The Bullpen

[missmycat]

Yes there is.

http://www.criminalmindsroundtable.blogspot.com

[Wilowy]

Thanks for the link, MMC. :)

[Danielg342]

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.

[ForeverAlone]

Assuming AJ actually said what was attributed to her in that interview, I can see it.

AJ said EVERYBODY will be up for contract renewal next year. If she really meant that, she meant Matthew as well, which means he only signed a one year contract. And if he did only sign a one year contract, it likely means CBS has no real plans to continue the show after season 10, or that Matthew is looking to leave.

But even if she didn't mean Matthew and he signed a two year contract (which we have no clue either way since there has been no press release about his contract renewal), everybody ELSE is up for contract renewal next year. That means Erica and all the other actors. Shemar has already said he is leaving, though if the show is renewed, he might change his mind. All other actors will have to be renegotiated and that means pay raises for all.

Pay raises means increased costs, and I don't know what CBS's breaking point is for costs it is willing to pay when it comes to Criminal Minds. Yeah it wins in the ratings, but CBS doesn't own the show outright like other shows on the network, and it has canceled shows in the past due to rising production costs.

At best I see a very late renewal for Criminal Minds like after season eight, because CBS is not likely to renew the show if certain gates aren't met for contract renewals, assuming CBS wants to renew the show in the first place.

Edited June 10, 2014 by ForeverAlone

[Wilowy]

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. 

 

Daniel it was an English translation of a French interview. It's real.

 

http://www.ozap.com/actu/a-j-cook-esprits-criminels-mon-licenciement-a-ete-comme-un-mauvais-reve/453671

[zannej]

Interesting. I do wonder if the show will go beyond season 10. In some ways I hope it does. In others, I'm not so sure. I do hope that they come out with another Criminal Minds video game-- but maybe this time it will be one that doesn't suck so much. The graphics were hilariously bad in it and they didn't get any of the voices of the actors. I liked the object finding challenges and the majong parts. I also liked that in one of the game chapters, a nurse was flirting with Reid.

 

I would love to see them do a more involved one with the cast doing voices and having some more action and better graphics.

[zannej]

Here's a screenshot from the end of the case from the Criminal Minds Game

 

At the last moment, Morgan lifted a hand to wave bye-bye to the unsub that was being taken away in a police car.

[Wilowy]

Hee! Funny how they'll give Prentiss elaborate French cuffs on her blouse, but won't bother to tailor Hotch's suit. Dare I say he looks... rumpled, here? Reid's gun is on the wrong side and his shoulders are broader than that. JJ looks great and so does Rossi, but Morgan looks like he forgot to go to the gym! :D

 

Still, that's awesome. None of the other crime shows have a video game, do they?

[zannej]

They basically took some still shots of the cast and made them look more cartoonish. It actually looks quite a bit like they used the Posterize feature in Photoshop. They must have taken a shot of Reid when he was facing the other way and they just did an image flip to get him facing the way they wanted. His hair and outfit changed a little bit throughout the game IIRC.

 

The game originally didn't have JJ because it was made during season 6 but they postponed the release date so they could add her in after they saw the fan backlash on CBS over her departure. They did an awful job on Emily's face. LOL.

 

There are quite a few video games based on other crime shows. X-Files had a game (which was actually very good). I know it wasn't a typical crime show though. It was done years before but it had very good graphics and interesting interactions. Law & Order had at least one game (possibly more). You had to examine the crime scene for evidence and then ask the right questions during interviews as well as ask the right questions for the trial part. I know there was at least one CSI game. It had better graphics and you had to examine crime scenes. There was annoying thing where every time you would click on one part it would play the soundbyte of one of the characters talking about that area and there was no way to fast-forward. It was sort of pissy on the controls and where you had to click. The CM game was much more primitive than those ones. I played all 3, but the CM one is the only one I remember completing. It's only two cases and is relatively short.

 

I would really love to see them do a better version for CM in honor of season 10. Matthew seemed to like the idea of doing voicework for the game when the game was mentioned to him.

