Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that next week we'll have a new brand one!
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1019. Beyond Borders - Comments Thread
Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that next week we'll have a new brand one!
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I liked the concept.. .I think it worked a helluva lot better then the last spin off... There were some issues..
ReplyDeleteNamely JM and GS were 'flat'... so was KV.... MGG and JLH were underutilized but what they had was good...
Gunn and TG work excellently together... as did DM/SM/AJC....
Unsub wasn't too overpowering and those scenes interspersed between the teams findings worked.
I could have done without the 'family share' crap between Rossi and Garrett at the end... seemed unnecessary...
Over all I give it an 8 out of 10.
So, here's the thing. Why in the world would you bother to create a show that is premised on an FBI unit getting involved with Americans in trouble in foreign countries-----and then include absolutely nothing about language (English or Creole in Barbados, so a moot point) or culture? Isn't that what would make the premise actually interesting? Was there even any interaction with local law enforcement, which might have provided some of the inherent conflict one might expect? I appreciated the acknowledgement that one needs to be familiar with the law of the crime-hosting country, but since it played no role in this story, it was a non-starter for me. It would have been far more interesting if the BAU had traveled to a substantially foreign place and had to rely on the new team's expertise about how to operate there.
ReplyDeleteInstead, we got a story that could easily have taken place in the states---including an American unsub----being investigated by people we don't know. I'd resigned myself to not seeing a CM episode this week. Instead, I got one, inhabited by a bunch of strangers.
If they want this show to take off, they're going to have to find a way to differentiate it from CM. There wasn't even a hint of that tonight.
Oh, and------it failed the Reid-meter.
LOL! Reid-meter! I agree with you completely.
DeleteAgree with you completely!
DeleteWell said, Justy.
DeleteI completely agree!
DeleteOne of the draws of a series taking place overseas would be to have interesting tidbits about the other locations. I think it is not exactly the best thought-out premise because it will not be easy for them to capture the look of the locations as well as the culture. That will take research and attention to detail. Those are things that seem to be lacking with most of the current writers on CM. If the spinoff does get picked up, then they will need better writers.
In the UK there is a program called "Death In Paradise" that takes place on a Caribbean island. It has a LOT about the culture and the UK detective has to adapt to the culture and learn how things are done there.
The spinoff has the potential to alienate many foreign viewers by getting details about their countries / cultures wrong.
First impression; I liked the new team so much better then the one from the previous spin off.
ReplyDeleteThe case was good. We had families annihilator before so this was not new, what was , was that the crimes happened on foreign soil. All the scenes on the boat were excellent, especially the fight between the father and the unsub, very thrilling action scene. Poor kid who was thrown overboard! Was sure he was a goner but Smart kid to have swim to the boat! Love that Hotch was in the Helicopter with a sniper rifle, go Hotch! Loved that we had LOTS of Hotch in this one.
This episode was all about the new team so let's talk about them. I really liked the new team. Gunn and Henney were stand out. Henney seem at ease with his character and Gunn was into it, She worked well with Thomas Gibson. Monty seem like a good character but idk, maybe he was too nice? Too close to what Garcia is ( loved Garcia in this one, how she was with the family). The only one that I was not impress with was Gary Sinise. He is a good actor but maybe because he did spend most of the episode standing around talking I felt he was forgetable. I'm sure if the series is picked up they will give Sinise more exciting things to do.
I will definately rewatch this episode, too much going on, need to rewatch.
The question is; would I watch the spin off next season? I never watched the first spin off after watching the pilot, didn't like the team or the premise, but this time I feel like this one was good, I like the team so yes I will give it a try next season if CBS does pick it up!
I give this episode a 8.5/10, well done CM!
i like garcia she was discret in this ep. but sometimes i miss her witty and hilarious comments, and her selfconfident she demostrated in previous seasons. Still i like her
DeleteI caught Hotch with the sniper rifle too - nice nod to his sharp shooter abilities. Too bad it wasn't his shot that took out the unsub. There can never be too much Hotch in an episode. I enjoyed the episode and will watch if the spinoff is approved.
