Criminal Minds Analysis: Profile The Show

[normasm]

It seems I failed to communicate my ideas again. What I meant is that an iq of 140 would give you the abstract category of 'genius', but then there are people that have higher iqs, and these are categorised as "excepcionally gifted", and then those who have even higher iqs are called "profoundly gifted".

Still, the point is that the current version of Reid can't use a remote control. Or a laptop. And the only ability they seem to use is his eidetic memory. Sometimes.

Oops, my bad MCatry, it was I who misunderstood you, not you who misstated anything. Now i get what you were saying!

[SSAHotchner]

I agree with everything you've said,but as a huge Reid fan what pissed me off and what I found to be the most offensive was some where along the line they decided they Garcia was also a genius.That is sure not the way it was in the beginning. Yes it was established that she was brilliant and highly intelligent when it came to computers,but to me that isn't necessarily the same as being an outright genius.The question that should be asked is: Would Garcia be able to solve a rather complex problem without help from a computer? I seriously doubt it,but we certainly know that Reid can. Therefore she has no damn business being touted as a genius of the same caliber that he is. To me this is just more of MESSer's attempt to make Reid as irrelevant as possible.She knows she can't get rid of him outright because the fan backlash would be too great.So this is the next best thing she can do. And CBS just sits back on their collective asses and continues to allow this woman to treat the show's most popular character this way, for the simple reason, they don't have to worry about being accused of sexism for allowing her to do it. That plus MGG is just too nice of a guy to make any kind of stink about the way his character has been treated these past couple of seasons.

Oh, yeah. It's bad enough that they try to convince the viewers that she's a genius when she really only excels at IT. Hey, don't get me wrong. That's quite an accomplishment. But Reid was such a unique and interesting character right off the bat. He wasn't by any means the typical TV nerd. And he's completely adorable. Just think about the pilot episode. Hotch introduced the team and their areas of expertise to the field office, and when he got to Reid he said, "our expert on....well, everything." And you saw in those early seasons how only facts he knew or insights he had were instrumental in solving the cases.  But to get back to Garcia, what drives me nuts is the number of lines she has about how smart, accomplished, etc. she is. As my mother used to say, "self-praise stinks." And there's just too much sexual banter now. While it was funny in "In Name and Blood" when she thought she was talking to Morgan and said, "Talk dirty to me," to Strauss, the amount of sexual comments and also the content of them have grown to be obnoxious. Again, ERICA, less is more.

[missmycat]

Because I can't no longer stomach what CM has been turned into (the Vomit-Inducing Adventures of Princess Mary Sue Shinyhair), I've been dipping my toes in other fandoms to see if there's anything else out there.

While it is not my intent to speak for other people, I do have to wonder if this isn't one of the biggest reasons why we have not heard from poster like SweetTooth  and Knittzu  for quite sometime now.I know for me it is the biggest reason CM is no longer must see tv for me and that in fact I purposely missed more than one episode last season.I was pretty much hanging on by the skin of my teeth last season.And that was solely do to MGG/Reid that I even bothered to be invested in the show that much.

Edited July 11, 2015 by missmycat

[Cobalt Stargazer]

While it is not my intent to speak for other people, I do have to wonder if this isn't one of the biggest reasons why we have not heard from poster like SweetTooth  and Knittzu  for quite sometime now.I know for me it is the biggest reason CM is no longer must see tv for me and that in fact I purposely missed more than one episode last season.I was pretty much hanging on by the skin of my teeth last season.And that was solely do to MGG/Reid that I even bothered to be invested in the show that much.

 

Public opinion's a funny old thing, isn't it? If you read the posts here, it seems as if most of (the general) us are so sick of JJ we could vomit, and that seems to be directly proportional to (or in direct contradiction of) what the Facebook/Twitter crowd thinks of her. Without making it into 'us versus them', because I don't think its as simple as that, I will say that I don't think Messer's overweening fondness for the character or the actress has helped her case with us, even if its only because it makes it seem as if the yammering on Twitter gets more attention than our, IMO, more well-thought out posts. Blah-blah-sexism-cakes, whatever, that doesn't change the fact that no one likes to be ignored.

 

I am also mostly still hanging around for MGG, which I guess makes my life pretty sad since they use him so poorly anymore. What makes it worse is that CM can still blow the doors off when they really try. Mr. Scratch is proof of that, and that they choose instead to serve up drivel like The Forever People just makes me shake my head in wonder, and not in a good way.

