Criminal Minds Information
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama series that premiered September 22, 2005 on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) at Quantico, Virginia. Criminal Minds differs from many criminal system procedural dramas by focusing on the criminal rather than the crime itself. The show is produced by The Mark Gordon Company in association with CBS Television Studios and ABC Studios. The original title for Criminal Minds was Quantico, and the pilot was filmed in Vancouver. In the Quantico script, Jason Gideon was named Jason Donovan.
On May 20, 2009, CBS officially renewed Criminal Minds for a fifth season, which premiered on September 23, 2009 at 9:00 PM EST.[1] A spin-off to the show, Minds 2.0, has also been announced, [2] and is set to premiere September 2010, when Criminal Minds is renewed for a sixth season.
CBS announced in October 2009 that Legacy Interactive will develop a video game based on the show. The game will require players to examine crime scenes for clues to help solve murder mysteries.[2]
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Background
An earlier cast of Criminal MindsOriginally, the series centered on Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and the rest of the BAU team. For the first season, that included Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Jennifer Jareau, or "JJ" (A. J. Cook), and Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness).
During the second season, Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini) left after the sixth episode, "The Boogeyman," and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), replaced her in the ninth episode, "The Last Word." At the beginning of the third season, Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) departed after two episodes, making his last appearance in "In Name and Blood." After a gap of several episodes, David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) came out of retirement in episode six, "About Face," to replace him.
The frequently-used term "UNSUB" stands for "unknown subject" of an investigation.
Characters
Main article: List of characters in Criminal Minds| Season | FBI Unit Chief | Supervisory Special Agent | SSA - Media Liaison | Technician | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) | Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) | Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) | Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini) | Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) | Jennifer Jareau (AJ Cook) | Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) |
| 2 | Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) | ||||||
| 3 | David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) | ||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) | Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) | |||||
| Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) | Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) | ||||||
Current BAU Team
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent/Unit Chief Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner
- Played by Thomas Gibson, Hotchner used to be a prosecutor, and was formerly assigned to the FBI Field Office in Seattle. His attempts to balance his family life and his job successfully had been an ongoing theme on the show. Shortly after he and his wife, Haley, were divorced, his family was threatened by The Reaper. Haley is eventually killed and Hotchner takes a leave of absence, likely to make up on lost time with his son, Jack. Hotch later returns to the team to help catch a criminal who has escaped from custody.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent/Temporary Unit Chief Derek Morgan
- Played by Shemar Moore, Morgan is a confident, assertive, and often hot-tempered character, the son of an African-American father and Caucasian mother. He went to Northwestern University on a football scholarship, holds a black belt in Judo, runs FBI self-defense classes, and served in a bomb squad unit and as a Chicago police officer. Former unit chief Aaron Hotchner promotes him to unit chief in Hotchner's place, a promotion Morgan sees as only temporary until the "The Reaper" is captured. He returned the unit chief position to Hotchner after "The Reaper" is killed.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi
- Played by Joe Mantegna, Rossi, a "founding father" of the BAU, was in early retirement until his voluntary return to the BAU in 2007. He had retired in order to write books and go on lecture tours, but returned to settle some unfinished business which was revealed shortly after his return.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid
- Played by Matthew Gray Gubler, Doctor Reid is a genius who graduated from a Las Vegas public high school at age 12. He is almost always introduced as Dr. Reid, even as the others are introduced as S.S.A. 'blank'. This was explained by S.S.A. Gideon in the first (pilot) episode that the reason why he gets called that by the other members of the team is to deflect comments about his age. It has been revealed that he holds Doctorates in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, BAs in Psychology and Sociology, and is working on a BA in Philosophy. After being kidnapped by an unsub in Revelations, he is drugged with the narcotic painkiller Dilaudid and becomes addicted, but later cleans up after going to a series of addiction support meetings specifically for members of law enforcement. He is godfather to Jareau's son, Henry.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
- Played by AJ Cook, Jareau acts as the team's liaison with the media and local police agencies. She is dating William LaMontagne, a New Orleans Police Officer. The two have a son together, Henry.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss
- Played by Paget Brewster, Prentiss is the daughter of an ambassador. After Agent Elle Greenaway left the BAU, Prentiss showed up with papers stating she was the newest member of the BAU. At first it is implied that she pulled some strings through family ties to get her placement on the team. However, it is later revealed that FBI Section Chief Director Erin Strauss placed her there to have leverage on a team member in order to later undermine Hotchner. She refused to do so, deciding to resign rather than help Strauss undermine Hotch. She decides to stay with the BAU, but refuses to help Strauss get rid of Hotch. She is a self professed nerd and is also well spoken in some foreign languages.
- FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia
- Played by Kirsten Vangsness, Garcia is the team's computer technician at BAU Headquarters in Quantico. She lost both her parents at a young age and then lived off the grid as a computer hacker. Garcia brought the attention of the FBI upon herself after illegally accessing some of their equipment. She had little choice but to join the ranks of the bureau to avoid a jail sentence. She is god-mother to Jareau's son, Henry. She was shot and almost killed by an unsub, later caught.
Former BAU Members
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon
- Played by Mandy Patinkin, Gideon was the BAU's best profiler and former Unit Chief (was Unit Chief prior to the series, but replaced by Hotchner before the series began). Prior to the series timeline he was said to have had a nervous breakdown (or "major depressive episode") after sending six agents into a Boston warehouse with a bomb in it. All six were killed and he was heavily criticized for his decision. It can be inferred that this was the reason Hotchner remained the Unit Chief of the BAU instead of Gideon retaking his old position. Gideon is also skilled at chess, having continually beaten Dr. Reid throughout the series.
- Gideon also provided classified behavior analysis service for the CIA, and it is unknown how deep his assignments penetrated into the government. While it is an unofficial rule that the team not profile each other, Gideon was often seen counseling his agents and helping them through their problems. After a series of emotional cases, and the murder of his friend Sarah in Gideon's own house by fugitive serial killer "Frank", Gideon began to feel burned out. The last straw was Hotch's two-week suspension, for which Gideon felt responsible. He retreated to his cabin (the one place where his job couldn't find him) and left a letter for Dr. Reid, who he knew would be the one to come looking for him. When Reid arrived at the cabin, it was empty except for the letter and Gideon's badge and firearm. Gideon was last seen remarking to a Nevada diner waitress that he didn't know where he was going or how he would know when he got there, leaving the diner and subsequently driving off in his vehicle.
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Elle Greenaway
- Played by Lola Glaudini, Elle was formerly assigned to the FBI Field Office in Seattle, Washington, and assigned to the BAU as an expert in sexual offense crimes. Her father was a New York City Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty. She is half Cuban and speaks Spanish. Elle suffered extreme emotional trauma after she was shot by a psychotic UNSUB, who proceeded to stick his hand in her wound and write on the wall using her blood. She returned to the BAU rather quickly after the incident, against the advice of the rest of the team. Not long after, she staked out and shot a suspected serial rapist in cold blood because of his crimes against women (and, probably, her part in accidentally ensuring his freedom). Her ability as a profiler was questioned by Hotchner and Gideon because of this, even though the local police force deemed it self-defense. She turned in her badge and her gun to Hotchner, declaring that it wasn't "an admission of guilt."
- FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent Jordan Todd
- Played by Meta Golding, Jordan was JJ's handpicked replacement to serve as the BAU's Media Director during JJ's maternity leave, from late 2008 through early 2009. Jordan had formerly served in the FBI Counterterrorism Division, but had only followed JJ for one day of shadowing when JJ went into labor (4x07, "Memoriam"). Thus, Jordan started somewhat abruptly into a job that she found more stressful than it appeared. Jordan seemed to get along well with most of the team, even flirting platonically with Derek Morgan. She was especially close with David Rossi, who was seen to counsel her while they were on cases. However, Jordan clashed several times with Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. The first was after she lied to the mother of a victim in order to gain information to be used in the team's victimology (4x09, "52 Pickup").
