38678 replies to this topic

[ciscokidinsf]

Geez... yet another 'serial killer of the day' show, now with Mandy Patinkin and Thomas Gibson (from Dharma & Greg)... as if we don't have enough with CSI's, L&Os. 'The Inside', 'The Gate', etc.... Really getting bored now with this crap. Coming Wednesdays on CBS... (formerly called 'Quantico')

OK, let's move on shall we?, here is the plot:

An elite squad of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next move before they strike again.  Each member of the team brings their own area of expertise to the table as they pinpoint predators' motivations and identify their emotional triggers in order to stop them.

insert yawn here.....

OK, so 'The Inside' got a tad bit interesting last week with a nice twist (Great casting of Peter Coyote!) but it just got cancelled (apparently).... but really, like, how many serial killers can we see on TV??? there is one or two every frickin' night.

Is anyone really waiting with baited breath for this one? (me?, I'm just waiting for the 3rd season of 'Millennium' to come on DVD)

Edited by ciscokidinsf, Jul 9, 2005 @ 2:58 AM.

[freeyourmind]

I have the urge to watch Mandy Patinkin though I don't know why since I didn't watch Chicago Hope. Maybe I want to see if he can even come close to William Petersen's talent on CSI. And there's the added bonus of Shemar Moore. Why, yes I am a little shallow.

I'll watch a few episodes since 'The Inside' is headed out (Not that I expected Fox to keep it. I'm surprised it made it past the third ep).

[ciscokidinsf]

Hmmm, maybe the Mandi Patinkin 'Dead Like Me' fans will follow. (Assuming of course 'Dharma & Greg' fans long ago gave up)

But really, the show summary could describe Nth number of shows. Hopefully it has something distinctive.

[Actionmage]

Damn! Mandy, Dr. Penishead, AND the hotness of Shemar?! I may have to watch the pilot.

[spacemonkeys]

The reason I will watch this show:
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Damn you Patinkin! (and Goldman, and Morgenstern!)

[Tarheel]

Tarheel once said: I really dislike the heavy-handed use of pretentious quotations in this show's voice-over narration...

[Zoned Out]

Man, even E-Ring has more pages than this show.

I wanted this to look good so that I could be persuaded to avoid ER, but unfortunately it didn't look good enough after the first few minutes I caught. I probably should have stuck with it anyway because ER really, really sucked tonight.

[mrsdalgleish]

Hee, tarheel. But that was my only complaint, really. This is my kind of show. I love all the behavioral analysis genius profiling cliches and I like 'em straight up. Mandy Patinkin is the perfect person to play crazy smart guy -- and in this role, we have a very good chance that he won't sing. Plus, he can act -- which is something he has over that chick from The Inside.

Thomas Gibson is perfect for the straight man, Shemar Moore is the eye candy, and 3PhD boy is nerdy and interesting without the writers forcing him to have annoying characteristics.

And though I wasn't bothered by the lack of a woman on the team, it was good to see them add one -- and I liked how she showed her chops at certain points.

I'm not sure WTF was going on with the Lukas Haas ending, since the previews show MP's character to be fine and on a completely different case. But it was kind of a cool freeze frame, so whatever.

It's formula, but it's a formula I like and it's well-executed. I'll watch again. If it manages to stay on, that is.

Edited by mrsdalgleish, Sep 22, 2005 @ 10:18 PM.

[MDKNIGHT]

Agree the quoting was too much but liked Mandy and liked that each person worked thier bit of magic i.e. the know it all geek getting the password, Greg getting the location of the boat by interogation Mandy figuring what kind of person they were looking for etc. All in all not a bad start but is anybody else disappointed that they got Lucas Haas for 5 minutes at the end and they showed the whole appearance in the promos AND it looks like they won't actually show the resolution we are to assume Mandy shot him?

Edited by MDKNIGHT, Sep 22, 2005 @ 10:19 PM.

[elizabee]

Hey, it was like a little Chicago Hope reunion, what with Mandy Patinkin and Thomas Gibson, and Gibson doesn't seem to be playing a complete tool this time. I didn't find this show as engaging as I hoped it would be, but I'll probably watch a few episodes to see if they let Mandy sing. ;)

[Tarheel]

I wanted this to look good so that I could be persuaded to avoid ER, but unfortunately it didn't look good enough after the first few minutes I caught. I probably should have stuck with it anyway because ER really, really sucked tonight.