 

I'm pondering making a thread about the game and any ideas for a CM game where people can throw in what they would like to see: gameplay, case details, etc. or maybe a thread that covers the game and other CM mdse like t-shirts and mugs that we've seen around online.

Edited June 16, 2014 by zannej

[Wilowy]

Hey Matthew-lovers! 

 

I've nominated him for a reddit AMA! For those of you that don't know what it is, reddit is widely known as "the front page of the internet", and AMA means "ask me anything". Hundreds if not thousands of celebs have done them, and continue to do them every day, and I think it's high-time Matthew got his chance. These are extremely popular Q&A's, I think the best one I've ever seen was from Sarah Michelle Gellar and that was just a couple of months ago. They don't just do A or B-list celebs, either, they run the gamut. Bobcat Goldthwait did one not too long ago, and so did Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Joss Whedon did one a while ago, so did Ben Stiller, Bill Cosby... and the list goes on.

 

If you'd like to support an AMA for Matthew, go here and upvote it by clicking the orange arrow in the upper left corner of the page, and leaving a comment saying how great he is and that you want to see him. The more votes he gets, the more likely he is to get one.

 

Personally I think he'd love to do one, they have someone type and sort for him, so all he'd have to do is answer. And there are A LOT of silly/funny/poignant questions! Rude and inappropriate questions get rejected, so no problem there. I think he'd be great!

[Wilowy]

Okay, well I'm deeply honored and excitedly looking forward to next week. None other than Simon Mirren himself has agreed to be my next interview! If you like the way he ran things, or episodes he wrote, or there is anything you'd like to ask one of the original shapers of Criminal Minds, feel free to PM me or leave your question here. I'm almost finished, but wanted to throw it out there in case any of you have a burning question for him. 

[SSAHotchner]

Well, Willowy, certainly let Simon know that there are a lot of us out there who liked and miss the way he ran the show.

[Wilowy]

Indeed, that is a given. Anything more specific you'd care to ask him?

[missmycat]

I'd like to know if Simon ever regrets leaving CM and if he had been given the job as CM's show runner, what would he maybe have done differently.

Of course he may not want to answer that out of professional courteousness for Erica Messer. 

[Wilowy]

I'd like to know that too, MMC. 

[mstaken]

I can't wait to read it, Willowy! A few questions that leap to mind: 

 

Which team members does he see as having the closest relationships?

 

Does he think Elle and Prentiss would have formed a close relationship? 

 

Does he regret that the show moved away from giving the characters more defined, specialized niches? (e.g. Morgan as obsessional crimes expert, Elle as sex crimes expert, etc.) 

 

I'd love to know how the writers originally viewed JJ's character and how, if at all, he feels she's changed over the course of the series. I'd also love to know if they would have written a storyline about JJ having Will's baby if the actress hadn't been pregnant in real life.

 

What are his personal favorite and least favorite episodes? If he had to pick one favorite season, which would it be? 

Edited June 21, 2014 by mstaken

[Wilowy]

Whee, those are great! Your 3 and 5 are already in there, but I'll definitely add the others too! Thanks, @mstaken!

[zannej]

I'll probably end up thinking of a question AFTER the interview. LOL.

 

I am curious to know what he thought of the spy arc. Although he probably won't give an honest answer if he didn't like it...

 

Btw, did anyone see on Joe Mantegna's feed that his daughter Gia has started recording "music". IMO, its not great, but its better than some of what is out there from so-called professionals.

[SSAHotchner]

There are things I'd like to ask, but I'm thinking he wouldn't answer them, nor would I want to put him on the spot. But I'd love to know if he ever regrets leaving. Did his leaving have anything to do with what happened with the writers? I'm sure he'll say something generic and polite like he just wanted to move on.

[zannej]

IIRC, Garcia was his favorite character. I'd like to know what it was about Garcia that made her his favorite.

[Danielg342]

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)?