- Later, she was overwhelmed by her emotions during the Los Angeles Freeway Killer case. Feeling responsible for the death of another victim after a press conference she gave, she was visibly angry and emotional near television cameras, leading Hotch to tell her, "Tell me right now, can you do this job, or can't you?" Jordan did manage to get things under control, though the cumulative effect of that case and the files she had to look through every day seemed to be catching up with her. At the end of 4x13, "Bloodlines", she told Hotch that JJ would be waiting for them at the BAU by the time they returned. Though she had liked working with the team, she was glad to be going back to Counterterrorism. She told Hotch that "a family takes on the character of its leader" and that he doesn't smile much, she also told him to make sure that JJ knew she wasn't taken for granted.
Other characters
- Haley Brooks Hotchner
- Played by Meredith Monroe, she was the high school sweetheart, and then wife, of Aaron Hotchner. According to 1x22 ("The Fisher King, Part 1"), Hotch spotted her in the hallways and was instantly convinced he had to have her. Since she was in the school musical production, he joined as well, playing "the worst Fourth Pirate ever." Together they have a son named Jack, born in late 2005. Their marital issues were a running theme early on, specifically Haley's feelings that Hotch devoted more time to the job and the team than he did to his family. It all came to head in the first episodes of Season 3, and by the end of episode 3x02 ("In Name and Blood," also entitled "In Birth and Death"), Haley moved herself and Jack out of the house. At the end of episode 3x03 ("Scared to Death") Hotch mentioned to Morgan that he wasn't sure if Haley was coming back. Hotch was served with divorce papers as he was leaving the office for the day, at the end of episode 3x11 ("Birthright"); at Haley's request, and without retaining a lawyer, he signed them three episodes later (3x14, "Damaged").
- Until 5x01, she and Jack were apparently still living in the house she and Hotch had shared. After being mentioned, but not seen, for nearly two seasons, Haley appeared in 5x01 ("Faceless, Nameless"). George Foyet, the Boston Reaper, stabbed Hotch, and stole Haley's address from Hotch's address book. Though she and Jack were soon found unharmed, they were taken into protective custody, intentionally leaving Hotch unaware of their new location. This left Hotch devastated, knowing that he would only be able to see Haley and Jack again once the Reaper was caught. In episode 5-09 "100", Haley is lured to her old home by George Foyet, who has led her to believe that the agent addressed to protect her is dead as well as Hotch. Once in the house with Foyet, he has her call Hotch and she realizes the peril she is in. Hotch tells her to be brave and show Foyet no fear as they tearfully say their goodbyes to each other. Foyet then shoots Haley to death while Hotch and the team listen over the phone.
- Diana Reid
- Played by Jane Lynch, she is Dr. Spencer Reid's mother. She first appeared in 1x22 ("The Fisher King, Part 1"), when it is discovered that she is connected to the serial killer Randall Garner, the man who shot SSA Elle Greenaway. Garner was institutionalized at the same mental hospital as Diana and it was her telling him about Reid that leads Garner to target the team. Like her son, Diana has a genius IQ. She was once a university literature professor, but is no longer, since her diagnosis of schizophrenia. She currently resides at the Las Vegas-based Bennington Sanitarium where Spencer committed her when he was eighteen. Her husband, William Reid, left her when Spencer was a child in part due to her schizophrenia.
- Much of Diana and Spencer's time while he was growing up was spent with her reading to him. Spencer writes her a letter every single day. In episode 4x07 ("Memoriam"), while Reid is investigating the cold case of a murdered boy, it is discovered that Diana was involved. Reid had believed that his father was the boy's murderer, but it was revealed that Diana had figured out that the boy was murdered by a pedophile after the man had also approached Reid when he was four. Diana then informed the father of the murdered boy who in turn killed the pedophile. Diana had entered the house after the murder and suffered a psychotic episode, causing the family to move because she was under the belief that Reid's life was in danger (forgetting that the pedophile was dead), and causing such family stress that father left his wife and son.