DeleteI really, really didn't like this episode at all. To me, it stunk like last year's garbage.
ReplyDeleteI was not that interested in this episode. I was not surprised that Reid and Kate were left back, that sucked because that means they had, what, five lines and then disappeared. Garcia&Monte were cool. Good amount of Hotch. Idk why, but I still would prefer less Morgan&JJ. I call total BS on the way they found the unsub's boat so fast and the fact that the boy was still alive after being thrown overboard in the middle of the ocean way before help arrived. What I really liked was JLH's hair and make up, she was looking so pretty!
ReplyDeletei like Kate better in a discret way, no when she is the focus of the show
DeleteI tried to keep an open mind and view the show as CM but separate... Beyond Borders has potential in my mind...
ReplyDeleteI totally bought that the boy made it to the boat... was wondering with that boat hanging off the back if that was how they would eventually 'find' them.. but having the boy be smart enough to make it to that boat was good touch...All the cast worked well with their material.. and I would watch it again if it follows CM on Wednesday night.. Definitely the potential to have a great 1-2 on Wednesday nights...
I liked the premise of this spinoff, and I absolutely hated Suspect Behavior. Frankly, I thought they should have had a two-parter tonight instead of trying to cram everything into one Criminal Minds episode. If they had done that, they could have "developed" characters and the "premise" a little better...JMPO. I agree with another poster that Reid and JLH should have talked with the grandparents, not Garcia and whomever. I thought Hotch and Lambert worked well together, too.
DeleteAnd y'all are going to laugh at me, but did any of you notice that JJ had her hands shoved in her pants pockets whenever the camera was on her past her waistline? Why, suddenly, did she start shoving her hands in her pants pockets...surely she can't be playing pocket pool. NO, I DIDN'T SAY THAT DID I???!!!
JJ often strolls around with her hands in her pockets - I have commented on it in other episodes. I guess it's a bit of swag so she matches up to the guys??
DeleteIt wasn't a great episode and it wasn't a bad one. It was what I expected for an episode introducing a possible spin off. Not enough air time of the regular characters and more for the new ones. I liked Gunn and Henney the most. Monty (I don't know the actor's name) wasn't bad, he seems more grounded and I'm glad they didn't make him a male version of Garcia. Sinise seemed stiff to me. I had trouble understanding him. It could be that his voice has gotten more gravelly sounding, but he sounded like he was talking with a mouthful of marbles. Hopefully he will loosen up as he gets use to the character. If it does become a series I will check it out and give it a chance to win me over. Hopefully they will expand the cast a little. Right now it is a little male heavy, but I can see with the time they had, they could only introduce a few characters.
ReplyDeleteNow on the actual episode. I don't really have a favorite character anymore after Prentiss left. I still like them all though JJ does grate on me sometimes and I'm sort of indifferent to Kate. The only character that I disliked was Blake. So I've been trying to observe the characters equally. I felt sorry for Reid because he didn't get to go to Aruba and got stuck with Kate stateside, sitting around doing really nothing. I thought it would have been better for them to interview the missing family parents than Garcia and Monty. At least they didn't have him spouting useless facts this time. JJ and Morgan were dab smacked in the middle of everything as usual though JJ was quieter this time than she has been of late. Hotch was involved throughout the whole episode and poor Rossi got left by himself while everyone rushed off to rescue the family. Why couldn't he have gone too? There was enough room on the boat for him. The actual UnSub plot kept me interested though I thought they showed who he was too soon. Fifteen minutes in and we knew what he looked like.
Like I said it wasn't a bad episode and it is one I would watch again when it is in reruns. I prefer this over The Fight.
I thought this episode was absolutely amazing; it set an excellent foundation for what I think could easily become one of the most successful spinoffs in crime-drama history. I'm keeping in mind that this is the PILOT episode, and they only have 44 minutes to give us a good Criminal Minds episode, and sufficient insight and, subsequently, interest in Beyond Borders. I realize the family-annihilator concept has been done before, and I would say that was the only downfall to this episode, but through the profiling and the extremely scary vulnerable family abduction-then-torture process put a much different and WAY scarier twist on it.
