Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that on April 30th will get the 1st of the last 3 episodes of the season!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
CRIMINAL MINDS Season 9 - 921. What Happens in Mecklinburg... - Comments Thread
Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that on April 30th will get the 1st of the last 3 episodes of the season!
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Could someone please tell me why they even bother to pay TG and JM the big bucks but hardly ever use them. At least Reid got something significant to do, but once again we got an overload of Morgan/JJ.
ReplyDeleteAnd OMG that part on the plane where the useless Mary Sue was trying to give Morgan relationship advice was absolutely cringe worthy.
I will say at the top that this was not the strongest episode of CM this season; but that happens every season and I've long learned to accept that there will be some like that through the weeks.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call this a dud by any means; yes, we got to see the unsub earlier than I like; however, I found it interesting to watch how it all played out. As Sheila was extracting her revenge, the team was putting it all together. And it was very much a team effort. So the new writer Ticona Joy gets points for that.
As for the "B story" with Morgan and Savannah: I always enjoy these glimpses into the team's life away from the office. And JM and TG have said in interviews (don't ask me to quote the specific one) that this what they want. Just a little time to show their characters have another side beside dealing with these god awful cases. If it's what the cast wants, who am I to argue with that. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it.
Would I like Ms. Joy to get another shot at writing a CM episode? Obviously, from my humble desk chair that is not my call. That belongs to TPTB. However, for a first time effort I say not bad kid.
Rockie's grade: B-
After seeing rape, sodomy, acid poured down the throat while suspended, and alcohol poisoning, I'll take the characters' personal stories any day. I could hear several people who post on this website cheering when Morgan told JJ he liked her better as press liaison. The Geico pig commercial fit right in.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding that this episode was written by someone new to writing CM (not sure if they're new to writing altogether), I'm inclined to hold whoever was responsible for overseeing this first -time effort for the quality of the material. Which means that I wouldn't necessarily advise that the writer shouldn't make another effort, with another episode. That said...
ReplyDelete..
This episode was....awful. Just awful. Very little in the way of story line, yet we were virtually bombarded with pseudo-JJ/Morgan. Between that, the excruciating exchange on the plane, and JJ's comment about Morgan not liking her better as the liaison, it all felt so 'in-your-face' to the fans (AKA the people who have helped everyone at CM pay the bills for the past nine years). Which I guess can happen now, since they already have their renewal for what is likely to be their final season.
And still no sign of fallout from '200' (which is maybe a good thing, so we can all forget about that episode entirely). Unless there is a sudden attack of PTSD in the finale. Since that would be completely unrealistic, it will probably be exactly what happens.
To end on a bright note, it is episodes like this one (and '200') that will make it easier for this viewer to let go of the series at its end, if not before.
Well for all intense purposes the show seized being the Criminal Minds we all fell in love with when we lost the earlier and better writers of the show mainly bc of CBS's stupidity and greed. And then later on we lost Ed.
DeleteCBS seemed to have no appreciation whatsoever that they had a hit on their hands with this show despite the fact they did little to promote it.
I can't help but lmao over their dramas that have been nothing but big flops the last couple of seasons despite the fact CBS promoted the hell out of them.
This was a huge disappointment. Boring. Please take the writer's laptop away from her. Perhaps Harlequin needs new writers. One could hope that JJ and Morgan will be kidnapped in the finale never to be heard from again. Little to no Hotch again.
ReplyDeleteAs was written above they are making it easier to let go of this show when the time comes..
The show would be awesome without those two...
DeleteSomewhere in there was a storyline that could have been a decent episode. The writing totally let it down - so much so that ten minutes from the end I was just wishing they would get it over with. Why oh why did they reveal the unsub and her motive so early on? And the awful JJ.Morgan plane talk!! And I get that the cast want these personal moments - after all this time it must be pretty awful doing the same grim stuff week in week out. But the problem is that CM cannot do these personal and family moments with any credibility whatsoever. They come over in most cases as juvenile, implausible, Hallmark, Disney - pretty awful with a very few exceptions. But I guess that's Erica Messer's bag - it just feels like bringing the show down to the lowest possible denominator to me. Shame.
ReplyDeleteAnd send this writer back to screenplay school.
