Danielg342

Yeah...I didn't make it up. It's even in the Urban Dictionary. Exactly...and I don't even think it's that bad anymore. I don't recall a scene in recent years where Morgan has done anything except refer to Garcia as "babygirl"...a lot of the flirtatious banter- which seemed to occur when no one else was around- happened in S2 and S3...I hardly hear it now.

I guess I'm the exception (sort of- I mean, I also dig her boobs...she's not “Jennifer Love Huge Tits” for nothing :p) in that I like her as an actress, so I see this as the potential for “Prentiss Pt. 2”, where a great actress props up shoddy writing. I know there's the fear that since Erica Messer didn't want her they won't develop her, but since this is Hewitt, one of the biggest stars in television, I can't see that happening since I doubt Hewitt would sign on if she had doubts about how the writers/producers would handle her. That said, I do want her to “grow” into the role gradually and not become “the star” right away. Someone mentioned she's great at being vulnerable and I think we ought to see that in full force in the beginning, as she learns just how tough life in the BAU really is. If she starts “knowing all the answers” I'll be turned off right away.

At first, I thought the hiring of Jennifer Love Hewitt was a strange one. I love Hewitt as an actress but she's the last person that I'd think would fit in with CM. Then I thought about how wonderful an actress she is and realized her performance could be like Paget Brewster's, rising above shoddy writing to give her character depth. I also thought about how young she is (35) and realized this is a move to continue on with the show into S11 and S12 and beyond. Furthermore, Hewitt's quirky and adorable enough that she'd work wonderfully with Reid, meaning this could be a sign that our favourite encyclopedic Doctor will finally get his chance to shine. Not just that, but Hewitt's persona reminds me of Zoe Hawkes (Amy Davidson), killed too quickly and eagerly on the show, so the thought of being able to enjoy a character that I had missed excites me. Personally, as long as the show doesn't try to make her an expert that “knows all the right moves” right away, isn't too over the top with her vulnerabilities and tries to “ship” her too early with Reid (i.e., let the working relationship evolve organically), then I'll have nothing but praise for Agent Kate Callahan.

I suppose the line of thinking is that, eventually, like CBS' other spin-offs, the show should at least stand on its own and shouldn't have any "crossover" characters, and I guess that CBS didn't think the firestorm caused by the firings would be that bad only to learn they miscalculated badly. The more I think about "Suspect Behavior", the more I think it was just crafted in a lunch hour and that was it. How else could you explain why the CMSB team didn't realize until the last moment that a Brit and an ex-con can't be legally employed by the FBI? I also wonder why'd they hire Janeane Garofalo if they won't use her properly? Comparatively speaking, more thought seemed to have gone into the spy arc than CMSB, hence why I think the former should have been a series.

How many episodes will we get for Season 3? Anyone know?

