Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that next week we'll have again a brand new one!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
CRIMINAL MINDS Season 9 - 918. Rabid - Comments Thread
Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that next week we'll have again a brand new one!
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Good case, the character of Russell was great but sadly this will be the last time I watch CM. Tonight once again Hotch, Blake and this time Rossi disapeared by the end of the episode never to be seen again. This is not why I watch CM. It is insulting to the Hotch, Rossi and Blake fans.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, will not write a long post about this, it is obvious the writers do not care about some fans opinion, all that Matter for them are the JJ, Morgan and Garcia show. It is ok, it is their show, me as a viewer I can choose to watch or not, and I will no longer watch.
Still want to thanks everyone on CM for many very enjoyable years ( season 1-5 and a few episodes here and there from season 6-9). Wish TG would move on after this season but sadly he does have a contract for next season. Hopefully he will get something more interesting after CM. Still thanks for creating such a great character, Hotch will remain my all time fave tv character.
Ciao CM!
Test, ignore please
ReplyDeleteThis was a creepy episode. I really felt sympathy for the victims. I felt it was well written. But seriously, what is going on with the dearth of Thomas Gibson and Joe Mantegna? If it is their choice to be in the show less I can understand, but if it is the writers, I don't get it, why pay them the big bucks and fail to use their skills? I don't plan to quit watching but I would love to see more Hotch centric episodes emerge and see Hotch and Rossi engage in the friendship we used to see.
ReplyDeleteI could write my usual review; however Zayrina has pretty much summed my feelings as well. Along with the one good line about more foam we had with Rossi getting coffee.
ReplyDeleteRockie grade: C+
Sadly, while the episode (case) was interesting.. the constant shoving of Morgan/JJ/Garcia and this week even Reid down my throat and Hotch/Rossi and Blake being nothing but errand boys has made me dislike the direction of the show. I won't watch live... I have DVR..
ReplyDeleteAnd I ABSOLUTELY will not be watching next weeks episode..... I am SOO sick of shows pulling the race card at every chance they get. IF people want to stop racism it's easy STOP using it as a ratings tool.....
In my mind CM should not be patting itself on the back for beating Idol or NCIS, because to beat a show that's falling from grace is no kudo in my book.
You are of course entitled to your opinion and while I agree with you about Morgan/JJ and Garcia. I feel Reid deserved the screen time he got in the last 2 episodes because it's not as if they've been shoving him down our throats all season like those other characters you've mentioned. There have been plenty of episodes where he had been rather neglected.
DeleteNow would I've liked to have seen a lot more of Hotch, Rossi and Blake. You better believe I would have.
Brigette as a Reid fan I know how you feel. Even though Reid was pretty prominent in the last 2 episodes for which I am very happy, there have been plenty of episodes where he's barely been there.
ReplyDeleteI did end up liking the episode better than I thought I would bc he was rather prominent in it.I also felt Reid was intelligently written and that's always a plus for me.
I agree that the case was good and I liked that we didn't see the unsub right away. I could have done with a lot less JJ. It pissed me off that they kept interjecting her into the scenes with Reid and Morgan. I will admit to being a fan of the Morgan/Reid pairing(not romantically though) I'd been ok had it either been Hotch, Blake or Rossi who were the ones being interjected into those scenes.
Ever since '200' I can barely stand JJ for even one second on my screen.
I like my Criminal Minds episodes dark, creepy, disturbing and scary if possible, and the case side of "Rabid" fit the bill. It's certainly nothing we've seen before on the show, and that is pretty good. I liked the opening sequence, because it included two fake outs of things that make me very nervous: being followed by a stranger alone at night in an isolated area, and nearly being attacked by a dog. It was good that we didn't know who the unsub was until the team deduced who he was likely to be. It was nice to not rush through the case part. I felt like the team explored the different aspects of the case well and thoroughly. There was a lot of talking among the team. The scenes with the unsub and victims were very disturbing. The team handled the victims with care and respect, and I liked that it was Morgan and Reid who went after the unsub and took him down. Reid hasn't been punched in the face in a while (poor pretty boy!), but he certainly got up in the mix.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Reid/Penelope subplot, it wasn't as cloying and annoying as I feared. The prank is absolutely in keeping with Morgan's personality. I still didn't like the fact that Reid's physical abilities were the source of comic buffoonery. It felt like cheap and obvious humor to go for the skinny nerd who has no muscle tone or physical fitness. It's the sort of humor shown on The Big Bang Theory. Now while I like the show, I understand why many people find it insulting, because it plays into stereotypes and caricatures of its nerd characters. And you know Reid has memorized every regulation in the FBI and he would know all the details of the physical fitness tests. Plus the fact that he would have had to pass physical fitness tests at some point in his career, so it's not like he should have been surprised at what the test consists of. Criminal Minds can do humor well, but it's more of the sly, understated humor in the form of humorous lines rather than the obvious go for joke. This episode actually had more than one example of that sly humor, which was good to see. It would be nice to see Reid actually get Morgan back. His retaliation in "Painless" was stupid, juvenile and immature, and way below the capability and ingenuity of someone like Reid. It would be nice to see Reid apply that creativity to getting one over on Morgan.