[Old Dog]

I've held the view for some years now and expressed it many times - they are targeting a younger audience these days and that is why the opinion of the predominantly young users of social media seem to carry most weight with the production team and writers. I have every respect for teenagers (most at least)  but I do not think they should be the yardstick by which a complex and dark programme like CM should be produced. They do not have the life experience and knowledge to set the standards for a show like this.

I personally dislike Facebook as I find it especially vacuous and seldom venture on it but I do follow Twitter to get news and pictures about CM and quite frankly the intellectual level of some of the comments made to the posts makes me despair of the human race at times!

I desperately want a return to the clever, subtle dark show we know it was and could still be (Mr Scratch) and no more of the Disney/Horror/Superhero mash up that they do to try to draw in the younger viewers.

By Gosh it feels good to have a morning rant - clears the brain!

[spinner33]

Rants are very therapeutic.  

 

I do find it vaguely amusing that other shows have the same problem with one-dimensional, badly-written characters though.  Sucky, bad characters abound.   Mostly due to producers who are obsessed with their own favorite actress or character.  

 

There needs to be a fail-safe on TV shows, where if the producer has their head up too far up someone's ass, and the show is suffering, then this fail-safe kicks in.  A suck-o-meter which rates each episode? 

[MCatry]

Okay, so I ran into a problem. I thought I could just edit the data from the old charts to add groups. It does work but it doesn't make the chart any bigger it just cuts the columns and makes the values overlap.

Maybe it would be a good idea to add a table so the figures are readable.

[ForeverAlone]

But if Erica was valuing the opinion of the younger fans more, you would think they would feature Reid more, since he is beloved by the younger fans, and seem to make up a huge chunk of the Reid fanbase these days. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[Old Dog]

But if Erica was valuing the opinion of the younger fans more, you would think they would feature Reid more, since he is beloved by the younger fans, and seem to make up a huge chunk of the Reid fanbase these days. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

That's the anomaly in all this and I put it down to Erica Messer's obsession with JJ and to a lesser extent with Morgan and Garcia. So when the teenage JJ fans kept calling for some fallout from JJ's torture we got the awful Forever People despite the length of time that had passed. Similarly, because they all go gaga over Garcia we got those ridiculous storylines in The Black Queen and Burn. The times we actually do get some Reid they really do some appalling scenes for him like the fitness test, the time his mom had that miraculous improvement in her illness and the Cinderella take down - but all the FB fans went crazy for those in spite of them being badly written, OOC and ridiculously juvenile so maybe the showrunner and writers think they ARE catering to the Reid fans when they read the squeeing fan reaction to those episodes.

It may be simply the fact that most of the current writers don't know how to write for Reid or maybe the rumour that Reid is Messer's least favourite character is actually true,

[missmycat]

Rants are very therapeutic.  

 

I do find it vaguely amusing that other shows have the same problem with one-dimensional, badly-written characters though.  Sucky, bad characters abound.   Mostly due to producers who are obsessed with their own favorite actress or character.  

 

There needs to be a fail-safe on TV shows, where if the producer has their head up too far up someone's ass, and the show is suffering, then this fail-safe kicks in.  A suck-o-meter which rates each episode? 

I agree. However in AJ/JJ's case I would surmise that there are probably some CBS executives keeping Erica MESSer company.

Edited July 11, 2015 by missmycat

[amensisterfriend]

Lately I am really missing Prentiss, or maybe more accurately the amazing potential of all that Prentiss could have been. 

 

...I'll spare you all my full-length rant, but that's the Cliff Notes version :) 

[SSAHotchner]

Lately I am really missing Prentiss, or maybe more accurately the amazing potential of all that Prentiss could have been. 

 

...I'll spare you all my full-length rant, but that's the Cliff Notes version :) 

Me, too. In fact, when JJ is speaking, I often hear the lines as they would have come out of Prentiss instead of AJ's more wooden delivery. 

[SSAHotchner]

Okay, so I ran into a problem. I thought I could just edit the data from the old charts to add groups. It does work but it doesn't make the chart any bigger it just cuts the columns and makes the values overlap. I'm going to have to do this by 5-6 episodes at a time. 

Broken Mirror is skipped since Garcia and JJ have no lines.

 

And I love Broken Mirror! This is the way it should be. 

[katha]

I've held the view for some years now and expressed it many times - they are targeting a younger audience these days and that is why the opinion of the predominantly young users of social media seem to carry most weight with the production team and writers.