I'm not going to give a big review of this episode as it just wasn't worth it...
ReplyDeleteThe writing was horrible, smacked of Jonesque with the whole 'gang rape' thing and Nameless/Faceless with the whole Morgan/Savannah relationship angst thing. I understand it's 'nice' to give a new writer a chance and yeah that's great... But for god's sake will the professional's please stand up and oversea what's being put out. These writers make ALOT of money compared to 90% of the rest of the population, and to make that kinda of money for something soooo bad is beyond my comprehension.
I did read Jim C's tweets about PTSD, and I fear he's just hopping on the bandwagon of "IT's a great show, it's great writing, and it's great acting'. Sadly, I believe they are all blinded by what they like and have forgotten that it's the fans that make a TELEVISION show stay on the air...
As I only have 3 more episodes before I'm done with CM, ( I don't think I could stomach another 24 like this season) I will watch and pray someone gets it through their heads that this drivel that's being forced down our throats with the JJ/Morgan show stinks. But I fear that the finale will be centered around JJ/Morgan also, as apparently NONE of the writers now associated with the show are capable of writing strong Hotch, Rossi, Reid or Blake. Erica has allowed the teeny bopper mentality to permeate the writer's room and this is what we're getting. I also believe that if S10 is indeed the end of the series that TPTB will do something completely stupid and Kill off Hotch or Rossi or even Reid for ratings, but that would just ruin reruns for me... I couldn't watch knowing what happens in the end...
I'm actually glad TG & JT were on the donut run again for the most part as they don't have to be associated with this drivel....
Way to go TPTB, you've destroyed several well loved, well developed, well portrayed characters all because you want to hype other more stagnant incompetent characters. Had I tuned into CM in the last 3 years I would have never bothered watching a 2nd episode it's just THAT bad...... and it's a reflection of TPTB wanting the younger more flighty viewer rather then the older more intelligent viewer...
Now where are my 1960's Dark Shadow's tapes..... That was even better then this crap!
Hi, Barbara... I am, too, sorely dissappointed. By the episode, the season, and the show. I totally agree with you, in every single word. I am now really close to just stop watching. Several weeks ago we had here a debate about if it was true than the CBS were planning a JJ and Morgan spin off at the beginning of the seasn, remember? And some people say, 'no way, it was just a rumour'... Well, I guess it was not a rumour. This season has been the JJ and Morgan hour, and due to that, it is ruined for me.
DeleteAlso, I would like to point out that not all older fans are against romance, and not all young viewers are dumb. I think they are aiming for a different audience than the original, and we are part of the dinosaurs team, while the ones that Messer are aiming to are more inclined to look for romance and life situations. That is, unfortunately, a trend that has ruined a number of tv shows, and they still are insisting on it. For instance, Dr House and NCIS, to name just a couple. I think I should start thinking about my extinction. Still, I truly think that there is a lack of vision on tv networks. With their lack of acknowledgment to the fanbase opinions, they will be eventually losing viewers to online channels, where you can watch what you want, and not what the CBS and messer want you to.
Well, time to go away to study how to get rid of the tv.
Considering the ratings this episode got 9.81 million viewers and 18-49 demo 2.3, second lowest ratings of the season, I would guess that what is going to go extinct is CM if the writers do not make some changes soon.
DeleteSadly I think it may be a case of too little too late when it comes to making these changes in the show.IMO the only thing that will save this show,but then again CBS probably doesn't care enough to try and save it, would be to buy Erica Messer out of her contract and find a show runner who understands the original concept of the show and it's characters better than she seems to.And they also need some new writing blood on that staff who knows what they are doing.And who would be willing to go back and study the earlier episodes and see how things were done by the earlier writers.
DeleteBut of course if 10 is to be CM's last season I don't see CBS doing anything like this. And why should they even bother. After all hit dramas are a dime a dozen. I mean just look how many hit dramas CBS has premiered in the last couple of seasons. Hits such as:"Vegas","The Golden Boy" "Hostages" and "Intelligence"
And on another note I can't help but picture Rachel Nichols somewhere laughing her a$$ off over this whole JJ debucle.
Well,Well,Well. Apparently after all this time TPTB have finally decided to put CM on demand.
