CRIMINAL MINDS - Thomas Gibson ('Criminal Minds'): "Someone will die tonight" - Interview

by Nathalie Chuc

A beautiful deep voice sounds on the phone, it is Thomas Gibson, - alias, Aaron Hotchner of Criminal Minds, the Unit Chief of a team of FBI profilers. In all simplicity, the actor tells us more about the double episode that ends tonight, Season 8 on TF1.

NC: The killer, "The Replicator", seeks, more than ever, to harm the team of profilers: someone will die... A cast member said goodbye - we don't disclose who. Thomas Gibson, how was it?
TG: It's always difficult, especially since it's an actress I've known for a long time. We played together in theater in the 80s. All good things come to an end. But I can tell you that she'll be back in Season 9... in flashbacks! [laughs] In series, goodbye is never final.


NC: In this double episode, your character spends quality time with his girlfriend and his son, it is rare to see Hotchner smile!
TG: Indeed! It's nice for me too. I think it's important to show that our characters have a life after work. Like real FBI agents, they are struggling to balance career and personal life. In particular Hotchner,  who is very - perhaps too - invested in his job. He is torn because he would like to be the best father and take care of his girlfriend, Beth. In Season 3, we saw that his marriage failed because he was working too much. He has learned several lessons since then.

NC: Will we see again, in Season 9 for example, his girlfriend Beth?
TG: Yes, but it's complicated because Bellamy Young, the actress who plays Beth, is a regular in another series, Scandal. She plays Mellie Grant, the First Lady! So it is difficult for her to find time to come to Criminal Minds, but our common goal is certainly to bring her more often.

NC: His private life is definitely at the heart of the intrigue tonight, because everything begins with his reunion with his brother Sean...
TG: Yes! Moreover, we had not seen Sean (Eric Johnson), the brother of my character, since Season 1. It's been a while. So, with this plot (Brothers Hotchner), we understand what happened to him during that time. And fans of the series will be pleased, I think, to discover another facet of Aaron, to see him as a big brother.

NC: You've directed an episode of Season 8, the 14th: will you repeat the experience?
TG: This is very timely because I am right there preparing to direct another! I cannot wait actually. It's a good story too; will begin to film right after the Christmas holidays - the team takes a break. With directing, I'll be busy in January! [laughter] It should be Episode 16. I love being a director and I'm pleased that they let me. It's a lot of work but it's so interesting and I have the support of all.

NC: Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, plays a key role in the finale...
TG: It was fantastic to have him among us, it's Luke Skywalker afterall! He's just lovely. He's an icon in the United States. On the set, we all asked him to take photos and to sign us autographs. He happily played the game. For me, it is one of our best guest stars. And the icing on the cake, he's a fan of the series, which is always a plus.

NC: Jeanne Tripplehorn (Basic Instinct) was a rookie this Season 8: your verdict?
TG: Jeanne has really found her place. It turns out that I also knew her well before she came among us - we went to the same school in New York. In fact, if you work long enough, like me, in Hollywood you always end up finding old friends on a shoot! We are lucky to have her with us. Her talent is obvious. And she watched the series too...

Thomas Gibson is 51 years old. He began on stage at the age of 10. In 1997, he was revealed to the public thanks to the role of Greg in the sitcom Dharma & Greg, with Jenna Elfman. Recognition became global in 2005 when he landed the role of Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner in Criminal Minds.


Due to the fact that the original interview was published in French, we have posted it in its integrity after being translated into English by us. To read the original feature go to: Le Figaro

REPLICATOR: A Criminal Minds Season 8 Recap

A look back at the events and world of Criminal Minds: Season 8. Don't forget to check out the Season 9 premiere this Wednesday 9/25 at 9pm EST.

Featuring the @CM_SetReport Team and special guest Mark Hamill.

Criminal Minds: Review of Episode 8.24 'The Replicator'

As a season finale, "The Replicator" had a lot going for it: a villain that the writers took time throughout the season to build, Strauss being the main victim, the team being targeted in a twisted need for revenge over her and newest team member Alex Blake...

What it really needed, to be an awesome episode, was two hours. As an hour episode it felt a bit too packed, too much was going on for just one hour of television. What was well done was how they did tie all the little pieces they had scattered along previous episodes; nothing was left out, and all made sense.

There were many great scenes: Rossi losing it after he was drugged and was convinced Morgan was 'The Replicator', stood out. The tension in that scene was palpable, and Joe, Shemar and Thomas were very good in it.