[SSAHotchner]

Danielg, the spinoff was created before they even knew that Prentiss would actually leave and that there'd be a spy arc. The pilot for the spinoff was in season 5, The Fight. I don't think they even told AJ she would not be back in season 6 or let Paget know that her screen time would be cut at that point. I think the spinoff would have fared better if they hadn't screwed AJ and Paget on the original series and then brought in Rachel Nichols in a character that just had no business being in the BAU, especially after they spent 5 seasons telling the audience what an elite unit it was and how just any agent couldn't get in, so why on earth would a rookie be invited in? I know many folks from various online message boards who just plain boycotted the spinoff for those reasons. I watched some of it, but the chemistry just wasn't there. In my opinion, the reason why the original show has been so successful is that viewers love the team. The team on the spinoff just didn't gel. And the cases weren't anything special. Old Ed Bernero really shot himself in the foot with that idea.

 

Sorry to go off on a tangent here, but I don't think that this particular question works based on my answer above.  I like your other ideas, though.

[JMO]

There are a couple of things I wonder about:

How does a writer's approach differ from the beginning, when they have free reign to create a character, to later on, when the character is established?  Is there any sense of responsibility to maintain some general character traits?  At what point do they look upon a character as 'established'?  (thinking of the weekly swings in Reid's behaviors, and the annual ones in JJ's)

 

How do the writers work together to create a unified voice for a character?  Or do they?

 

How does the emphasis for a series change over time?  Is there pressure to focus more on the characters, now that the audience has become attached to them?

 

How do you know when you're out of stories?

 

Do the writers ever write to the demo?  How do they try to bring in new viewers?  Thinking about the many people who've expressed the opinion that the writing has devolved to appeal to a newer, younger, group of viewers. 

 

One very concrete question:  Does he think CM has become more or less graphic over time?  If more, is that a consequence of spending more time with the unsub?

[Wilowy]

"How do you know when you're out of stories?"

 

Fucking AWESOME question.

[zannej]

DanielG, I'll have to find the link again, but one of the higher ups in CBS said that the reason JJ and Prentiss were dumped was because of the spinoff. They wanted to make the original show be more like the spinoff and for some reason that meant ditching two of the female leads. I have no idea what the thought process was, but I secretly suspect there were some drugs involved in the decision making process-- or possibly a brain-damaging head injury to the people who thought it was a good idea.

 

I wonder what Simon thought of the Reid's headache story. And what made them think they were losing Matthew at the end of season 6 (is he allowed to say why?) We got different stories on that but they initially said it was something genetic and that it was conceived as Reid's swan song. I want to know what changed and why they were left unable to come up with a real conclusion for the story. I refuse to accept the Morgan pep talk as making it better and that Maeve "cured" him.

[missmycat]

So CBS has announced the premiere dates for their shows this fall, both returning ones and new ones.

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/06/24/cbs-announces-fall-premiere-dates-2/276598

Edited June 25, 2014 by missmycat

[zannej]

Thanks, MMC. Hmm.. so episode 10.01 airs 10/01.

[dusang]

I've often wondered why they bother to "deliver the profile" and provide suggestions on what to look for and searches to run, when the local police are NEVER the ones to actually run the searches or identify a potential unsub.  (That may be an overstatement, the police may have provided assistance once or twice in the past nine seasons.)

 

ETA: Haha, I was in the middle of "What Fresh Hell" when I posted that comment and a few minutes later one of the local police provided information from the tip line to identify the ubsub.  I guess I stand corrected!!  Although, since then I think they have come to rely on Garcia a lot more.

Edited June 27, 2014 by dusang

[zannej]

dusang, you have a good point. I think they really do rely much more on Garcia magically finding things on the computer now. It's like they forgot that the police can actually do legwork and bring them info as well. I remember in the earlier seasons they would actually go through paper files and go do interviews but now a lot of the time, they just substitute that with Garcia finding things-- a lot of the times she finds things that are highly unlikely to be on computer.