ReplyDeleteIt has been said that there wasn't enough showcasing of the potential conflict the FBI could face concerning the bureaucracy of dealing with local law enforcement on foreign soil, but again, there can only be so much material in one episode, so I believe Jack and Lily covered the concept very well, especially Lily's explanation of "cultural shock" that she gave on the plane, including the possibility of language barriers and legal loopholes; it certainly let my imagination do the rest of the work, making me want to see more episodes! As for Monty, he completely won me over when he was talking to the grandparents. He said something like, "These men aren't monsters, they are human and our team is the best at seeing that difference. That is one of our best hopes that your family will come home alive. Calling all hardcore CM fans: Season 1, Episode 6, "L.D.S.K," Gideon was explaining to Reid why he didn't need a gun and said, "We have the ability to do the one thing they can't, empathize. They dehumanize their victims; we humanize the killers." That is what made Monty stand out for me. I really hope to see more of him. By the way, I loved his chemistry with Garcia.
Henney's Matt Simmons and Gunn's Lambert need no explanation because they were amazing. Gary Sinise's character Jack Garrett seems to be receiving mixed reactions, but in my opinion, the reason some people might've thought he was "flat," with which I totally disagree, is because he (and HOTCH) did the most profiling. People thought Hotch was flat when CM first started, but look at him now! You can't profile when you're running around with a gun. The fact that he gave us some pathos with his family story was great and when he pointed out the Dutch cultural gesture made by Creep Tidwell was another huge line for me... This is a hefty concept for a spinoff, and I think there was a lot to cover in 44 minutes and that not one second was wasted. ONLY complaint: Not enough Reid and Kate. But everything can't be perfect; their contributions were crucial to the case and what he did see of them was awesome (MGG looks so handsome with that haircut)
In conclusion, I think Erica has outdone herself (as did Glenn, and I hope everybody recognized Lily Kershaw's beautiful voice as the soundtrack of the amazing end scene) as this was quite the task to undertake. I want to see Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Season 1 almost as badly as I want to see Criminal Minds, Season 11. Job well done. 9/10
LONG LIVE CM!!!!!!!
Geez SCMA!!! Did you do a secret mind meld with me and steal 3/4's of my reviewing thunder? *evil glare*
ReplyDeleteLMAO!!! Relax SCMA; I'm playin' with ya. Great review my friend. Once again, we think along the same lines.
Honesty up front. It all starts with the PBS National Memorial Day Concert. I've watched that for over 15 years. I've loved Joe hosting; his sincerity is so real. That's what brought me to me to CM diehard fandom. Joe joining the cast. So I have deep buy in to his friendship with Gary Sinise, The two of them hosting the annual concert is wonderful. And Gary's work for US vets through his foundation is just off the charts.
So.....when the casting was announced for the spinoff and Gary was involved, my sense of being an unbiased reviewer to this episode so totally went out the window. Special note: Joe and Gary have been friends for years with their work for US veterans. However, this CM episode FINALLY gave them the chance to act together for the FIRST time. I was already in on that fact alone.
I wondered how they would juggle all of the cast members. To that end, and with my deep apologies to the Reid and Callahan fans, I understand why Erica M. had to pare the traveling team down a bit. And with MGG soon directing, the call made sense to me. Does it take the bite out of having little Reid for his fans? No; it sucks. This total Hotch fan remembers "25 to Life". Enuf said.
