TV Review: Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds is the CBS version of The Profiler. With an all-star cast of Mandy Patinkin, Shemar Moore, and Thomas Gibson, the show offers an intriguing look inside the criminal mind.

When the show opens, a young woman in Seattle is having an Instant Message conversation with someone selling a car. He has a "Z" he wants to get rid of. She asks why the price is so low. He writes that he wants to get it out of his possession fast, and would she like to meet him for a test drive.

She agrees. After driving around, she is offered a look under the hood. When he takes her back to her place of employment, however, things begin to go awry. After he doesn't take the right drections, her concern turns into fear when he does not turn around. She is knocked unconscious, he drives away.

At the same time, in Washington D.C., a man and his pregnant wife are having a discussion about what to name their baby. She wants Gideon, but he is reluctant. When his pager goes off, he has to go. Viewers see a fax machine sending a picture of the abducted woman to him.

In a bar, a group is sitting around having drinks. A cell phone rings and a text message displays BAU, short for Behavior Analysis Unit.

In a police academy classroom, Adrian Gideon is teaching cadets about the steps required to arrest a suspect. The case presented is a current one about a young woman who died. Gideon makes a point of saying about the suspect, "Don't be surprised if he speaks with a severe stutter."

Mandy Patinkin, formerly of Chicago Hope, plays Gideon, who left the BAU after a case went wrong and six officers died. After six months of counseling for post traumatic stress, and he is called back into service.

One of my favorite parts of this show is the voiceovers by Patinkin quoting sayings of famous people. They set up each scene.

In the end, Gideon saves the woman's life by shooting her abductor. This is enough for his two associates to recommend that Gideon is stable enough to be on the job. Oh, and that stutter Gideon refers to in class? During the final scene, he walks into a gas station and watches the clerk struggle to say "Have a nice day". The clerk, played by Lukas Haas, notices Gideon's gun, and follows him out the door. Gideon sees the clerk behind him with a glance in a mirror. The clerk is raising a rifle. Fadeout.

Article Author: NancyGail

NancyGail writes from her home in Georgia.

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