Overall, this is probably my favorite episode of the season. I liked the story. I liked that it was more of a knowledge episode rather than an action episode. Reid was able to impart a lot of his knowledge and he was critical to understanding this case. It was interesting that Virgil elected to base this episode in Milwaukee, where the first exposed person survived without the vaccine, though it was probably deliberate just to mention that interesting tidbit. Though Virgil did have some errors in the episode. There is more time to successfully administer the rabies vaccine after exposure than 24 hours. When I was deployed, there were actually a few cases of rabies among the service members, including at least one death, due to interacting with the local feral dogs. But in any case, Virgil's episodes can be hit or miss for me, but this was a definite hit.
A more minor point in addition to the time frame to administer a vaccine is that “inoculation” was misspelled on the report Garcia was reading from mid-way through. Picky. As great as the supporting cast is, with one exception for me, I don’t want an ensemble on this series. I want Aaron/TG to be the main lead, then JM. The shows that are successful, such as The Good Wife and Scandal, have their leading actors and those characters maintain the leads. There are many subplots concerning the supporting cast that may run two or three episodes, so everyone gets their fix, but the main characters, Will and Alicia and Olivia and Fitz, are never relegated to phone-in roles. I would love to see more guest stars on CM either as un-subs or law enforcement. For me, even the actors whose names I don’t recognize on Good Wife and Scandal are outstanding. I don’t feel that way about the majority of the CM un-sub/law enforcement actors.
ReplyDeleteThe story (the main one) was good, and at least more original than the ones they did lately. I still can't stand JJ right in the middle of the scenes. It makes me want to press FWD, no matter who is involved in the shot with her, but sometimes this show makes my life easier and pair her with Morgan, and I completely miss the entire scene, and I am totally ok with that. Nevertheless, this week it was Morgan the one who annoyed me the most, and all because of that silly training plot. Why couldn't both Garcia and Reid train like normal people? They both look more fit than years ago, but then again the 'fat lady' and the 'skinny kid' are the butt of the joke. And yet, they were portrayed as useless. And of course, Morgan is better than them. Now, in what? The one and only ability that is not even important to be in the BAU? Why is he always laughing at people because he just have more muscle? Not Garcia nor Reid laugh at him because he is just plain dumb compared with any of them...
ReplyDeleteI still miss Hotch and Blake. I don't really miss Rossi, and I can't even explain why.
This cast is just too large. I wouldn't mind if JJ decides to home and take care of her kid...
Not perfect, but enjoyable. While I agree the fitness subplot was silly, I enjoyed the first part. Once again, the researchers have Reid spouting erroneous info (there is a much longer window, up to 72 hours, to begin vaccination), but for the most part he was whipsmart. Plusplusplus, he kicked down a cage door, tackled the unsub, and then stomped him down, saying to Morgan "I've been working out a little." Hee...
ReplyDeleteGarcia had none of the usual icky poo reactions to the case presentations, Rossi got a good comic take (the extra foam), and JJ was very subdued. It was too light on Hotch and Blake, and I found myself wishing Blake could have been given most or all of JJ's scenes. It was just too unbalanced with all the old guys in one SUV and the young'uns in another. But the main victim guy was appealing. The unsub became manifest late in the eppy, and even foaming at the mouth woman was simply trying to find her kids in the end.
ITA that this cast is too large. IMO CBS should never have messed with the cast.Garcia and JJ should have stayed secondary characters.And the main focus should have remained on the profilers themselves with TG and JM in the lead.
ReplyDeleteAnd since I agree that the show can benefit with a smaller cast,I'm ok with Jeanne not coming back next season,even though I like Blake better than CM's other 2 females.My biggest fear though is that it will mean JJ being the lone female agent on the team, thus giving Messer an excuse to shove that Mary Sue down our throats even more.
An interesting and different case where the unsub's identity was worked out and not seen early on. There was too little Hotch and Rossi and poor old Blake is disappearing completely. I agree the cast is too large - personally I would lose Garcia and JJ who are completely irritating. Though I bet SuperAwesomeJJ will shortly be promoted to Director at least!!
