Spencer Reid: Gorgeous Gray Matter

[Old Dog]

[normasm]

Oh, my. I'm quaking at the quaking aspens. Uh, and that guy there, too.

[missmycat]

Say isn't Hunter's Birthday coming up real soon. Does anyone know how old the little guy is now.

[ForeverAlone]

Hunter's birthday was September 7th I believe. He turned three this year.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

For anyone who can watch on ION, Elephant's Memory just started. I really like the insight the episode gives into Reid's character and how he felt about the bullying he received, and while it isn't as pertinent as The Instincts or anything, MGG really sells Reid's emotions as they relate to the case.

[zannej]

Normasm mentioned in another thread something about wondering how MGG does the job when the writing is so inconsistent. (I'm too lazy to grab the quote). He has admitted that he doesn't watch the show and I think he probably just memorizes his lines and says them with as much emotion as he can muster that he feels is true to the moment, then he goes and draws monsters and makes plans for Halloween and tries not to think about the show. He rarely talks about the show and he travels a LOT, so I think he just doesn't really think all that much about it.

 

They've given him very little to do with the character over the past few seasons, so I don't think he's terribly invested-- and I don't blame him.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

To be fair, I wonder how any of them do it sometimes. As I said, MGG gives Reid whatever depth he can, but the writing is so damned scattershot most of the time that not even a really seasoned professional like Joe can sell it all the time.

[missmycat]

Okay for those of us who have Time Warner Cable, Life After Beth is currently ON DEMAND.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Is ON DEMAND a channel, MMC?

[missmycat]

Is ON DEMAND a channel, MMC?

CoStar it is several different channels. So it depends on what you want to watch. There are several movie channels. Some you have to pay. Some are free.Then there is a Prime Time channel that has all the major networks and their programs. There is also a Life Style Channel that includes HGTV channel, DIY channel, The Cooking Channel and The Food Network channel.  

Edited October 20, 2014 by missmycat

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Which one will Life After Beth be on?

[missmycat]

Which one will Life After Beth be on?

Well it's definitely going to be on one of the movie channels. I will try to find out which one and let you know.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Thankee! I'd check, but I can't find my schedule thing, which probably means it got thrown out. Grump.

[missmycat]

Thankee! I'd check, but I can't find my schedule thing, which probably means it got thrown out. Grump.

CoStar where I live it's on channel 500. Oh and there is a fee 3.99 or 4.99 if you want to watch it in HD. That's not a bad price because you get to rent it for at least 48 hours. You can also try using the guide button on your remote. What you want is the Movies on Demand channel or MOD.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Duly noted. Thanks for the info. :-)

[missmycat]

Duly noted. Thanks for the info. :-)

You are welcome. And please do let me know if you are successful in finding the right channel.

[missmycat]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kirstenking/reasons-to-love-dr-spencer-reid-from-criminal-minds#3b7tths 

 

 

Here is a fun little list regarding our gorgeous genius. I love her commentaries that she adds to each one.

[zannej]

Apparently Matthew missed the recent LA showing of Suburban Gothic but his mother was there. She apparently told people that Matthew was in New York for a photoshoot. That means more modeling pics are coming out.

[Knittzu]

Does anyone have a link or a source for the rumor that a Reid storyline was cut this season?

[JMO]

 

Does anyone have a link or a source for the rumor that a Reid storyline was cut this season?

 

There may be other articles stating that Reid was supposed to have storyline in episode 4, but this is where I saw it corrected:

 

Harry Bring ‏@LLPOS Aug 1

A. @LadyBJKD @DrRiedfanatic @WheresReenie @SmokeNmirrorsZ @gerrysbaby777 Reid will get his episode or two. Not to worry. Just not this one.

[ForeverAlone]

Originally spoilers talked about a story arc dealing with Reid's feelings about being shot, and the story was supposed to culminate in episode four. When Harry was asked about it when the fourth episode was filming, he said Reid's story was cut because it didn't fit with the rest of the episode. No clue on if the writers will replace that Reid story arc with another as nothing has officially been mentioned. I don't exactly trust anything the writers or producers say until I see it on the screen myself.

Edited October 23, 2014 by ForeverAlone

[normasm]

I don't know if you guys saw this, but:

http://screamfestla.com/blog/screamfest-2014-awards

 

He won best actor. I wonder if he got to be there for the award?

[zannej]

Oh nice! Also, Knittzu, even if you don't want to know too much about the actor's personal lives, its worth looking up Matthew Gray Gubler's "New York Story" from the Paley Center. It was hilarious. From all accounts, Matthew is a very nice sweet guy and is very kind to fans. He gives them piggyback rides, buys them dessert, and is generally very cool. I don't think I've ever heard of a fan encounter where he was rude.

