Criminal Minds Analysis: Profile The Show

[Wilowy]

 And I can watch Reid with any hair but I do like it long!

 

Mmm.

 

[Old Dog]

Who could resist that! Gorgeous!

[mstaken]

Heh---Beth doesn't irk me quite as much, though I'm certainly not a fan.

 

 

 

capped off by the worst finale in Hit/Run.

 

It's funny, because the lists we did above helped solidify my opinion that I tend not to love this show's finales in general. I agree Hit/Run was particularly cringe-inducing! I find the fast forward button is helpful in making post-S4 seasons vastly more enjoyable ;)

 

S7 just had a few surprisingly good cases IMO, more profiling than I used to give it credit for and, well, even S7's post-super-spy Prentiss is far more enjoyable to me than no Prentiss at all. 

 

I'm not sure why S5 doesn't work better for me than it does. I really hate the dynamic with Morgan 'in charge' instead of Hotch, the cases tend to be weirdly meh to me, and this season just isn't (IMO!) a good one for any of the characters other than maybe Hotch. (And even that I have issues with, because while 100 was very dramatic and suspenseful and all that, it made an already somber figure on an already somber show a bit too glum  for me.) 

 

ETA: Hee---I never dislike looking at Reid, but I just prefer him clean shaven and with shorter hair :) 

Edited April 28, 2014 by mstaken

[Old Dog]

Actually Brothers Hotchner and The Replicator are right up there with Hit/Run as dreadful finales for me - which is why my heart is in my mouth for this year! I have little hope that they can do a good one anymore.

[Wilowy]

 Hee---I never dislike looking at Reid, but I just prefer him clean shaven and with shorter hair :) 

 

Mmm

 

[Wilowy]

In realizing that this is the Best/Worst thread - I've come to the conclusion that there is no 'worst' where he's concerned! :D

 

Moving our appreciation to the Spencer thread! 

[ForeverAlone]

Mstaken, you don't have to apologize for liking season seven above season five. I feel the same way. While there are some definite turkeys in that season, every season has them. And season seven has more episodes I truly love over season five. And yes on a shallow note, Reid's hair is great (until towards the end), just like I think Reid's hair in season five is atrocious (until boyband hair). :)

Edited April 28, 2014 by ForeverAlone

[Wilowy]

While it's no secret that I find his long hair beautiful beyond words (best), my vote for worst has to be

 

Exhibit A:

 

And Exhibit B:

 

lol, even going so far as to joke with Linda D. on twitter that he rubs glue into it. :D

 

Also my favorite season ender is Lo-Fi.

[ForeverAlone]

In the spirit of best and worst, I will rank the seasons of Reid's hair, from what I consider best to worst.

1. Season Six

2. Season Seven

3. Season One

4. Season Nine

After this, they all get muddled together, because I don't particularly love any of them. But since I started it...

5. Season Two

6. Season Four (up until 52 Pickup)

7. Season Eight

8. Season Three

9. Season Five (until the season was mildly redeemed-albeit too late for me-with boyband hair)

[Wilowy]

I love this thread. 

[mstaken]

Ooooh, can we do 'best to worst' Emily hair as well?! I need help sorting out my feelings about her bangs ;) 

[Wilowy]

LOL Knock yourself out! Although fair warning - we may disagree on this one too because her with the bangs and the red shirt when she gives the 'skiddybop' cop his Mets tickets? Is one of her most gorgeous looks, imo! :D

[Wilowy]

I love how our team nearly always refers to the victims by their names. So they aren't just a number or a 'victim #1' to them, they are, or were rather, real, living beings worthy of respect and remembrance. 

 

I love the little flutter I get in my stomach when a scene I know that I adore is coming up. 

 

I love mstaken's 'quote' thread right here in this forum because I don't even have to have an episode turned on to hear them speaking in my head. Also the quotes themselves are oftentimes inspirational, or wise, or both. 

[zannej]

I don't know about the Scully-like specialty for a team member, but I would love it if the team worked with an FBI forensic pathologist from time to time.

 

If Jeanne went away I would like to see Rosaline Sanchez from "Without A Trace" because I really liked her as an FBI agent. Going back to X-Files days, I really liked CCH Pounder as an FBI agent, but I don't know if she's still young enough to play an agent. I really liked her. I think she was also on ER for awhile.

 

Also, this may sound sort of crazy, but I sort of wish they would have an episode where people are being killed and they have bruises on their backs and they fall from cliffs and fall into water and drown and such but in the end they find out that the killer is not actually human.