 

I actually wouldn't mind if they had her get info from the system that collects data on people to use for political calls. There is a huge database where info from google, online stores, and ISPs is shared with a 3rd party that compiles data and then sells it to interested parties-- normally marketers or political groups-- so they can send people advertisements, post specific ads in their feed, call them and ask them polls (they generally will call people that they think are inclined to lean a certain way to skew the results in their favor), or call and claim they are offering important info but they are really trying to solicit votes for a specific candidate. It's illegal for people in Virginia to view this info, but I'm willing to bet those people still get to see it if they have enough money. Anyway, Garcia would be able to see who visited sites, what sorts of things people bought, etc. It would be interested to see how the team members felt about the availability of that info. Would some be in favor? Would some be against it? I think it would probably be one of the reasons that Reid is cautious about computers. I like to fanwank that the growing dependence on technology and the increasing lack of privacy is one of the reasons he now forsakes computers.

 

Also, it was Nina Tassler who said that the spinoff was the reason for JJ and Prentiss being booted off the show. I couldn't remember her name before. This came after Ed Bernero was adamantly insisting that the spinoff had absolutely NOTHING to do with the firings.

[dusang]

a lot of the times she finds things that are highly unlikely to be on computer.

 

I used to work at a non-profit and often compared Garcia's databases to our own.  She could sit in a room and map the illicit sexual relationships of a small town across the country while we couldn't compile a comprehensive list of our own donors.

[Wilowy]

Some of the stuff she comes up with is unbelievable, yes, but I have no trouble with most of it. Also thinking that the resources the FBI has access to are a far cry from a non-profit. 

[dusang]

Some of the stuff she comes up with is unbelievable, yes, but I have no trouble with most of it.

 

My suspension of disbelief is pretty powerful but I do have problems with some of it.  Apart from the basic fact that not every piece of data in the world has been digitized, it really bothers me when they pull hospital and other health records without any qualms.  That is confidential information and it is illegal to access it.

 

Also thinking that the resources the FBI has access to are a far cry from a non-profit.

 

Yes and no.  Her data compiler program is probably a lot more sophisticated but she's dependent on source databases akin to the one we used -- filled with bad data and poorly structured data fields that prevent effective queries.

[Wilowy]

But she's not dependent on only those. She hacks a lot, too. Gets into places that are supposedly 'off limits' all the time. She hasn't lost all her contacts from her old days (and I'm sure she updates her network periodically), and she certainly remembers and uses some of those methods, especially in these later seasons. :)

[dusang]

She hacks a lot, too.  

 

Yes, she hacks off-limit databases.

[Wilowy]

Sad news, folks. Meshach Taylor, who played Rossi's former Sergeant and was a close personal friend of Joe's, has died. 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/06/29/meshach-taylor-dies/11703225/

[Danielg342]

Danielg, the spinoff was created before they even knew that Prentiss would actually leave and that there'd be a spy arc. The pilot for the spinoff was in season 5, The Fight. I don't think they even told AJ she would not be back in season 6 or let Paget know that her screen time would be cut at that point. I think the spinoff would have fared better if they hadn't screwed AJ and Paget on the original series and then brought in Rachel Nichols in a character that just had no business being in the BAU, especially after they spent 5 seasons telling the audience what an elite unit it was and how just any agent couldn't get in, so why on earth would a rookie be invited in? I know many folks from various online message boards who just plain boycotted the spinoff for those reasons. I watched some of it, but the chemistry just wasn't there. In my opinion, the reason why the original show has been so successful is that viewers love the team. The team on the spinoff just didn't gel. And the cases weren't anything special. Old Ed Bernero really shot himself in the foot with that idea.

 

Sorry to go off on a tangent here, but I don't think that this particular question works based on my answer above.  I like your other ideas, though.

 

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.

[zannej]

Willowy, that is sad news. I always liked Meshach Taylor on Designing Women and I think he was in at least one of the Mannequin movies...

 

Danielg, I think the point was, they thought the spinoff would be this cool new "edgy" thing and that it would somehow be cooler than original CM because they had a "rogue" team with extremely implausible characters and they somehow thought that the two women on original CM didn't fit in this redone version of the CM world so they axed them. I do agree that it would have been a good landing point for both characters if there had been any sense, but as it was, in their vision of the new CM, there was no place for them. I really never understood their reasoning-- it seems like putting the cart before the horse.