[Knittzu]

I couldn't resist watching some of MGG's interviews after reading here there and everywhere what a nice guy he is. :) He seems amazingly sweet, genuine, and funny.

[missmycat]

I couldn't resist watching some of MGG's interviews after reading here there and everywhere what a nice guy he is. :) He seems amazingly sweet, genuine, and funny.

Knittzu you need to get a hold of and watch his mockumentaries. They are hilarious.

Matthew made them with the help of a friend and a member of the crew Andy Swan who has since passed away.Btw the character Andi Swan was named in his honor.

[Old Dog]

 

I love this picture!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I love the combination of tie-and-jacket with sneakers.

[Knittzu]

Knittzu you need to get a hold of and watch his mockumentaries.

 

 

I will look for those when I have some free time! 

Edited October 26, 2014 by Knittzu

[zannej]

I think they are called Matthew Gray Gubler Unauthorized docs and he basically pretends to be a jerk to make fun of the kinds of Hollywood types that he thought were annoying. The one with the dancing was pretty funny.

 

He also did a "pajama party" speech at University of New Hampshire that was pretty funny. He decided to lower the stress level that he wanted it to be a pajama party rather than formal event so he wore pajamas and invited the attendees to wear their pajamas. Off camera at the end he cut a girl's hair for her so she could donate it to a charity that makes wigs for cancer patients.

Edited October 26, 2014 by zannej

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

 

I don't know why they look like that, either.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[zannej]

I remember that outtake. She's all "I'm almost touching him. ewww" type thing. I need to find the pic taken just after Paget had accidentally nailed Gube in the crotch with her purse. LOL.

 

Edit: Aha! here's a black and white version

and color (just found it)

Edited October 26, 2014 by zannej

[normasm]

 

 

I don't know why they look like that, either.

Hahahaha! That's in-between takes, I've even seen it with sound. But it's funnier without...

[Droogie]

Hahahaha! That's in-between takes, I've even seen it with sound. But it's funnier without...

He had just said something like, "I'm not wearing any pants."

[Cobalt Stargazer]

He had just said something like, "I'm not wearing any pants."

 

HAH! I love it.

 

Also, The Uncanny Valley just came on ION.

[Droogie]

Question: If Reid has been clean 10 months as of "Elephant's Memory," up until which episode is he still using? I can't figure out the timeline.

[Knittzu]

Question: If Reid has been clean 10 months as of "Elephant's Memory," up until which episode is he still using? I can't figure out the timeline.

 

 

Good question. The writers basically refused to commit to anything (canonically; I have no idea what they were saying in interviews) about Reid's drug use. I imagine there was a lot of disagreement behind the scenes between the show creators and as a result, we wound up with a wishy-washy storyline. I'm pretty sure that Reid's statement "I'll never miss another plane" was supposed to neatly end it all, though.

[normasm]

I always thought he stopped after Jones, 2:18, and was actively past detox and into recovery by Honor Among Thieves, 2:20. Elephant's Memory was 3:16, so that's roughly (very roughly, I grant) 10 months and change in TV time.

 

I've said before how in Honor he was scratching the inside of his elbow and he was twitchy, etc. In Ashes and Dust, 2:17, he was talking about how an addict or arsonist could not stop without help, while looking balefully at Gideon. So I believe he was using from Fear and Loathing (2:16) through Jones (2:18). Of course, we can't calculate how much time passed between episodes, but it basically works.

[JMO]

It wouldn't surprise me if we were to learn that those nuances of Reid's behavior came about solely through the input of MGG. He is masterful with his body language, and seems concerned enough with continuity and logic (except when he's being totally 'out there' with an episode he's directing).

On the other hand, I would be surprised if it came from nearly anyone else. I recall that they had to go back and rewrite (and re-film, so they obviously didn't pick up on it right away) parts of 'Fear and Loathing', which was the very next episode after 'Revelations'.

[normasm]

I agree, it was subtle, and, if you didn't want to see it, it wasn't smushed in your face.

Personally, I'm glad they went this route, although, if you are gonna go there, go there. Matthew certainly could have handled it.

[zannej]

I think he used for about a month or two tops. Some people speculated 6 months, but I don't think they would have let him get away with it for that long. He would not have been able to keep up with the job. Plus I personally fanwank that Reid's drug supply was short and that if he did get new ones, that he managed to get a prescription by convincing doctors that he needed it (since he would know just what to say). I also suspect he may have tried legal alternatives to try to help.