For me, there was always two things that CM did well throughout its run- single episode writing and hiring great actors. Having people like Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness (the faults with Garcia is in the writing, not the acting) and Matthew Gray Gubler on board (and Shemar Moore, though I seem to be voted down on this one), as well as wonderful guest stars like Keith Carradine, Gavin Rossdale, C. Thomas Howell, Mitch Pillegi and Jonathan Frakes helps detract from the lack of depth in the writing, because at least the acting gives it that depth. Of course, this begs the question about how great the show could have been if the writing was anywhere near the quality of its acting, but I digress. As far as the differences between the eras of the show, I tend to group it this way: Era 1: S1-S2.01 Era 2: S2.02-S3.02 Era 3: S3.03-S3.05 Era 4: S3.06-S6.01 Era 5: S6.02-S6.18 Era 6: S6.19-S6.24 Era 7: S7.01-S7.24 Era 8: S8.01-S8.10 Era 9: S8.11-S9.24 Era 10: S10-Present Obviously I can't comment on Era 10 because it hasn't aired yet, but the rest I'll touch upon. Era 1 might not have produced the absolute "best" episodes, but it was CM at its most quintessential, where you had the most profiling, the most mystery building, the most twists and the best writing. It was obvious they were still working on a few quirks- such as who each character was (Morgan, for instance, went from having a crew cut and dress shirts to a bald head, leather jackets and muscle shirts, no doubt to emphasize how "tough" he was)- but if anyone really wanted to know what CM is supposed to be like, I'd point them in the direction of Era 1. Era 2 was a lot like Era 1, though it was more personal (for the team) and I think this is where some of the show's later bad habits started to develop. Though S2 itself didn't end with a cliffhanger, we did get two of them during the year- "The Big Game/Revelations" and "No Way Out"- as well as the frustrating situation where a character received the most definition only upon their departing (Elle Greenaway). Although I think both situations were handled well, it'd be an example of the lazy writing we'd see later in the show, because the showrunners have quite consistently shown that, realistically, the only storyline they can do with our characters is to put them in peril, instead of working on developing their backgrounds and letting conflicts arise organically. Also, the last episode of this Era- Episode 3.02, "In Name and Blood"- was the very first episode where the UnSub was known to the audience before the team knew who he was (I know "The Last Word" showed us the Mill Creek Killer at the beginning, but that same episode hid the Hollow Man until the last moment, and I believe that happened by design). Joe Smith was done pretty well by Ed Cibrian and the episode was good, but as soon as this cat was let out of the bag the show couldn't later resist going to this well, and I think that's what made it suffer later. I also think this Era was Mandy Patinkin's finest hour, although I believe his ending was botched (though, admittedly, he didn't help matters much). Era 3 might only be three episodes long, but those three are among my favourites (especially "Seven Seconds"). It showed the value of a streamlined team, which, for the first time was actually cohesive and working as a unit. It also showed that when the writers have to worry less about giving screen time to the actors they can write better cases, meaning that, perhaps the show shouldn't have been so quick to replace Patinkin. It's what I hope the show will do for Season 10, although I doubt they'll want to continue a show with only one female lead. Era 4 I think saw the team at its most cohesive, with the best chemistry and the best defined "roles". I say "roles" because even though the team members didn't have technical roles (aside from JJ, Hotch and Garcia), in this era you hardly ever saw a character stepping on another's toes, like you do now. I will admit, this was also the era where Garcia's "magical computer" got used way too often, but I thought it was more believable than it got in later seasons, and at least in "Haunted" Garcia mentioned that some of the searches she makes are illegal. This was also the era that had "Zoe's Reprise", my least favourite episode ever, only because I loved Zoe Hawkes (and Amy Davidson) so much and felt the show needlessly killed off a character that could have been wonderful in later years. In any case, a lot of the cases were great as well and the show, as a whole, ran as well as it ever could have run. It's a pity we didn't get three whole seasons out of this, because the show at this stage felt like they could run in this way for many more years to come. Alas, CBS had to ruin it with that spinoff... Era 5 is when everything started to go downhill. The obvious first point is that they damaged the team, irreparably I think, by firing JJ and Prentiss. The first sign of trouble, though, was "JJ", the episode, where the team interrogated two frat boys- who should be easy to break- only to come up with absolutely nothing, with luck solving the episode in the end. Then we got Ashley Seaver, with the writers showing us what they thought of her by not having a name actor play her father. This was also the period where we had our first UnSub get away- Shane Wyland- as well as "25 to Life", otherwise known as the episode where Morgan really goes out of character. The highlight was the Prentiss spy arc, which I think gave the show an "exotic" feel even though it was poorly written. I think it should have been used to launch the spinoff, because the concept and the characters were well defined and provided a nice base from which to continue on. Era 6 could have been like Era 3, but it was way too mopey and the quality was quite haphazard. I did enjoy seeing Ben Foster, though, but that was about it. Era 7...well, I'll admit, I can't speak about it too much since I didn't see much of Season 7, because I kept hearing about how terrible the season was. I have managed to see a few episodes, and what I did see was all over the place. "Painless" was painful, "It Takes a Village..." had a great "feel" to it even though it seemed more like a campy action movie than a procedural, "Proof" featured an UnSub that was incredibly unbelievable, comically silly and was way too heavy on the "gorn" and "I Love You, Tommy Brown..." I thought had a great story but another comical UnSub and more proof that the show writers didn't know what to do with their characters- it was here that a fact about Morgan was deliberately contradicted, as "Elephant's Memory" told us that he had posters of the Chicago Bulls and yet in this episode Garcia emphatically states that Morgan hates basketball...which leads me to ask why he has posters of Jordan and Pippen in his childhood room. I also believe this same episode messed up the one truly good relationship the show had- Kevin Lynch and Penelope Garcia. This was also the era where JJ started to go downhill as a character, since she transformed almost instantly from a likeable, vulnerable media liaison to a super tough, "female Morgan" that is frankly unbelievable. Cook herself said this change was made because they didn't know what else to do with the liaison character, which is yet another example of poor writing- I can think of a million different stories with a liaison that the show never even thought to touch upon, something I think that is inexcusable. Era 8 I think continued many of the faults of S7 at first- poorly defined team characteristics, gory stories and UnSubs, poor, comical case writing, hardly any mystery at all, the replacement of Prentiss with Alex Blake, who was poorly defined at this stage as a Mary Sue, and the introduction of the gimmicky "Replicator". As much as earlier seasons were examples of how procedurals should run, this era showed exactly how procedurals shouldn't run. I mean, really, just about every mistake you could make in a procedural was evident in this batch of episodes, one that I hope the show has decided to burn. Perhaps the only positive was that we got to see Reid actually in love. Which brings me to... Era 9 and "Zugzwang". I would love to have grouped "Zugzwang" in with Era 8 because it more appropriately fits there. Although I thought the episode was good until the end, the end is what sealed it- the ending was unnecessarily cruel and denied us of a character that we really could have enjoyed for years to come and shown a side of Reid we'd never seen- him happily in love. Again, it's another example of the lack of creativity the writers have with the characters, thinking the only storylines they get is to cause them harm. Fortunately "Zugzwang" was this era's only huge misstep, although there were quite a few other clunkers in here as well. I know I'm outvoted on this one but Episode 8.11, "Perennials", is one of my all-time favourites, because even though the maggots were gross, at least the UnSub- Willie Kestler- made a lot of sense with his actions. I also thought as Season 8 went on the writing and the cohesiveness got better, with Blake getting better defined and not being so much like a "Mary Sue". That said, "Broken" was way too "political" for my tastes, and the ultimate Replicator reveal was underwhelming, since they really resolved it in one episode and made a season's worth of clues worthless and meaningless. Season 9's two part premiere was way too strange, but "Final Shot" was excellent and most of the rest of the season was actually quite entertaining, even if few moments really were worthy of CM's "all-time lists". I also felt Season 9 was when Erica Messer came into her own as a showrunner, since it seemed like she finally knew what she was doing. Then came the finale and that tangled mess of a police conspiracy theory that was incredibly unrealistic, as well as the cringe-worthy attempt to pull at our heartstrings by putting yet another character in peril. I'm also sad to see Blake go, because I actually enjoyed her as a character by the time she was done. That all said, Season 9 was the first time in a long time where I said, "I can't wait for next year", so here's hoping CM doesn't ruin it.

