JMO

Actually, and because we have to read between the lines (which, I agree, is a failing), she 'just said no', and then apparently had some sort of exchange with her unit chief, which resulted in her having to sit out part of the action in 'Nelson's Sparrow'. Once it was on the table, I doubt that Hotch would have just agreed to wait it out, so I'm picturing her in counseling during that period.

It would have looked even stranger if you'd typed it all out, CoStar! It may well be true that EM has done things the way she wants to. To me, the difference is between her seizing full control, versus the fans, self-declared as disappointed, giving it to her by telling her she should just ignore them, since there is nothing she can do to make them happy anyway. If you're right about her not paying attention to viewers' opinions, then telling her to ignore them is just reinforcing her behavior. For me, the logic doesn't hold.

I agree with Danielg and Normasm about what makes for good drama, in the understanding and telling of the human story. But I stand in the (apparent) minority in believing that JJ has been written full of flaws for the past few years. But they've gone largely unexplored, and the one attempt at explanation, ( the awful) '200', fell completely flat. Its failure leaves us still waiting for an adequate explanation as to the changes in her character. Absent that explanation, I suppose I can see why people find her annoying. But I think it is the very aspect that many are calling 'flawlessness' that is her fatal flaw. From the beginning of the series, she's been written as reserved, even a bit remote, except when she was on the job, comforting families. We saw a few exceptions to that rule, but not many. She's never been overly emotional. As early as 'Penelope', she killed someone with a head shot and, in her own words, "I didn't even blink." We still see some of that JJ. The person who returned to the team with the even tougher exterior, perhaps the need to prove herself in her new role, is whom we see today. That she puts herself in the middle of the action is not flawlessness, it is the external demonstration of her weakness, maybe her insecurity coming out as denial. While I didn't love 'The Forever People', I thought it was adequate in beginning to look at her PTSD. It wasn't surprising to me that she would keep Reid at arms' length (disappointing, maybe, but not surprising), because she's a very private person who doesn't want to break down in the middle of some FBI field office. That she went against orders and pursued the unsub was just an extension of her denial. It's how she deals with things. It was, to me, consistent with her personality. And I believe this part of her 'flaw' was pointed out to her, when she was reminded that she could easily have gone up in flames. To me, the real failure was in the poor attempt at backstory that was too preposterous to ring true, let alone offer adequate explanation about the changes in the character. But both the character changes and (the awful) '200' are behind us, and can't be undone. We can only ask them to move on from there. I do think they tried a bit this year, by bringing back a bit of her earlier persona, focusing more on her communications skills and a little less on her physical skills. Of course, there was also that flawed communication with the woman in "The Itch", where JJ struggled with her lack of understanding. She just didn't struggle enough. Those areas I mentioned feel unfinished, and that's a good thing. It means there is more story to tell, and we may well find that someone is capable of telling it. In life, in work, in fandom, what's done is done. We move forward from where we are.

Speaking realistically, JJ is not going to be missing from our screens once AJC returns from maternity leave. If I were EM, and knew that fans had already decided, prospectively, that they weren't going to like what I did with the character, no matter what, and based solely on what has come before (and which I have no ability to erase)-----I would take it as carte blanche to ignore fan preferences and do whatever I please. If they've already told me they can't be satisfied, why try?

When you get an e-mail from a friend who is on a cruise, and she tells you she visited Santiago de Compostella, and you immediately want to tell her to watch out for the exorcist priest. But, to continue the illusion of sanity, you don't.

When you get excited to see a screenshot of Reid and Rossi in one of the puzzles on Sporcle---and you know right away it's from Uncanny Valley.

I just thought this was interesting----the actor who played the kid who plays chess with Reid in 'The Uncanny Valley' (whose name, I just learned, is Eric, and not Gary---but he will be for me, forever, Gary) is Matthew Moy, now on '2 Broke Girls'. What I found interesting is that he is only four years younger than MGG. Even as young as Matthew Gray Gubler can sometimes look, I'd always thought there was a much bigger age difference between the two. I know. Slow news night.