JJ, Morgan are probably the ones used to target a younger demo. You know, make them "cool", action heroes etc. OTOH there were articles with "sources" saying that CBS etc. see JM and TG as vital for the survival of the show during contract negs a few years ago. And I can believe that. They do probably have trackers about audience response that goes beyond social media. And the faithful CM audience that skews older and makes up a large part of viewership is likely anchored to the show mostly through those two. So they have to cater to that audience to some degree. And IMO they do that, there might be dissatisfaction about it not being enough or how screen time is used (sub-par writing is more of a problem for Rossi than Hotch IMO), but both Rossi and Hotch get a decent amount of screen time and attention each season. The statistics thread about screen time on this forum also shows that.

 

The problem for Reid as a character might be...pure speculation here: I tend to agree that TPTB probably think they're doing great with Reid and often social media response will reinforce that. As long as he's "cute and adorable" it might get approval from vocal parts of his fanbase, no matter how ridiculous the writing. As a character he also comes with certain traps: He has certain loud, obvious characteristics. Also nuances, complexities and so on, but as a writer it's perhaps easier to just play into stereotypes with him and turn him into caricature.

[SSAHotchner]

Words in Season 1

Spencer - 11536

JJ - 4089

Garcia - 3744

Been watching some season 1 on ION today. JJ's line delivery in many episodes is particularly flat. Both Gideon and Hotch relied so much on Reid for valuable input and insight. Sigh. What happened to these characters? 

[zannej]

In the past few weeks, CBS has posted "articles" that list "facts" about some of the characters-- and they can't even be bothered to get things right.

They focus on how cute Reid is and the writing style seems rather jejune-- to the point that I'm convinced the target audience must be teenagers. I guess that is the common trend with "articles" these days.

 

I did find it funny that one of the articles got AJ Cook's first name wrong.

 

This is the sort of promoton they do, and it is clear that the more cerebral fans are not the target audience.

[amensisterfriend]

So have time and additional viewings altered your list of favorite and least favorite episodes?  And do you find, as I do, that more and more of your all-time best episodes hail from S1 and S4?! 

 

I just rewatched Instincts, which is easily among my five favorites...at least at the moment :) 

[Saje]

So many of those are favorites, but I think that when we've seen episodes like Nelson's Sparrow, Gatekeeper, A Thousand Suns, etc... as many dozens of times as we've seen the earlier episodes, we'll love them as much. The earlier seasons have the rich patina of history, and the newer tales aren't there just yet.  

[Old Dog]

So many of those are favorites, but I think that when we've seen episodes like Nelson's Sparrow, Gatekeeper, A Thousand Suns, etc... as many dozens of times as we've seen the earlier episodes, we'll love them as much. The earlier seasons have the rich patina of history, and the newer tales aren't there just yet.  

I;m not sure that this will happen. I still watch pretty much all old episodes whenever they crop up on TV but it is only a very few from the later seasons that I feel any inclination to watch when they come up - maybe only two or three from each season from 6 onwards.

[amensisterfriend]

I rewatched part of S2 last night, and since it's often listed as the 'worst of the best' (i.e., the least awesome of the popular S1-S4 years!), I figured I'd give it its due with a random list of bests :) 

 

S2 is the only season in which we get both Elle and Emily---alas, not at the same time, but still! 

 

Fisher King Part 2 is still probably my favorite season premiere of the whole series 

 

Reid in glasses!!! 

 

Gideon is still Gideon (which I enjoy but see why many don't!), but a LITTLE toned down this season...comparatively speaking :) They also made him a bit more part of the ensemble this season rather than making the show Gideon and His Profilers as they occasionally did in S1 

 

S2's Emily is definitely my favorite incarnation of the character for reasons I've rambled about elsewhere :) I absolutely adore her here 

 

S2 may be the season during which I like Garcia the most, or at least when she annoys me the least 

 

I always dread Reid's drug addiction for a variety of reasons, but a 'best' is that it's always shorter and takes up less screentime than I expect it to. And I enjoyed meeting Ethan  and speculating more on their friendship/rivalry 

 

S2 has some truly amazing Elle/Reid interaction...for those of us who enjoy that sort of thing :)  

 

There is still a ton of profiling and psychological insight in S2 and just somehow a more cerebral feel 

 

There is still at least a semblance of different team members having slightly *different* areas of expertise, strengths, specialties etc here, while by S3 they all start to become more or less interchangeably amazing in every conceivable way

 

Hotch is amazing here---and this is the last pre-divorce season, when he becomes grimmer and flatter. 

