Criminal Minds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Criminal Minds

The cast of Criminal Minds.
Genre Crime Drama
Creator(s) Jeff Davis
Starring Mandy Patinkin
Thomas Gibson
Paget Brewster
Matthew Gray Gubler
Shemar Moore
A. J. Cook
Kirsten Vangsness
Country of origin Flag of United States United States
No. of episodes 41 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
1080i (HDTV)
Original run 2005-09-22 – present
Links
Official website

Criminal Minds is a crime drama that premiered on CBS on 22 September 2005. It follows the adventures of an FBI profiling team from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) from Quantico, Virginia, that stars former Chicago Hope actors Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon and Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner. Criminal Minds differs from many criminal system procedural dramas by focusing on the criminal rather than the crime itself.

Contents

FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon
Played by Mandy Patinkin, Gideon is the BAU's best profilers. He helped Morgan and Reid through their nightmares. Prior to the series, he is said to have had a "famous breakdown" after he sent six men into a warehouse with a bomb in it. All six agents were killed, and he was heavily criticized about the event. He shows particular dislike for the practice of using religion as a defense or motivation for one's crimes. Gideon also has a son named Stephen, as shown in episode 1x11, "Blood Hungry". The nature of their relationship has not been directly stated, but it is implied that they have not seen each other very recently.
FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner
Played by Thomas Gibson, Hotch was formerly assigned to the FBI Field Office in Seattle, Washington. Also, he is currently the head of the BAU team. He recently had a baby son; his successful family life and how he tries to balance it and his job is an on-going theme on the show. He also has a younger brother, Sean. While they butted heads over Sean's decision to become a chef instead of a lawyer, they seem to share a fairly friendly relationship. Hotch helped Reid with his firearms qualification. He was formerly a lawyer before joining law enforcement. It was hinted that he was at one time assigned to SWAT. It has been hinted that Aaron Hotchner may have been abused as a child. When speaking to the unsub in episode 1x08 ("Natural Born Killer") he remarks that "when you grow up in an environment like that, an extremely abusive, violent household, it's not surprising that some people grow up to become killers." Upon prompting from the unsub on his use of the word "some", Hotch replies "and some people grow up to catch them".
FBI BAU Senior Special Agent Derek Morgan
Played by Shemar Moore, Derek Morgan is confident and assertive everyman sort of character. He is a Blackbelt in Judo and runs FBI self-defense classes. He and his two sisters (Sarah and Desiree) grew up in a tough, urban neighborhood. After his father's death, he struggled somewhat in life and developed a small criminal record. A man called Carl Buford tried to act as a surrogate father to Derek when he was young. Buford aided Derek in becoming a good football player, though Derek chose not to make it his ultimate profession when he suffered from a career-ending knee injury. Also, Buford's request as an "upstanding member of the community" convinced a judge to expunge Derek's criminal record. However, Buford was also a child molester who began to sexually abuse Derek. When Derek grew up, he realized that what Buford had done was wrong. Since then, he has lamented not telling someone of the abuse and dedicated his life to stopping criminals. Eventually, he even helped to catch Buford when he was found to to be molesting another child and killing at least one boy who threatened to expose him. ("Profiler, Profiled").
Typically, Derek is and thinks of himself as Gideon's right hand man. He typically is one of the first agents to enter a suspect's house, even going in with SWAT. He is an expert in obsessional crimes. He can often be seen making humorous note of Reid's genius--Derek's sister has remarked that Derek often talks about Reid after he began to spout out statistics--or flirting with AV Tech Penelope Garcia. The latter is treated as a non-serious non-romantic activity. He once did 18 months undercover, which he mentioned in episode 1x08 ("Natural Born Killer"). He once insisted on staying with a woman whose car had been rigged to explode, saying he wouldn't leave until it was defused. Though Gideon considered the act stupid, he also admitted that he respects Morgan and never said Morgan's actions were wrong. In that same episode, Morgan said he had bomb squad experience. His sidearm holds a detachable flashlight. He also has a dog named Clooney, as revealed in episode 1x21, "Secrets and Lies".
FBI BAU Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid
Played by Matthew Gray Gubler, Doctor Reid is a genius who graduated from high school at age 12. In his youth, his father left him and his mother, no longer able to deal with the paranoid schizophrenia of Reid's mom. Reid attempted to change his father's mind by stating a statistic regarding the educational success of children in single parent households. Reid's father merely replied that "we are not a statistic". His mother never overcame her illness, even after seeing a doctor. Reid tried to persuade his mother to follow her doctor's recommendations, such as getting proper exercise, but she refused. Instead, Reid grew up learning nearly everything he knows from books, with his mother often reading to him. Still, Reid knew the way his mother was living wasn't healthy. When he was eighteen, he had his mother placed in a mental institution. She is still there, and Reid has stated that although he send letters every day, he is afraid to visit her. Reid is also worried about the fact that his mother's illness can be passed on genetically; he once told Morgan that "I know what it's like to fear your own mind".
