Criminal Minds - Season 1 Complete [DVD]

The FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit are a crack team of specialist profilers investigating the usual glut of serial killers in this first season of the successful though not without controversy (currently in its eighth season) US drama.There is Jason Gideon - ace profiler recovering from a case which pushed him towards breakdown.Hotchner "Hotch" the leader of the teamDerek Morgan - Specialist in obsessional crimes who has an eye for the laydeez and works out a lot.Jennifer "J.J." Jarreau - Young rookie recruitElle Greenaway - Specialist in sexual crimesDr Spencer Reed - Young genius who knows everything about everything except how to interact with others.Penelope Garcia - Sassy computer expert. Think Su Pollard with a libido.The hook of the show is that each team member has a special ability that they bring to each case. This, unfortunately is where the show also starts to go wrong. The writers become interested in a father/son relationship between Gideon and Dr Reed which is played well. However, this also sidelines the other members of the cast. For example in 'Derailed' Greenaway is taken hostage on a train by a psychopath. Instead of the writers focussing on her getting out of it, the episode becomes all about Dr Reed rescuing everyone. Greenaway does nothing. Another 'Somebody's Watching' is about a Hollywood actress who has a stalker. Perfect you might think for Agent Morgan to show his expertise in obsessional crimes but again he is given next to nothing to do, while again Dr Reed takes centre stage. Both of these episodes are good but are examples of how the show fails to utilise the characters it has.The females really come off badly. J.J has nothing to do except hold press conferences or toss her hair and unbutton her blouse. Elle Greenaway suffers from an actress who cannot do empathy. Her interactions with those victims who have been sexually assaulted never rang true. A permanent scowl might be the result of being continually sidelined.Otherwise acting is pretty good, Shemar Moore who plays Morgan and Kirsten Vangsness as Garcia have to do this faux flirting thing, which to their credit, they do well so it is not as nauseating as it might sound. Continuing the trend of US shows in the past decade of hiring a big name star- Mandy Patinkin takes the role of Gideon. I get the feeling he's out of his depth here. Far too many times you can see the acting wheels turning.Standout episodes include 'Riding the Lightning' which has a fantastic performance from guest star Jeanetta Arnetta as a murderer awaiting execution on Death Row. She manages also to bring the best out of Patinkin. Special mention for 'Broken Mirror' which sees the team working as a team.Worst are certainly 'The Tribe' and 'Machismo' one deals with Native Americans and the other Mexicans. Both episodes come across as condescending and offensive. The episodes dealing with cannibalism and then Satanism also had nothing to say or offer other than an ick factor.So, overall not a bad show to watch. I think the spoken quotations at the beginning and end of the episodes are unnecessary and come across as pretentious. The show is not as intelligent as it might think. Sometimes it's not clear how the profilers have made their deductions. Far too many episodes sees the team behave in ridiculous ways - the end of season cliffhanger relies on an FBI agent doing something they would never do given the situation. One plot point in 'What Fresh Hell Is This?' made me wonder how any of the agents managed to have the brainpower to get out of bed in the morning, never mind track down so many serial killers?I watched it, enjoyed it, though the writers need to address the imbalance between the characters and also be a little smarter and tone down the torture aspects. I wonder does the world really need another show about serial killers?

I love Criminal Minds. Wasn't much of a fan of Many when I initially watched it on tv years ago but I love his character now and the way he is played. He shows a vulnerability and realness that is usually lacking in many characters in American shows.Not keen on Elle as she is just bland and 2 dimensional.Reid was plain annoying to start off with but has grown on me as the season has progressed.What can you say about Morgan but pwwooaarrr. He needs to up his game on the acting front though but it is hoped that this will improve over time.Hotch is well Hotch. A miserable bugger but it is understandable why he is that way. I'd be miserable if I couldn't spend time with my family as well.I can't take my eyes off JJ as she is so gorgeous and I'm female and straight, lol. Am hoping she ends up being more than the hotty in the show.And my fave character has to be Garcia. She is just brilliant as she brings humour to an otherwise really morbid show.There are alot of episodes so you really do get your money's worth. Some aren't as good as others but even the not so good ones shine brightly.

Criminal Minds is filmed with the same slick, well-produced Hollywood-style gloss as CSI and Without A Trace, and features the same case-of-the-week format and a similar team of young, attractive specialists headed by a complex, tortured and brilliant older man. This always successful formula, teamed with a tight and often amusing script, some excellent acting and a lot of seriously gasp-out-loud scary climaxes, makes for a brilliant programme.Mandy Patinkin plays Agent Gideon, an intense, quiet but very talented criminal profiler who puts together physical and psychological descriptions of criminals by examining the crime scene. Most episodes build their way up to a climax where Gideon and his team struggle to identify and find the criminal before he commits another murder/kidnapping/arson etc. It's often edge-of-the-seat stuff, although it can be very gruesome, so be warned. The final showdown with the criminal is often electric, especially if the team have to play into his psychological fantasies, essentially reading his mind, in order to catch him or get him to surrender (an episode where Elle is trapped on a train with a maniac is especially good in this regard!).Patinkin is great in the role (though arguably not as fantastic as he is in Dead Like Me - check it out if you're a Patinkin fan) and is very ably backed up by his team, especially Matthew Gray Gubler who plays the somewhat socially inept but genius Dr Reed. The good thing about Criminal Minds is that the actors have a lot to work with as we get to understand a little of the characters' backstories and motivations in some episodes, more so than in similar shows like CSI.If you like your criminal shows tense, unpredictable, and with an element of intelligence, you'll love this - definitely worth checking out.