation 11 - Asylum 11 - Nightmare 11 - Wendigo 11 - Route 666 09 - Home GANKED: Bugs Provenance Dead Man's Blood Hook Man

I'd have been quite happy if that had never made it past the cutting room floor, but I think someone like Reid, Emily or even Elle or Rossi could have pulled off that plane scene in a way that was at least a little less cringe-inducing, both because those characters had at least *some* rapport with Morgan and because the actors are, IMO, capable of teasing people in ways that feel more affectionately playful than bitchy and condescending, which is more than I can say for AJ Cook. Similarly, while I loathed the "...or you'll end up alone!" line, as if, OMG, being single is a fate worse than death, I think other characters could have sounded more genuinely supportive and insightful than just obnoxious and self-superior. AJ Cook makes questionable scenes so much worse than they have to be IMO. I'm starting to understand why the actress was given so little to do for the first several seasons.

I can't stand either JJ as she's (poorly) written or the actress who plays her, but I actually think she's illustrative of a larger problem. IMO, the writers are pretty poor at initially defining and then subsequently developing their characters overall, with only a couple of awesome, even-a-broken-clock-is-right-twice-a-day exceptions (ahem, Reid!) and occasionally lucking out by casting actors who can rise above the mediocre writing (like, IMO, Paget Brewster did for Emily, who on paper I found both underwritten and inconsistently written.) And the writers have this uncanny knack for making characters somehow far LESS likable, layered, interesting etc. to me as they give said characters more screentime! They give characters more "personal" time, but somehow manage to illuminate nothing about said character's personalities (seriously, even after all these seasons, JJ still doesn't have one!), weaknesses, fears, dreams, hopes, interests, passions, etc. There are few to no human quirks or interesting layers. After a bunch of spotlight episodes, we're usually just reminded yet again of the characters' bland and unrealistic awesomeness, which...*yawn* I think this was less of a problem at the beginning, because regardless of whether you liked Elle and Gideon, they had actual edges and flaws. The writers were more content to let the characters' cores come through in the way they did their jobs and interacted with one another rather than sloppily and awkwardly wedging in Personal Moments that they tend not to do effectively IMO. And at least when we saw less of most of these characters outside of their profiling roles, we could use the tasty crumbs the writers threw us to make all sorts of interesting inferences about what the members of our team were TRULY like, which team members were or would be closest to one another, etc. And, honestly, the educated assumptions that posters made were almost invariably more interesting than what the reality has turned out to be. JJ is the most egregious example, but IMO she's not the only one. In some ways I resent the writing for Hotch even more; for me, JJ was *never* interesting, so my expectations of her (and the IMO crappy actress who plays her) have been low. Hotch, though, was really compelling and layered and interesting to me for awhile, and now over the past few seasons it feels like the curtain has been thrown back to reveal that he's just...well, simple and boring.