[Danielg342]

Danielg, I think the point was, they thought the spinoff would be this cool new "edgy" thing and that it would somehow be cooler than original CM because they had a "rogue" team with extremely implausible characters and they somehow thought that the two women on original CM didn't fit in this redone version of the CM world so they axed them. I do agree that it would have been a good landing point for both characters if there had been any sense, but as it was, in their vision of the new CM, there was no place for them. I really never understood their reasoning-- it seems like putting the cart before the horse.

 

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.

[SSAHotchner]

I can't see why they hired Janeanne  Garofalo. Although outspoken in real life, her character was very bland. None of them seemed to bond together in any way. As for them being a rogue team, the cases weren't anything special. They were nothing that couldn't have been handled by the BAU or even the local PD, if I recall. The series was just a big miss all around.

[mausekind]

I don't know what to think about this casting:

http://tvline.com/2014/07/01/jennifer-love-hewitt-criminal-minds-season-10/

 

TVLine has learned that TV vet Jennifer Love Hewitt is joining the crime drama during Season 10 in a series regular role.

Edited July 1, 2014 by mausekind

[Wilowy]

Here too: http://criminalmindsfans.com/criminal-minds-breaking-news-jennifer-love-hewitt-joins-bau/

 

She could be pretty good! I'm feeling optimistic but reserving judgment until I've seen her with our team.

[zannej]

My gut reaction was a facepalm on this one. I didn't like the decision. Then I started to think about it.

I'm on the fence on this one. I've seen JLH on a few shows and I've seen her on talk shows. She was adorable on talk shows and she seems like a sweet girl. I'm not certain on her acting chops. I think it all depends on the writing for her. I can't imagine her passing the physical stuff for the FBI and I have no idea what her character's specialty will be. I'm willing to give it a chance and hope they don't blow it. Hopefully she will get along well with the cast. She's very emotional from what I've seen. I remember that when some fans got to meet her and give her a letter to tell her how much they appreciated her, she burst into tears and was very touched. Her story of trying to meet Tom Cruise and accidentally bumping into him with a tray of shrimp and then being too embarrassed to talk to him afterward was amusing. 

On a side note, she used to date Jamie Kennedy (the unsub from "Lucky").

[dusang]

My first reaction to the casting news was to cringe but on further reflection, despite her questionable career choices (Ghost Whisperer, The Client List) she does always come across a lot more likable than expected in interviews.  So she's done some bad material -- girl's gotta eat, right?

 

And I'll always have a soft spot for her from a Conan interview where she mocked the affected speech patterns that she and several of her costars adopted during Party of 5 --  I hated that hiccuping "emoting" so much.

[zannej]

I mentioned the news to my brother and he said something about how she made the trend of "vagazzling" popular. That was the one thing he associated with her (and he does watch CM).

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I mentioned the news to my brother and he said something about how she made the trend of "vagazzling" popular. That was the one thing he associated with her (and he does watch CM).

Wait.....WHAT?! No, really, what?

[Wilowy]

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Oh, good Lord. *facepalm* I need to stop wanting to know things, I really do.

[zannej]

ROTFL. Thanks for that link, Willowy. I love Conan and Andy. And JLH does have a lot of spunk and personality. I just remembered that she was in a movie with Jackie Chan and he thought she was adorable and loved to see her laugh so he kept deliberately making her laugh.

 

Who wants to bet that Matthew will be trying to make her laugh as often as he can. If she laughs at his jokes he'll probably adore her. Hopefully her exuberance will help the cast feel refreshed and happy.

 

Cobalt, it does seem like a bit of TMI, but I've heard of much worse.

[Wilowy]

Andy makes it, man. He's SO funny!!

[missmycat]

I wonder what in the heck is going on with the CM Set Report. It hasn't been updated since the 22nd of June. Despite the fact that there have been a couple of notable news items involving the show,such as it's premiere date and the addition of a new character. Meanwhile the last item that was posted on it had absolutely nothing to do with the show.