ReplyDeleteBut why now after all fans have only been clamoring for this for quite sometime to no avail.
I do worry this could effect CM's live ratings even more.
It will not affect the live+same day viewing much, unlike DVR and with diminishing numbers ( talking not just about CM but every shows) soon, two maybe three years the live + same day viewing will pretty much be meaningless. This is why studios are looking at new incomes revenues, streaming, downloads, sellings shows to amazon etc...
DeleteI'll never stop watching CM. I'm uncomfortable posting negative comments under the anonymity of the Internet, but this was painful. As already noted, fortunately there wasn't much Aaron in this episode. Those are some pretty good acting chops, to keep a straight face. The pig was simply lame. My reactions throughout were, you can't be serious, along with gross. I get that some people are not interested in Savannah and Morgan, but it might be OK to see Morgan get ditched for Savannah's job. Some of the personal moments (Morgan in the hoodie approaching Reid and Garcia for the physical fitness test) are mindless, and as noted, the writers get paid big bucks to produce mindful work. When I think of successful shows, it's very unusual to have, say, a legal drama focus solely and exclusively on the cases. Their personal lives almost always enter into the series. After nine years, I'm all set with "wheels up in 30, he's highly organized, his mother's death was the stressor, he lives alone, he works alone," etc. I got it. This blog is made up of a handful of people and I don't follow ratings. I wonder if the majority of viewers feel the same way or if they love the direction of the show. I don't know how closely CMRT is associated with the show. Again, not much weight since there are relatively few who post. I had to look up "IMAO," and IMAO, it would be a good investment to have an intern or assistant sift through the postings. I'm crazy for Aaron/TG, but was squirming in my chair watching him and the others go through a script like last night.
ReplyDeleteAs we have stated a few times, we have no ties with CM, we are a fan blog. Those who maintain this blog and twitter accounts are fans, some have been since season 1 episode 1 other became fans throught the seasons.
DeleteAs for the episode and personal storylines, it is normal to have those, after all as you said we know about profiling etc...in order to make things more interesting writers will add details about the characters lives. This is not something I mind, actually I am looking forward to some of those storylines. My problem with CM lately is that some of the characters have virtually nothing to do while its seems the same characters gets the bulk of the storylines over and over again.
Overexposure is rarely a good thing.
Oh, sorry, I missed the part about not having ties with CM. So, CM should still surf around. As I think back, there have been personal storylines, but there isn't much continuity. I have brain drain and can't remember if someone posted that there are too many on the team. I could live with a smaller team even though it may not solve the problem of dishing out the storylines.
DeleteSince this was Ticona Joy’s first Criminal Minds episode, I will grade her on a curve, and say it was better than some of the stories from experienced writers this year. The basic idea of the storyline was interesting. I just think there were some gaps in logic and plausibility.
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind some good old fashioned revenge as a plotline, nor do I mind a female unsub extracting revenge for her sister’s gang rape. Her motivation was interesting, and the story felt relevant to some of the real life cases we have heard about in recent years. I was glad they didn’t reveal who the unsub was until after the team gave the profile.
Maybe I missed it in the beginning, but I didn’t hear how the circumstances for all three of the disappearances were known by the local police. We knew and the team knew the circumstances of the third abduction, because we saw it and there was a survivor who could report what she witnessed. But were there some sort of witnesses to the first two abductions? Otherwise, how did they know they were connected and the unsub wore a pig mask for all three abductions? Or did they just assume they were all connected, even though the age and gender of the victims differed greatly?
I liked that Morgan was able to deduce that the unsub could be a woman based on the fact that she subdued them with a Taser (though it was JJ who first made that suggestion) and she used acid to torture her victims. But what I never felt was adequately explained was how Sheila was able to move these victims. Three of the victims were large men, and the unsub was rather petite. Unless she possessed the strength of Buffy or had a forklift readily available, I don’t see how she could maneuver these men into her vehicles and string them up. They either would have been fighting her and hard to subdue, or they would be unconscious and dead weight.
Likewise, even though I liked Reid in his one meaningful scene, the cognitive interview felt almost TOO specific. I know Jim Clemente has said in the past that the show doesn’t depict cognitive interviews accurately, but the supposed level of recall on this interview stretched the bounds of credulity even for this show. But I guess they needed to move the plot along somehow.