I understand that, but I don't think executives make those decisions in a vacuum. Even if Paget Brewster and AJ Cook didn't know until the last minute that they were let go, the show likely made those decisions at the same time they decided to go through with the spinoff. I'd find it hard to believe that something as important as budgetary concerns doesn't crop up until the last minute. Even if they did, I'd still like to know why the producers didn't think to retool the spinoff as a landing spot for Brewster and Cook, which still could have been done, and why a show about profiling terrorists was not thought of as a viable concept.

From what I understand, Shemar Moore has said this season will be his last. At this stage he might be the only character I'd accept leaving because I'm already prepared for it. I hope, though, he'll stick around the entire year at least and that we'll meet whomever they'll get to replace him before the year is done.

I understand that perhaps Simon Mirren might not be the best person to ask for this, but I'd love to know why the CM spinoff couldn't have been centred around the departing Prentiss and the JTF-12 team. Terrorist profiling would have been a great concept to base a show around, and it would have been a great landing spot for Prentiss and JJ in order to keep both in the CM fold. Corollary- I'd love to know what the plan would or might have been if Prentiss and JJ were kept. Would we even have a spy arc? Oh, and while we're discussing Season 6, how would he have resolved Reid's headache storyline? Was he satisfied with how it actually was resolved (with Maeve)?

A.J. Cook's interview is written in "haphazard" English...gives me some red flags about its authenticity, since I doubt Cook talks like that. Most of what she says does seem believable, though. As far as whether or not this will be the last season of Criminal Minds I think it'll be a "wait and see" approach. Season 9 gained in total viewers from Season 8 (a testament to how much better this year was than last year's), so perhaps CBS wants to see if the trend will continue before committing to a Season 11. The series is a cash cow for the network, and it has too many other old, under-performing dramas (CSI, The Mentalist, Elementary) to worry about before it can worry about CM. Plus, I think CBS is more the kind of network that will milk a series dry than allow it to end on a high note- How I Met Your Mother gained a new season with an uptick in ratings, CSI seems to always stay on the air, NCIS is entering Season 11, Two and a Half Men is still airing, and then, of course, there's The Big Bang Theory, renewed for THREE more years. So I don't think it's in much trouble right now, but if Season 10 starts and ratings take a turn for the worst come November, things could change in a hurry.

