Wednesday, March 19, 2014

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 9 - 919. The Edge of Winter - Comments Thread

This thread is open for you all to post comments and talk about tonight's new CRIMINAL MINDS episode, titled 'The Edge of Winter' and written by Janine Sherman Barrois.

Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that next week we'll have to be happy with a rerun!

36 comments:

  1. I got to say I really liked this episode.The best thing about it there was barely any JJ.
    Hotch, Blake and Rossi finally got some good screen time. And I was really happy with the screen time Reid got. I also thoroughly enjoyed the story itself.

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    1. I still don't understand why JJ is hated so much but I agree it is nice to have other characters being recognized.

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  2. I'm looking for that ending quote too.

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    1. Patrick Rothfuss: “There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain, the mind must leave reality behind.”

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  3. Story was good... riveting... While the 'victim' seemed 'off' to me, the way they handled it was very good...
    Yes, this was a 'Morgan' Episode but he was toned down and not annoying in his scenes..Which was ok...
    I was Happy that while of course JJ was 'present' in the past, she wasn't dominant.
    Rossi/Reid at ME was good.
    Blake was very good too...
    And of course Hotch was actually acting like the Unit Chief he's supposed to be...

    Over all, I liked the episode. and would give it a 7 out of 10...

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    1. Yes but wasn't she suppose to be off. Something just wasn't right with her, which we soon found out what it was as Morgan continued to interview her. I too was pleased with the amount of screen time the other team members got in this Morgan centric episode.It reminded me of the way they use to do the centric episodes for the characters.I loved the fact that both Hotch and Reid got decent screen time in this episode. And I'm still doing a happy dance over there being barely any JJ in this episode. That fact alone is going to go along way in making this episode one of my favorites this season.

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  4. This is a really good episode. I liked that the real mystery was about the partner and the twist that it turned out to be the victim. It was really well written. The directing was great, going back and forth seamlessly in time. The fade between Cody to the victim as the true partner made the point beautifully.

    The whole team had their part to play. Shemar did a great job, and he combined intelligence, gravitas, and sensitivity very well, showing Morgan as the complex man he is. No door kicking. Show us this Morgan more often please, we miss him from earlier seasons and it is great to have him back.

    Again, Reid is consistently a capable agent who in this instance can run after an unsub and be the first one to take him down. His contributions were in character with his intelligence. No one mocked him for being smart or awkward. With all the teens girls in his fan base, it is much better that the writers seem to have stopped making scenes in which the cool kids mock the nerd for being himself/herself. Their middle schools and high schools are trying to get kids over this mindset, it sets up for bullying. So keep up the good work CM.

    The combination of JJ and Morgan in the field is starting to feel more normal. Emily was often Morgan's partner in the field, and played off each other well. Paget has a gift for humor and that is hard to replace, but JJ and Morgan are starting to meld and behave more naturally.

    Really good episode, thanks CM!

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    1. I have always been a fan of JJ and Morgan in the field together, ever since it started becoming more and more common in season 7.

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  5. When I read the press release for this episode, I sorta raised my eyebrows. How in the heck are they going to pull this off? And I also figured it for a strong Morgan episode as well. Yet, being the wait and watch type of peep I am, I just filed all that away.

    JSB tried something new and I have to commend her for that great idea. Oh sure, we've had cases that went back using flashbacks; Tabula Rasa quickly comes to mind. However, for me, it did get a bit confusing in spots. Yet, it was a usual JSB episode; solid team with all of them on point in their characters. And after the last few, something I really enjoyed.

    Looking back, I kick myself in the butt for not picking up on Dalia's OCD tendencies when she was playing solitaire in the opening scenes. I'll be the first to admit I'm borderline OCD; but who leaves their rows and piles that neat playing solitaire??? Not even me. So kudos to the director for giving us fans that shot. And failure for me not picking up on that. I guess I flunk Rossi's Profiling 101 class. :D But I got to see the Big Dog take down the unsub. This Rossi fan has a happy!

    I sure everyone including me though, picked up on that with Dalia straightening the sheets on her bed. And I loved the red herring that Coby turned out to be. JSB can slip those things to us fans. Naughty girl! LOL

    The actress playing Dalia was wonderful. And the actress playing her sister was just as good. It was heartbreaking for me to see her in the last scene with Morgan in the hallway. When Dalia asked about catching the partner, you could see her finally realize that Morgan was right and her sister was not well. Beautiful writing, acting and directing all the way around with that scene.