- FBI Section Chief Director Erin Strauss
- Played by Jayne Atkinson, she is the BAU's direct superior. Her job lies in administration, and she had no actual field experience before accompanying the team to Milwaukee in 3x02 ("In Name and Blood"). She was under the impression that Hotch's team was disorganized, and posed a threat to the BAU. (It was also suspected by Hotch that she saw him as a threat to her own advancement within the FBI.) After placing Emily Prentiss on the team in early season 2, she attempted to enlist Emily's aid in spying on the team. Emily refused, instead briefly resigning. Strauss then used his and Gideon's handling of the Flagstaff, Arizona case as pretext to suspend Hotch for two weeks from the BAU, with a pending investigation on his methods. After seeing first-hand what the team's job is like (while catching Milwaukee serial killer Joe Smith), Strauss eventually backed off on her attempts at reorganizing the team and removing Hotch from the BAU. She instead made it clear that none of the team members would ever be promoted to any higher positions within the FBI.
- However, the fact that a season later, Morgan was being looked at to head the New York field office makes her power to back up her claim questionable. Because of Hotch's questionable actions since being stabbed by George Foyet (aka the Boston Reaper) in 5x01 ("Faceless, Nameless"), Strauss is forcing Hotch to step down as Unit Chief, be reassigned or possibly be fired. Hotch decides to step down and promote Morgan, as this internal promotion will at least keep the team together. Morgan agrees, but says he will only serve in that role until George Foyet is apprehended (episode 5x05, "Cradle to Grave"). Strauss heads the investigation in the 100th episode involving the incident with Hotch and George Foyet. The team is hostile to her (Morgan, most notably) and though she seems to have it out for Hotch, shows genuine compassion for him at the end of his testimony and clears him of any suspicion.
- Detective William LaMontagne Jr.
- Played by Josh Stewart, Detective LaMontagne was first seen in 2x18 ("Jones") as a New Orleans detective investigating a serial killer case which had initially belonged to his father. Detective William LaMontange Sr. was a detective and had made a breakthrough in the case right before being killed in Hurricane Katrina. The unsub was believed to have suffered the same fate, but when evidence to the contrary arose, Detective LaMontagne took over the case using the work his father had done and a single clue carved on the wall by his father, just before he had died. Detective LaMontagne Jr. called in the BAU to assist him, and they were ultimately successful in capturing the unsub. LaMontagne Jr. spent much of his time on the case choosing to work closely with Agent Jareau.
- In 3x17 ("In Heat"), it was revealed that they had been involved for over a year, and in 3x18 ("The Crossing"), JJ called Will to tell him she was pregnant with his child. In the season three finale ("Lo-Fi") Will showed up in New York City while the BAU was on a case, reiterating an off-screen proposal of marriage, and further telling JJ that he would be willing to give up his shield, move to Virginia, and raise their baby. As of early season 4, Will had moved to Virginia, and is apparently now serving as stay-at-home dad to their son, Henry. JJ has not, as yet, canonically accepted the marriage proposal, but they did exchange rings with insets of Henry's birthstone, citrine. He is seen briefly in the 100th episode getting medicine for Henry with JJ.
- FBI Technical Analyst Kevin Lynch
- Played by Nicholas Brendon, Kevin first appeared in 3x09 ("Penelope") in which he was required to search Garcia's computer to learn who shot her. Kevin sent the team live video alerting that the unsub was in the BAU headquarters. He was intensely impressed by Penelope's computer skills, and the feeling was mutual. At the end of the episode Garcia was introduced to Kevin, and the two have been romantically involved ever since. Though Garcia was briefly worried about violating FBI rules against fraternization after being "caught in the act" in her house by Rossi in 3x14 ("Damaged"), her worries did not bear fruit. Kevin visits the BAU often to spend time with Garcia, and seems to have been accepted whole-heartedly by the rest of the team.
- In episode 4x23 ("Roadkill"), he told Garcia that he had applied for a better-paying job with the NSA, and asked whether she would be willing to move with him if he got it. Garcia struggled with this decision, eventually telling Kevin that the BAU was her home and she did not feel she could leave. Kevin then told her that the NSA position had just been withdrawn, due to a breach in security. Penelope let it slip that "you wouldn't have been happy in Karachi anyway," suggesting that she had hacked into the NSA mainframe to learn about the job. However, Kevin did not seem to be disturbed by her actions, and the relationship is, to all appearances, still going strong. He is seen briefly in the 100th episode and helps Penelope search for Foyet.
