Criminal Minds: The Lighter Side - Part 7

Sorry for the delay in posting. CMRT was busy visiting Alaska :) We will have pictures from the shoot as we get closer to that episode. We continue with our series on the Lighter Moments from our favorite show. These are the moments chosen from the first 7 episodes of Season 3.

3.01 Doubt – After their unsub is in custody, questions arise about his guilt. Gideon: “How long can you hold that lawyer off?” Hotch: “Are you kidding? I was a prosecutor, I can hold him off for days.”

3.02 In Name and Blood – With the team down 3 members, Strauss joins JJ, Morgan and Reid in the field. Garcia, thinking anybody but Strauss is calling her, answers her phone saying "Talk Dirty To Me".

3.03 Scared to Death – Hotch, Reid, and Morgan visit the apartment of a victim. Hotch decides to take the stairs while Reid and Morgan take the small elevator. Reid and Morgan get trapped in the elevator when it gets stuck between floors. Morgan's having a little fun at a freaked out Reid’s expense until the elevator drops a few feet. Morgan better check is drawers.

3.04 Children of the Dark – On the plane Morgan says the home invasions could be gang related. JJ says she doesn’t think those people were running in gang circles. Emily replies: “More like sewing circles”

3.05 Seven Seconds – This episode about a missing little girl is personal to Hotch because of his son Jack. At the end, he just wants to see his little boy even if he’s sleeping. We get one of our favorite quotes of the series: G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.”

3.06 About Face – It isn’t surprising that Spencer Reid is a fan of Halloween. But it is surprising to find out that Halloween “creeps” Morgan out. Unless, he says, he is spending it watching a scary flick and cozying up with a Halloween Honey. To which Emily says, “Ew…Halloween honey, now I’m creeped out.”

3.07 Identity – A tough looking member of the local militia takes one look at Reid and calls him a pipe cleaner with eyes.

We will be taking tomorrow off to watch the new episode - The Fight. As you know, it will introduce the new team for the Criminal Minds spin-off. Enjoy tomorrow night's episode and be sure to check back soon.

Criminal Minds: The Lighter Side - Part 5

We continue Season 2 with episodes 9-15. Emily Prentiss is introduced in Episode 9 and joins the team full-time in Episode 10. We can't quite see it yet but she brings a whole new sense of humor to this team. Intense yet funny...she is a welcomed change to the show.

2.09 The Last Word – JJ has scheduled a scripted press conference to lure one of the serial killers into making a mistake. Morgan, Hotch, and Gideon are making sure she’s got everything covered. Gideon: “And you have the script?” Hotch: “Make sure you say exactly those words.” Morgan: “The wording's important JJ.” JJ: “Relax…it’s not my first party, boys.”

2.10 Lessons Learned – We are treated to an awww moment with Hotch and his family at the end of this episode. Hotch is relieved to find Haley and his son at home instead of caught in the middle of the attempted terrorist attack the team just thwarted.

2.11 Sex, Birth, Death – Emily and Morgan talk to the prostitutes in the alley, and one of the girls says “The more important they think they are, the quicker they accidentally finish up with us, it’s weird like that” to which Emily replies “No, that’s pretty much universal”

2.12 Profiler, Profiled - Physics Magic. Reid is showing JJ and Garcia how to make a rocket using a film canister, pieces of Alka Seltzer, and water. We see the three as they anticipate the launch of the rocket, it goes off and hits Emily in the head. Emily takes it all in stride and then asks Reid to show her what he did. Reid demonstrates again and this time his rocket lands at the feet of a stern looking Hotch. After a quick admonishment, Hotch smiles and says “You’re starting to get some distance on those.”

2.13 No Way Out – Between Gideon and Frank, the most prolific serial killer ever. Frank: “My hope is that one day you'll feel the way I do too.” Gideon: “If I ever find myself feeling the way you do, I'll kill myself.” Frank: “Call me first. I'd love to pick your brains.”

2.14 The Big Game – Our team (minus Gideon) is hanging out at a bar watching the Super Bowl. We have Morgan getting his “groove thang on” with a couple of girls and Garcia taking in the show. Emily is having a conversation with Hotch and Haley over drinks. JJ is kicking a couple of guy’s butts at darts. And Reid is playing a drinking game about Star Trek trivia with a couple of people. Very nice opening scene to a very heavy episode.

2.15 Revelations – Hotch picks Garcia up and brings her to the creepy house belonging to their unsub Tobias Henkel. Garcia wonders why they are staying there instead of a hotel. Hotch: “Think of this house as witness. If it could talk, what would it tell us?” Garcia: “My guess is, it would tell us to get the hell out.”

Criminal Minds: The Lighter Side - Part 2

We continue with the second installment of CMRT's favorite light and/or funny moments from Season 1 with episodes 9 thru 16. Please feel free to comment on what your favorite moments are from these episodes.