    Rockie's grade: A-

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  6. Very good episode. Excellent writing by Janine Sherman Barrois. Great acting by the actress who played Dariam Aasha Davis, she showed lots of range.

    Loved that the profiling was all done by interviewing the victim, Daria. Good team work, and this time Rossi got the kill shot!

    I give this episode a 9/10 because of the excellent writing, team work and Aasha Davis acting.

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    1. The profiling that was done in this episode plus the way it was done reminded me of the earlier and better seasons.Is it too much to hope that we'd get more episodes like this one.

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    2. Typo, I meant Daria not Dariam,

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  7. I liked this episode. I thought Morgan was pretty good in this - more like the Morgan of old. I liked that it was dark and twisty and made me think, There was a lot of team, a lot of profiling and very little JJ thank goodness. And wasn't it great to have an episode without the silly, out of character and juvenile fluffy bits at the start and end? I also thought the direction was great and the flashbacks were done very cleverly. The guest stars were brilliant especially Aasha Davis. Good job all round!

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  8. Why don't you guys like when JJ is present a lot?

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    1. I'm not about to restart the massive JJ debate here but the simple answer is that I, and many others, dislike the new JJ intensely and what makes it worse is her massive overuse in this season. Enough said.

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    2. You could check out Older Posts, but if you’re a big JJ fan, you might want to put on a hard hat.

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    3. What Mary said: Plus many fans were particularly livid over the amount of screen time she got in the milestone episode of "200" vs the team's screen time.

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    4. I can only give you my opinion on why I wish she just could disappear. When she went away, she wasn't missed. Even the ratings increased, and even though some people wanted to blame CBS of being sexist, I just came to realised they knew better. When AJ Cook came back, she didn't play the JJ character. Instead, she got the same name, but an entirely different personality, and suddenly she was condescending towards everybody, she was a great profiler in no time, and she suddenly developed a number of skills that make me thing about her as the classical Mary Sue. For instance, by season seven, Hotch stated she was the best to shot, and she was key in noting and solving quite a few cases. Her screen time kept increasing, while some other characters that were once the main ones faded in the background. By season 8 she was also a great fighter, and now by season nine she was selected to negotiate and interrogate a person in a key military operation, and it didn't matter that Rossi trained every negotiator since ages ago, of at Hotch cooperated writing down the interrogation handbook. Up to the episode 18, JJ was shown in every base: crime scene, morgue, cognitive interviews, interrogations, arrests, pointing up what everyone else miss from time to time, and rolling her eyes when someone else does that. If you add that the fact that practically all the 200 episode was dedicated to her, I think it is pretty clear why some of us can't stand her anymore. This is a show about crime, and there is a team catching criminals, not a show about JJ and her friends, Garcia and Morgan.

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    5. Very well put Ms Fabian. Very well put indeed. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of JJ constantly being shoved down our throats.

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  9. AWESOME EPISODE!! gotta say when i read an artice earlier that its going to be morgan centric i wasnt expecting much . .. but this ia an amazing criminal minds episode , dark , mysterious, a fantastic twist at the end .. not realy predictable , kept me guessing till the end . .. everybody played really good .. Ashaa davis rockd it .. SAD BUT BEAUTIFUL ENDING ..
    A TRUE CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE .. :)) 8 OUT OF 10 .. 1 point especially for twist and the ending.. <33

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  10. This episode had a different and welcome feel to it for me. I didn’t get Daria’s OCD until the bed sheet scenes but sensed earlier that she may have been a willing participant. Loved when Rossi shot the bad guy. If CM can do needles in the eyeball, foamy rabies infection, and ice picks to the chest, all of which flips my stomach, then they should shoot the bad guys more often, which is happy dance for me. Morgan was great; I liked seeing Garcia toned down a bit. Reid is always terrific. Rossi and Alex, wonderful. And of course, Aaron, perfect, as always. There’s hope for Season 10.

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  11. All in all, I liked this episode. I liked Hotch acting as the team leader he used to be. I liked Rossi, shooting to neutralise the unsub. I liked Reid being intelligent. I like the total lack of fluffy moments. I liked the way the team worked out the case. And I like the story. It was interesting. I still don't like Garcia, but at least she was toned down here. And even though there was less JJ, I still can't stand her, so for me, any second that she is in the screen is 'too much JJ'. It was a Morgan centric episode, so having him for long periods of time was expected, but even though I didn't enjoy it, at least he was better than in his other centric episodes. I wish there would be a way for the show to keep Alex and get rid of JJ, but other than that, if they keep this style, there is hope for season ten.