I didn’t even mind Morgan and Savannah. They seem cute together, and I think they have good chemistry. Criminal Minds has tackled personal relationships since the very first episode, and when the relationships feel real, I enjoy it. Even though both have demanding jobs, it is understandable there will still be some tension on both sides from constantly being called away.
Now for my one big complaint. You know how when you dislike something, you are more likely to key in on that and notice it more? I’m like that with JJ this season. As I have mentioned before, I hit my saturation point with JJ earlier this season, and now it’s like I have an allergic reaction when she is on screen too much. That was VERY true for this episode. JJ was prominent in eight different scenes. How did this team ever survive without her superior profiling presence in the past? We had JJ and Morgan questioning the surviving victim.; JJ and Alex in interrogation room; JJ and Morgan at the hospital; JJ and Morgan at Sheila’s house; JJ and Alex in another interrogation room; JJ and others in the big team deduction scene; JJ and Morgan (Rossi was basically a prop) in the big rescue scene. And worst of all, we had JJ and Morgan on the plane dissecting his reluctance to commit. Was JJ just applying some tough love to Morgan by saying he either needs to work it out or end up alone, or is she really that icy on the inside? And I could have lived without hearing JJ channeling Morgan in Morgan-speak. That was just some very odd writing and a very odd delivery.
There were parts of the story I liked, but it was undone by some gaps in plausibility and TOO MUCH JJ (for me anyway).
Good points. Since this was Ticona Joy first script I am less incline to give a tough review. Story was interesting, revenge as a reason why an unsub kill was good.
DeleteI liked the Morgan storyline, I am no big Morgan fan but the writers have rarely look at his love life so that was interesting to see Morgan in love. Yes this storyline reminded me of the Hotch and Hayley one and the reason why the did divorce but let's not forget the BAU is not easy on relationship ( I think I read this from a Jim Clemente interview).
Like you my main problem in the episode was way too much JJ. They write her in every freaking scenes! She now take so much space that Hotch, Rossi, Blake and Reid are lucky if they appear in a scene, let alone have anything meaningful to say or do.
I think the Morgan-speak was yet another way to showcase JJ. It was supposed to be cute. It wasn't. She profiled Morgan's relationship in a really pushy way. She's getting scenes like this, and comforting Blake in the lake in Blood Relations, to let us know she has graduated. Let's see, I think Henry is maybe six years old and she and Will have been married maybe three or four years? I am LMAO.
ReplyDeleteI would have appreciated those scenes much more if those where not in every episodes. In prior years we had Reid talking to Morgan ( remember when they were best friends?), Hotch and Rossi talking about either Jack, marriage, the job. Now we have JJ talking to Reid, Blake, Garcia and now Morgan. I am waiting for when JJ will give Hotch parental advice and help Rossi either find the next Mrs Rossi or help him write his next book.
DeleteJust tune in next week... I miss Aaron and Rossi's interaction. Emily gave Aaron parenting advice back when and he told her she was overcompensating. Maybe that's what JJ is doing. Maybe JJ needs to be profiled. JJ fatigue/saturation. I liked AJ/JJ as press liaison quite a bit. Don't know what happened but to put it kindly, I do not find the acting to be convincing. The portrayal of the character grates on my last nerve.
DeleteI think the actress is overcompensating bc she wants everyone to know that this isn't the same character CBS deemed expendable enough to get rid of.She wants everyone to see just how much more relevant this version of JJ is to the show now, compare to the earlier version of JJ.
DeleteThe problem for me is that I actually thought JJ was more relevant as the media liaison.The show didn't need another profiler. They had more than enough. If anything instead of making JJ more relevant all it did was make some of the other characters less relevant.
All true, and the outcome is that it makes her less relevant in her role as a profiler. There was only one media liaison choosing the cases. And there are too many profilers. She was believable as the liaison. Not so in Afghanistan and in the field.
DeleteI've just about lost my ability to view an episode objectively because I am so fed up with them constantly shoving JJ down our throats.
ReplyDeleteDoes EM and her writers have any idea how sick and tired so many of us have gotten with this character.For that matter do they even care.
in a word... NO... none of them care...