Best moment was, without a doubt, Strauss dying in Hotch's arms. Totally sad, but such a powerful moment, especially when she told Hotch she did love all her children, and he told her he had been wrong (see the episode 'In Name and Blood' from season 3). Excellent work by Jayne Atkinson and Thomas Gibson; those two always played well against each other's. Will miss Erin Strauss.

The most uncomfortable scene was when we saw Strauss at the M.E. office, death, having lost her usual formidable presence.

Criminal Minds has had lots of very good stunt scenes in its run; my all time favorite was the flipping car on the highway in 'Normal', but loved the helicopter crashing. And on a purely aesthetic level, lovely shots of those helicopters on flight!

The ending was left open ended: is 'The Replicator' really dead? Could he have escaped his own trap?

As much as I wish the final had been a two hours event, what I really wish was that Mark Hamill had played Curtis without the 'mad, doctor' flavor. Unlike Frank Breitkopf (played by David Carradine), who was creepy and scary, or George Foyet (played by C. Thomas Howell), who was dangerous and crazy, Curtis just seemed... tame? I never felt he was scary; yes he could hit the team, but Hamill's performance needed a bit more for his character to be as good as Frank, Foyet, or even Hankel.

The ending was OK; loved that Rossi used Strauss one-year medallion to jam the door. Zugzwang indeed!

The family theme was even more present at the end with the team toasting Erin Strauss's life. Loved that they did the toast and the remembrance of things that happened with Strauss, this is what a family does when one of them is lost.