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  12. This was a really good episode, but one of the saddest I can remember. Most of the science/psychology was accurate, and sadly so. I was really happy that Morgan got a good case that was 1) not harkening back to his Carl Buford past; and 2) showing his smarts and sympathy rather than his muscle. No silly Garcia banter is a extra special bonus!

    The writing was very good, as was the directing (I like Ms. Culpepper's style a lot). Although I thought from the moment they showed Daria was in the mental hospital that she was likely involved in the crimes, it was still suspenseful enough that it kept a secret for near the end (the Coby guy was not the partner). Aasha Davis' acting was amazing, the actress who played her sister was good as well.

    JJ was, after Morgan, the most front and center, but she was subdued. Don't shoot me, but I'm beginning to like her again, as she hasn't been rolling her eyes at Reid in the last 3 episodes, even when he's spouting off about 16th century Japanese ghosts stories! I still hope she returns to being a supporting player in the future, and the stars come back to the fore. Nice amount of the team on this one, Hotch in charge, Reid got lots of screen time, and Blake at least not disappearing. Rossi subduing the unsub! And Garcia sticking to her job, for once!

    The only thing about the flashback aspect that didn't wash was that the time frame meant that Reid was actually in mourning and suffering insomnia at the time, and his hair was perfect! But that couldn't be helped... ;D

    More like this, please, even if it means JSB writes all season!

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  13. Sue,not only do I not want to shoot you,I am actually envious of you.I really wish I felt the same way you did about JJ. Unfortunately my feelings regarding her pretty much line up with Ms Fabian's.
    I too am hoping JJ returns to a more supporting roll in the future,a roll imho is far better suited for her.
    Of course I realize that it wouldn't be quite the same because JJ is a profiler now and even if she did go back to being more of a supporting character, I would still expect her to get more screen time than she did as the media liaison.However, JJ most definitely should not continue to get the screen time she has been getting at the expense of the other characters. The fact is the only team members who have not had to take a backseat to this character, so far this season, have been Morgan and Garcia.

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  14. I liked “The Edge of Winter” for the most part, and in the end I wished the episode was longer, because I wanted to know more about the case. It dealt with a scenario I always wondered about when I watch crime thrillers- how does a victim pick up the pieces and move on and process what they survived? Every time I watch TV shows or movies like this, the focus is typically on the crime fighters and the perpetrators with only cursory attention paid to the victim, and hardly anything after rescue. So I always wonder what happened to them and how/if they recovered.

    That aspect dove tailed nicely with the court preparation Morgan was doing with Daria. That is another scenario I have imagined for a Criminal Minds episode, but haven’t really gotten to see. The BAU doesn’t just investigate cases, but also deals with the trial. We have only seen one court case before on the show in “Tabula Rasa”, and I liked the focus on victim testimonial preparation (or at least so we thought at the beginning). I thought the storytelling was very effective blending flashbacks to Daria’s rescue and the team investigating the case. We got to see how the team figured out who the unsub(s) were and new flashes of Daria’s memory in present day as Morgan took Daria step by step through her statement. It was interesting to see the case progress and the steps the team took to discover who Joe’s partner was. The clues were subtle and it was good on Reid to see the signs on the bodies that pointed to OCD, and good on Morgan for noticing Daria’s symptoms of OCD that ultimately lead them to discovering her involvement in the murders.

    This was obviously a heavy Morgan episode, but thankfully, he had no personal connection to the case so he was able to remain professionally detached and not get emotionally involved, unlike past Morgan episodes we’ve seen. Honestly, once the truth was laid bare about Daria and her involvement in the case, it felt like a spiritual companion to “The Company” to me. Here we had another young woman who was abducted and held in long term captivity and was forced to develop a bond with her captor to survive. Granted there were differences in that Morgan’s cousin, Yvonne was the only victim her captor took, she was held for eight years rather than 10 months, and the focus was on the mental control he exerted over her with stories about The Company and control over her son, and from what we could tell, he never forced her to commit violence against another person. After this episode ended, I couldn’t help but compare the two victim’s experiences and how differently they reacted to their long term captivities, but it is understandable why Daria ultimately broke, since she was forced to actually kill victims. It’s not surprising that Daria’s mind fractured and she dissociated herself from her actions, and even at the end, she retreated into her mind so she had no memory. She was simultaneously sympathetic and chilling once you realized what she survived for those 10 months, but also what she still felt for Joe and what she would still be willing to do if he wanted her to. It was also sadly effective when Morgan had to tell Daria’s sister that Daria was where she needed to be, because she was broken from this experience. Again it hit home the fact that not everybody makes it out of trauma whole on the other side.