 

But that may end up being too hokey for the show. I just think it would be funny though.

Edited May 1, 2014 by zannej

[zannej]

LOL. I wasn't a fan of the fringe bangs, but I did like her in red. I would have to see pictures of her different hairstyles over the years. Same for JJ. Would love to see some collages of the different hair.

I think Reid is the only male character that goes through significant hair changes over the seasons.

[mstaken]

I may post some pictures of Emily's different hairstyles on her thread. This is very important research :) 

 

Meanwhile, what are some of your picks for the 'best' cases of the series----the ones with twisty suspense, fascinating profiling, and/or just a lot of resonance for you for whatever combination of reasons. 

[Wilowy]

Since we've been making fun of KFU lately, Masterpiece springs to mind. It's such a shame because without the comedic stylings of JA, it was really an incredible episode. Talk about twists. They managed to convey a plausible danger to our team before the Rossi game plan at the end, and the Fibonacci stuff was just OFF the hook! Reid was wonderful, and so vitally important in this case. I always find him sexy, but when he's SO clever and brilliant, I kinda have to breathe into a paper bag. 

 

We also get Rossi's 'scumbag' line and my favorite Reid line:

"I never have any 'normal' fans."

[mstaken]

Can we talk about minor characters here---the ones who aren't Unsubs, or at least not yet?! ;) If not, please feel free to ignore or delete this post! 

 

I have to confess that I like Beth much more than most seem to. Or, more accurately, dislike her a whole lot less. I certainly don't see her and Hotch as destined-to-be soulmates, but I understand why the serious, somber Hotch, having been through a series of ordeals, would be drawn to someone light and cheerful as his first serious post-Haley relationship. 

And, speaking of Haley, I'm kind of at a table for one in liking Beth more than I ever liked Haley, who always came across as flat and weirdly unpleasant to me. (Hmmm...sort of like JJ, in fact!) 

 

And whatever happened to the bartender who Reid met in 52 Pickup?! Sadly, I liked her more than the majority of our 'regular' female characters! 

[normasm]

"when he's SO clever and brilliant, I kinda have to breathe into a paper bag."

 

I love this so much!

[Wilowy]

Agreed about Austin! Wish she and Spencer has gone on a date. She went to a lot of trouble to flirt with him, having to time the postal delivery and all. "Is this your card?" Super cute. And his reaction was cuter still. 

 

[Old Dog]

Gosh I seem to be in a minority here! Not only do I detest Beth so much so my hackles raise at a mention of her name but I never took to Austin either! She seemed completely wrong for Reid and to me it seemed he was supremely uncomfortable about the whole thing. It is such a shame that Reid found the perfect partner in Maeve only to lose her.

I don't dislike Will but there is absolutely nothing, zero, zilch in the way of chemistry with JJ. I actually liked Haley early on and it was really interesting viewing to see how the marriage broke down and she became more and more bitter about the lifestyle of a profiler's wife. Despite everything that happened and all the bitterness you could still feel the love between her and Hotch. There was plenty of believable emotion there.

I still think Garcia and Kevin were a good match.

And the pretty teacher this week? It seemed a better way for Hotch to meet someone than the Beth nonsense and I didn't feel that instant dislike!

[IndependentMind]

I agree about some of Emily's haircut. The best was season 2 and 3. I hated her haircut in season 6.

As much as I love Emily, I hated the whole Doyle arc. One of the worst in my opinion.

[IndependentMind]

I like Kelly Hu a lot. I do hope they get herbif JT does end up leaving.

CCH Pounder is 61 so I don't know about her being an FBI agent but I do think she would be great as a replacement to Strauss. I am not too crazy about Cruz because of his connection with JJ.

[zannej]

CCH Pounder is probably best as a supervisor type anyway. She just has this aura that commands respect.  I'm ok with Cruz, but then I have been missing large portions of most of the episodes this season and I barely saw any of "200". Eventually I might have to look in to getting "on demand" programming with my satellite service. I can't do Netflix on a satellite ISP because of the bandwidth restrictions.

[Wilowy]

I'd like to see some Chinese Tong involved in the art world here in the homeland. They've dealt with other cultures, why not a dynastic episode? FBI would be appropriately called in for either kidnapping or murder, so it could be quite a cool episode. Tongs are badass fuckers, too. You don't want to mess with them. It'd be cool to see Hotch up against that. Especially if he had to rescue some young, soon to be Emperor who'd brought over a priceless Chinese art object for an exhibition. Or something. 