I got inspired to write fanfiction from watching CM through and realizing the show wasn't telling the stories it should be telling. I'm with MsTaken that show always hints at depth and never delivers, which is prime fodder for the fic writer to expand upon in greater detail. Thus, in my writing, it's all about writing the episodes that I feel CM should be making- nothing more and really nothing less. I know I put the team in an "alternate world" but I will say most of my stuff could still be used on the real show without much alteration, and that's the vibe I look for- I want my stories to fit "naturally" as episodes. So I don't purposely "ship" people unless it makes sense, nor do I use violence or sex unless the story would call for it. What I do try to do is, first and foremost, is come up with interesting cases and many different crimes that I feel the BAU should be tackling- the regular show does serial killing way too many times so I try to avoid it when I can. When I can't, I make sure I get into the "why's" and avoid a "grossfest". I also don't set any cases in any time period other than the present day, unless the story has flashbacks (which I think the real show itself is bad at using). As far as crossovers go, I've done several in my fics, mostly out of a desire to mix my other favourite shows with CM, though they tend to be just "one offs". As for what I'd like to read...well, I'm pretty open minded when it comes to the fics I will read, so as long as it's a well-written story, I'd accept any scenario the writer puts our team in. There's really not much more to it than that.

I seem to recall JJ being intimidated by Strauss, feeling- like the rest of the team- that the whole series of interviews was a waste of time. I think she tried her best to hide her fear of Strauss but it seemed clear to me that JJ was rattled by the ordeal. One thing that did bug me about the interrogations was that Reid was asked a tactical question when it should have been Morgan answering the question. I get that perhaps each team member was likely asked the same set of questions but it still didn't make sense to me that Reid was shown to be the authority on that question when it should have been Morgan. As far as Morgan's reaction was concerned- I don't recall much, but I think he was annoyed at having to be in there, deciding only to do it because duty required him to.

Yeah, I never really bought the Vonnegut/Morgan thing, mainly because I wouldn't think of Morgan being much of a reader. Most of his spare time would likely be consumed with working out and playing pick up sports, and- before Savannah anyway- going out to nightclubs to pick up women. Perhaps he just chanced upon Vonnegut one day- maybe when he was rehabbing from the knee injury in high school- and fell in love with his stuff, with Vonnegut being the only fiction he reads. Another salient point to note is that every time Morgan is alone in the plane he's got his headphones on, jamming away at his music. So I could picture him being a music junkie, listening to all kinds of music, perhaps in particular hip hop. However, I don't think he'd be into the Lil' Waynes or the 50 Cents of the world- he'd be more into socially conscious stuff like Talib Kweli, the '90s scene with Biggie and 2Pac and likely old school stuff like Grandmaster Flash. I believe the only artist that we *know* Morgan listens to is Nas (which would be in character)- correct me if I'm wrong, but those were the lyrics Blake was caught mouthing when Reid picked up that something was off about her several episodes back. If you really want to fanwank, though, you could extrapolate that Morgan is a budding musician himself and maybe helps promote others too...but there's so far little evidence of that.

Cress, I think we're just going to go around in circles so there's nothing I'm going to add...so I'm stopping here.

"Compulsion" "A Real Rain" "The Fisher King, Part 1"