Zoned Out, they are moving the show to Wed. at 9/8 anyway, so it wouldn't help you in your quest to avoid ER. Without a Trace will be back in its regular timeslot starting next week. I think they just wanted to get maximum exposure for this by airing it after CSI. I know I was too lazy to change the channel, so it worked on me. I think this show will be good for snarking. Patinkin's character has the potential to rival HoCaine on CSI: Miami in the pompous single-minded justice-crusading blowhard category.

Edited by Tarheel, Sep 22, 2005 @ 10:36 PM.

[oakgal]

Great.

This show was so utterly awful that I don't have to watch it and I can knock it off my list. Great. My VCR needs a break every hour or so.

[Leevee]

Ah, damn. Just double checked the schedule, and I've actually got TWO other shows to watch that hour. Why'd I think it's usually on Fridays? Dang. Oh well, I might tape it or something. And I still love Special Agent Doctor Reid.

I also liked how the girl who had been captured wasn't entirely helpless - she kicked the guy when he came for her and tried to escape.

Edited by Leevee, Sep 22, 2005 @ 10:59 PM.

[lilya]

I can see I'm alone in actually really liking this show. Unfortunately I guess that can only mean that it won't stick around.

I love Mandy in this role, and I liked the genius un-Dr. I can see the show has a few small character wrinkles to iron out, but overall I'm a fan.

I'm also impressionable enough to have found the ending a jaw dropping-sit-on-the-edge-of-my-seat moment.

I'm with spacemonkeys ---

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

That line from Princess Bride was one of the best ever, and for that, he deserves my loyalty.

[mrsdalgleish]

lilya, I like it, too (see above) but I agree that it probably won't last. What's it up against on Wednesdays? Lost? It's dead.

But I'll watch until then.

[Leevee]

Well, now it's only up against one show I watch. Head Cases just got cancelled.

but I agree that it probably won't last. What's it up against on Wednesdays? Lost? It's dead.

And Veronica Mars.

[mrsdalgleish]

It's up against VM??? Wait. Wait. :::checks upn.com::: Was VM on Wednesdays last season?

Well, damn. I'm a VM fan. No way am I missing that. And me without a recording device. Damn.

[lilya]

Head Cases just got cancelled

heh! figures. I liked that show!

[Prufrock]

Brilliant move in putting the pilot on right after CSI. I watched the Apprentice and didn't really plan on watching anything else, but .. after "Dead Like Me," I'm a sucker for Mandy Patinkin. It probably kept a lot of CSI's audience and drew from Ex-ER fans. (aside: Did anyone see the medicinal commercial with the actor who used to play George Lass's father on "Dead Like Me?" Couldn't help but chuckle at that.)

I was actually impressed with the show, as was my extremely snarky friend. She had issues with 3PhD guy as "the only one who does any exposition." I liked Gideon's dark side. I admit I was most surprised with "Greg" being such a well-cast "straight guy" to play off his over-sexed and over-smart team members. A great scene at the end with Mandy and "Greg" on the plane, as well.

Unfortunately, this show is up against both Veronica Mars and Lost. I hope it gains some traction, because I think Lost is going to lose some steam. JJ Abrams knows how to write a great season or two, but after that... well, need I mention Rambaldi, Lauren Vaughn nee Reed, and Nadia? I see the same thing happening with Lost this season.

In any case, I wish "Criminal Minds" the best of luck in a fiercely competitive time slot with an market already supersaturated with crime dramas. If it finishes the season, I will be delighted and surprised. I will continue to watch.

[mentalpretzel]

I'm going have to agree with everyone else that I doubt it'll finish the season, but hey...it wasn't that bad. I actually enjoyed it. MP pulls off the profiler schtick well enough. Shemar, well, he brings the pretty. The genius guy got my attention...I hope he gets more screentime.

What was the deal with the end? Am I slow and missed something? I couldn't tell if that was a flashback to what got him so emotionally screwed, or if it was a preview for next week's episode. Which, consequently, I will be missing. I have no TiVo and that's a craptastic timeslot for a new show with a generic plotline.