In the first episode, Reid is a 23-year-old former Las Vegas schoolboy with a triple PhD. He turns 24 in episode 1x04 (Plain Sight). He has retained his computer-like personality, still often spouting relevant data during missions, and sometimes referencing statistics. Serving as the team's statistics expert, he has an uncanny ability for spotting complex patterns. He does not believe that genius can be measured, but admits that he has an eidetic memory, an I.Q. of 187, and can read 20,000 words per minute. Dr. Reid also serves as the team's handwriting analyst. Agent Derek Morgan finds Reid's intelligence and unique personality amusing. He went on a date with J.J. to a Washington Redskins game, but nothing seems to have come of it.
When his mother was temporarily brought to FBI headquarters because of mission, Reid was somewhat bothered. Several episodes later, Reid was kidnapped and tortured by a killer with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Two personalities believed it was their mission to kill people for even the least harmful of sins. The third, although kind, did not believe he could fight the others. He did, however, use dilaudid as an escape. This same personality gave Reid dilaudid, believing it'd help him. Although Reid begged him not to, he began to show less resistance over time. The drugs led Reid to have visions of his childhood, right up to the day he institutionalized his mother. One of the other two personalities tried to kill Reid after Reid admitted what he did, and Reid was forced to shoot the killer. The BAU team then came to rescue him. However, Reid secretly stole the killer's drugs before leaving the scene.
In the following episode, Reid begins to lose focus during a mission. He finds crime photos remind him of his own experience, and contemplates using the drugs. Later, Morgan notices that Reid is not himself. Though Reid does not mention the drugs, he does admit his recent problem with the photos. Morgan tells Reid that he can still be a good agent, even if he does empathize with the victims.
FBI BAU Special Agent Emily Prentiss
Played by Paget Brewster, Prentiss is the daughter of an ambassador. In her first appearance, she recognizes Hotch from one of his first commands: security clearance for her father. Her arrival surprises both Hotch and Gideon, as neither of them had signed off on the transfer. Prentiss insists her parents have not pulled strings for her. Ultimately, she joins the team at the end of episode 2x09 ("The Last Word") on a probationary basis. She replaces Agent Elle Greenaway. She is a graduate of Yale and has been working for the FBI for little under ten years, primarily in the mid west. Due to spending her early life with her parents on diplomatic missions to the Middle East, she speaks fluent Arabic and is knows a lot about that area's local culture. She's also skilled at chess, and it is possible that she is better at the game than Reid. During a case where Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was somewhat scarred, JJ asked Prentiss how she could handle being with the BAU, especially since her last position was a desk job. Hotch concurred, and Prentiss could only reason that she "compartmentalizes better than most". After a bad date in the following episode, she admits to Derek Morgan that she is a "nerd," despite how much she tries to hide it. For this reason, she hasn't had much success romantically with men. However, she realizes that Morgan has similar tastes in books as her. Thus, they begin to form a friendship.
FBI BAU Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
Played by A.J. Cook, JJ often acts as the team's liaison with the media and local police agencies. She once went on a date to a Washington Redskins game with Reid, but little has come of it romantically. JJ graduated from East Allegheny High School near Pittsburgh, PA, where she was the captain of the varsity soccer team her senior year and earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. She is a fully qualified federal agent, but has stated that she does not want to become a profiler. During one case, she accidentally stumbled upon a barn full of dogs who were known to eat human flesh. Though she survived by shooting them all, the event left her with brief psychological scars. At one point while safe and washing her hands, she hallucinated that one of the dogs was behind her. She seems to have recovered in subsequent episodes.
FBI Audio/Visual Technician Penelope Garcia
Played by Kirsten Vangsness, Garcia is the team's Audio/Visual Technician at BAU Headquarters in Quantico, VA. When she speaks with Morgan they use pet names such as "hot stuff" or "sweet cheeks". Although they haven't pursued a romantic relationship, Garcia did show mild jealousy at the sight of Morgan dancing with two other woman. She is into online games, specifically MMORPGs. Garcia has said she can run U.S. Central Command from her office while also playing online poker. She is extremely protective of her computers and the FBI database. Some cases seem to eat away at Garcia, as she often gets nervous or upset when analyzing video or sound recordings of murders, as she has to listen to and watch them over and over again many times.