 

One thing I wondered about was when the team last had their mandatory polygraph tests. Despite the fact that studies have shown that polygraphs are junk science that are biased against the innocent and the types they do for federal law enforcement are some of the least accurate ones out there-- the government now requires federal LEOs to take a polygraph every 5 years. Its ruined many careers. Of course, Reid would know how to pass it. But, the problem is, even if someone passes, if the polygraph examiner doesn't like them, they can say the person was being deceptive.

 

On a side note about Matthew, with the lack of screentime he's been having in the episodes and a few cases of seeming to be phoning it in, I wonder if he's got a whole leg out the door and is just ready to bail. He gets less screentime than Garcia used to get before she was a main cast member.

[normasm]

Well, zannej, dilaudid is the legal alternative to heroin, you just need a prescription. I think he wouldn't have shot up, he would have scored the pill version, but who knows?

 

I'm wondering the same about Mr. Gubler's leg.

Edited October 30, 2014 by normasm

[Knittzu]

Plus I personally fanwank that Reid's drug supply was short and that if he did get new ones, that he managed to get a prescription by convincing doctors that he needed it (since he would know just what to say).

 

 

The only way I can begin to accept the Reid addiction story is that he only used what he took from the unsub and when that was gone, he was finished. Can you see Reid out on the streets, scoring drugs? Or even knowing where to go to buy drugs? To me that is just ludicrous. But then I never accepted that he would have taken the drugs off the unsub and continued using on his own, either, so there's that.

[zannej]

normasm, from what I understand,the pill version of Dilaudid does not act as quickly and is not quite as effective as the injection type. I've heard that some hospitals will give people Dilaudid injections if they come in complaining of severe pain-- but generally there has to be some sort of correlating injury or known back problem. I choose to believe that Reid didn't obtain Dilaudid illegally because I don't buy that he would be quite *that* stupid, no matter how addicted he felt.

 

However, they did sort of imply that he might have had a dealer when he made a comment in a JSB episode about "you don't call your dealer, he calls you". I believe I asked JSB about it on Twitter and she didn't remember. Reid generally uses "you" to mean its something personal to him that is within his realm of experience. But I don't think the current writers pay attention to things like that so I think it was not intentional.

 

I do actually like the idea of Reid only using the amount of Dilaudid that he took off of Tobias, but I'm not sure how long it would have lasted. The writers were pretty inconsistent on that story because some of them didn't like it.

[Knittzu]

I choose to believe that Reid didn't obtain Dilaudid illegally because I don't buy that he would be quite *that* stupid, no matter how addicted he felt.

 

 

And!

As intelligent as Reid is, buying illegal drugs requires a skill-set that he simply does not possess. It would require street smarts, and connections, and not to even mention the ability to pass himself off as something other than a law enforcement agent to a very paranoid set of people. I can’t imagine it, no matter how I turn it over in my mind. I can’t buy that Reid knows people who deal soft drugs, let alone heroin. I can’t visualize Reid interacting with a heroin dealer, or even knowing how to ask for what he wanted in the correct coded speech. Does the show expect me to believe that he went wandering around in the bad part of town randomly asking shady characters if they were selling? Because that’s silly. That’s how you wind up dead, especially if you look and talk like Reid.

 

And then there’s the whole “getting caught would end his career” angle… although I could certainly buy that on some level, he wants out.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

As intelligent as Reid is, buying illegal drugs requires a skill-set that he simply does not possess. It would require street smarts, and connections, and not to even mention the ability to pass himself off as something other than a law enforcement agent to a very paranoid set of people. I can’t imagine it, no matter how I turn it over in my mind. I can’t buy that Reid knows people who deal soft drugs, let alone heroin. I can’t visualize Reid interacting with a heroin dealer, or even knowing how to ask for what he wanted in the correct coded speech. Does the show expect me to believe that he went wandering around in the bad part of town randomly asking shady characters if they were selling? Because that’s silly. That’s how you wind up dead, especially if you look and talk like Reid.

