Pictures of Matthew Gray Gubler and Shemar Moore in Japan 2011

Criminal Minds stars Matthew Gray Gubler who play Dr. Spencer Reid and Shemar Moore who play SSA Derek Morgan on a promotional visit to Japan!

Pictures courtesy of @kaoryhotchner

Criminal Minds talk about Episode 7.08 'Hope' here

A CASE TURNS PERSONAL FOR GARCIA WHEN A FRIEND OF HERS GOES MISSING SEVEN YEARS TO THE DAY AFTER HER DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED, ON “CRIMINAL MINDS,” WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16

Guest Stars Include Jack Coleman (“Heroes”) as Bill, a Man in Garcia’s Survivors’ Support Group, and Brigid Brannagh (“Army Wives”) as Monica,

Garcia’s Missing Friend 

               “Hope” – It’s personal for Garcia when the BAU investigate the disappearance of a woman in her survivors’ support group whose daughter went missing seven years earlier, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Nov. 16 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.  Guest stars include Jack Coleman (“Heroes”) as Bill, a man in Garcia’s survivors support group, and Brigid Brannagh (“Army Wives”) as Monica, Garcia’s missing friend.

Thomas Gibson interview with KTLA

Thomas Gibson who plays SSA Aaron Hotchner on Criminal Minds gave an interview this morning to KTLA. You can see the interview here KTLA

‘Criminal Minds’ Star Kirsten Vangsness Believes in Letting Her Freak Flag Fly

by Paulette Cohn
Nov 16th, 2011 | 11:34 AM 

It gets personal for Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) in the upcoming “Hope” episode of “Criminal Minds” and the tech savvy member of the BAU team  has to emerge from the safety of her computer room, put on a bulletproof vest and enter the dangerous world of her FBI cohorts.

“In this particular episode I don’t think she has a choice,” Vangsness tells XfinityTV.com. “I don’t think she wants to. She just does it. She steels herself as much as Garcia can steel herself. I think that’s a problem because Garcia isn’t built to steel herself, so when that happens there is a lot of unraveling and galvanizing.”

The case begins with the disappearance of a woman (guest star Brigid Brannagh) in Garcia’s survivor’s group on the seventh anniversary of the kidnapping of the woman’s daughter – and Garcia is determined to get her back unscathed.

To read more go to Xnfinity

Criminal Minds Review Episode 7.07 'There's no place like home"

The latest Criminal Minds episode, “There’s No Place Like Home” tells the story of an unsub that lost his brother several years back and somehow believes that he can recreate his brother a la Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. Garcia presents the team a case involving two white teens found mangled in the wreckage of tornadoes near Wichita, Kansas. The local medical examiner has come to the conclusion that the boys died from blunt force trauma to their heads prior to the storms hitting the area.  The bodies of the boys are missing limbs but the ME isn’t sure whether the storm or the unsub did the damage so off to Wichita the team heads.

New CM writer Virgil Williams weaves a story of how Travis James preys on vulnerable young men, choosing them for their body parts as he attempts to piece together his late brother Tucker. Tucker had protected Travis against a pedophile shortly before he was killed by a tornado. Travis believes that he can gather the victim’s limbs and use the lightning and energy created by the tornadoes to bring the brother he worshiped back to life. For me, the story was every bit as far-fetched as it sounds.

It wasn’t just the story that seemed a bit out there but this reviewer didn’t like the way the story was presented to us. Just this reviewer’s preference to have the story unfold rather than have it spoon-fed to us by a member of our team, in this case Garcia. The end of the story found Travis kidnapping the final piece of his body puzzle, a young man that must have reminded him of his brother enough that he wanted his head, and the BAU coming to the kid’s rescue before Travis could harm him. Travis ended up suffering the same fate as his brother as he gave himself up to a twister.

This episode had a “B” side to it that involved JJ; we got to see her at home with her family, long-time boyfriend Will and their son, Henry. It seems that the comment made to Emily in the season opener about how Will was taking to JJ returning to the BAU is still present. Long story short, Will seems to still be struggling with the long hours and time away from home JJ’s job causes. Henry is sick when JJ gets the call about the case in Wichita. Will seems to want to guilt JJ into staying but reluctantly concedes to the demands of her job. JJ wasn’t happy working for the State Department, a fact she admits when she tells Will she didn’t feel she was helping anybody while in that role. The BAU is where she belongs and one would hope that Will would understand that given that he used to be ( or still is) in law enforcement himself.

While in Wichita Henry suffers a mild seizure. JJ wants to head home to her son but cannot because of the inclement weather. JJ doesn’t let her personal dilemma interfere with her job, she can’t be home with her son so she will help rescue someone else’s.

There were several really good team moments in this episode that made it enjoyable in my own opinion: I did enjoy getting a glimpse into JJ’s private life.

- Reid did a great job of getting into the unsubs head and help put the pieces of the case together (no  pun intended)

- I loved the scene on the jet with the team experiencing turbulence. We’ve never seen that before. I loved Rossi’s nervousness and Reid teasing him with his facts and statistics about weather and micro-bursts.

- I do love the interaction between Hotch and JJ. There has always been a tremendous amount of respect between the two of them.

And, most of all, I love the end of this episode with JJ reading the story “Bedtime for Baby Star” to Henry. That Henry is portrayed by AJ Cook’s son Mekhai makes it all the more special. He is truly adorable and the fact that AJ shares him with us every once in a while is amazing. I’m sure I’m not the only one that hopes we get to see more Henry in the future.

Criminal Minds TVLine Interview With Kirsten Vangsness

Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness Previews the Arrival of 'Garcia 2.0' and An Emotional Reveal

By Matt Webb Mitovich

This Wednesday on Criminal Minds (CBS, 9/8c), the case of the week is a personal one for Kirsten Vangsness’ Garcia when the BAU investigates the disappearance of a member (Army Wives‘ Brigid Branagh) of her survivors’ support group. Most curiously, the friend’s daughter went missing seven years earlier. TVLine spoke with Kirsten Vangsness about stepping front and center with, as she calls it, “Garcia 2.0.”

To read more go to TVLine

Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness: Garcia Steps Up to the Plate — and Goes in the Field

By Joyce Eng

After seven seasons, Kirsten Vangsness will finally don a Kevlar vest on Criminal Minds — and just like Garcia's colorful personality, the vest is one of a kind.

"I was so excited when they told me. They made that one especially for me, which was very nice," Vangsness tells TVGuide.com. "The seamstress came in, like, 'We're going to make another dart in this.' In actual Kevlar vests, they don't have darts. But they put them in mine. It's very flattering. [The other cast members' Kevlars] are fitted to them too, but mine was totally hugged to my curves. It's a girly Kevlar — perfect for Garcia!"

To read more go to TvGuide