Haley Hotchner
Played by Meredith Monroe, she is the wife of series regular, Agent Hotchner. She and Hotch have a newborn son, Jack. Jack's name was revealed in Episode 2.04, "Psychodrama".

FBI BAU Special Agent Elle Greenaway
Played by Lola Glaudini, Elle was formerly assigned to FBI Field Office in Seattle, Washington; recently assigned to the BAU, expert in sexual offense crimes. Her father was a police officer but was killed in the line of duty. She is half Cuban and speaks Spanish. She was shot by an Unsub in the season 1 finale. Physically recovered by the end of the season 2 premiere. The event still left her with psychological scars. These scars led her to act more harshly during a case involving a serial rapist. Ultimately, she killed the suspect before he could even be properly arrested. She handed in her badge and gun at the end of the following episode, 2.06 ("The Boogeyman"), saying that it was not an admission of guilt.

  • Mandy Patinkin, who plays Gideon, has a son named Gideon.
  • The BAU team is on call 24/7/365 and is frequently called out around the country at a moment's notice.
  • Patinkin and Gibson are both former regulars on Chicago Hope.
  • Cook once guest starred on Dead Like Me, where Patinkin was a regular.
  • In one episode, there is a character called Mike Zissou, a reference to the movie The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, in which Gubler played a part.
  • Gubler was once photographed by famed photographer Mia Grace who had a small part in the series' pilot episode.
  • Criminal Minds aired after Super Bowl XLI. The episode featured cameos by Super Bowl announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.
  • Mandy Patinkin's characters in both Criminal Minds and Dead Like Me have many similar interests. They are both shown to be capable and enthusiastic chefs, and they both have an affinity for art.

[1]

  • Each episode has a voice-over in one of the early sequences, and again in the concluding one, discussing a quote by a well-known author or poet. The quote ties in to the case in the episode and by revisiting it at the end of the episode a sense of conclusion is achieved. The voice-over is most often given by Gideon, but occasionally Hotchner, Reid, Elle, and even JJ have done so, as well. These quotes, along with others, can be found here.
  • The characters attempt to either track down a killer before he kills again or else find a missing person hidden or kidnapped by the killer.

In Late July Paramount Home Entertainment pulled Criminal Minds Season 1 from their fall schedule, but it was released on 28 November 2006. [1] Meanwhile, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released an R2 set on 12 February 2007. [2] At the time of the region two DVD release, the season had not had a complete run on national television. The DVD set was released with the season finale set to be aired 3 days after the release, on 15 February 2007.

DVD Name Cover Art Region 1 release date Region 2 release date Region 4 release date Region 2 release date [?]
The Complete First Season 2006-11-28 2007-02-12 2007-04-18 2007-06-07
The Complete Second Season TBA 2007

See also: List of Criminal Minds episodes

  1. ^ http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-vanderbeekcriminalmindscasting,0,7387815.story?coll=zap-news-headlines

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:


Preceded by
Grey's Anatomy
2006		 Super Bowl
lead-out program
2007		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/r/i/Criminal_Minds_c525.html"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.