What I really appreciated about this episode, unlike "The Fight" (S5; introducing CM:SB spinoff), was the interaction between the two teams seemed genuine. I had zero buy in on Hotch and Cooper being friends back then. This time, I was totally in. Just one thing: JJ, Simmons' wife is not a saint; she's an archangel. Those two need to learn to do something for fun. Seriously. :D
I've read a lot of online reviews already of the episode. Many are calling Sinise's acting flat or wooden. In my world, that's what I love about Gary; you aren't going to get anything flashy from him. He's a "blue collar" actor like Joe. Come in the door, do the job; punch out and go home. His portrayal of Jack Garrett was exactly that; and why Jack and his wife are still married. And btw, what a bonus of Rossi showing off his picture of Kia to Jack! That's one proud Gpa!
In the end, Erica had a lot of voices to write for the FBI folks and did them exceptionally well. Everyone got their chance to shine (even Reid and Callahan in their brief appearances). I could bark again about the unsub too soon; but it all fit and the flashback scenes were great. However, I'll knock Erica on one thing. Having a great friend that is Dutch, I immediately picked up on the blue and orange angle. It was a dead give away in my book; I was already yelling at my TV screen to look at Dutch nationals.
And like my friend SCMA, I too caught Lily Kershaw's wonder voice at the end. She's a great bookend to her dad's drop dead wonderful directing abilities.
There were some klinkers I could kick up; but all in all Rockie's final grade on "Beyond Borders" is an A-.
SCMA: as to S11... It's much like the fate of S9. It all hinges on TG signing a contract. Joe is already in; he's stated that very publicly. Yet, CBS made it VERY clear two years ago no TG or JM; no CM. So we wait and see on TG.
That sucks. Again.
Why thank you, Rockie! The fact that we think alike, that is definitely a compliment for me, as you've given some out-of-the-park reviews! I can also appreciate this episode on the same level as you, as a fellow Hotch lover (The sight of him in that helicopter with a sniper is a priceless gift) I couldn't agree with you more about how much better this episode was (in particular, the inter-team chemistry) than "The Fight." (BTW I never saw a single episode of Suspect Behavior) That was the only observation which I forgot to include; once again, it appears that we are in synchronicity. I'm glad you noticed Lily Kershaw's gorgeous voice as well! I was hoping you would appreciate my comparison of Monty's statement to the grandparents about the monsters being human to Gideon's conversation with Reid in 1-06 "L.D.S.K." (which was penned by our favourite writer, Mr. Wilder lol)
DeleteI didn't know, however, that there was an issue with TG's contractual situation. If it's any consolation, I read that the great Mr. Harry Bring posted on Twitter that things were looking very positive for Season 11, on both, the contractual and the renewal fronts, although he said he didn't want to get the hopes of the fans up, I believe it's only a matter of CBS making the official announcement; at least I can say that this is not nearly the same caliber of a threat to our beloved Criminal Minds as the post-Season 8 debacle. (In which case I believe KV and AJC held out even longer than TG due to alleged underpayment) So, I wouldn't get too worried just yet, I can't see why TG won't resign... he looks more badass than ever lately lol
Anyhow, I'd like to thank you again for the compliment, Rockie! It's nice to know I have a like-minded friend on this wonderful site! I'm very flattered that you thought I gave a good review, it is something I'd like to do, I just don't know if I can be objective enough to find fault with this show! (lol) I'd like to think my grammar is pretty good and that I have some decent lexical articulation, but if I had the reviewing chops you have - or even half, for that matter - I'd definitely ask to review 10-21 "Mr. Scratch." So, I'm going to do my best to keep my hopes up for Season 11 until I have reason not to - I do hate waiting though; I feel your pain. In the meantime, try to have faith, Rockie!
LONG LIVE CM!
