Promo Video for Criminal Minds Season 5 Finale "Our Darkest Hour"

The Promo for Our darkest hour, there is already a posting with the full press release on the blog but I added it below just in case.



THE BAU TEAM FACES ONE OF THEIR MOST DIFFICULT CASES YET WHEN A SERIAL KILLER WHO PREYS ON HIS VICTIMS IN THE DARK TAKES OVER THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, ON THE FIFTH SEASON FINALE CLIFFHANGER OF "CRIMINAL MINDS," WEDNESDAY, MAY 26

Tim Curry ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show") Guest Stars as the Serial Killer
Eric Close ("Without A Trace") Guest Stars as Detective Spicer
Robert Davi ("Profiler") Guest Stars as Detective Eric Kurzbard

"Our Darkest Hour" - A series of rolling blackouts in the city of Los Angeles lures a serial killer out of hiding, giving him renewed opportunities to continue his killing spree, on the fifth season finale cliffhanger of CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, May 26 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Tim Curry ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show") guest stars as the serial killer, Eric Close ("Without a Trace") guest stars as Detective Spicer and Robert Davi ("Profiler") guest stars as Detective Eric Kurzbard.

SERIES REGULARS:

David Rossi................................ Joe Mantegna
Aaron Hotchner....................... Thomas Gibson
Emily Prentiss........................... Paget Brewster
Derek Morgan.......................... Shemar Moore
Dr. Spencer Reid........... Matthew Gray Gubler
Jennifer Jareau................................. A.J. Cook
Penelope Garcia.................. Kirsten Vangsness

GUEST CAST:

Billy Flynn........................................ Tim Curry
Detective Matt Spicer...................... Eric Close
Detective Eric Kurzbard................ Robert Davi
Newsanchor Kent.................... Kent Shocknek
Newsanchor Laura.......................... Laura Diaz
Newsanchor Pat............................. Pat Harvey
Newsanchor Paul......................... Paul Magers
Colleen Everson............................... Linda Purl
Greg Everson................................... Dar Dixon
Reporter........................................ Tina Huang
Carter........................................ Maxim Knight
Spicer's Mom.................... Caroline Kinsolving
Kristin.................................... Austin Highsmith
Ellie Spicer............................... Isabella Murad
Cordo................................. Ricardo J. Chacon
Annie ........................................ Emilee Annine
DJ Mark................................ Mark Thompson
DJ Brian....................................... Brian Phelps
Carter's Aunt....................... Jeanine Harrington

WRITTEN BY: Erica Messer
DIRECTED BY: Edward Allen Bernero, one of the series' executive producers

Criminal Minds - Kim Harrison Chat

The CMRT had the pleasure of hosting Criminal Minds own Kim Harrison for a chat this past Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with Kim, she is Ed Bernero's assistant. However, Kim will be moving to a different position this coming season as a member of the Criminal Minds writing staff! Congrats Kim!!!

Kim and her writing partner, Ryan Gibson, wrote the episode "A Solitary Man" for Season 5. This was such a great ep with the creepiness factor grabbing our attention right from the beginning. Kim spoke with us about how much she enjoyed writing a "really sick and creepy" episode and how she and her partner shared several 'Can you believe this?' moments during production. It was a dream come true for them.

Kim told us that one of her favourite things about the production of 'A Solitary Man' was her involvement with the casting of the episode - how it felt to hear the words they had put on paper come to life and what a thrill that was. She spoke of finally being able to put pen to paper and write the voices of the characters that she has known for so long. Kim said the easiest for her to write was Prentiss and the most challenging was Hotch. Kim said she "...was so honored to finally write for these characters." and we think she did a great job!

Of course, Kim pointed out something we were already aware of - that the entire CM crew is amazing! How comfortable they made her feel while on set and how helpful they were. We have heard this many times from different sources, so obviously, they must be the best crew in the business.

Another thing we discussed was the scene between Reid and Rossi when Rossi sent Reid down into the ditch. We were told MGG did struggle a bit with getting up and down the slope so they kept it to as few takes as possible. We talked about the darkness not only of the show, but also of the job of real profilers and how if you don't have a sense of humor it is a tough thing to get through each day. We, as fans, really appreciate the bits of comic relief that are added to dark episodes.