I'm glad AJC will only be out 4 episodes (although I haven't seen the 'official announcement'---any links?), partly because I still like the character, and partly because I worry that a series of female 'guest cops/agents' will detract story and screen time from the rest of the cast. Rather than the return of any of the past BAU female agents (and I agree with those who say it is unlikely anyway), I would find it interesting to have a female LEO work a little more prominently with one or more of the team for the duration of the case. They've done it before, a few times, and it's always worked. In that role, the LEO wouldn't need to have particular prominence or storyline, but simply a role that goes beyond what has, generally, become LEO wallpaper.

That's what I said when I looked in the mirror. But then it would have to be co-ed.

I went to the hairdresser last night, and she accidentally gave me that hairdo. Now. If only my face were as pretty as his....

Sorry if I overstated, MCatry. I was referencing this: But I can see that you might have meant it differently.

I don't think it's actually hard to find. If I were employed by the show to monitor fan response, a quick search on line for 'Criminal Minds forum' would bring it right up. It's hard to know how showrunners and their colleagues think about these things. It seems like, mostly, they need to deal in numbers, rather than actual critique. Thereby, Facebook gives them a much larger number of respondents, even if it is rare that a critical comment is made. If numbers are all they are interested in (which may be very true, as that is what gets them paid), then they're done, and don't need to look any further. But a TV show is also made by artists--writers, actors, directors, producers, even crew. A good artist will savor the good responses, but seek out the negative as well. And a savvy artist will know when even a lone critic has hit on something. That would be the reason to go beyond Facebook. I just don't know if they do. But if they did, and if I wasn't the person trying to give up the idea, I would think it important to put things in a way such that they can be heard. But since I'm giving that up.....

Thanks for the trademark, CoStar! While I don't disagree with most of your complaints about EM's choices, I do disagree that she, or anyone else, is required to prove her veracity. We should take people at their word, until or unless proven otherwise. In that vein, I also do think that MCatry gave us two good examples of times when what EM said was clearly not true. Unlike MCatry, I actually don't think most people lie most of the time, and I don't think there are very many life circumstances where it is necessary. Some, but not many. And none of those circumstances have to do with business. I do think words matter, and I think we all need to be responsible for the words we use. That includes those of us who state as fact some things that we only believe to be true, 'just because', and without feeling a need to base those opinions in actual fact. When proven wrong, does that mean they were lying? No, not any more than EM. The reason I'm fastidious about this is that I keep allowing myself to fall into the trap of thinking that opinions expressed here might actually have an impact on decisions made by the show. But that requires a reasoned response, based on clear, rational argument. I don't think we get that here much of the time. That doesn't mean people should stop posting as they do, or enjoying the fact that they can. But it does mean that they shouldn't get upset with the show for not honoring fan opinions when those opinions are expressed in a way that begs for them to be dismissed. For me, It means I need to let go of my idea that someone would actually take what we say seriously. I'll work on it.

I am no fan of many of the choices EM has made for the show. However... Lying is a purposeful act. It is saying something when one knows something else to be true. It is not misspeaking, nor misunderstanding, nor misremembering. It is also not 'changing one's mind' when, for instance, there is a wave of fan derision about a choice not to show a character's fallout from severe trauma. The latter, no matter how well or poorly it is accomplished, is simply a response to feedback. It is difficult to make an accusation of lying when one does not, independently (and with full corroboration) know the truth. Making such accusations without having independent knowledge of the truth is an excellent way to get the object of your accusations to completely ignore you. If fans don't want to be heard, making false accusations is an excellent path to success.

Apart from windows to wash, and screens to install, and plants to plant (and thank goodness I forgot to request the delivery of mulch), there is a family graduation, with ensuing celebration, a family birthday, also with ensuing celebration, and another social gathering. I will be in heaven if at least one of those things includes a hamburger with a toasted bun. Corn on the cob adds an angel chorus. And, of course, the reason for the holiday. We have our own Wounded Warrior in the family, as well as some who, blissfully, escaped being hurt. So we'll be remembering them, and their colleagues. To Normasm and 'Mister'---Happy Anniversary!

MCatry, what a fascinating life! And lucky you to actually have learned about the world by living in so many different parts of it. Have you made it to Antarctica yet, or is that reserved for you next time with the penguins?