[Busylizzie]

I liked it, but I really didn't get the ending. I was prepared to see Lucas H as a character because of the ads, but the ads gave more exposition than that final segment did. Didn't tape it, so can't rewatch. I suspect I was paying attention to something else (work, heh). For those with schedule problems I recommend living on the left coast & subscribing to a cable service that gives you east coast feeds as well. Bliss! I don't know what I'd do without them...

[Kansippian]

At the start of the show Mandy was addressing a group of uniformed cops to be on the lookout for a serial who "most definitely will have a stutter".

I liked it. Like the cast a lot, but won't be watching until summer reruns. I cannot miss my beloved "Lost". No tivo. Hoping they get wise and move it to Monday or Friday.

[Kalahari]

mrsdalgleish, my thoughts almost mirror yours. I loved the show too for the same reasons. I do like this genre a lot.

Over the past few days, I've given a lot of new shows a try with my friends. We tried Threshold (wow, what a stinker! We couldn't get past the first hour. Just horrible, horrible writing, what a waste of some great actors). We tried Supernatural (i just don't get the appeal of this kind of show, where apparently ghosts and such things are common? Say what? And the acting, writing, etc., very cliched). We tried E-ring (We thought it was going to be okay at first until all the melodrama and overracting became a little over the top). We tried Invasion (Good presentation, good acting, decent dialogue, but the story premise just doesn't seem to have legs. Why should I be interested in a show about aliens? Invasion of the body snatchers? Yuch). And now, I've tried Criminal Minds, and I gotta say, that after all that disappointment, this was a pleasant surprise. Decent writing, good plot, good acting, well presented show, in a genre I like.

The only real problem is the time slot.

I like Lost, a lot. The show has its problems sometimes, but its always entertaining to watch because their presentation is so good. Reminds me of the middle season X-files so much in that regard.

I like Veronica Mars even more. Even though I didn't care for Buffy, or Angel, or any other "teen" show in the world, me and my roommate got hopelessly hooked on VM, and I've now successfully hooked about 4 other people I know. It's just hands down one of the best written shows on TV. I know a lot of people at TWoP compare the show to Buffy but I think of it as the "teen show" that appeals to the people who don't like teen shows. Just like The Amazing Race is the reality show for people who don't like reality shows.

At the start of the show Mandy was addressing a group of uniformed cops to be on the lookout for a serial who "most definitely will have a stutter".

Kansippian, I could be wrong, but I believe that was a class he was teaching. He was off active duty at the beginning of the episode and was teaching a class. And he was talking about a past case, and how he identified someone in a particular case, I think.

Edited by Kalahari, Sep 23, 2005 @ 4:53 AM.

[Kansippian]

Kansippian, I could be wrong, but I believe that was a class he was teaching. He was off active duty at the beginning of the episode and was teaching a class. And he was talking about a past case, and how he identified someone in a particular case, I think.

You may be right, my mother was chattering through that scene. I just remembered the stuttering part, so when Witness Boy spoke I flashed back to that. I agree, though, this show has much potential. Too bad I gots no tivo.

[metallicsquink]

Damn! Mandy, Dr. Penishead

LOL! "Who did the bypass? Not Dr. Penishead!" (or something to that effect) Oh, how I miss Chicago Hope.

The voiceover quote thingies were getting to me too.

Anybody else think they solved it too fast? Like they suddenly realized, "Oh, hey, it's quarter to ten, it must have been the prison guard!"

Oh, well, I'll watch until Lost crushes it.

[nawlins]

I liked it. But I missed the first ten minutes or so. What happened in the beginning?

[BeowulfGirl]

What I want to know is, what's the mysterious thing that happened in Boston to make everyone think Mandy is unstable? Did he have some sort of nervous breakdown? Or was it his friend dying in front of him?

And is it really a good idea to taunt a man about his penis size when he has a gun?

[simpsonbaby]

Hey, I liked this show, too! I mean it had its flaws, but I thought it was very well acted, especially by Inigo Montoya and the hot Shemar. My husband was working late and I was going to tell him I found a new show for us to watch, but then I saw they are moving it to Wednesdays opposite Lost and Veronica Mars.

I guess old Mandy doesn't have much pull with the network - I give this show 6 weeks. I mean, I will tape it and watch Lost, but I am guessing it won't have enough viewers to make it. Oh, well... more time to spend with my kids!