As a season finale, "The Replicator" delivered; may not have been as good as my all-time favorite "Lo-FI", but it was well written and entertaining. It ended a good season for Criminal Minds. Let's hope season 9, which starts in less than one week, will be even better!


~~~~Merlin

NOTE: All the images can be seen full size clicking over them.

Criminal Minds: Review of Episode 8.23 'Brothers Hotchner'

For a Hotch fan, perhaps the most anticipated and long-awaited episode of the season. Built up with spoilers that we would get to see Jack, Beth and “estranged” brother Sean all in one episode, it was sure to please. But did it?

Hotch and Jack are in New York to visit Beth and to see the City's sites when Hotch gets a phone call from his brother, Sean, who also lives in NY. Sean is now a bartender at a trendy club and has just had a female patron die in his arms, bleeding out of her eyes. The local police think that she overdosed on ecstasy; Sean tells his brother that another girl (who happened to be Sean's girlfriend) died the same way the previous week—and asks for help. The NY Medical Examiner identifies three more victims who have died the same way: by boiling from the inside out (which is unlike a 'normal' overdose) and the rest of the BAU team head to NY.

Meanwhile, there is another incident amongst some drug takers, but this time there is a survivor. Reid, Morgan and JJ are able to learn that the survivor lived because he took less of the drug than his friends. The profilers also learn that the higher the dose, the higher the heat created in the body and faster the death. Garcia is then able to identify that a more lethal version of ecstasy is being used: “PMMA” and more disturbingly, that this is the first time it has been identified on U.S. soil. The hunt widens and tension mounts.

At the local station, Hotch has Rossi interview Sean while he watches from behind one-way glass. During the interview, we find out that Sean had been a drug addict, but been clean for 2 months. Hotch is livid and storms into the interview, asking where his brother got his drugs and what else his brother has been hiding. Sean admits that his current boss, a man named Thane, got him the job and the drugs.





While all of this is going on, Blake interviews the sister of one of the victims. She is insistent that her brother was not a drug taker. On the night her brother died, they had been drinking wine; he had had white, she had red.

Next, we see a family about to eat dinner. The parents both sip their (white) wine and their poor daughter witnesses their deaths, blood streaming out of their eyes. At the crime scene, Rossi and Reid discover that the victims are seemingly random and that they ingest the drug through tainted wine. Unfortunately,the motive is still unclear.






From another profiling and investigating session, JJ, Blake and Garcia find that wine has been shipped to the 'Edinburgh Club', the Club where Sean works.
Eager to prove himself to his brother and to help the investigation, the younger Hotchner volunteers to go under cover at the Edinburgh and see what information he can get from his boss, Thane. Sean meets Thane in the Club's store room, where Thane asks for his help in dumping some wine; when they discover a missing case of wine Thane panics. Eventually, he admits to spiking wine with drugs but is adamant that he had no idea it was PMMA. But Sean is thinking of his dead girlfriend and loses his temper. He fights with Thane, exposing his wire but Hotch and Morgan come to his rescue and arrest Thane and a young woman who is also an employee of the Club. During the arrest, Sean disappears, much to Hotch's frustration. This frustration only grows when Thane's boss, Club owner Jim Peters, is found dead after his car is rammed by another vehicle, leaving Sean as an obvious suspect. The death is enough to scare Thane into divulging the drug/wine distribution chain to the BAU team.

Rossi tries to sympathize with Hotch, knowing that the brothers' relationship deteriorated following Sean being a no-show at Haley's funeral. Hotch doesn't know why Sean didn't show up, but felt he couldn't make Sean a priority after that, wondering when his brother would stop making self-destructive choices.

Further examination of the distribution chain brings the profilers to identify an airport baggage handler who had a strong, drug-related motive against Jim Peters. Morgan and Reid head to the airport, where after a quick chase, are able to bring down and arrest the unsub.  At the station, the remaining team members begin to pack up. Strauss announces that she is heading back to the hotel (with a sly look at Rossi) but before he can open his mouth, Blake has offered to give her a ride, which she accepts. The two women leave and JJ takes the opportunity to tease Rossi about his supposed 'secret' relationship with Strauss.




Finally, we are taken to Beth's apartment, where Sean is introduced to Beth, reintroduced to Jack and the brothers vow to do better. But it isn't quite a happy ending. Although Sean has been exonerated from murder, he still must face up to his involvement with the Club's activities and so the episode ends with Hotch accompanying him downstairs to an awaiting police car, where he gets in and is driven away.




Except that this wasn't quite the end! As Hotch watches the car pull away, he is captured in a black and white photo so we know he is being photographed. The scene then changes to Garcia's lair, where her computer screens are suddenly overrun with “ZUGZWANG”. And lastly, we are taken to Strauss' hotel room. The Section Chief is sleeping but is not alone,... The Replicator has arrived!


What I was disappointed with:

• Lack of any kind of explanation for Sean's lack of contact with Jack (hadn't seen him in 4 years) or for his missing Haley's funeral.
• Lack of any kind of emotion from Jack when he hears from his dad that their original plans have changed.
• Sean's phone call to Hotch after disappearing. What was the point? Sure, we learn that Hotch believes his brother's innocence but why did phone in the first place?
• Hotch's background as a “screw up”... I don't see this in his character at all. The opposite, if anything.
• Hotch not going with his brother to the station at the end of the episode. Sure, he made a few phone calls but you would think that if he wanted to “do better”, he would have gone along.

What I liked:

• Thomas/Hotch — Thomas gave an outstanding performance; it was nice to see him finally get a chance to shine. It was also great to see him smile and relax a little!
• Overall story — interesting case; great job, Rick!
• Strauss (yep, surprised me too!) — I enjoyed her somewhat surprising support of the team, especially her line “this team tends to go rogue when loved ones are involved.” I am going to miss her.
• Rossi/Sean/Hotch interview — I really loved Rossi’s calm and seeming indifference contrasted with Hotch's intensity and the underlying tension between the Hotchner brothers.
• Garcia — I thought she had some great lines throughout the episode and gave me a giggle when I needed it. :)
• Hotch/Rossi moment when Rossi shows concern for his friend and Hotch opens up a little about his past — A nice scene, even if I don't buy the actual storyline of Hotch's past.
• Reid's use of 'force' in bringing down the unsub!
• Short but funny Rossi/JJ scene regarding Rossi's relationship with Erin Strauss.

Rating:

I'd give Episode 8.23 a solid 8/10. Good story, lots of Hotch (essential for this Knight), some Jack and plenty of great, subtle team interactions. Hope we don't have to wait so long for the next brothers Hotchner reunion.


~~~~Galahad

NOTE: All the images can be seen full size clicking over them.

