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| by Cochaman Peef with additional writing by Bridget Petrella | ||
| CBS' ‘Criminal Minds: Season 2’— A Rare Gem. | ||
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The BAU is led by Aaron
“Hotch” Hotchner (Thomas Gibson). A devoted family man, Hotchner is the
humorless, by the book boss who tries to keep the rest of the group on
task. Mandy Patinkin plays Jason Gideon. Gideon is a bit of a
Renaissance man who loves cooking, chess, and art. However, underneath
all of that, there is a sense that something is really eating at him. He
is the unit’s best profiler and the person who seems to be able to best
understand the psyches of the unsubs the unit tracks down each week.
Season two of Criminal Minds concentrates on giving the viewer more
insight into the lives of most of the members of the BAU. Intertwined
with the cases, we are given tidbits that give some clues as to why the
BAU members may have chosen these particular careers.
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Despite a number of short-term
unwarranted arrests for a virtual plethora of misdemeanors,
which, for some odd reason, remain "classified", Cochaman Peef
has continued to let his beloved hemp play a substantial role in
his ever-waning life. Whether he’s smoking from a hand-blown
glass pipe while studying Eastern religion and Woody Harrelson
philosophy, or just smoking Jamaican sticks and watching Kung-Fu
with David Carradine on DVD [he claims to know Carradine
personally, a fact we've yet to dispute]. |
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I
always thought Criminal Minds (CBS/ Paramount) was a decent show. It
never actually made my 'gotta see it' list, but if I spun by and it was
on, I would usually watch. So when the opportunity to review the season
2 DVD came up I said; 'Sure, it's a decent show.' Having gone through
the six disc set always watching two or more episodes at a time... I now
think this show is way better than just decent. Character development
was a priority this season according to the special features and it
shows. The more I got to know them the more I liked them. As most
crime-tube junkies will attest, CBS is the place to go to fill up on
crime drama. In the last seven years or so, ol' Les Moonves and his crew
have brought us several flavors of CSI, Without a Trace, and several
other crime-related dramas with much success. Criminal Minds, which
debuted in 2005, distinguishes itself from the pack with the overall
darkness that envelops the show. For those of you who have yet to
discover this rare tube gem, Criminal Minds revolves around the
Behavioral Analysis Unit (“BAU”) of the FBI. Each week these people go
to a new location around the country to get inside the head of some of
the most sadistic criminals ever, in hopes of stopping them before they
torture or kill again. Often, at least one gruesome event does happen on
the team's watch before they can apprehend the “unsub.” Criminal Minds
can be downright disturbing, making the show far more gripping than many
of its contemporaries.
Season
two begins with “The Fisher King Part 2,” the conclusion to the
season one cliffhanger about a sadistic killer who seems to know a lot
about the members of the BAU. In “The Fisher King Part 1,” Agent Elle
Greenway (Lola Glaudini) was shot and believed to be dead; part two
reveals her to be barely hanging on to life. It is clear that she won’t
be a member of the BAU much longer. After half a dozen episodes she is
replaced by Agent Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster). Interestingly, Kate
Jackson played Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, Agent Prentiss’ mom in one
episode. Kate Jackson’s appearance is a nice momentary trip down memory
lane, given how disturbing Criminal Minds can be: a child is put up for
sale via a 24-hour Internet auction and a pair of killers rape and kill
women and then send DVDs of the acts to the victims' families. One of
the best episodes of the season is “North Mammon” where three teenage
girls (soccer stars, no less) are abducted and put into a cellar; they
are told, “Two of you can leave when one of you is dead,” meaning they
must not only decide who will die, but which two are capable of killing.
The ending is both surprising and heartbreaking simultaneously. Not an
easy task, by any stretch of the imagination.
Mandy
Patinkin has always been an enigma to me. The man is incredibly
multi-talented, yet full fledged across the board stardom has always
seemed just out of reach. Perhaps he’s too well-rounded. Most big stars
only have one talent (or a very well paid publicist) so the focus hits
them dead on for doing the same thing over and over. Patinkin, on the
other hand, has over his illustrious career entertained Broadway
audiences with his phenomenal singing style and theatre audiences with
his skills as a dramatic, comedic and physical actor. Though he has been
in the business for far longer, my first memory of Many Patinkin was as
expert swordsman Indigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. While every
character in that film had their opportunity to shine, it was Montoya
that most people fondly remember. After that I saw his name pop up a few
times in movies, but it wasn’t until a PBS airing of Sunday in the Park
with George that I found what a gifted singer he was. After that I made
it a point to pick up his Broadway inspired CDs (who along with Anthony
Warlow produce some of the some of the best I’ve ever heard, by the
way), none of which have ever disappointed me. Then all of a sudden he
seemed to drop out of sight for a lengthy period of time, an analogy
that is rather fitting as he was suffering from a debilitating eye
disease and it was feared he would lose his sight. Slowly he began to
creep back into the limelight, first with Showtime’s excellent series
Dead Like Me as Rube, the foul-mouthed, foul-tempered, yet sympathetic
head of a group of Grim Reapers. Unfortunately that series was cancelled
after the 2nd season (stupid Showtime), but he bounced back as the lead
in Criminal Minds. 
My
favorite character on Criminal Minds is probably Dr. Spencer Reid
(Matthew Gray Gubler). He started out as just a know-it-all whiz with
numbers, but Gubler plays his complex character with such ease he is a
joy to watch. His talents are on full display in episodes like “The Big
Game” where Dr. Reid is kidnapped by a schizophrenic serial killer
(James Vander Beek). In “Revelations” a tortured and drugged Dr. Reid
uses his knowledge of schizophrenia (as his mother actually has the
disease) to survive the ordeal. After that, Spencer begins to change. He
is much quieter, less sure of himself, and shows a deeper degree of
humility. The rest of the cast Shamar Moore, Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook,
and Kirsten Vangsness— all give solid performances which add to the
strength of the show. The stories are often shocking if not depraved but
we enjoyed seeing the criminals getting their comeuppance… at least the
times that they do. Of course, the end of season one hit us with a
cliffhanger, and we opted to start watching the series regularly. After
all, the final scene had the screen go to black as shots were fired. It
was possible that one of our beloved characters was dead. But we just
enjoy these DVDs so much that we summoned up the willpower and waited
for this one. And the wait was worth it. UB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452046/