 

This season has two of the very best 'juvenile sociopath/can they change if helped in time?!' episodes for those of us who find that stuff particularly interesting in Boogeyman and especially Sex, Birth and Death, the latter of which is arguably one of the best Reid episodes of the whole series 

 

 Even episodes like Profiler Profiled, which I tend to skip, have scenes worth rewatching ("Physics magic!") 

[Saje]

@Old Dog, it may not happen for everyone, but I can see it as a natural progression as we accept and appreciate the show as it is now (different episodes for different reasons for different fans). I see a dividing line starting at season 6, and we've had four years beyond that with some really choice episodes. Four years, and heading into the fifth. I'm excited to see what they bring to the table come September 30.

[amensisterfriend]

Ready for another pointless but fun challenge?! You can save just 10 episodes from the entire series to watch over and over. Which 10 do you choose?! 

[Droogie]

Ooh, fun. I'll probably regret my choices and want to change them once others weigh in, but off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. Extreme Aggressor

2. Uncanny Valley

3. Big Game

4. Revelations

5 & 6: The Fisher King, parts 1 and 2

7. Elephant's Memory

8. Amplification

9. Memoriam

10. 100

With one exception, I'm sensing a particular focus...

Honorable mention(s): Derailed, Minimal Loss, Coda, . . . Oh. I can't narrow it down to 10.

[amensisterfriend]

I love you for playing along, Droogie! I'm having trouble naming fewer than 20, but I'll be back when and if I figure it out...and mine will have at least a coupe of the same episodes as yours :) 

[Droogie]

I can't wait to see your choices. I'm sure I'll have to add them to my list. There are so very many from which to choose.

[amensisterfriend]

Mine have definitely changed since the last time we did this, in part because I've grown more and more fond of S2 and S3. (Which is not to say that I don't still love S1 and S4, of course, but the gap between how much I love S2 and S4 vs how much I love S2 and S3 is a lot narrower than it used to be.) 

[ForeverAlone]

In no particular order:

 

1. Extreme Aggressor

2. True Genius

3. The Uncanny Valley

4. Minimal Loss

5. Unknown Subject

6. LDSK

7. The Aftermath

8. Lucky

9. Seven Seconds

10. Omnivore

Edited August 21, 2015 by ForeverAlone

[JMO]

Totally cheating by combining the two-parters, but these aren't the ones I would watch, repeatedly----they're the ones I do watch repeatedly.  Most of the rest I can take or leave.  

In no particular order:

1. Instincts/Memoriam
2. The Slave of Duty
3. Minimal Loss
4. Uncanny Valley
5. Elephant's Memory
6. Mosley Lane
7. Lo Fi /Mayhem
8. Fisher King 1 and 2
9. Sex, Birth and Death
10. And then I would make a montage reel of 'certain' scenes from:  Nelson's Sparrow, Gatekeeper, Magnum Opus, Alchemy

[amensisterfriend]

Sex, Birth and Death

 

I adore this one as well! It's definitely going in my top 10...which is currently a top 18, but I'll get there! 

[ForeverAlone]

It is always fun to take favorites, but it is also fun to talk LEAST favorites. So what is your least favorite episode per season?

Here's mine, ordered by season.

1. Secrets and Lies

2. Honor Among Thieves

3. A Higher Power

4. Brothers in Arms

5. Parasite

6. 25 to Life

7. The Bittersweet Science

8. The Wheels on the Bus

9. 200

10. Protection

[amensisterfriend]

Hmmm...this is hard in part because my least favorites from S1-S4 are still more rewatchable to me than even many of my 'favorites' from later seasons (though I am weirdly partial to S7, as we've discussed!) 

 

The episode I'm least likely to rewatch from each season:

 

S1: What Fresh Hell? 

S2: Distress 

S3: Penelope (S3 may not be heavily represented on my list of top 10 favorites, but I have to say that S3 might actually have the fewest episodes I'd ever skip!)

S4:  To Hell and Back 

S5: The Fight 

S6: 25 to Life 

S7: Hit/Run 

S8: Brothers Hotchner (but I'd be fine skipping most of S8 and S9 aside from some individual great scenes) 

S9: 200

S10: Hashtag (can I just confess how very, very little I care about Morgan and Savannah's relationship?!) 