That is some saintly patience, opening the door every morning for the birds. And you probably get rewarded with an unholy racket, if they're anything like the wrens around here. Or maybe the pesticides just killed their source of food? I don't hate frogs-----as long as they're outside. Anybody who comes inside better be paying rent.

I'm in CT. Yes, I think they're in the siding, probably just above where it meets the foundation. We get a full chorus of them from the woods on a hot summer night, but the individual ones are just disruptive. I wish they would just go and move back into the trees. But at least now I'm not worried about something in the wall, eating through wiring. Re: the bird, the nest and the 88 cent Walmart dinosaur: The lights on either side of my front door are shaped like lanterns. A couple of springs ago, a bird was trying to build a nest on one of them. I would have let him do it on the other one, but not on the one he chose, because the way the door opened, the birds could have flown into the house. So, for a few days, I knocked the straw down with a broom, but it would just appear again the next day. So I looked for ideas on line, and found the same one in several places: get an 88 cent plastic snake from Walmart, and put it on the light. Off I went to Walmart. Apparently there had been a run on plastic snakes, and all I could find was a little 88 cent blue plastic dinosaur. Forgetting that birds and dinosaurs were cousins, I put the little guy on the light. And it worked! For a week. Then, apparently the bird recognized his long lost relative----and maybe there was a family feud----because I came home one day to find the dinosaur on the ground and the straw back on the lantern. I finally found something that pointed out that birds see by contrast. So I took that white Walmart bag (same color as the house) and put it over the black lantern, and then the bird couldn't find it again. Problem solved. Until the next year, when the wrens built their nest in the hanging geranium. On fledge day, every last one of them flew the wrong way, into the screen door, where they all got stuck. Fortunately, their parents plucked them out.

Just a little update, in case anyone else becomes plagues with these things: Last summer I posted about having phantom raccoons in my walls. They would chatter at random, but refuse to show them selves. I played recordings for two different pest removal companies, each of whom were sure they were raccoons. Both said it shouldn't be happening, because the house was sealed up tight. But one of them set up traps anyway (the other just took the money and ran), and, on four different occasions, caught skunks (same low-learning curve skunk at least twice). Fast forward to May (after a quiet winter) and the chatter is back. But, courtesy of a Facebook friend posting a recording of an annoying pest in his backyard, I now have my answer. Tree frogs. This makes sense (sort of), as a few frogs were found baked inside the enclosed porch a few years ago. Individually, they really do sound a lot like baby raccoon recordings. Why they decided to set up residence inside the siding of my home, which looks nothing like a tree, is a mystery. But at least they can't dig their way inside. I hope. Some other time, I could tell the story of the bird, the nest, and the 88 cent Walmart dinosaur.

I officially don't care who makes what. Those decisions are entirely up to the actors, and negotiated by their agents on their behalf. Only they can prioritize among salary, or perks, or free time, or freedom to do other projects, or whatever else is negotiated. None of it adds or subtracts from my enjoyment of the show. The only thing that does that is the quality of the product.

I think the actual "biggest loser" is the fan of team dynamics. Second biggest is the fan of Reid. What a crime!

I have as well, and I expect to continue to do so. Since a goodly number of them have been elected, I think Normasm and I have plenty of company. I'm a believer that we organize as a society to help us take care of one another, and taxes are how we should be sharing our monetary wealth for that purpose. And I believe that the burden should be justly distributed. Not evenly distributed, but justly---meaning that the wealthy carry a burden proportionate to their wealth. But I guess I do agree that it is unlikely to happen. Not until we learn to be satisfied with 'enough' without needing to hoard wealth for some unnamed purpose, and not until we decide that our wisest investment is in human beings. Deleting the next twenty five paragraphs because I could probably rant on this forever.

The producers (and everyone else) knew about the pregnancy at the end. But, while she may have told them she was going to try, no one knew about it when she was hired. Otherwise, it would have to have been the longest pregnancy in history. Did I misunderstand your statement, Danielg?

He is a great photojournalist, mostly because the Humans of New York (and everywhere else) are amazing. Everyone has a story to tell, and to be listened to. It's just that most of us don't listen, most of the time.

CoStar, I love when FF elucidates the past. Thanks for this.