It was OK and that's really all you can say about it. It was really just another usual Criminal Minds episode with a few palm trees and waving US flags thrown in plus the odd mention that it was international so it brought nothing fresh to the table. I didn't warm to the new team. I quite liked Gary Sinise in CSI NY but here he seemed really flat and he was so growly and mumbly it was sometimes hard to understand him. There was far too much crammed into a short episode - we even had Anna Gunn's backstory about her brother piled in. The highlight for me was Hotch running down the drug runner - he's still got it at his age! But overall there was nothing very fresh, too much was crammed in, the international side of it was not really there, the new guys made little impact -especially the somewhat robotic MaryStu Monty - and for me of course there was not enough Reid.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was surprised at the end when the families reunited to see touch-phobic Reid happily hugging it out with them! I won't be bothering to follow the spin off if it gets picked up as the team didn't inspire me at all. I give it a C+ - it could have been so much better,
I thought it was quite boring overall. Of course I woke up when Hotch was running down the suspect and the ending livened things up a bit. Other than Gary Sinisi the new team did not raise the slightest interest for me. It takes something very special in a show to catch my interest and I am afraid this had nothing special to recommend it. I give it a B simply for the old team's effort.
ReplyDeletethe case wasn't interesting for me. The main porpouse of this ep. was introducing the new serie and the new team. I like Garcia and Monty interwiewing the family, somthing different and cool. I don't see much of Reid ( i wished he teamedwith Garcia since he was at the office) and Callahan, i like her when thye show us in a discret way. Gary flat? Hotch is the chief of criminal minds...he has to wait his turn in his new serie
ReplyDeleteI was so glad to see the real cast (TG,Joe,Shemar,AJ,KV) in this episode. JLH ruined everything since she joined. The whole season was about her and it seems like the season finale will be about Kate --once again. Where's Reid?no one knows where he is. Where's JJ lately?she was moved from main cast member to guest star. Where's JLH?she's everywhere.
ReplyDeleteanyway....
I think the episode was "ok". I watched a few CSI:NY episodes and i thought it was awful but I found Gary Sinise very likable
Good luck to them.
agree, i like Prentiss and Alex Blake, they looked profilers, but i don't see callahan interesting as a profiler. too much of Callahan and her family this season.
DeleteSome of us are dancing in delight at seeing less of JJ.
DeleteHG, I think the reason AJC has been moved to a more subordinate is because of her being pregnant. For some reason, TPTB seem content to try to hide her behind head shots, Baggy clothes, and the always favorite position being behind people. If that's the reason, TPTB are falling behind the canon's of the show where her pregnancy was featured prominently throughout the season. Does anyone else have another take? I'd be interested in hearing it. Particularly after "The Forever People" and her PTSD. IMO, a script like that would write itself.
DeleteI prefer anything involving Kate over anything JJ any day. At this point, seeing her on my tv at all annoys me. Which has nothing to do with AJC, I just HATE the character. So much. Sorry.
DeleteRobert,
DeleteJust because they have included AJ's pregnancy once doesn't mean they should now. Yes it was cannon back then but no guarantee it will be now. I think the writers were blindsided by JLH and AJC pregnancies and decided to write JLC pregnancy in and when AJ announced she was pregnant they decided maybe to not write it in? Or maybe they will write it in at some other time? We still have a few more episodes so we should find out soon enough :)
The good thing about this episode is that it wasn't as ridiculous as the Suspect Behavior BDP, "The Fight," which I still won't watch when it's on. It's not CM, not even close.
ReplyDeleteThe not-so-good things about this episode were:
It was flat as a pancake. Someone else on these forums said it well, that the cast of CM were made to seem in awe of the cast of the spinoff; Rossi just couldn't figure out how good ol' Jack made it work with his wife; it's because he's AWESOME!! The Morgan clone guy impressed both Morgan and JJ with his family chops and his military connections because he's AWESOME!! And, of course, dumb ol' Garcia, who has never dealt with emotional families or picked up on online clues is enraptured with Monty, who draws (like Reid) and is a genius (like Reid and Garcia says she is) and he is so much better than Garcia at her job that, well, why is she still working there? I don't know, but Monty is AWESOME!
I agree with Mary and others that this is a Mary Sue character (Monty); the performances of the main cast for the spinoff were, to me, wooden, Monty was smug whenever Garcia inexplicably would not know how to deal with people who are going through their worst nightmare, because, hey, she never encountered such before! And she's not awesome, I guess...