[amensisterfriend]

Top 10 Favorites (in chronological order): 

 

1. Compulsion (my first CM episode and one I still have a weirdly strong attachment to!) 

2. Derailed (great Elle, great Reid, great Elle/Reid, really interesting premise, etc.) 

3. Sex, Birth and Death 

4. Birthright (I can't even justify this pick, but I just really love the case and the idea of history inevitably repeating itself. I also find the quick Hotch/JJ conversation about the challenges of not letting oneself care too much OR too little is very true for many of us as we go through life and says a lot about our show's characters) 

5. Instincts/Memoriam (I can count these as one episode, right? RIGHt! Thanks, guys! ;)

6. Zoe's Reprise 

7. Conflicted (a weird pick, I know...I just recently realized that for some reason I find this one endlessly rewatchable even though I think other S4 eps, like The Big Wheel, Shade of Grey, etc are technically better!)

8. The Uncanny Valley 

9. True Genius 

 

...the 10th spot is pretty much a zillion-way tie consisting of most of S1-S4 and a couple more from S7 :) 

[Droogie]

My least faves:

1. The Black Queen

2. 200

3. The Forever People

4. Proof

5. Zugzwang

6. Hit (and) Run

7. The Boys of Sudworth Place

8. Beyond Borders

9. Anything else in Season 9.

10. . . . aaannnnnndddd: I'm stuck.

[Old Dog]

My least faves:

1. The Black Queen

2. 200

3. The Forever People

4. Proof

5. Zugzwang

6. Hit (and) Run

7. The Boys of Sudworth Place

8. Beyond Borders

9. Anything else in Season 9.

10. . . . aaannnnnndddd: I'm stuck.

I agree with your choices Droogie but I'd want to add The Fight, 25 to Life, Burn and The Thirteenth Step = and of course for me, 200 heads the list as the worst ever,

[amensisterfriend]

I thought FA's challenge was to name our least favorite from each season! If not, most of my list would consist of S8-S10 as well :) 

[amensisterfriend]

...and now I'm thinking I need to add Damaged to my best list. I know the 'old unresolved case that always haunted him!' stuff is hopelessly cliched, but I thought it was really well done in this instance. I liked seeing exactly how affected this family still was years after the crime had taken place, we get Rossi at his most awesomely S3ish (snarky, edgy, a lone wolf but with a good heart), JJ is more the outright Mean Girl that I always picture her to be anyway (check out her snotty reaction to Garcia wanting to talk to her at the beginning and her dismissive "just relax" when Garcia's upset, not to mention her eye rolls and attitude about Haley----this is totally the 'snarky ice queen who knows how to deal with the public but doesn't let herself warm up to the people closest to her' JJ that I always think the character really is even when the writers are reluctant to embrace it and who AJ Cook is better suited to play!), I really like the Reid/Hotch storyline in the prison, I love Emily telling Rossi so quickly and instinctively that they care simply because HE does, this is possibly the only episode where I find Kevin more amusing/endearing than annoying...etc. 

 

And something about my rambling above just triggered another question: Which season do you generally think is 'best' for each character if you could pick just one?! My picks:

 

Reid: Season 4 (This one just has the most episodes where I think Reid's character really shines, though s1 is a fairly close second!)

 

Rossi: Season 3 (again, I just love snarky, edgy, vain, lone wolf yet fundamentally kind Rossi and think he added a great energy to the team when he first arrived) 

 

JJ: Season 3  (See above re S3 having a few episodes where the show's characterization of her actually matches my own: the snotty, snarky mean girl who knows just how to deal with the public at large but has trouble showing warmth and empathy and even trust towards those closest to her) 

 

Emily: Season 2 (A little endearingly socially awkward yet in some ways at her most blatantly brainy and professionally awesome...I just love S2 Emily and try to block out the 'edgy former goth girl who still likes to PARTY!' thing they tried with her later on)

 

Garcia: Season 1

 

Elle: Season 1

 

Hotch: Season 1 

 

Morgan: ??? I think I'm still waiting :)  

Edited August 21, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[normasm]

Wow, Amen, I say "amen" to your whole post about the best seasons for each character! I will say that the way Morgan complimented Reid in season 4 made it probably his best season also. Also, Gideon's was definitely Season 1.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The Thirteenth Step

 

Don't throw things, but I liked The Thirteenth Step. Having discovered Adrianne Palicki in Friday Night Lights, I thought Syd was exactly what Tyra Colette would have been like if things had taken a different turn. I did feel sorry for the little girl, but listening to Syd's father blubber about how he hadn't meant to hurt her and how he'd found God and whatnot made me wish he could get killed twice. I'm bloody-minded that way. :-)

[Droogie]

I thought FA's challenge was to name our least favorite from each season! If not, most of my list would consist of S8-S10 as well :)

You are right! I don't follow directions well!