1.09 Derailed – After the UNSUB has been subdued, Elle jokingly calls Gideon dad. Gideon: “Elle?” Elle: “Yeah?” Gideon: “Don’t ever all me dad again.” Elle then turns to Reid after Gideon has walked away and says, “How do you think he’d feel about mom?” Reid replies, “Let me know when you’re going to do that so I can, uh, run.”

1.10 The Popular Kids – Reid goes off on a tangent about candles in front of Gideon, JJ, and the local sheriff. JJ: “Candle wax?” Reid: “Candles are used in rituals.” Gideon: “Also used on birthday cakes.” Reid: “Actually they originally used to protect the birthday celebrant from demons for the coming year.” Reid chuckles then continues: “As a matter of fact, down to the 4th century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan ritual.” Sheriff: “What kind of doctor are you?”

1.11 Blood Hungry – Gideon hurts his leg in a skydiving accident prompting his need to stay at Quantico and work the case with Garcia…mostly from her office. Hotch asks her via videoconference “How is it having Gideon around?” Garcia replies, “You can have him back whenever you’d like.”

1.12 What Fresh Hell? – The jet scene after the case. Reid is kicking everyone’s butt at poker. Is he cheating? Who knows for sure? Gideon asks Hotch if Hotch sent Garcia flowers and signed his name to the card and Hotch says yes because people need to know that they’re important. Gideon tells them that he already sent her an MP3 player as a thank you gift and worries that Garcia will think he’s sweet on her since she got two gifts.

1.13 Poison – Gideon visits the Mr Fisher in the hospital mental ward after Mr Fisher attacked his son with a tire iron after being poisoned with LSD. Gideon: “Mr. Fisher?” Fisher: “Shrink or cop?” Gideon: “Well, I’m an FBI profiler, so I guess I’m a little of each.”

1.14 Riding the Lightning – On the eve of his death, death-row inmate Jacob Dawes agrees to meet with the BAU. Hotch interviews him hoping to find out if there are any other victims out there. Jacob is smoking a cigarette when Hotch walks into the interview room. Jacob: "Oh I know, I know, one day these are going to kill me." Hotch just stares at him, not giving in to Jacob’s game. Jacob: "Come on, Hotch, that's funny."


1.15 Unfinished Business - Hotch, Morgan, Elle, and Reid discussing “retired” FBI profiler Max Ryan. Morgan: “I heard he was forced into early retirement.” Hotch: “No, he chose to retire” Reid: “He’s written a new book on the Keystone Killer case.” Hotch: “He moved to Philadelphia to be closer to the crime scenes.” Elle: “That’s retirement?” Morgan: “Hmm, BAU style.”

1.16 The Tribe - Hotch to John Blackwolf "You sound like a fortune cookie"

Criminal Minds: The Lighter Side - Part 1

A current Round Table discussion revolved around the lighter moments that we are treated to in every episode of Criminal Minds. Sometimes they are funny like the zippy one-liners often provided by Garcia or Prentiss. Others times they are the personal glimpses into their lives that cause us to go "awww". Some episodes like "100" you struggle to find even one so-called lighter moment but in other episodes like "Damaged" there are 3 or 4 so you struggle to decide which scene should be represented in this list.

The members of CMRT have gathered some of their personal favorites and have decided to list them starting with the first eight episodes of Season 1. We will continue to post until we reach our favorite light and/or funny moment from our last episode, Solitary Man. We hope you enjoy reading these as much as we enjoyed putting them together. It really was a fun discussion.

1.01 Extreme Aggressor - After Garcia tells Morgan she can't help him break through the UNSUB's password defense program. Morgan: "I thought I was calling the office of 'Supreme Genius'" Garcia: "Well, gorgeous, you've been rerouted to the office of too freakin bad."

1.02 Compulsion - When they arrive at the college, Gideon tells the team no badges, that he doesn't want the UNSUB to know that he got the FBI's attention. Gideon: "Try not to look official." He looks at his no-nonsense, all business team and says, "Try to look less official."

1.03 Won't Get Fooled Again - Hotch is talking to Elle and JJ about collecting coins as a child. Hotch: "I spent a good chunk of my childhood searching for a 1944 penny worth thousands." He pauses, looks at Elle and continues "Yes, I was a bit of a nerd. Is that so surprising?" Elle replies, "Not to me."

1.04 Plain Sight - Reid's birthday and the trick candles (in the picture you can see what Reid was hoping was his birthday present).

1.05 Broken Mirror - Morgan asks Reid about taking JJ to the Redskins game and they start to talk about women, specifically fellow agents. Reid: "There is no code of conduct that says agents can't socialize." To which Morgan replies, "Yeah, well see, my code of survival says never mess with a woman that carries a gun."

1.06 L.D.S.K. - Reid to Hotch "You kick like a 9-year-old girl"

1.07 The Fox - Haley Hotchner brings Hotch's infant son, Jack, to the BAU. JJ: "He's so gorgeous." Haley: "Thank you." Reid: "If you find baldness and wrinkles attractive."

1.08 Natural Born Killer - In the junkyard after the UNSUB tried to garrotte Hotch, Gideon tries to help Hotch loosen his tie. Gideon: "Take your tie off for once in your life."