Kim spoke of how amazing the guest cast was. When Kim was asked about actors she would like to see cast in one of her episodes, she said the list was long. When asked if there was anyone she would like to direct one of her eps, her answer was Edward Allen Bernero and she also said "Gubler did a great job, I'd love to work with him." With Kim's creepy writing and Matthew's style of directing, I would love to see that!

I know Ed will miss having Kim as his assistant, but we are so happy that she will be writing for Criminal Minds and can't wait to see what she has in store for us in Season 6! Thanks again to Kim Harrison for chatting with the CMRT and for giving us such a great Criminal Minds episode this season. We look forward to many more!

Thank You Erica Messer!

Erica Messer, Criminal Minds writer and co-executive producer, paid a visit to the CMRT Chatroom tonight. Erica wrote "Our Darkest Hour", the Criminal Minds season finale that will air in the US tomorrow night. CMRT had the opportunity to watch a part of that episode being filmed and we will continue to bring you exclusive pictures from the set.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow night for this exciting episode and then come back and tell us what you thought about it.

As usual, a synopsis of the chat will be posted soon, so stay tuned.

Thank you Erica for taking the time to chat with us tonight!

Image copyright - Wil Wheaton 2008

Criminal Minds: CMRT Visits Behind the Scenes Part 5

We walked down the catwalk from where Hotch's office is to the BAU conference room.

Looking through the door we could see Paget Brewster and Shemar Moore



Talking while waiting for the scene to be set up. We were invited to listen in.



Ed Bernero in the Blackhawks jersey talking to his cast.



Ed is directing this episode



We heard Matthew say he was happy to be wearing his sweater. He felt more like Reid while wearing it.



Everybody out, we're ready to shoot



What a great experience to watch these true professionals at work.

Funny story, when Paget, Matthew and Shemar were gathered outside of the conference room before they made their entrance, we heard Matthew tell Shemar he had been tweeting as fake-Shemar. Shemar laughed so hard. So nice to see for ourselves how close they all seem to be.

Criminal Minds: CMRT Visits Behind the Scenes Part 4

Before heading to the conference room to watch them film, we turned and investigated Hotch's office first.

How adorable is the picture of Hotch and Jack sitting on the bookshelf



Hotch's desk complete with case folders and picture of Jack

Hotch's office is rather large

We were able to visit Rossi's office too but it was too dark to take any pictures inside of it.

Tomorrow, pictures from the actual scene....AND OUR CAST!

Thank You Kim Harrison!

The Criminal Minds Round Table would like to thank Kim Harrison, new CM scribe and writer of 5.17- "Solitary Man", for joining us in the CMRT Chatroom today. We had a very interesting chat with Kim and a summary of that chat will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

Criminal Minds: CMRT Visits Behind the Scenes Part 3

We got very lucky on our set visit and all of our cast were on hand that day. The atomosphere was almost a little giddy since they were just about ready for their hiatus. Lots of packing up was being done. Goodbyes being said by the writers as they prepared for their well-deserved break. It was a little like the last day of school before summer.

Here you will see all 7 chairs are out for our cast.



We couldn't get over the famous Thomas Gibson little chair. It looked so tiny between Paget Brewster's and AJ Cook's. Really wish we would have remembered to ask him about it when we spoke to him.



The man seated to your left actually controls the pictures that appear everytime JJ is presenting a case. JJ presses the remote control, he changes the image.



The scene we had the opportunity to watch being filmed took place in the BAU's Round Table room. Kind of fitting don't you think? Just judging by the crime scene pictures we saw, this is going to be a pretty intense case.



Next we walked into the BAU bullpen. This is a permanent stage and not one they build everytime they shoot here. It looks just like it does when you see it on your TV. We are actually standing right outside of Hotch's office when taking this picture. In the foreground are their desks. The lights are shining into the BAU conference room. To the left of that is the catwalk that leads to the conferene room and the darkened area to the right of that is their coffee/break area.

We have more pictures to post tomorrow.

And to answer a question posted in one of the comments, sorry no pictures of Tim Curry. I think all the guest star filming had already been completed and they were just filming the team.