[amensisterfriend]

You are right! I don't follow directions well!

 

Ha! So now you need to pick your least favorites from each season...reading these posts will be the highlight of an otherwise terrible weekend. But, um, no pressure or anything :) 

 

Here's another one: Which Unsubs would you consider the 'best', ie the ones who left the biggest impressions on you for whatever reasons? 

 

A few random ones that leap to mind: Nathan (Sex, Birth and Death), the sociopathic kids from Boogeyman and Shade of Grey, Vincent (Big Wheel), Frankie Muniz's character from True Night, Frank (No Way Out Parts 1 and 2), the guy from the ironically titled Normal and Jason Alexander's infamous Kentucky Fried Unsub (Masterpiece).  Clearly I seem to be most affected by Unsubs who are mentally ill and/or juvenile sociopaths...or were overacted by Jason Alexander :) 

Edited August 21, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Droogie]

I loved Nathan. And I loved Foyet, Frank and Frankie Muniz's character whatever his name was. And I loved Peter Lewis, from Mr. Scratch. And oh good grief, Tobias Hankel.

I'd have to think awhile about my least fave eps from S1-4. However, from S5 onward:

5. Reckoner

6. 25 to Life

7. Proof

8. Zugzwang (MGG was great; writing, not so much) / Brothers Hotchner

9. The entire season (most especially The Black Queen and 200)

10. The Forever People

Edited August 21, 2015 by Droogie

[amensisterfriend]

Glad to see we like a lot of the same Unsubs...and how could I have forgotten to name Foyett?! I'm punishing myself with an immediate rewatch of Omnivore. (Which I love so, yeah, not exactly the harshest penalty...) 

[Droogie]

Ha! So now you need to pick your least favorites from each season...reading these posts will be the highlight of an otherwise terrible weekend. But, um, no pressure or anything :)

Here's another one: Which Unsubs would you consider the 'best', ie the ones who left the biggest impressions on you for whatever reasons?

A few random ones that leap to mind: Nathan (Sex, Birth and Death), the sociopathic kids from Boogeyman and Shade of Grey, Vincent (Big Wheel), Frankie Muniz's character from True Night, Frank (No Way Out Parts 1 and 2), the guy from the ironically titled Normal and Jason Alexander's infamous Kentucky Fried Unsub (Masterpiece). Clearly I seem to be most affected by Unsubs who are mentally ill and/or juvenile sociopaths...or were overacted by Jason Alexander :)

I did love Jason Alexander's UnSub. Maybe because I loved Reid so much in that episode. But I thought JA was great.

What would you folks rank as THE NUMBER ONE , all-time, absolute worst CM episode?

Me: 200

And what about the all-time best? I need to think on that one.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Droogie

[ForeverAlone]

Forever and always, the worst episode for me will be "200".

Best is such a subjective term, but if I could only watch one episode, I would choose "Extreme Aggressor." It had a great blend of interesting unsubs, real profiling, and interesting character interaction. And in my opinion, it had the best ending of any pilot I have seen

Edited August 21, 2015 by ForeverAlone

[Droogie]

I love Extreme Agressor. I would definitely list it as my all-time favorite, simply because it was the first ep I saw and I was hooked. Not sure if other, later episodes stand out to me as the absolute greatest, without thinking long and hard. But EA is definitely in the Top 3, at least.

I also loved 100 and both Fisher Kings, as top quality CM. Probably many more if I put my mind to it. Derailed is definitely up there. And Sex, Birth and Death.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Droogie

[amensisterfriend]

Wait...one all-time favorite episode? ONE? How can you guys be so cruel?! As you might recall, it took me an absurdly long time to narrow mine down to only 10...and even then I kind of cheated :) 

 

This is an admittedly weird choice, but I might actually go for Instincts/Memoriam (and, yes, I'm still cheating by counting them as one!) They both just happen to feature so much of what I love most about the show. Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with Spencer's mom and his relationship with her?! And the moment where JJ asks Reid to be Henry's godfather is among my favorite scenes of the entire series, which is odd because JJ doesn't exactly show up on my "favorites" lists too often :) Fisher King might place second, though I love Part 2 a lot more than Part 1. 