DeleteI find it really interesting that there are currently 34 awesome votes in the poll yet nothing in the comments that would reflect that much approval.
ReplyDeleteWe are thinkers. That is why we loved this show and we miss the early seasons. Therefore, once a show is over we analyse it, and then we share here our impressions. We are also interested in what other fans may write too. So, we take some time and we write, read and reply comments. Those 34 votes for awesome most probably belong to people that enjoy action and romance shows, which are pretty common nowadays. These fans are also rather new, so they think criminal minds was always more or less like that. They are action/spy orientated, so they don't stop to think stuff like 'an agent can't do that', or 'the department of state do not work on that' and so on. They just consume pretty faces, so they think its awesome. I use my brains to decide if something is actually worthy. So, I voted for hmmmmmm, but just because awful is not an available option,
ReplyDeleteI didn't hate this episode. The story did hold my interest, but it was by no means awesome. Good at best. I figured it was a woman unsub quite early, well before the team. The story was okay. But I'm really not interested in Morgan's personal life. Maybe if it had been written better or didn't seem like a rehash of what happened between Haley and Hotch, it would have been better for me. I can understand a woman being irritated if her man is never around, but this woman is a doctor. Surely she understands work emergencies, long hours, hectic schedules, etc.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hated JJ in this. They have got to cut down her screen time. And since the personal bits in this ep were about Morgan, you'd think they'd give some of the others more to do during the case. It's infuriating watching this show now. Ms. Fabiana, I agree with you about thinkers wanting to watch episodes like the CM of old. Those were challenging. The episodes now are mostly predictable and/or crap. I don't know if I can watch another season either.
I'm not going to dump all over the new writer. I didn't think it was a terrible episode. No, it wasn't anything like the old CM, but it wasn't nearly as bad as some of what we've gotten the past 3 years. But I certainly agree with those who said there should be some kind of review of her script prior to filming. I think there should be such a review for ALL the scripts. Too often there are inconsistencies in character, story lines, or things that just plain wouldn't work. I don't know what to think about Jim Clemente. Someone smart enough to make it into the BAU should be able to speak up about the scripts that are just implausible, but he seems to be so taken in by Hollywood that he not only doesn't challenge these things, he actually defends them. It makes me lose respect for him.
I remember being left stunned after an old CM episode. For instance, the scene in which Hotch drops the lot of rings a killer had in his collection, or Hotch's speech about nobody remembering the names of the victims, and so many more. This show used to portrait not only the way a killer was 'born' but also the toll that took in the people that work for catching them. That intensity and emotion is gone. Now, we get bizarre crimes, victims are just facts and pictures, and everyone walks home as if they would have been lecturing somewhere in the USA. Jim Clemente said there were very few women in the BAU, and very few agents (male and female) had some sort of relationship. And yet, here we have super JJ, who has a perfect relationship with both husband and child. He even defended the 200 episode concept, even though it involved a whole bunch of agents of an elite team going rogue, so... Right now I find hard to believe anything coming from Clemente. He's been around in show business for a while, and he seems to be in the same train of Messer and her writers, thinking that they are the key for the show's successes. I bet he enjoys giving interviews and doing appearances on tv. He even inserts himself in the show...
DeleteI was looking for the "truly, truly awful" option in the poll. Maybe I need to re-watch the episode to appreciate something, anything. The pig mask was ludicrous. The tire iron thing torture with the guy suspended - too much. One comment was how did she transport the bodies and I heard Rossi say she was working close to campus, and drove up to 'load' the victims. Not too plausible, unless there were ramps all over and she was dragging them on blankets. But I shouldn't have to think that hard about implausibility. I agree that it's demographics, a younger set looking for action. I choose series, movies and books that are character-driven and that's not for everyone. I fast forward through car chase scenes at the end of movies. Savannah's griping about Morgan - poor. Should have been the other way around. I loved Reid's storyline with his mother, a lot because of Jane Lynch, and getting to know Reid was fascinating. Even though I bawl through Parenthood and the cancer thing, I'm not invested in it or other series. My hook, obviously, is Aaron's character and I've learned a lot about myself. Inexpensive therapy.
Delete