I've seen this one before, what about you?

[annievh.livejournal.com]

My thoughts on last night's episode and the so called New Team.


So, this new team has Gideon, because he carries around pictures. Only, he's black, dresses like a slob and looks and talks like he's on medication.

They have a mix of JJ and Garcia, because she's blonde and sweet, but she's all tech oriented.

They have a brit that talks like Morgan (with twice his ego and half his respect) but shoots like Hotch.

And they have Prophet. Who was a prisioner once and nowadays talks in a soft wise voice and follows orders and that is pretty much what he does.

Erin Strauss a bureaucracy bitch in this TV-verse too.

I'm not impressed. I was expecting at least something worth a minor "wow" from Forrest Whitaker, but he was poor and his lines were just awfull. I gotta admit it, though, whenever he was talking to Erin he kinda got a good timing for comedy.

Blondie did nothing much other than look beautiful while checking out a room. Her plot was so contrived.

Mick. He's hot. Until about the forth time he opened his mouth to tell us that every woman in the WORLD wants him. Makes me want him less. But hey! Tell the actor I'm single!

Prophet is the only character with the slightlest chance of being more or less original, but they did not focus on him one bit and he just looks like the Ghost of Christmas Past, saying soft things and doing pretty much nothing.

No, I won't be watching this new show. Maybe out of curiosity I'll watch the pilot, but I have better to do and better shows to watch, so don't count on me.

As for CM, I thought the whole mystery was stupid and that father/daughter moment of tears made me wanna skip the scene. I watched the whole thing I regreted I didn't skip it. And "owowyouhurtingmeowow" made me laugh. Up to that moment, the girl was holding up okay (unlike EVERY other cast member).

The one original thing? Unsub pretends to jump. Never saw that one coming. In fact, when he first jump I took a look on the guys' faces and thought, "Wow, that's the best acting they've giving me all episode! They look like they never saw cliche before!"

This week, Prentiss was the only one who got the closest thing decent lines (because she got to be herself ad stay in character), even with Mick flirting around with her - or maybe because of that. Everyone else, sad. Reid, Garcia and JJ were not there. Hotch was just on automatic and Rossi was just Rossi.

Disappointed? No. Just not surprised.

Comments

[sheryden.livejournal.com]

I saw the episode, but you might want to include spoiler tags and an LJ cut out of respect for those who have not. The episode only aired yesterday.

[annievh.livejournal.com]

SORRY
but as I said on the reply below, it did not take me three minutes to realize i had forgotten the cut.
:-P
sorry if I spoiled your episode.
if it makes you feel any better, it sucked.

[lostandalone22.livejournal.com]

This needs a cut. I haven't gotten a chance to watch last night's episode, and this is really spoilery.

[annievh.livejournal.com]

sorry!!!
but you were quick!!
I clicked SEND IT and then thought "darn, forgot the cut" then went back to editing and put the cut and the whole thing did not last three minutes!!!
HOW FREAKY IS INTERNET?!?!?!

[arwen-lalaith.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with everything you said... This episode made me hope the spin-off dies a horrible horrible ratings death.

I don' think I heard a single thing Forest Whitaker said because his face is so distracting! He looks like Mr. Potato-Head melted... That's probably very mean and shallow, but he's like the Jean Cretien of acting, I just can't take him seriously.

And did it bother anyone else that Emily's bangs looked like Edward Scissorhands attacked her while drunk? Because that majorly irked me. So, did Morgan's facial hair, but I won't get started on that...

And speaking of Emily...when she got hit by the car couldn't she at least pretend to be hurt... Like, I don't know, limping? Anything?

This episode hurt my brain... It was just too much for one episode, so nothing felt complete...

[annievh.livejournal.com]

you made me LOL so much!!!
Melted Mr. Potato-Head - someone icon this, please!

[grapefruits.livejournal.com]

It looked more like she jumped and rolled on top of it to keep from getting hit.

[hrcsen08pres.livejournal.com]

Ugh, Prentiss' bangs. I thought we were done with that. Sadly, I was wrong. Her hair the last two episodes has been shit.

[grapefruits.livejournal.com]

I agree with a lot of what you said. The whole thing felt very forced. The new show itself might not be that bad (I'll probably give it a couple watches, at least, just to see), but them trying to introduce the characters like that just fell through, in my opinion. Making Rossi and Hotch seem like they've known Cooper forever was awful, and everyone all, "I've heard stories." well, we haven't and it made me roll my eyes.

Prophet was the only interesting person to me, I wish they had focused on him a little more than anyone. That's another thing, I know this was specifically for them to introduce the new cast/show or whatever, but the lack of original characters really irritated me.

[liliaeth]

I think that it would have worked better, if they just stuck to using Whitaker's character, introducing him. and then used the pilot ep to show him collecting his own team. That way it wouldn't have felt like them forcing all these new chars on us, while what most viewers really want to see is the BAU we know and love.