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  15. If I could, I would have only changed a few things. To me, the most interesting aspect of the case was Daria’s emotional state during captivity and the fact that she experienced a very severe form of Stockholm Syndrome, fell in love with her captor and was willing to kill for him, and did kill. I think that was such an important part of the story, that I wished that was the focus of the episode, rather than a surprise twist at the end. For the most part, even with the flashbacks, the story telling was fairly linear from start to finish. I wish Janine had abandoned the standard Criminal Minds formula and started directly from Daria’s rescue, but instead of taking us step by step through the prior investigation, focusing more the aftermath of discovering that Daria was actually the partner. I would have loved to have the story explore more in depth on what Joe did to break Daria to such a point. I almost felt cheated out of knowing more about what was the most important part, because we never had a full understanding of Joe’s motivation or his methods with Daria (an interrogation with him would have been illuminating to get inside his head- maybe as twin strands of the story- Morgan pulling Daria’s experience from her, while someone like Hotch and/or Rossi was questioning Joe to get him to explain his actions). Did she remember at the time what happened and what lead up to her participating in the murders (she didn’t seem to)? Not that I wanted to SEE him abuse her, but hear more of Daria’s story. I never really understood why she fell in love with him, beyond the standard explanation of Stockholm Syndrome. But not every captive experiences that, so I was curious what Joe did or how he treated her to make her succumb. I was also curious when he transitioned from holding Daria captive to killing others. Did I miss some part of the story where he was killing the entire time before he abducted Daria, or did he start killing only after breaking Daria for her to participate (I want to say it was the latter, but I probably should rewatch this episode to get the timeline correct)? So what made him go from keeping one victim alive and in captivity to torturing and killing others? Did getting Daria’s complicity fulfill some need within him, and if so, what was it? There are so many interesting psychological, behavioral, and emotional questions this episode raised with this case, and I just wish that Janine had been able to explore them further outside of the confines of the standard procedural formula requirements.

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  16. This is a long shot, but I feel it’s a “what I did for love” scenario. There was no Stockholm syndrome. Daria was immediately smitten by Joe’s pick up line when she and her sister passed by him in the truck. She had a smile a mile wide, turned her head in a flirtatious manner, and looked back at him. The fact that he kept her for a year and not the others filled her need to be loved, wanted, needed, partnered. She would kill without his asking her. She would do it again. She loved him. He was her boyfriend. She still loves him. She got off the chart agitated (great acting) when Morgan suggested that Joe made her do these heinous acts because as we’ve seen on CM, the sociopath wants credit for their actions and she was ticked off that Morgan was taking this from her.

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  17. Late to the dance on this one. Didn't get to watch the episode through right away.

    It was definitely more intriguing than most of the recent episodes, with impressive performances all around. If there had been just a tad more subtlety, I would have called it superb, because I think I would have been totally surprised, and I absolutely love when a show does that to me. As it was, this was more of a 'confirmed surprise'---but still very good.

    I've already declared my fascination with Reid, so it won't be surprising if I nitpick there. While I love that he was portrayed as being strong, and confident, and capable, (which is what I'd expect of a now-mature Reid), I find it hard to reconcile this week's persona, supposedly from some time in the past, with last week's contemporary persona, who had trouble managing the fitness test requirements, and who couldn't figure out that he didn't need to take the test at all, Just one of those inconsistencies that wouldn't bother me as much on a lesser show, but I'd come to expect more of this one. It's my understanding that the writers meet together to go over the season, and then each particular episode. So it's just a mystery why there is such a lack of consistency. Unless they don't think it's important.

    As to JJ, since she is the topic of so much commentary-----I actually missed her. It's not that I don't want to see her on my screen at all. It's just that I want to see the JJ that I once knew. Taking her off screen entirely doesn't solve that problem.

    Last comment. I tried to look this up, but couldn't find anything. I don't know how the 'numbers' are generated each week. Is it the number of viewers who tune in at the beginning? Those who stick it out through the whole show? I know there is accommodation for those who DVR it and watch within the week. Anyway, my thought is this: You turn on a show, and begin to sit through it. If it doesn't hold your interest, you search for something else. The next week, you remember not liking last week's episode, so maybe you don't tune your show in at all. That's the week the ratings drop.

    So I'm thinking it might be interesting to see what happens to CM numbers the week AFTER a particularly good or bad episode, as a better indicator of quality.