I agree Sue. That was so ridiculous especially as Garcia has spent years working with victims of crime groups. That whole scene rubbed me up the wrong way - yet again Messer totally ignored canon for her own ends. The new team are practically saints already!
DeleteAnd flat - yes,yes, yes - the only frisson of excitement was Hotch running that guy down.
…which was illegal, reckless, and ridiculous, but, yes, Hotch did look fine...
DeleteThis is a TV show, not the real FBI. The real BAU rarely if ever go to crime scenes, they rarely if ever arrest the killers themselves, they sure do not fly in their own plane all over the country. What the real BAU do most of the time is to do consults. If this was what was shown on tv and if they really did follow each and every laws, CM would be very boring and would have been canceled years ago.
DeleteCM as a TV show gets to have creative license in order to entertain the viewing public.
Jim Clemente said in the dvd extras for S3 I think, when asked of all the characters which one would never be an FBI agent and he said, them all except Hotch! He also said that you could change things with the others to make them real FBI agents but no amount of changes would make it possible for Reid to be a FBI agent.
DeleteSo with that in mind what we see on TV is in no way an actual reflection of the Real FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit... Jim's also said that they do 'not' have their own plane, they do not travel throughout the country, they do not make the actual arrests. In real life they give the locals the profile and tools to find the unsub themselves...
I think I will take a 28 year BAU veteran's word on the actual workings of the BAU...
And if the show was just like the FBI, Rossi wouldn't even be with the team anymore. He would have hit the mandatory retirement age of 57 a couple years ago.
Deletei don't want to see a real life and work of a real BAU, i like when the writers take licence to create. I a gree Garcia should know how to handle with the families issues since she was (is) in support groups.
DeleteNope wasn't illegal.... the Barbados government asked the FBI for help so Hotch and Lambert had ever legal right to go after a possible suspect.... Wasn't reckless as the guy was driving the same 'van' wearing the same cap that they saw the unsub having in video AND this guy ran when he saw Hotch and Lambert, RED flags if ever I saw it... Hotch did the absolute right thing and turned the guy over to the locals the minute he knew it wasn't their killer.. And Yes, Hotch looked mighty fine run that perp down... :) :) ....
ReplyDeleteall very good points. Hotch did not arrest the guy, actually he did turn him to the local cops.
DeleteI won't dispute each of your declarations, Barb, because, hey, they are your opinions, so just treat my opinions as my opinions. Just because we disagree doesn't mean either of us is wrong or right. Please.
DeleteI liked the episode... I liked how they melded the two teams.. I like the characters so far for the new team... What I will say is that there is NO WAY these new characters can be completely fleshed out in 42 minutes of a backdoor pilot... What I saw peaked my interest and I would consider watch the show as long as it comes on after CM.... I do know the whole backdoor was done 1000 times better then Suspect Behavior... I do agree too that the scene with Garcia not being able to deal with the family was ludicrous but it's a minor point as far as CM goes forward and Beyond Borders goes to production... I thought Reid was very good with the material he was given, and liked that even from the states he was able to deduce the fact that the unsub had these people on,near, around water and that he was actually reliving his 'own' childhood with these families.... Sometimes it's is NOT quantity of screen time but QUALITY that makes me take notice... Lately Reid's had alot of QUALITY time on screen... And it looks from next weeks promo he'll be having more on the case too...
ReplyDeletePeople forget this was an introduction to the new team and with so many characters on screen some had to take a back seats. What I saw I liked. Will I watch next season? Sure, will give it a try, will depend on how good the writing and acting will be, if it is good will watch every week if not well will watch something else.
DeleteOnly think that will make me not watch for SURE will be if CM was canceled this year ( I highly doubt it) and the spin off was a go. This would be requal to having AJ and Paget being fired for 'monetary' reasons when the spin off ( suspect Behavior) could get the budget to hire an oscar winner. If CBS wants CM: Beyond Borders to have a chance, they need to pair it with CM.