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 12

O 823. BROTHERS HOTCHNER O
	Written by:	O Rick Dunkle O
	Directed by:	O Rob Bailey O
	Original Air Date:	O May 22, 2013 O
O The BAU is called in to investigate a string of deaths in Manhattan tied to apparent ecstasy overdoses, and Hotch discovers that his estranged brother, Sean, is caught in the middle. Meanwhile, The Replicator begins to zero in on the BAU. O

O 824. THE REPLICATOR O
	Written by:	O Erica Messer O
	Directed by:	O Glenn Kershaw O
	Original Air Date:	O May 22, 2013 O
O The Replicator zeroes in on the BAU when the killer targets one of the team as the next victim. The team must now struggle against his endgame as the stakes grow higher. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 11

O 821. NANNY DEAREST O
	Written by:	O Virgil Williams O
	Directed by:	O Doug Aarniokoski O
	Original Air Date:	O May 8, 2013 O
O The BAU travels to Los Angeles looking for an unsub who is abducting nannies and the children they care for on the same day each year. O

O 822. #6 O
	Written by:	O Breen Frazier O
	Directed by:	O Karen Gaviola O
	Original Air Date:	O May 15, 2013 O
O The BAU goes to Detroit to track down an unsub with a rapidly changing M.O. Also, Blake's husband returns from overseas with a life-changing career proposition for her. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 10

O 819. PAY IT FORWARD O
	Written by:	O Bruce Zimmerman O
	Directed by:	O John Terlesky O
	Original Air Date:	O April 10, 2013 O
O When a time capsule in a small Colorado town is opened twenty-five years later and contains a gruesome discovery, the BAU investigates the crime and find a possible link to the death of a local police officer. O

O 820. ALCHEMY O
	Written by:	O Sharon Lee Watson O
	Directed by:	O Matthew Gray Gubler O
	Original Air Date:	O May 1, 2013 O
O The BAU travels to Rapid City after two male victims are discovered murdered in a ritualistic manner. Also, Reid continues to grieve over Maeve's death. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 9

O 817. THE GATHERING O
	Written by:	O Kim Harrison O
	Directed by:	O Michael Lange O
	Original Air Date:	O March 20, 2013 O
O The BAU investigates victims who were documenting their personal lives and inner desires on blog posts and social media. Also, Kevin gets jealous when he learns Garcia may have a new love interest. O

O 818. RESTORATION O
	Written by:	O Jim Clemente Janine Sherman Barrois
	Directed by:	O Felix Alcalá O
	Original Air Date:	O April 3, 2013 O
O The BAU goes to Morgan's old neighborhood in urban Chicago in search of an unsub targeting middle-aged men, and a clue leads Morgan to believe that they are after someone connected to the man who molested him as a child. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 8

O 815. BROKEN O
	Written by:	O Rick Dunkle O
	Directed by:	O Larry Teng O
	Original Air Date:	O February 20, 2013 O
O The BAU heads to Austin to investigate victims found there with their watches set inaccurately, a clue which may connect the crimes. Meanwhile, the unsub stalking the BAU inches closer in his pursuit of the team. O

O 816. CARBON COPY O
	Written by:	O Virgil Williams O
	Directed by:	O Rob Hardy O
	Original Air Date:	O February 27, 2013 O
O When victims are found in Philadelphia in a similar style to victims of The Replicator, the stalker who has been tracking the BAU's every move, the team thinks this could be the break they need to try and apprehend him. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 7

O 813. MAGNUM OPUS O
	Written by:	O Jason Bernero O
	Directed by:	O Glenn Kershaw O
	Original Air Date:	O January 23, 2013 O
O While Reid copes with a loss in his personal life, the rest of the BAU travels to San Francisco to investigate victims discovered in the Mission District. O

O 814. ALL THAT REMAINS O
	Written by:	O Erica Messer O
	Directed by:	O Thomas Gibson O
	Original Air Date:	O February 6, 2013 O
O When the daughters of Bruce Morrison, a writer whose wife mysteriously vanished a year ago, go missing on the anniversary of their mother’s disappearance, the BAU is brought in to study Morrison as a possible suspect. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 6

O 811. PERENNIALS O
	Written by:	O Bruce Zimmerman O
	Directed by:	O Michael Lange O
	Original Air Date:	O December 12, 2012 O
O The BAU heads south to investigate a fast-moving unsub whose signature matches that of a serial killer from thirty years ago. Also, the team learns that someone is keeping track of their cases and replicating crimes they have solved. O

O 812. ZUGZWANG O
	Written by:	O Breen Frazier O
	Directed by:	O Jesse Warn O
	Original Air Date:	O January 16, 2013 O
O When Reid discovers that his girlfriend has been abducted by her stalker, he and the BAU band together to find and rescue her before it is too late. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 5