    Just my opinion. And, in the matter of television ratings, an uninformed one. If one of you has a better understanding of it, I would love to learn!

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    1. Believe me I share your frustration about Reid, as well as your fascination. The only explanation I can come up with is that Virgil wanted to do this story line.And he was either woefully ignorant,which imo is inexcusable,of what Reid would know(practically everything) and what he wouldn't know(very little) when it comes to FBI regulations.Or he just didn't care because he wanted to do the story line. I certainly don't mean to single Virgil out because just about all of the writers are guilty of doing the same thing. Despite what I think, I'd be lying to you if I told you I didn't enjoy those scenes between Reid and Garcia,because I did.

      As for JJ. I too miss the original one,but the chances of ever getting that JJ back are slim to none. And since I absolutely can't stand the current JJ, the more she is off my screen the better I like it.

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  18. What are reported in the news are ratings gathered by Nielsen. Those are generated via a pool of about 25 000 people who are chosen by Nielsen ( same principal as when surveys are done) and those people will have their viewing habits recorded by Nielsen according to; how many people are in the household, how many are watching an episode, what are their gender, age. Nielsen records the in segments of 15 minutes for shows that run for 30 minutes and in segments of 30 minutes for 1 hour shows. Typically with CM, it will raise up at the half hour.

    Example this week from 9-9:30 Viewers: 9.96 million, demo A18-49: 2.2
    from 9:30 to 10pm Viewers: 10.14 million, demo A18-49: 2.3 (source http://www.tvmediainsights.com/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=5152)

    So to answer your question the numbers are the number from the two half hours.
    So if people do not like an episode you may see a big drop at the half hour. Btw CM rarely drop at the half hour, and the raise at the half hour could be due to people who have finished watching Modern Family and switching to CM.

    As for why the ratings drop, many reasons; yes could be people not liking prior episodes but it is mostly due at this period of the year to Daylight Saving Time. This is a well-known factor that affects all shows. NCIS now does a 2.4 demo and 16 million viewers, it used to make 20 million viewers and 3.0. Another reason why shows go down( in same day viewing ratings) now ; DVR. CM use to get about 2.5millions viewers via DVR in prior years, this year 3.5millions viewers.

    good site to read about all this is: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/
    search TvbytheNumbers's site for how Daylight Saving time affect shows. As for CM ratings for this season but also prior season http://www.seriesmonitor.com/

    'So I'm thinking it might be interesting to see what happens to CM numbers the week AFTER a particularly good or bad episode, as a better indicator of quality. '

    Hard to say 'Strange Fruit' was very well liked by fans and it got a 12.40 million viewers following week The Caller 11.40m, 200th had a 12.92m viewers then following episode Mr and Mrs Anderson had a 10.07m viewers, You cannot just look at the data and say people hated Mr and Mrs Anderson without taking into account some factors like; promotion, 200th had lots of promo with CBS running promo video every night and news shows/magazine did segments about CM reaching the 200th episodes mark. Strange Fruit had lots of promo on CBS and actors (JM in particular) did interviews about it. On the other hand, there were zero promo for Gabby and it was shown out of its usual timeslot ( at 10pm) and it did badly 9.42m viewers and this episode is considered, so far, the best of the season.

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    1. Thanks, CMRT. I figured someone here would be more knowledgeable than I about the process. I agree that there are many factors contributing to viewership, and just as many different opinions about the quality of any individual episode. I was just wondering if the show runner/writers took higher viewerships as indications that people enjoyed the given episode, when what they really should be looking at is whether people bother to tune back in the following week. Sounds like it's not something that can be differentiated.

      You are right it noting the serious efforts to promote the 200th episode, in marked contrast to other episodes. So it made me wonder: If I was not already a CM viewer, and chose to tune in because of the hype, what would my reaction have been? I expect that, if I didn't already know the characters, and their histories, nor what the show is usually about----I would have enjoyed it as an adventure/spy show. Then been wondering why they seem to be so intent on catching serial killers ever since then! (But I would still have been wondering how they could have that bar scene at the end!)

      Thanks again for your response. And you too, Ms. Fabiana (below) for your thoughts on it. It's very true that numbers only LOOK objective. In the end, I guess, they're just numbers.

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    2. ‘If I was not already a CM viewer, and chose to tune in because of the hype, what would my reaction have been? I expect that, if I didn't already know the characters, and their histories, nor what the show is usually about----I would have enjoyed it as an adventure/spy show. Then been wondering why they seem to be so intent on catching serial killers ever since then! (But I would still have been wondering how they could have that bar scene at the end!)’

