JMO

I actually think it's both more and less than that. If he was really worried about his screen time, he would find a way to deliver his lines as slowly as possible. But, as a practical matter, he is given the most difficult expository dialogue. Just wrapping his mouth around those words is a challenge, and getting them out may very well be easier when done in one large, rapid-fire dump. Plus, I think, at some point along the way, either he or TPTB, or some combination thereof, decided that it was part of Reid's characterization to deliver volumes of information as quickly as possible. I don't think the 'presence' was developed to compensate for anything. It was there from as early as season two. I think he just knows the power of the unspoken word, and also knows how good he is at delivering it.

I think you may be right. As I know we discussed after Nelson's Sparrow, where Reid had tremendous presence, but very few lines, it's the quality of the dialogue, and not the quantity, that determines viewer satisfaction. Not that we can all agree on how much, nor what content, nor who gets to deliver it.

Welcome, Mislav!

Sorry---I got carried away with initials! EAP is Edgar Allen Poe.

When you see a license plate that reads 'NEVRMR', and you think of MGG before you think of EAP.

Yes, she's a psychologist. So a PhD.

I've always thought Blake and Strauss (and Curtis) worked together in another branch of the FBI. When Blake spoke about 'working her way back', I thought it was more in the context of 'back up the ladder' after her demotion. I never took it to mean she'd been in the BAU before. Was there some other exposition about it that was more direct or specific?

When you get excited that your college freshman niece wants to use your Amazon Prime account to order books---and one of them is The Book of Margery Kempe.

Regardless of how it's billed up front, or the credits, or whatever, it's an ensemble show. Functionally, they are all main characters and they are all supporting characters, with the nature of their role varying week to week. When the premise of the show is that of a team working together, that's how it should be. The real argument lies in whether we think they rotate sufficiently between supporting and main. You probably know what I think. I'd be perfectly happy if it was a show called, "The Genius...And Those Other People".

MCatry, I wasn't suggesting a focus on the character. But I'd like to know a bit about her background, what she's done before, what she brings to the table. For me, but perhaps not for you, that inherently involves some of her personal story. It may vary from workplace to workplace, but in my place, it's more common to find out something personal about a new employee than not, by way of making them feel welcome and valued. Maybe it's related to our being in a human services field in the first place. Maybe things work differently in the business world, but I'd have to rely on others to speak to that. I only know what I know.

While I can't quite see how the purported background of the new character gels with her being in the field, I will wait to see if they have come up with something believable. As to how much presence she'll have: I don't know how else they are supposed to introduce a new character except by spending some script and screen time on her. I'd rather that, than what they did with Kate. I felt like I was waiting all season to find out more about her, and then, poof, she was gone. AT's character will have to have some talent, or Hotch won't have a reason to select her from among other applicants. So, I assume we'll see that talent featured to one degree or another. It's inherent to the process of storytelling. As long as it passes the Reid-meter, I'm in.

Noticed a significant uptick in MGG's social media postings. In the past, it's seemed to come when he is gearing up (for a project, or directing) or when he is completely bored. The gearing up would excite me, the 'bored', concern me, as regards the new season. Anybody know which it is?

The nature of fan fiction is that we assume that the reader has a certain level of familiarity with the characters. For that reason, I don't tend to read crossover fictions, mostly because I'm not usually familiar with the 'other' show, and wouldn't want the characters I like to share the spotlight with a slate of characters I don't know. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun for a fan of both shows to write them together. So, if that's your inclination, and you've got a plot buzzing around in your head, I say "Go for it!"

I don't know if you meant the play on words, Zaneej---but it was great!

I do think the writers go a little (a lot) over the top with the gunning down of the unsubs. The original compendium of profile types (the real one), if it has any validity at all, had to be built on interviews done after the killers were apprehended. So at least a hefty percentage of them were caught, and not killed. Still, I imagine that, with the kinds of criminals the team pursues, there is probably some increased frequency of the unsub taking his own life,or committing 'suicide-by-cop'. The sarcastic side of me points out that our team can never be proven wrong in their profile if there's no unsub left to spill the beans. That may soon change. It sounds like Alisha Tyler's role will be to psychologically dissect the unsub after the fact, so maybe a few more of them will survive their encounter with the team this season.

I agree. She wasn't in control, and it turned her into a bit of a vigilante, even if only for that case. In their business, they encounter any number of 'deserving individuals', and Hotch couldn't afford the risk that she would start delivering her own form of justice to them as well.

Couldn't bring myself to hit the 'like' button. I don't think I knew this. I'm so sorry that happened to you!

I don't know about an assault that might have led her to sex crimes in the first place, but didn't she liken the Fisher King's putting his hand into her wound, to collect her blood, to rape? I think it was to Reid, when he went to her hotel room to try to draw her out.

Autumn says he combined the silly with the straight, so I went ahead and ordered it. Should be here tomorrow. Now I just have to find time to watch it.

Allen Ludden. And I'm old enough to remember watching them!

I think you've hit the nail on the head, Old Dog!

I can see this is going to cost me money. I'll have to order it now! Thanks, Autumn, am I'm glad you're feeling better as well.

Thanks, Saje! Those elevator scenes, and the scene of JJ with the parent, would have changed the tone of the episode, in a good way. I've always wondered how much of the problem was in the writing, and how much in the editing. It's certainly interesting that someone had enough insight to put these scenes in the DVD extras. I'd love to know who that was----and put them in charge!. So, who edits? The director, I'm sure. But is it also the writer? The executive producer, the showrunner? Does anyone know?

Freedom is a wonderful thing, isn't it? So far, I've managed to resist ordering this set. But if I hear from you all that there's some good commentary or an extra that's worth seeing, I could be persuaded. If MGG has a commentary on the episode he directed, I sincerely hope that at least of some of it is not tongue-in-cheek. I really would like to know how he thinks about things as a director.

I think his achalasia may still play a bit of a role as well. Surgery helps tremendously, but many people continue to suffer some symptoms, and often a revision is necessary down the road. Eating smaller amounts, more frequently, helps. But if you don't have the opportunity for those frequent meals, then you end up taking in fewer calories. I also don't know that I would put too much credence in what he claims to eat. It seems like the kind of topic he likes to spin a tale about.