O 809. MAGNIFICENT LIGHT O
	Written by:	O Sharon Lee Watson O
	Directed by:	O John Kretchmer O
	Original Air Date:	O November 28, 2012 O
O When a recent attendee at a popular motivational speaker's conference in Seattle is murdered, the BAU looks at the speaker as the main suspect, but they have to refocus their investigation when the speaker himself goes missing. Also, Garcia is puzzled when Morgan declines to attend a dinner honoring an old family friend. O

O 810. THE LESSON O
	Written by:	O Janine Sherman Barrois O
	Directed by:	O Matthew Gray Gubler O
	Original Air Date:	O December 5, 2012 O
O The BAU investigates a series of male bodies that have been oddly disposed of in Arizona, finding themselves in search of a killer with ritualistic tendencies. Also, Reid gets anxious when faced with the possibility of meeting his mystery woman. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 4

O 807. THE FALLEN O
	Written by:	O Rick Dunkle Danny Ramm
	Directed by:	O Doug Aarniokoski O
	Original Air Date:	O November 14, 2012 O
O The BAU travels to Santa Monica when burned bodies of homeless people begin showing up by the famous pier. Also, Rossi reconnects with his former Marine sergeant from Vietnam. O

O 808. THE WHEELS ON THE BUS O
	Written by:	O Kim Harrison O
	Directed by:	O Rob Hardy O
	Original Air Date:	O November 21, 2012 O
O The BAU team goes in pursuit of a missing school bus full of children outside the Washington, D.C. area, and it becomes a race against time for them to bring them home safely and to capture their abductor. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 3

O 805. THE GOOD EARTH O
	Written by:	O Bruce Zimmerman O
	Directed by:	O John Terlesky O
	Original Air Date:	O October 31, 2012 O
O When four men go missing in rural Oregon, the BAU searches for a common link among them in order to track them down. Also, JJ gets upset when her son Henry doesn't want to celebrate Halloween this year. O

O 806. THE APPRENTICESHIP O
	Written by:	O Virgil Williams O
	Directed by:	O John Bailey O
	Original Air Date:	O November 7, 2012 O
O When prostitutes in Miami are discovered murdered in a similar style to local animals found dead there, the BAU must work fast to find an unsub whose confidence is quickly escalating. Also, Morgan tries to increase Reid's athletic skills by convincing him to join the bureau softball team. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

Criminal Minds, one the most profitable shows in Europe

Interesting information out of the Hollywood Reporter: Criminal Minds is the 4th most profitable show in Europe.

The first three are CBS 'NCIS' with $205 millions, 'CSI' with $188 millions, and 'CSI:Miami' with $168.4 millions. Criminal Minds, whose rights outside the USA are owned by Disney, comes in 4th place, earning $161.8 millions.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 2

O 803. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS O
	Written by:	O Sharon Lee Watson O
	Directed by:	O Dermott Downs O
	Original Air Date:	O October 17, 2012 O
O When a family in Kansas turns up dead and another goes missing, the BAU looks for a link between the cases to find out who is behind these crimes. Also, Hotch gets surprising news from Beth. O

O 804. GOD COMPLEX O
	Written by:	O Breen Frazier O
	Directed by:	O Larry Teng O
	Original Air Date:	O October 24, 2012 O
O When a legless body is found in the New Mexico desert and a second unwilling amputee shows up at the hospital, the BAU team searches for this amateur surgeon before he preys upon his next reluctant victim. Also, Reid's phone calls to a mystery woman have the team intrigued. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?

CRIMINAL MINDS Summer Rewatch. WEEK 1

O 801. THE SILENCER O
	Written by:	O Erica Messer O
	Directed by:	O Glenn Kershaw O
	Original Air Date:	O September 26, 2012 O
O When a Texas prisoner escapes during a transfer, he leaves behind victims with his unique trademark, sewing their mouths shut, a signature the BAU remembers as unique to the infamous serial killer "The Silencer". While they investigate who he was and who he's become, the BAU also gets to know the newest member of the team. O

O 802. THE PACT O
	Written by:	O Janine Sherman Barrois O
	Directed by:	O Karen Gaviola O
	Original Air Date:	O October 10, 2012 O
O When the bodies of two seemingly unrelated victims are found just hours apart in San Diego and Los Angeles respectively, the BAU suspects that that not one, but two killers are working together to commit these murders. O

• What worked? Why?
• What didn't? Why?
• What could have been better? Why?
• What was nearing perfection? Why?