Wow CMRT! You've made some amazing points! I defend this episode and this entire show's (both shows') credibility and authenticity; between you and Barbara - and, most importantly, the amazing Jim Clemente - you've pretty much covered every point I've been wanting to make. This is an amazing concept; it's interesting, scary, realistic, and potentially quite entertaining and informative, (I'm praying that Senior SSA Jim Clemente would be a consultant and writer for BB too) and I've learned from Mr. Clemente, himself that my favorite recurring character, Section Chief Mateo Cruz, will have the same role on Beyond Borders, potentially being the main link between the two shows.
DeleteAlso, I don't know about anyone else, but I saw a major throwback to the beginning of CM when Monty said to the grandparents that these men aren't monsters; they are human, and these teams are the best at seeing that difference, which will tremendously help in returning your family. (an awesome line) I felt that it paralleled what Gideon said to Reid in 1-06 "L.D.S.K." while telling him why he doesn't need to carry a gun, "We have the ability to do the one thing they can't, empathize. They dehumanize their victims; we humanize the killers." As long as Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders builds on that concept as wonderfully as Criminal Minds has, it could very well be a major success.
Yes Monty's line reminded me about CM season 1. I like the idea of Cruz being the link between the two teams, so it is good to know he would be if CM:BB is picked up.
DeleteWell, if it goes to series, I’ll be happy for those of you who enjoyed it. I don’t dislike any of the leads from the pilot, but I’m not a major fan of any of them, either. If I were, I might tune in just to see them in action. As it is…no.
ReplyDeleteI do think that a series that brought us around the world and demonstrated how American culture clashed with other cultures would be fascinating and, if done meticulously, informative. I could even argue that it’s entirely necessary at this point in our evolution as a global society. But it would take an Aaron Sorkin, or someone of his ilk, to get it right. Should that writer miraculously turn up, I would love, love, love to see the Awkward American (Reid) use his knowledge and language skills in the process.
The idea of looking at the seedy underside of life from an international perspective—sort of a psychopaths/sociopaths UN---doesn’t really do anything for me. It doesn’t offer anything beyond what CM already gives us. Had the pilot taken place outside the confines of CM, I wouldn’t have watched it. Within the confines of CM, it just made me miss my team members.
I like your idea about American culture and how sometime it will clash with other cultures. Sadly This would probably be well done on cable.
Deletei don't understand so many people disliking JJ, she is awesome this season
ReplyDeleteMany dislike JJ because of all the things that have been changed with her in recent years. Do not think she is awesome this year, she was in season 1-5 when she was an important member of the team who had a job no one else had, media liason and she was also the one who decided which case to bring to Hotch for the team to investigate. Now, she is more like a female Morgan. We have Morgan, no need to have another one.
DeleteWhy do you think she is awesome this year?
because JJ is almost near of the jj we know from season 1 to 5. Every character had changed. I like JJ from season 1 to 5, I like Garcia better from season 1 to 8, i miss her selfconfidence, her witty comments, she was funny and dislike some horror scenes but she could handle it. She was a proactive member of the team,she had iniciative to help the BAU and the team in general was a real team from season 1 to 7. Writers took licence to create, but they did it very well that previous seasons has more sense of humor, but also more drama and tension.
DeletePosting without reading all of the other comments- will read them later.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this episode could have been better. It was clear they were trying to introduce us to the new spinoff characters in a heavy-handed way. They had to have the original team be in awe of them and even had Garcia acting in a childish/helpless way that was highly annoying. I think Garcia's reaction to Monty (which was over-the-top) was one of the worst things. That said, I didn't dislike Monty.
Lambert (Anna Gunn) was ok for most of it, but some of her line delivery was too forced and she held her eyes too wide at times. I was slightly jarred by how similar she looked to JJ.
Some people complained that Lt. Dan (Sinese-- can't remember character's name) mumbled, but I was able to understand him-- I think. I wasn't feeling well when watching. I liked him probably because I like Sinese.
I liked Simmons because he seems familiar to me for some reason. I spent many years in Southeast Asia and he reminds me of people I knew. Plus he seems like a cool guy.
