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Primetime Show Reviews

"Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" review by Suzanne
Airs Wednesdays 10 pm et/9 pm pt

I watched the premiere episode of "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior". I'm sure I'm not the first one to remark that this is a stupid name. I guess they figure people are too stupid to figure out that it's a spin-off otherwise. Anyway, it's not a bad show, despite the stupid name.

It's got some really good actors, including the star, movie star Forrest Whittaker, and actress/comedienne Janeane Garofolo. The whole team seems to work together well. Also, Penelope from the original "Criminal Minds" helps them out with searches and things the way she does the other team. More Penelope is a great thing.

However, I can't help but wonder why they didn't just move some of the other "Criminal Minds" characters that they recently fired over to the new show. They were doing great, and I assumed they got rid of them as cost-cutting measures, so it would have made sense to have Emily and Jennifer join this other team. Even better, they should have tried to get Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) back. The original show has not been as good since he left.

Anyway, this is still a fine show. I'm just not sure we need a second "Criminal Minds" or that many people will agree. In the first episode, they helped to find some missing little girls who had been abducted by a serial killer. It's the same kind of story they would have on the original show. So I guess if you love "Criminal Minds" for the stories, then you will like the new show.

Personally, there are two main reasons I watch "Criminal Minds", now that Patinkin is gone: Shemar Moore and Thomas Gibson. The stories are fine, but they are not the main draw. I don't know if the actors in this new show are good-looking enough to keep me watching. Yep, I'm shallow, I admit. I'm sure I'm not the only one, either. The two younger guys on the new show are okay, but nothing special.

This looks to be the same problem that I have with "NCIS: Los Angeles". I watch NCIS because of the actors. The ones on the new spinoff are not nearly as compelling (they are fine looking. but just not as fun or charismatic, IMHO).

But what do I know?  Lots of people watch that show. It's just not worth watching, to me. It's not NCIS without Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, and David McCallum. This new "Criminal Minds" is not the same without Shemar Moore. I guess CBS figures that having this show to follow the original "Criminal Minds" will give it a good lead-in (the way it works with the two NCIS shows).

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