      You have a very valid point and this is why we CM fans had a big problem with 200th, it was not a CM episode, yes it was the same characters but it had nothing to do with the CM we watch every week. If I was a viewer tuning in that week and then went back the following week yes I would have been confused as to why there was no action adventure in the episodes.

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  19. Even though ratings look very objective, and probably because they are numbers, the true is that their interpretation is not only hard due to the number of factors affecting them but also because some subjective analysis is also done by the networks, in order to decide when to cancel a show. In many opportunities we saw good shows with decent ratings being cancelled, and some others with lousy ratings kept going until ready for syndications. I am a DVR person, because since season seven I just can't stand certain characters, and I would gladly watch it one or two days after, just to be able to miss their scenes. Since the case stories normally aren't really developed nowadays, I must say that I can watch an episode in less than half an hour and still get the point of what happened. But what I don't get is why those DVR figures may be of any importance for the networks. I mean, the different demos represent different types of consumers, and advertisements are linked to those. But if I record the show, so I can skip some scenes, I obviously will skip the commercials too. Do they assume that at least some part of the DVR populations puts up with the adds even when they have the FWD button available?
    And regarding the quality of the episodes, well, that could be a matter of endless discussion. I think an episode is good when we don't know straight away who the unsub is, and when some psychological aspects of what lead to the killings, when the team members use their minds, and not when they are running around with guns, kicking doors and shooting people aiming to kill, as if this would be a regular cop drama. That is why I liked this last episode. Some other people may thing a good episode contains valentine dates, A shirtless Morgan and JJ playing house with husband and child. A number of people always ask for those stuff in every tv show. Why, who knows. I know I don't like that, but I have no power to what the CBS does, so I just record the show, skip their ads, and skip parts of their shows, and delete them if I think I would never want to watch it again. I bought the first five seasons and I am pretty sure I won't by any of the following. So I keep my money, and CBS sells its stuff to someone else looking for romance in a crime drama show.

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    1. Ms Fabiana said:‘But what I don't get is why those DVR figures may be of any importance for the networks. I mean, the different demos represent different types of consumers, and advertisements are linked to those. But if I record the show, so I can skip some scenes, I obviously will skip the commercials too. Do they assume that at least some part of the DVR populations puts up with the adds even when they have the FWD button available?’

      There are two aspect of why DVR ratings are important: they are used to determine what will stay and what will go (not the only factors that is considered, cost, numbers of episode, syndication deals, international sales etc…) and bragging rights.

      With bragging rights, it is to make shows ( and the networks) look better in the news. An example: Networks will release big press release for their shows when the DVR numbers do look much better than the live one, this is from NBC about the Blacklist ‘L+7 TIME-SHIFTING: The Feb. 24 “Blacklist” grew by 6.4 million viewers in “live plus seven day” results (to 17.5 million from 11.2 million) and was up 47%’
      Source: . http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/03/18/nbcs-the-voice-the-blacklist-grow-versus-prior-telecasts/245831/

      Of course saying a show did 17.5 million viewers is better than saying it did 11.1m. Same with NCIS who did 16.77m viewers this week, it use to do over 20m viewers, you can be sure once L+7 days are out there will be a big press release to tell everyone that NCIS still has 20m viewers :)

      Network knows when Nielsen family ( this is how they call the people who are part of Nielsen studies) do skip commercials and those are NEVER counted in the C3 numbers. Actually we have C3 numbers from last year and in some cases shows went down in demo when the C3 numbers were compiled. Strangely, CM numbers went up in C3. So no they do not assume but know that yes people will watch commercial even if they watch via DVR but there are too many people skipping ads to make it profitable so this is why we now have numbers like L+7 and some are now pushing for L+30 days viewing because viewing habits have changed.

      BTW DVR numbers will tell networks if a show is still popular or not. Yes CM gets about 10 -11m viewers a week in Live + same days viewing but in L+7 it is close to 15m viewers (source: http://www.seriesmonitor.com/criminalminds/season9.html ) and this + cost + syndication deal + international sales = renewal. A season 11 renewal will not be that easy as most of the will be without a contract and even if ratings are still good the cost for the show may not play in CM favor but this remain to be seen.

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    2. Thank you for taking your time to answer my doubt. I still think e Nielsen family is a small sample for such a huge country, but they probably know better than I. I must say that sometimes some ads are better than the shows, but at the same time I fail to remember what are they advertising...

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  20. i wonder why is it called "at the edge of winter" as there some kind of a metaphor?

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