I think they were trying way too hard with Monty, but I thought that the actor did a good job. I just resented Garcia standing there looking like an idiot and being all "Oh now, i can't do this without Monty!" or "Oh no! I can't deal with people!" that was just so out of character. I *did* like that she later called him out for lying to the family about the chances, but too bad she was shot down.
I don't understand why Reid (who understands other languages and can quickly learn things about other cultures) was left behind with Kate while Morgan got to go to Barbados. Morgan has shown that one of his strengths is studying the rooms / homes of the victims to work on the victimology. He and Kate should have looked at the house to profile the family (to help guess why they were chosen as well as how they would react in captivity). They also should have been the ones talking to the family-- not Monty and Garcia. I can understand why Kate didn't go-- but I wonder if first-time viewers realized she was pregnant.
I feel like there was a wasted opportunity to draw in new viewers who were watching to see Sinese and Gunn (or the other actors). They established that Hotch is a father, that Rossi suddenly has a family, and that Morgan is not married.. But why not, with simple one-liners give info about the others? While I admit I got tired of JJ always being the one to talk about mothers, this was one time where I think it would have been a good idea for her to mention being a parent- maybe if she'd just said "I have my hands full with one!" in response to Simmons having 4. And maybe they could have mentioned that Kate was pregnant and thus international flights might not be healthy for her.
Sesky, good point about Morgan and Reid being better utilized if they switched places in this case.
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ReplyDeleteStill not getting the genius vibe from Reid-- but, unfortunately, with this writer I never get the genius vibe from Reid. She just doesn't know what to do with him and he is barely ever used in her episodes because of it. In some ways I resent not getting much of him, but I'd rather NOT have him being given really asinine dialog, and he ended up with more contribution than I'd expected. He was inexplicably dressed up a bit more than usual. Although, in an attempt to give him longer dialog they gave him more words that could have been summed up with a single word ("brackish") to describe the mixture of saltwater and freshwater.
I think one of the biggest problems I had was too much unsub and flashbacks. We did not need to see so many flashbacks of childhood abuse (especially since some of them were poorly executed) and we didn't need to see the family being terrorized. The boy being thrown overboard all of a sudden didn't make sense. The girl when she was told to run, waited too long and then didn't really run as if she was terrified-- it was like "the director said to move in this direction". I don't buy that they would have left the father and tried to run to the lifeboat (as others pointed out-- with no food, water, or way of navigating). It would have made more sense for them to all help the father fight the unsub. Hell, if it had been my father, I would have been using every object in sight to hit him. and if I ran out of objects I would be biting the hell out of that dude.
Again, we had weak profiling and didn't fully explain why this guy was targeting these particular victims. I don't recall any particular trigger.
While I appreciated that the victims tried to escape, once the tape was removed, why didn't any of them try to talk to the guy? It made no sense. The people were not acting in a realistic way.
Near the end we had JJ shouting "LOOK AT ME" at the girl. Now, I know she had to be loud to be heard over the helicopters, but with her shouting and the other people shouting, it was bound to confuse the girl even more-- so I don't buy that the girl would have ducked as quickly. JJ's tone would have frightened her rather than helped her focus. JJ could have used a firm authoritative loud voice with a gentle tone to say "Focus on me. It's going to be ok. I just need you to listen to me." I've heard AJ use that tone in the past on the show, so I know she can do it.
The hat colors for the unsub was too contrived. I think there were things I didn't get but I didn't care enough to really find out.
I did like the hugs at the end, but I still felt like this episode was really missing something. I had initially missed the first several minutes and then I loaded the video to watch just that part and found myself not being interested enough to watch the whole episode over again.
Meh episode. Really disappointed that they were so wrong on so many fronts about Barbados. Yeah, everything was filmed in SoCal, but at least get the name of the capital right, Bridgetown, not Bridgeport. A quick search of tripadvisor would have shown that there are no dolphins and no river rapids. There's no excuse for this sloppiness.
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