 

And can you imagine how much they'd LOVE Reid? 

[zannej]

The Doyle arc was awful. I thought the actor playing Doyle was good. The chick playing Tsiva (whoever it was that got shot in the head through the door) was terrible and the whole wandering round with disposable cellphones and talking VERY LOUDLY on phones in public was just horrible. It was such a joke and I couldn't buy for a second that any of them were actually legit spies. It was not believable.

 

Plus they tried to establish that Doyle had eyes inside the BAU somehow to justify Prentiss keeping her mouth shut but then they totally forgot about that and Doyle re-emerged in the season premiere as much less powerful and much easier to catch and somehow other unsubs knew stuff they had no way of knowing and it was just total BS.

 

I wish they wouldn't make it so that almost everyone reacts to Reid as if he's some sort of alien. I want to see him encounter a group of nerds who appreciate him and make sideeyes at the rest of the team as if the other team are the aliens. I should put that in the wishlist thread.

[zannej]

It sounds like an interesting idea. I would just worry that the writers wouldn't do enough research and would end up making stereotypical characters and completely getting things about the culture wrong.

 

I was just thinking that I'm tired of them always showing people reacting to Reid as if he's some sort of space alien just because he has a good vocabulary and knowledge. I remember being so ticked that they had Blake get to deliver a line with a large vocabulary word and nobody blinked but if Reid had said the same line they would have been staring at him and making sideeyes.

 

So, what I really want to see is for Reid to encounter a group of nerds that can make nerd culture references and science references that he gets and they can all laugh and get along well but when one of the team members shows they don't get it, the nerds can make sideeyes at the team members. I mean, how awesome would it be for someone else to get to roll their eyes at JJ for a change? 

[Wilowy]

I think they'd do okay with the Tong. They were very sensitive with Native Americans and Mexicans. 

 

Maybe the reason they haven't done it yet is because they don't think they could do it justice, as you suggest. 

 

And yes! That's what I meant about the Chinese loving Reid. They highly respect intellect so he'd be their go-to guy!

[normasm]

Oh, Austen was just a flirtation, for someone belatedly learning to flirt. As with Lila, I was glad for the character development of Reid to be treated well by two hot girls. It helped him grow up a bit. It was part of the natural maturing of the character, which was later interrupted, and even later, somewhat gutted, IMO.

No, I never saw Reid taking up seriously with Lila or Austen, but each girl showed him he was attractive to girls he was attracted to.

I also liked Dr. Kimura, but she seemed a tad old for him, romance-wise.

[zannej]

Even the earlier writers still managed to get some Native American stuff wrong, but I still loved John Blackwolf. I admit that I would probably squee if they actually mentioned my tribe and actually pronounced it correctly (I'm part Native American from the Lenape tribe-- pronounced len uh pay).

 

I know that the smugglers from China were referred to as "the Snakeheads" and were absolutely brutal. Back in the late 90s they were smuggling loads of illegal aliens over in the fish-holds of boats. Those poor people were crammed in there like sardines (no pun intended) for over a month. At one point they bound their wrists behind their backs with zip ties. The people had paid them upwards of $25k a person to travel over there and ended up being prisoners. They would be taken to camps to be used as slave labor, but a few times when the coast guard ships were approaching, they started throwing prisoners overboard (hands bound). I think we still have some of the photos of the bodies-- it was ugly. China also was known to send assassins to kill political refugees. It's just incredibly sad and its why I am glad that there are people out there who try to counteract that stuff and help people.

 

One of the positive things I can say about Chinese culture is that they like to feed people and like to watch people try new foods. I had a friend who was in China during WW2 and he spoke very fondly of the people there and how generous they were with food.

Edited May 3, 2014 by zannej

[SSAHotchner]

OldDog I seem to be in agreement with you on Beth. I can't stand her. I just feel that the way Jack's teacher got to meet Hotch and develop some interest in him was a much more natural and believable way to introduce a possible romance. That is not to say that I want to see that happen, but anybody who's been through the kind of circumstances Hotch has would be so cautious about someone who approached him as Beth did and the fact that she appeared to have been stalking him. He's seen too much in his career and he would never jeopardize Jack's safety by hooking up with someone who just approached him on the street. It would have to be gradual. And I just hate Beth's giggly ways. But I liked Austin. I'm not saying she's right for Reid but she was a cute girl that gave him some confidence.