 

Extreme Aggressor and Compulsion are both easily among my most frequently rewatched episodes. I don't think Popular Kids, Empty Planet, Identity or Conflicted are objectively among the very 'best' episodes of those golden S1-S4 years, but for some reason I find myself rewatching those a lot as well. Oh, and Masterpiece is a total 'go to' episode too...sadly, I have large parts of it memorized by now :)     

Edited August 21, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Droogie]

I love Instincts/Memoriam as well (yes, totally counts as one episode). Reid was amazing in it, and I adore Diana Reid beyond all explanation -- and I know I'm not the only one, as fans clamor to have her back after this many years).

[Droogie]

...and I do so love JJ asking Reid to be Henry's godfather. And the assumption that he will be the new baby's godfather as well.

[normasm]

I may be breaking the rules, but i'm listing my favorite unsubs by season.

 

1. Altho Philip Dowd and Dr. Bryar (LDSK and Derailed) are great, Karl the Fox creeped me out the most

2. Since Nathan in Sex, Birth, Death wasn't an unsub, he doesn't qualify, so it's Tobias Hankel

3. I loved Chester Hardwick in Damaged, but Brian Matloff in Tabula Rasa was the best

4. Here's where it gets tricky for me: I have no less than 5 good unsubs whose stories i'll watch every time - runners up are Eric in Zoe's Reprise, Lucas Turner in To Hell and Back, Vincent in the Big Wheel, Amanda in Conflicted, but i have to give it up for George Foyet in Omnivore. See how many times we knew the Unsub from early on in the Golden Age, and it only enhanced the episode?

5. Loved Earl in The Eyes Have It, and Foyet in 100, etc., but my fave in 5 is Samantha in Uncanny Valley

6. Ian Doyle in the otherwise preposterous Valhalla/Lauren

7. Caleb, True Genius

8. Sarah, All That Remains

9. Daria, The Edge of Winter, hands down, even though she was made into an unsub by another unsub...

10. Peter Lewis, Mr. Scratch, no doubt

My all-time worst episode? The Fight, followed by the Beyond Boredom episode, then 200, then the Forever People. I really dislike 13th Step, Hope, and Proof because of the gore/torture porn feel to them. And I have a special honorable mention for The Black Queen and Burn. Sheesh.

Edited August 21, 2015 by normasm

[JMO]

 

 

1. Altho Philip Dowd and Dr. Bryar (LDSK and Derailed) are great, Karl the Fox creeped me out the most

2. Since Nathan in Sex, Birth, Death wasn't an unsub, he doesn't qualify, so it's Tobias Hankel

3. I loved Chester Hardwick in Damaged, but Brian Matloff in Tabula Rasa was the best

4. Here's where it gets tricky for me: I have no less than 5 good unsubs whose stories i'll watch every time - runners up are Eric in Zoe's Reprise, Lucas Turner in To Hell and Back, Vincent in the Big Wheel, Amanda in Conflicted, but i have to give it up for George Foyet in Omnivore. See how many times we knew the Unsub from early on in the Golden Age, and it only enhanced the episode?

5. Loved Earl in The Eyes Have It, and Foyet in 100, etc., but my fave in 5 is Samantha in Uncanny Valley

6. Ian Doyle in the otherwise preposterous Valhalla/Lauren

7. Caleb, True Genius

8. Sarah, All That Remains

9. Daria, The Edge of Winter, hands down, even though she was made into an unsub by another unsub...

10. Peter Lewis, Mr. Scratch, no doub

Great list, Normasm.  I agree with nearly everything on it.  I think I would make only two changes:  My vote in season 7 would be for the unsub from Dorado Falls, And I'd have to go with Foyet for season 5.  While there were many things to like about Uncanny Valley, for me, Samantha wasn't one of them.

 

We got to know most of these unsubs early in the episode----it would have been hard to pick a favorite without that kind of exposure---and yet, it didn't detract.  So I'm not sure that the early revelation of the unsub is as much of a problem as is the prolonged focus on the unsub.  I don't mind as much knowing who it is, if I get to watch the process of my team figuring it out.  I only get irritated when the team has been relegated to a series of cameo appearances, with the unsub taking up the bulk of the screen time, even when the unsubs are as good as the ones on your list.