1) The issue is in the framing of the story. For Detective Craig Basken- "Detective Bell End"- since we actually saw him and the actor gave a sympathetic performance, I could conclude he's someone I'd root for, although, if memory serves me correctly, Sherlock did solve Basken's case with extreme ease. As for the other detectives? The detectives who drew the comic weren't named, so the comic is only thing I know them for and thus I can't know for sure if they were just blowing off steam or detectives that enjoy drawing vulgar caricatures. The only things I know about Detective Owen Coventry- the detective who told the serial killer where Sherlock lived- was that he threw a temper tantrum simply because his captain asked to reopen a case he'd closed, because of new evidence; he put Sherlock's and Joan's lives at risk by telling Lukas Bundsch where they lived; and that Gregson chewed out his work ethic, saying that Coventry is a "good" detective but not a "great" detective. Then, in "The Diabolical Kind", we see Sherlock and Joan consult for an unknown detective, get frustrated with him and complain to Gregson in private that he's an idiot and the pair need a new detective to consult. Finally, when Lestrade is questioning just how good a detective he was, Joan tells him that when Bell was out of work, Sherlock had to keep changing detectives on a whim because he couldn't find one worth working with, so the fact that Sherlock worked so long with Lestrade was a sign that Sherlock respected him, since he stayed so long with Bell. Furthermore, this is all in addition to the fact that Sherlock said in "An Unnatural Arrangement" that he only knows the detectives as "Bell" or "not Bell". Other than that, there are no other traits given to the detectives not named Basken or Bell, and putting all those traits together, I can't see something in there that tells me "root for these guys". Sure, the traits given aren't very exhaustive character sketches and leave a lot to the imagination, opening the possibility that they're really all just detectives who are honest, diligent workers who don't like an outsider- and a hostile one to boot- trampling over them. However, I cannot say that about those detectives for sure, because the writers never gave me the counterbalance- all I know are the negative traits. I can only evaluate characters on what I know, and if all I see is negative, then that's how I'll see the character. I'm not going to give them the benefit of the doubt just because the show tells me to- I need a reason. 2) I apologize for being curt, but it's quite the leap you are making there. Dillon didn't have to go to the NYPD, he could have stalked Sherlock for weeks to find out where he lived or where he runs his errands, or looked it all up online. Furthermore, just because Dillon goes to the NYPD building doesn't mean that Sherlock will exit the building *with* someone- Dillon could still chance upon him alone. It may not be likely, but it's not impossible (especially given that Dillon seems like a smart guy, given he lied to get a job), and it still doesn't change the fact that Dillon was only mad at Sherlock, not the NYPD. Doesn't mean Sherlock shouldn't be told he needs to be more careful, because his actions put himself in danger, but I still think it's a stretch anyone else was a victim of more than happenstance. Cress, I agree in principle that "Sherlock needs to be nicer" and "Sherlock needs to be more careful" are storylines that should be brought up, they would be incredible ones to explore, and they're probably lessons Sherlock needs to learn at some point I just think the show went about them the wrong way. Perhaps the writers believed that if they simply "told" me what was going on with the detectives I'd side with them, considering it hasn't been a secret that Sherlock is prickly. However, I don't subscribe to that- for me, a character has to earn their respect, because if all I see is a character who is just as negative as Sherlock is, then I won't root for them over Sherlock. Personally I believe the detective/Bell storyline could have been the chief narrative of S2, which would allow it to be expanded and treated better, with the Mycroft storyline saved to S3. Might have even made more sense too- if he'd exhausted his options in New York, why not go to back to London? That's just me though. The only part about the Bell storyline that I'd agree with is that if I was Bell and I did my duty, taking a bullet for Sherlock and Sherlock never came to visit me, I'd be upset about that, but that would be it.

As will I.

Or maybe a campfire story, where Rossi tells Henry and Jack about the first ever profiling case, in Ancient Rome. I think it'd be amusing seeing them running around in togas, with Hotch having to battle wits with Cicero and Reid helping crack the case by knowing the significance of someone wearing sandals vs someone being barefoot, among other quirks.

One thing I missed earlier that I'll mention now: I wished they hadn't killed off Zoe Hawkes. Amy Davidson was so cute and adorable playing her, and Hawkes had the drive and investigative know-how that she could have made a great agent one day. So here's hoping Davidson can come back as Zoe's sister or something, because that will help undo how cruel "Zoe's Reprise" was. I'm not so sure about an entire episode done with the characters playing other characters, as it seems too campy for CM; and I feel that, while a "blast from the past" episode is a nice idea, I think it's too late to invoke the motif of an entire episode that's essentially a flashback, as now it ruins the "feel" of the episodes. Also, while I like the idea of CM tackling real life unsolved cases- like Zodiac or the Long Island Ripper- I'm not sure they could be executed to everyone's satisfaction. A CM solution relies on there being no new information appearing about the case (which would be impossible), plus there would be too many people who've researched the case themselves nitpicking the result. Lastly, though, the relatives of the victims might get angry seeing fictional characters solve a case real life investigators can't (because then the investigators might be chided for not seeing the "easy" solution TV provides). I think a story where the BAU solves a current unsolved case is best served for fics- that way pet theories can be showcased without stepping on any toes- with the most the show itself actually doing be nothing more than referencing it and maybe mentioning that Rossi or Hotch left the investigators a profile and that they're routinely in touch with the investigators as the case progresses. What I'd enjoy, though, is seeing the team on a current case that involves a copycat of a past case, with flashbacks to that case providing tactics/clues to solve the current one. It'd be a great way to bring back old members of the BAU- like Max Ryan (who'd have so many fireworks with Rossi) and Katherine Cole- and it would help beef up the BAU backstory. Furthermore, I liked the references to real life cases the show used to bring up in the past- while I wouldn't want the show to use those cases as flashbacks, I want to see references to when the team worked on those cases, as it builds the "mythology" of the BAU even more.