 

I hated that they killed off Maeve. In some ways I think that Erica felt they had a great success with 100 where Haley is killed so why not try to replicate that with Reid's love interest? I would love for Reid to meet a woman that was actually impressed by his intellect and his role in the BAU. It doesn't have to be an instant love match, because it really couldn't for him. But it would be so refreshing to see a woman respond positively to him instead of rolling her eyes when he speaks. Maybe Erica and her minions can't understand this, but many woman would be very attracted to a character like Reid.

[Wilowy]

Maeve's arc had nothing to do with Haley. It was planned out from the onset, with the inclusion and full agreement of Matthew and Beth (Riesgraf). It was always supposed to be a storybook, fable-y type of romance with a tragic end, never intended to see fruition.

 

I also never bought into Beth 'stalking' Hotch. So she noticed him on their running trail. So? Seriously, who wouldn't notice Hotch? I hooked my first honest love relationship at barely twenty-one (together five years and he taught me how to drive a stick shift and cook amazing Filipino food among all else) by being forward, helping him over his initial shyness, and pretty much claiming him. Not a big believer that a woman has to be all demure and always wait for the guy to act.

 

They have women hit on Reid, and do double takes when they walk by him in the hallways, and had an UnSub lust after him to the point of murder. They are not blind to Reid's, or Matthew's appeal, trust me.

 

I think it may be too late, but I do wish that a healthy relationship had been a part of Reid's arc on the show. Him pining for first JJ, and then Maeve is such a throwaway aspect of his rich character. I hope we do, at the end, finally get to see him happy.  

[AlecNewbary]

In the spirit of best and worst, I will rank the seasons of Reid's hair, from what I consider best to worst.

1. Season Six

2. Season Seven

3. Season One

4. Season Nine

After this, they all get muddled together, because I don't particularly love any of them. But since I started it...

5. Season Two

6. Season Four (up until 52 Pickup)

7. Season Eight

8. Season Three

9. Season Five (until the season was mildly redeemed-albeit too late for me-with boyband hair)

I am a little late replying to this, but I completely agree with your first and last choices! I especially love his hair on "Corazon". I don't know what it is about that episode in particular, but wow! I will sometimes watch it just for his hair! :P I love MGG however he is, but I wasn't a huge fan of his longer hair, either. I almost passed out with his boyband haircut though! I sometimes find myself wishing he had his hair like that longer than just three episodes, though! :P Also sometimes I think I get a little too involved with his hair... :P

[Danielg342]

-Snow. I find it hard to believe that a show that depicts a nationwide crime fighting team has not once had to endure a single snowflake. They've been in many places where it would snow at the time of their visit, plus Quantico gets winter as well, so there's really no excuse as to why we haven't seen a single episode with snow on the ground. I get that winter sucks and that filming in twenty feet of snow would be difficult, but if other shows can account for the seasons, why can't CM?

 

-Better work at "world building". What do I mean by this? CM needs to do a much better job with its peripheral elements, such as characters and settings. Far too often, the stories centre exclusively around the team and its efforts to catch the Bad Guy of the Week (or the "Arc of the Month/Season") without anything else affecting the plot in any way. Think about it- aside from the BAU Section Chief, Diana Reid, Haley Hotchner and Kevin Lynch (and the latter three have been used too sparingly), has there ever been a recurring character that pops up every couple of episodes and helps or hinders the team in their case? Stuff like this adds spice to the episodes, being something else the writers can draw upon to throw a curve every now and then, and it's a shame they don't do it.

 

I mean, wouldn't it be great if we learned there's a police department the team hates helping because they're run by a lazy sheriff who can't procure clues correctly? Or a couple of specialists- such as a coroner or forensic scientist- that the team doesn't need every week but calls upon every now and then for more assistance with its clues? Or how about just a janitor at the office that always pisses Rossi off by moving around his pens? This of course says nothing about the fact we never hear from rescued victims after their episode is finished, and that only one peripheral character- Det. Owen Kim- has recurred in two separate storylines. This is just the tip of the iceberg- there are so many other possibilities to draw upon, and I think after nine seasons, the show should start thinking "outside of the box" and bringing in outside elements.