ReplyDeleteThe comedy fitness nonsense I could live without although I see the little ones on social media are cooing over the cute. The whole premise of it was rubbish - for one thing Reid would know the regulations and requirements and opportunities for waivers inside out. I don't know why they feel the need to top and tail every episode with schmoopy fluff - a passing comment about their outside lives would be enough. Actually I do know why they do it - it is all part of the shift to appeal to the teen market and also the viewers who like the Shonda stable of drama.But overall I enjoyed it - now please give us more Hotch and Blake, much less JJ and Garcia, drop the stereotypes of the skinny kid and the pumped up beefcake (Reid is so much more than a skinny kid now) and enough with the fluff. This used to be a dark, interesting and mature show - let's get back to that.
I just want to point out one thing that REALLY bothered me:
ReplyDeleteAt the end the use of the 'stereo typical' Hoodie wearing black man was soooo remarkably inappropriate it borders on disgusting me.
Ithought it was nicr to see more of reid and garcia but I would likr to see more of hotch as well I thought thar emily was going to be back may be next season criminal minds is going to return next season so maybe what's going on is a preview of what is to come next season stay tuned guys and gals
ReplyDeleteI need more hotch and more Rossi. I cant see JJ or Morgan all the time anymore.
ReplyDeleteI want to give the show credit for doing things we asked for. I would rather appreciate what works right now because I think that will encourage the show to give us more of that. One can always nitpick, but really the show has so many different kinds of audiences now, that it has to have elements eventually for everyone. That is why it is successful, and we still get to watch.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that, I understand that they had to have some silly, cute moments with
Reid and and Garcia which was a treat for the teenage girls (my daughters, so I know!). We complained about the lack of brotherly, teasing interaction between Morgan and Reid, in which Morgan pushes it a bit (like the whistle in Derailed)....so we got some of that.
Aside from that, when they give Reid screen time, for the rest of us for the most part they are writing Reid pretty consistently as a man, a capable agent, with a brilliant mind. The team is no longer acting like middle school kids, making fun of the smart one, treating him like a baby or for general comic relief. JJ was written reasonably, and they may be toning her down. She is a profiler but she was not a team of one. So maybe we are getting heard on that too. Once I jumped into the suspension of disbelief, the plot was entertaining enough. I enjoyed it all in all.
This episode was filmed before the premiere of the episode 200, which is the one episode that made many people mad enough to drop by different websites and complaint about the show, so I don't think this episode or the previous one are a response to what some fans have been posting, here and in other forums. Most episodes are planned and filmed way ahead of their official release, so if we see a reaction at all, may be by the season finale, but still I don't have much hope for good stories. Nowadays quite a few fans are happy to see nice shots of a shirtless Morgan, and the 'family' moments anyway. The are happy that they can 'see' Gubler in the screen, no matter how 'not-like-Reid' at all he may act. It is what it is now, and I am sad there is nothing we can do to make this show again an intelligent crime drama.
DeleteThe show's dynamic has been totally changed. When you look at social media sites, which are largely fed by the teenage demographic, there are oceans of response to the fluff and romance (however inconsistent with established characters) and almost none about the core of the show - the crimes and the profiling. It;s all about the "feels" and the "cutes" now. This may have made the show successful enough to be renewed for Season 10 but it is NOT Criminal Minds as we love it - or at least only rarely. It has become more character led and much more in the same style as soap dramas. I know the cast themselves wanted it to be more character led but this has caused the core "criminal minds" element to suffer in my view.
DeleteSeason 10 is likely to be the last as Shemar is definitely leaving and I wouldnlt be surprised if TG went also. It would be nice if Season 10 returned to the dark and intelligent drama that I adore. I can watch reruns of early seasons over and over and have all on dvd as well - but not so much from Season 6 onwards. I suspect though, that Erica Messer is aware that Season 10 is the last and will fluff it up even more. There will be weddings, rainbows, unicorns and fairies all over it!
Mary, when we say we want the show to be character led, we want to see the team doing what they do well, not just having fluffy family moments. I watch mostly out of habit now. I've all but given up on the show ever returning to what it once was, what it was supposed to be. But occasionally there'll be a good episode. This season so far for me that episode was Gabby. This one was okay. I liked that Reid was more like his old self during the case and that he did not resort to the rapid line delivery, but I didn't buy the fitness scenes. Reid most definitely would know what the requirements/regulations for his position were. However, I did enjoy those scenes more than I thought I would. There's no way I believe that Garcia could outrun him, though. I'm just so tired of Hotch's only contribution being "wheels up in 30." At least in Gabby he was a strong team leader. Anyway, while this was not a strong episode for me, it was much better than most of what we've gotten so far this season, and probably all of last season in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI’m very happy that CM has been renewed and remain optimistic even when my eyes roll into the back of my head when TG says, “Wheels up in 30.” Give me more Gabby, less foam, and less fluff.
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