"The Crossing", I think.

I think the only way I would accept a bisexual trait for Reid would be if Reid was the main, central character- that way they could make it a trait, treat it properly, and not have it overwhelm his character. If it were to happen on CM, I wouldn't trust the writers to not let it overwhelm his identity, especially considering how poorly defined the characters are as it is. I second the ideas for Morgan. I could be wrong, but I think the only time he ever used his bomb expertise was in “Won't Get Fooled Again”, which is far too long if you ask me. He should be the one who always disarms the bombs. Furthermore, it's been so long since the team had a bombing case- it'd be the perfect opportunity for Morgan to show off his expertise, as he'd be the best one to know why an UnSub used the materials that he did. (Which brings me to his other expertise- his status as the “obsessional crime expert”. They need to call that up far more often and they don't) I'd also love to see another undercover case- not just using Morgan, but in general. The BAU would be so effective at infiltrating crime rings that it's a shame the team doesn't do it more often. Also, finally wholeheartedly agree with the families cooking for the team and stuff. I've long held that at least some of these victims should be thankful they got rescued, and I think it'd be a great way to show that. I think I'd also like to see a family offer the team a place to stay or set up shop, with the family more active in the case, without the family coming under suspicion. We've really only seen this once, really- “Broken Mirror”- so it'd be nice if they used it again.

Us fans, yeah I'd agree- but that's because we've seen the character throughout the years and know all of his traits, not just one. The general public? Reid, I think, is a relative unknown to the public, but put a trait like bisexuality on him and all of a sudden you're going to get all kinds of media attention hyping how "open-minded" and "brave" the writers of CM are, and suddenly all the general public knows about Reid is that he's bisexual. Just about every gay character- from Will and Jack on "Will & Grace", to Ellen to "Modern Family"- could never shake the "gay" tag off the label for their characters, and I wouldn't want that to happen to Reid. Also, as zannej said, I wouldn't trust these writers not to make it hamfisted and awkward. I think back to "Broken" last year, where the writers seemed to treat "anti-homophobia" as some kind of "hip" thing to latch on to, and I would be afraid the writers would do that to Reid. It'd be all his character would do for a couple of episodes, essentially turning it into a gimmick- and Reid and the LGBT community as a whole deserves much more.

I would not be in favour of that idea. Not that I would have a problem with a bisexual male character on TV- I just think it would make Reid more known for being bisexual than for being smart, given the dearth of bisexual male characters on TV. I might concede that it would be a believable trait for Reid, though, given that he'd probably know a lot about Alfred Kinsey and his studies, but I'd stress that if the writers did go to the bisexual well, they handle it with care and not make it his most salient trait. This is because when it comes to Reid the writers seem to always think they have to “explain” his special-ness- be it with Asperger's or some other trait- without realizing the reason is staring right at them in the face: his brain.

You're welcome. Don't get me wrong- I don't think Criminal Minds is responsible for Jeff Hall's death (judging by the arrest report and the claim the house smelled of urine, there had to have been a lot of neglect going on), I just think it is possible Joseph did see an episode. It is possible he confused it with another show, like perhaps Law & Order: Criminal Intent, or CSI (the first time I saw CM, I thought it was “Criminal Intent”)...but, nonetheless, I think we can both agree TV doesn't cause people to become violent.

"Mosley Lane" aired on March 3, 2010. According to the arrest report (other sources: Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post), Jeff Hall was murdered on May 1, 2011, so it's more than enough time for the boy- identified as Joseph, who is now 13 and appealing his conviction- to have seen the episode and used it as justification to kill his father.