 

-Recurring villains. I know the show has had villains that have been in multiple episodes, like George Foyet and Ian Doyle- but those villains only appeared in self-contained arcs that never lasted more than a season. What I'd like is to have a criminal or two that the team investigates but never seems to catch, with a couple of cases stretching over a few seasons before we get an actual resolution and the criminal is caught. I'm not talking about having super-villains- I'm talking about simply a villain that gets away because of luck or cleverness (if not both) who doesn't get caught because they don't leave a lot of evidence behind. Many real life serial killers took decades to capture (Dennis Rader, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, to name a few), so it would be nice if the show acknowledged this and made a few cases the team had to revisit every now and then before an actual resolution. The show already has an opportunity to do this- Shane Wyland ("Into the Woods"), Darlene Beckett ("The Pact") and The Killer Woodsman ("Blood Relations") are all still at large, providing the opportunity for the team to revisit their cases and make an actual arrest.

 

-Cliffhangers that don't involve putting the team in distress or peril. Or just simply an arc or three that doesn't involve a storyline where "someone is targeting a team member/the team!" It's cheap storytelling, since it's an easy way to tug at the audience's heart strings, and, if used too much, it feels like the writers are abusing the character (Reid comes to mind in this regard). As other shows have proven, there are many different ways to create engaging storylines and cliffhangers that don't involve this trope, so as part of my plea for the show to get more inventive, this is one clear way to do it.

 

For example- why don't we have a case that starts off as a simple kidnapping only for the team to find out at the end they're dealing with a huge trafficking ring that's run by a drug cartel? Or a series of murders that eventually leads the team to a "Villain with Good Publicity" that is hard to take down? Or a case where it's revealed that the FBI Director has been involved in some shady dealings?

 

Point is, think outside the box, CM writers, and stop tugging at our heart strings, please!

[zannej]

I do like the idea of better worldbuilding, but these writers can't even seem to flesh out the main characters enough. I get annoyed when they focus too much on unsubs or on recurring characters. Ideally, it would be great if they had some worldbuilding and fleshed it out so we could see familiar faces as a janitor or security guard and such. Unfortunately, I'm worried that these writers would lose focus and it would be a mess. If I thought they could pull it off, I would be all for it.

 

I have to disagree with recurring villains. I have not liked stories where they tried to use recurring villains. On the show "The Profiler" the recurring villain storyline was so annoying. Something like a recurring villain might make it harder for new viewers to get into the show and know what is going on-- plus, it is just not the type of story I enjoy. The recurring villain theme doesn't seem to lend itself to this type of show. Its ok on scifi shows to an extent-- when it is done well. If I had more faith in the writers perhaps I'd give it a chance, but I just don't see this group being able to pull it off. I don't know if even the original writers could have pulled it off. It's not an easy thing to write believably.

 

I also have to say big fat "no" to the director being involved in shady dealings. I know that there is sometimes corruption in the government, but I am sick to death of the whole thing where higher ups had shady dealings. Why can't they just have some "normal" people? The boss doesn't have to be a protagonist. Maybe they can have someone who is officious and annoys the hell out of them. I know I keep mentioning my father, but he worked in federal law enforcement in a position somewhat similar to Hotch's rank and responsibility (only he was in charge of more people-- he was the Officer In Charge) and he had to deal with bean counters, higher ups who didn't understand some budgeting requests, people who didn't know how to properly read a map to identify where an ocean was instead of land, and had a few backstabbing people who tried to sabotage his career to try to get ahead. One of the reasons I liked Strauss being an antagonist is because she reminded me of some real-life people that we encountered in the government.  So there are non-killing antagonists out there in the real world.

 

I'd be worried that they would try to make it too black and white and have a person be entirely bad rather than just that the person doesn't see eye to eye or that they have other priorities and it doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong, but that they have to answer to someone and it is their ass on the line if the team screws something up.

 

I hope that all makes sense.

 

Also, since Reid was getting a degree in Philosophy (which is what my father majored in for his Bachelor of Science), I would love to see him use some of the logic garnered from it to just randomly confuse the hell out of people. It would be helpful as an interrogation technique if he could see if he could catch someone in a lie or just get them off balance enough to get something out of them.

Edited May 4, 2014 by zannej

[Wilowy]

LOL Knock yourself out! Although fair warning - we may disagree on this one too because her with the bangs and the red shirt when she gives the 'skiddybop' cop his Mets tickets? Is one of her most gorgeous looks, imo! :D

 

Self-quoting because I was just over on tumblr and look what someone DID! :D

 

[777]

uh... did anyone happen to watch "Those Who Kill" tonight? Episode 107?  

[zannej]

777, no. I missed it. What happened?

[normasm]

777, I didn't know they were still showing Those Who Kill. I thought they yanked it after showing the pilot and first episode. I quite liked it. Are they showing later episodes?

[IndependentMind]

It was cancelled by A & E but moved to LMN.