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

I thought the introduction of the characters was very forced, to the detriment of the episode and team-ness of CM, but I didn't hate it. I like the Brit. Liked his flirting with Prentiss. I loved Hotch and Cooper bonding over pissing Strauss off. I liked that Hotch smiled a couple of times during the episode. I even like Emily's hair.

I did not like new blonde chick.

But I'll at least give the spinoff the chance. Was the episode weak? Yes. But it wasn't the worst thing ever, and introducing spin-offs is an art few shows have mastered. I'm looking forward to getting my team cohesiveness back next week, but I didn't hate this like a lot of people did.

[anomalous1.livejournal.com]

This.

I'm curious, even if it's been forced.

[hrcsen08pres.livejournal.com]

I liked that Hotch smiled a couple of times during the episode.

This.

[silver-chipmunk.livejournal.com]

Absolutly agree with everything you said. There's some potential for Mick because he's hot, and Prophet, because he might possibly be intersting, but the other two fell flat. So disapointing.

[annievh.livejournal.com]

there's potential for both if you like slash ;-)

[silver-chipmunk.livejournal.com]

I would not mind seeing Mick slashed, but I don;t think that Prophet is anyone I'd want to see anyone in bed with!

[erikssiren.livejournal.com]

I found the episode was way too cluttered and disconnected. I felt like because we had the team we already know it got in the way of getting to know this new team, if that makes any sense. I thought Mick was awesome if only because he was amazing with his shot at the end. I found myself not really paying attention to the episode and I think that has a lot to do with Forest Whitaker's acting felt forced, like he didn't know what he was doing. And I c It was definitely not worthy of an Oscar winner. However, I'm hoping that if they do start a new show it will be better. I'm willing to give it a few episodes!

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

This spinoff intro failed so hard I cannot even express the fail. I agree with the majority of your views, although I do differ in believing that Blonde Chick, while she is awful, was probably the least offensive of that lot. Her presence merely bored me as opposed to being actively offensive as with the remaining characters. I found Mick to be a poor man's version of Colin Farrell which, given my opinion of Colin Farrell, is saying a lot. Prophet himself was tolerable; it was his name (Prophet? Really?) and his backstory I found most offensive. Cooper was just zzzzzzz.

The whole thing felt so forced and they were trying waaayyyy too hard to show how ~*edgy*~ they are, what with the black leather coats and dank basement office and all. Since there's no chance of this show being put out of its misery anytime soon, I can only hope they see the fan reactions and make some positive changes. There were a lot of changes made to Private Practice between its backdoor pilot and its premiere, so I'm trying to be hopeful.

I still won't watch this trainwreck, but if we're to be subjected to more crossovers, it might make them easier to take.

[annievh.livejournal.com]

your icon - PERFECT!

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

LOL, ty

Mean Girls + CM = OTP

[blu.livejournal.com]

Agree with you completely. I made my views known in the discussion post, but since I watched a day late it was buried somewhere in the third page. :P The writing and acting of the new guys was horrible (for the most part), and I hatehatehate feeling like the writers are trying to SHOVE liking these people down the audience's throats. Um, no? Try writing a decent casefile and showing how they solve it... wow, what a concept!

BTW part 9 = OMG! <3

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

I understand completely, bb. I'm in Hawaii so I'm like 6 hours behind the east coast. I am, however, inclined to look for your comment.

Awww, ty! That was a fun one to write... obv ;)

[eiko82.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this episode was pretty horrible. None of the new characters were interesting. In fact, they all tried WAY too hard to be 'cool' and badass. It failed. BIG time.

Cooper annoyed me with his 'I'm gonna follow my gut and be a rebel. Screw the rules' attitude. By the end of it, I was almost wishing Strauss would fire him. In fact, with that attitude, I'm surprised he wasn't already.

Mike was just one big mess of epic fail. He was annoying with his flirting and his ego the size of Russia. I hated how he saved the day by sniping the unsub. That begs the question - WHY is a profiler running around with a snipergun? I know the man is an ex-sniper but seriously, WTF? Why would you need this if your job is profiling?

Prophet wasn't too bad but I still think his character is ridiculous. Ex-cons don't get into the FBI. Period. Also, the line 'And the Prophet speaks' made me freaking cringe.

Gina was pretty boring. She didn't have enough lines or screen time to annoy me. So I'll give her a little bit of slack.

So no, I wouldn't check out the spin-off.

[wingstar102.livejournal.com]

Ex-cons don't get into the FBI. I agree with everything in your post except this. Two words: Frank Abignale (Can spell his last name, LOL).

[gershwhen.livejournal.com]

Frank Abagnale doesn't work as an FBI employee. He's a consultant and runs his own business (and makes millions). He teaches at the Academy as a consulant. That's a FAR cry from being a full time Federal Agent in a BAU position.

[scarimor.livejournal.com]

Mick. He's hot. Until about the forth time he opened his mouth to tell us that every woman in the WORLD wants him. Makes me want him less. But hey! Tell the actor I'm single!

Oh, wouldn't it be amusing if he is gay, and the moment he lands on American soil he feigns raging red-blooded straightness because he can't be arsed with the flak :p

[x-steffi-x.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it, am I a bad person? Lol

I think it was forced, but the idea of the episode was only to introduce the characters. When it gets into being Criminal Minds 2.0 (or whatever it's gonna be called) it's gonna be much better.