- It's also known that Kevin will be back for another episode (episode 21, Season 5) of Criminal Minds, named Exit Wounds, which will be expected to air during May period.
Episodes
Main article: List of Criminal Minds episodesThe first season ran from September 22, 2005 to May 10, 2006, and the second season ran from September 20, 2006 to May 16, 2007. The series' third season, ran from September 26, 2007 to May 21, 2008 and was interrupted in late 2007 by the industry-wide WGA strike. On May 14, 2008, Criminal Minds was renewed for a fourth season, which ran from September 24, 2008 to May 20, 2009. As of fall 2009 the series is in its fifth season.
Spin-off
Main article: Minds 2.0DVD releases
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released the first four seasons of Criminal Minds on DVD in Region 1. [3]
In Regions 2 & 4, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (formerly Buena Vista Home Entertainment) has released seasons 1-4 on DVD.
| DVD Name | Ep# | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete First Season | 22 | November 28, 2006 | February 12, 2007 | April 18, 2007 |
| The Complete Second Season | 23 | October 2, 2007 | May 5, 2008 | May 5, 2008 |
| The Complete Third Season | 20 | September 16, 2008 | April 2, 2009 | March 18, 2009 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 26 | September 8, 2009 | March 1, 2010 | March 10, 2010 |
Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Criminal Minds on CBS:
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. | September 22, 2005 | May 10, 2006 | 2005-2006 | #27 | 12.80[4] |
| 2 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. | September 20, 2006 | May 16, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #22 | 14.01[5] |
| 3 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. | September 26, 2007 | May 21, 2008 | 2007-2008 | #23 | 12.70[6] |
| 4 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. | September 24, 2008 | May 20, 2009 | 2008-2009 | #11 | 14.89[7] |
| 5 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. | September 23, 2009 | May 2010 | 2009-2010 | #17 | 14.08 |
Series high: 26.31 million viewers (10:30pm ET; week of 1/29/07) (following Super Bowl XLI-93.18 million, and Super Bowl XLI Post Game-57.34)[citation needed]
DVR ratings
The show ranked number nine in DVR playback (2.35 million viewers), according to Nielsen prime DVR lift data from 9/22/08 - 11/23/08.[8]
Syndication
The series is now in syndication on A&E Network and ION Television.[9]
Merchandise
In October 2009, Legacy Interactive announced a licensing agreement with CBS Consumer Products to develop a video game based on the Criminal Minds television series. The videogame, slated to launch in the fourth quarter of 2010 on the PC, will be the latest addition to their Hollywood Hits™ game series.[10]
References
- ^ Matt Mitovich (24 June 2009). "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TV Guide Online. http://www.tvguide.com/News/FallTV-CBS-premieres-1007227.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b CBS Interactive (October 29, 2009). "CBS Consumer Products Announces Eight New Video Games Based on Popular TV Shows". Press release. http://games.ign.com/articles/104/1041583p1.html.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "2005-06 primetime wrap". 2006-05-26. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393.
- ^ "Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap". May 25 2007. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f.
- ^ "Season Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. 2008-05-28. http://abcmedianet.com/DNR/2008/pdf/dnr052808.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05
- ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?date=12/10/08&id=20081210cbs01
- ^ http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/national-broadcast/e3i8d7762ca1514653dd1bced45972371d0
- ^ http://www.legacygames.com/news/press_release/2009/criminal_minds_announcement
External links
| Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Criminal Minds |
- Official website
- Criminal Minds at Yahoo! TV
- Criminal Minds at the Internet Movie Database
- Criminal Minds at TV.com
- A&E's Criminal Minds site
- "List of Criminal Minds Episodes". TVGuide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/criminal-minds/192244.
| Preceded by Grey's Anatomy 2006 | Criminal Minds Super Bowl lead-out program 2007 | Succeeded by House 2008 |
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Categories: Criminal Minds | 2000s American television series | 2005 American television series debuts | CBS network shows | Crime television series | Television series by Buena Vista Television | Television series by CBS Paramount Television | Police procedural television series
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