I watched one episode and then I was done.

[Wilowy]

-Snow. I find it hard to believe that a show that depicts a nationwide crime fighting team has not once had to endure a single snowflake. 

 

Demonology. ;)

 

[Wilowy]

Wanted to give a little shoutout to Jessica Brooks, who I always liked. She always seemed like 'the nicer sister' between her and Haley, and even though she is a little too good to be true - like sacrificing her own life to be Jack's caregiver with none of the perks of official wifeyness (although I'm sure Hotch made sure she was compensated) - she was still always kind and patient. 

 

So here's a bit of recognition for the underappreciated, one of whom we all know. Yay, Jessica!

 

[zannej]

Ahh. LMN.. Where television goes to die. :P

[zannej]

I could have sworn in one of the behind-the-scenes twitter things they were talking about having to blow in snow for the location... Am I just crazy?

 

Anyone else remember? I think it was John Hatchitt that posted it...

[Old Dog]

I recall that behind the scenes tweet about snow and I can visualise the scene in the episode - it was a night scene at the back of some appartments I think - but I can't recall which episode - must have been in Season 8.

[zannej]

I never liked Beth because the story to introduce her was far too contrived. I agree that the teacher's introduction was much more organic and believable. I think that perhaps if Beth had been in a different profession and actually *had* been training for surveillance and was also in law enforcement, it might have been a bit better. If she'd not been so giggly... I don't know what it was about her, but she came off as desperate instead of assertive. I don't know if it was the writing or the performance. I can't think of why Hotch would actually go to a public gym instead of to one at Quantico. Or if he wanted to train in DC he could go to the basement of the J. Edgar Hoover building. Those facilities would be available for free. 

 

I really liked Dr. Kimura. I think she and Reid actually had good chemistry.

 

As for memorable characters, the schizophrenic brother from "The Fox" was great. I remember the actor as Larry from "Parker Lewis Can't Lose". I also loved the character Tony Todd played. He was angry and scary, but at the same time he was a very broken man who was devastated at the loss of his "babies". I love that it was Reid who got through to him and who figured out that he was not the killer.

 

I liked Andi Swan. I thought she and Hotch actually had very good chemistry.

 

I loved Katie Cole. I especially loved the part where Morgan was talking about looking forward to working with her and she just walks in the room and says "I heard she's a bitch!" LOL. I also liked one of the female agents from her team-- I can't remember her name.. Amanda Gilroy? Reid actually initiated a handshake with her. I do wish we would see those two characters and see how they are doing now.

 

I never liked Austen. I always felt that she was Morgan's choice, not Reid's. It was nice that Reid got to do some flirting, but it just did not seem like the appropriate time or place for it.

 

I liked the sheriff in "A Thousand Words".

 

John Blackwolf was one of my favorite guest characters.

 

I'm trying to think of more but my brain is blanking. I know there are more-- a few times there were cops that were really cool and their performances stood out without being overdone.

[ForeverAlone]

I believe that episode was "The Gathering." 

[normasm]

Ah, the sheriff in "A Thousand Words." Who turned out to be Hank in Breaking Bad. I lurve him!!

 

I liked the unsub from Tabula Rasa, Brian. This is the one episode that I will watch any time it is on, partly because of the guest stars, but mostly because it's a great Reid/Hotch episode with a fascinating crime story, and the only one that shows us what a lot of the job is, testifying in court.

 

I love Chester Hardwicke, the unsub on death row who wanted to have Reid and Hotch for afternoon tea. This guy also ended up on Breaking Bad. In fact, I have a running joke with my husband wherein I call out any actor I've seen on CM, just to annoy him! (He's not a fan.) It happens almost any time we are watching episodic TV.

 

I like James Blake.

[Wilowy]

The actor who plays James also played the snooty jerko father of a football player on Friday Night Lights. He tried to take Coach's job, so that still rankles with me. 

 

I do like seeing actors from other things on CM, like Ellsworth, Malarkey, Zoe, and Skinner (the latter two both in Normal).

[SSAHotchner]

I loved Andi Swan and Katie Cole. I would so much rather see a strong character like that on the team than the new JJ or even Blake. I also like Maggie Callahan in The Aftermath.

 

Zoe Hawkes from Zoe's Reprise is my favorite victim. With such a short time on screen she is able to make you really like her. Second would be Regina Lampert in Unknown Subject. And I like the kids in Damaged, especially at the end when they're so grateful to Rossi for solving their parents' murder and returning the family home to them.