 

I agree with this.  Though he is from Vegas and his mother was not the most attentive parent because of reasons beyond her control, Reid would probably have no idea of how to act around people who experiment  with drugs, much less sell them. He's intelligent enough to learn the correct terms and whatnot, to memorize the parlance. but I can't see him interacting with even casual drug users very comfortably. Try to  picture Spencer sitting around a party or something, and someone passes him a joint. He wouldn't know how to react, most likely. It's even harder for me to imagine him out on his own trying to score a fix, and that's presuming that by some freak accident he'd know where to look because of his work. I'm sure that Reid has been in enough police stations over the span of his career to maybe know how to find the kind of people who sell the hardcore stuff like heroin, but I can't imagine him actually seeking such a person out without something bad happening.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Droogie]

normasm, from what I understand,the pill version of Dilaudid does not act as quickly and is not quite as effective as the injection type. I've heard that some hospitals will give people Dilaudid injections if they come in complaining of severe pain-- but generally there has to be some sort of correlating injury or known back problem. I choose to believe that Reid didn't obtain Dilaudid illegally because I don't buy that he would be quite *that* stupid, no matter how addicted he felt..

I'm an RN in an ICU and I can say that at my hospital, eerrrrrrrryybody gets Dilaudid. Lots and lots of it. It boggles.

Also, on a technical note, the first time Tobias shot him up, Reid most likely would've vomited up his toenails.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Droogie

[zannej]

I don't think Reid would have gone and tried to by Heroine. He wanted Dilaudid. He might have known some pharmacists and have read some files somewhere that named some suspected dealers of Dilaudid. I don't think Reid actually comes across as a law enforcement agent though. He might come across as a geeky college student or scientist of some sort. And if he was visibly showing signs of withdrawal, a person selling might recognize it and know he needed a hit and that his desire for drugs was legit rather than him trying to bust them. I absolutely agree that he wouldn't fit in on the streets trying to get drugs though. He would probably go to somewhat safer places. But my gut still tells me that he would have done his best to use deception to get a prescription-- assuming he ran out of the stuff he took from Tobias. 

 

There were a few things that I did wonder about in that storyline.

1. Didn't they send him to the hospital to have him checked out? He had a head injury (btw, its BAD to give Dilaudid to someone with a head injury)

2. Shouldn't they have sent him to a shrink for assessment like Hotch wanted to do with Elle? (granted, Reid would have known just what to say to convince a shrink that he was ok)

3. Would they have drug tested him later on since they knew he'd been drugged?

4. Was he actively using while at work or was he using on downtime?

5. Did he have any time off after his ordeal or did he go straight back to work?

[ForeverAlone]

Reid SHOULD have had a medical exam after he was rescued, because he was obviously injured and the track marks should have been noted at the time. And yes, you would think Reid would have needed some counseling or at minimum a psychological exam to be cleared for duty, but the team seemed to just let him flail on his own. I don't think the writers mapped out Reid's arc well enough.

[normasm]

Actually, I don't think they knew he was being forcibly drugged, or at least they left that part ambiguous as well. Whenevr Tobias was shooting him up, the camera was off. They may have seen the track marks at the hospital (and yes, Gideon would have insisted he go), and he would have been tested, hospitalized, possibly even detoxed if he was still high. My mind says they did all that, and that he concealed Tobias' drugs and took them with him home. He struggled not to take them, finally stole some syringe/needle kit, and shot up until it was gone (over time, of course).

 

Droogie, I've never had dilaudid, but demerol affects me that way - I've never been so sick, it was worse than what I was suffering from that needed painkillers. 

 

My niece frequently has problems that require hospitalization from pain, etc., and they always start her off with morphine, which doesn't touch the pain. She ends up with dilaudid running around in her system when the morphine hasn't had a chance to clear. Gah.

[SSAHotchner]

I've had morphine after some surgeries and it made me itch all over. Also, what they give you is barely enough to take the edge off the pain (those pumps that only allow you to administer a tiny bit of the drug at predetermined intervals) so I was still really hurting and itching all over. I decided as long as I was going to hurt anyway, I may as well not take the morphine, so I told them to disconnect it. 

 

I'm still convinced that the overall writing and stories were so much better in the early days that we didn't question every little detail at the time like we do now. Revelations was a powerful episode and MGG was magnificent in it. You felt the tension and deep concern of the rest of the team and there was great profiling. I loved learning about Reid's childhood even though it made your heart break for him even more. And we got little insights into his relationship with others on the team. Unlike all the eye rolling over Reid's intelligence in recent seasons, you had several of the team admitting that they could really use Reid's brain to solve the case. There was the scene with Gideon and Hotch where Hotch says he takes advantage of Reid's brain but he never teaches him how to deal with things emotionally. And then the scene where Reid gives Hotch a clue by quoting Scripture incorrectly. I know some of you don't like to watch this episode because you can't bear to see Reid being tortured, but I think it's a wonderful episode. We get lots of backstory and personal connection between the team, but it enhances the case rather than detracting from it.