There wasn't enough Reid/Morgan/Garcia in this episode for me.

The jump was genius though, I didn't see it coming. The Brit saving Prentiss' life. I love him.

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, you're not the only one that didn't hate it :)

[glasheen25.livejournal.com]

I hated the episode sooo much. Where the hell was Reid? The new team were terrible. The supposedly English guy was a pain in the ass. The only good thing about the episode was Emily.

[topetine.livejournal.com]

I agree with all the negativity. It was forced, cheesy and if I'd been expecting more, I'd have been totally let down.

Did anyone else notice that the "brit's" accent was absolutely odd? It sounded like irish not brit lol.

I may give the spin off the benefit of the doubt, as long as they stay far away from the original.

Next weeks episode preview looked funky too, like a bit too omgactionflick

Let's just hope it was cos of the clipping.

Sigh.

[cailinamour.livejournal.com]

It's not just me then!
I thought the "British" guys accent was completely WHACK! I mean, that's not a british accent. It sounds like someone trying and failing epically...
Agree with the forced and cheesy, too. Though I didn't hate it..
But, yes, accent was absolutely odd!

[topetine.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I mean, i have a professor who's british...and....yeah *facepalm*

someone made the parallel to Colin Farrel who, omg guess what, is Irish :B

Hate is such a strong word....painful works a bit better i guess lol.

:)

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

Every single one of the new team is a giant freakin' MARY SUE. Ish.

Same damn thing that happened with NCIS:LA - how can people who came up with such great characters the first time, give us such completely over the top, contrived characters the second time, who have ZERO chemistry?

[ediedeplume.livejournal.com]

Speaking of NCIS: LA...
Am I the only one that felt like the typewritter captions in the introductions felt like they should have been in that show?
And I absolutely agree with you and a lot of the other comments posted here. It felt like the writers took bits and pieces from the orignal characters, threw in a dash of Gibbs and Tony, put it in a blender, and half-baked the new characters.
And if I haven't rambled enough already, I LOVE your icon!

[blu.livejournal.com]

I think that the writes don't realize that the characters that are so loved in the original series developed OVER TIME instead of having everything spelled out the first time you meet them. Also, they're trying to make you love them as much as the original ones, which isn't gonna happen except with time and many seasons :P

[wingstar102.livejournal.com]

Well, to be fair, even if Strauss is a bitch, that her acting was pretty good too. :)

If this had been a two part, it would have been awesome I bet.

But next week's episode... I saw the promo had when OMIGOD! Hot guys with assault weapons! *SQUEE!*

Thanks for listening to my two cents. And before you ask, I wrote this without even touching my coffee first. LOL.

Love and cherries,
Wingstar

[11ovenpeace.livejournal.com]

That was the spin-off?! (I got home late and ended up watching half of the show) Ohhhh....well. That Cooper, lead dude guy man whatever!, i guess he was funnyish pissing Strauss off. That blond chick looked a bit like JJ, otherwise, she was just ok. I dont really like her, but i think she hasnt had enough screen time for me to get uber annoyed. That hot guy, the one that saved Prentiss--i havent heard him talk, but i take it from ya'll that he's British--yeah, i like him. He's hot. And a good shooter. What's his name?

I thought half of what i watched was ok, i loved seeing Hotch smile (like, what? 4 times in that episode? Hotch must be feeling sick, poor thing. lol), i missed Reid and Morgan, there was not enough Garcia banter with anyone to make me happy. Did the episode feel like too much was going on? It might've been due to the fact i missed the first half of the episode, but it felt hurried and a bit forced at the end.

I might watch the spin-off. I don't like the team, but i'll watch for hot British guy just to drool at him haha!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

THe only one of the 'new team' I liked was Prophet. Take him and somehow make him a recurring character on CM...maybe as a relative, former agent or even a love interest for crying out loud.

I think it's funny how Ed Bernero keeps hinting that Prentiss is a lesbian but has men flirt with her like mad. And yea, Mr. Sniper Boy sure as hell got annoying quick.

The case was cool, the new team was not and just like The Performer, everyone was so unbearably out of character. But if it does get a spin-off, I'll watch a few episodes to see where they take it (and because Prophet seems interesting, like Rayland Gibbons on Justified interesting).

BTW: Gubler was still editing Mosley Lane when this was shot, and he was also in NYC for a few days, hence why he was barely in the ep.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

Oh, also...I read that the ep got some of the lowest ratings of the series to-date, some 12.something when it usually gets 13-18 ;)

[dolcianiblows.livejournal.com]

I read the opposite... TV By The Numbers says that CM saw a 3% increase in viewers compared to the last new episode that aired.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

My info could have totally been wrong, I may have just looked at one age group. I have tendency not to read those things carefully...

[missbethcullen.livejournal.com]

"So, whatcha wearing?"
"A gun."
Well Emily, may I steal your gun and shoot all the new characters, or bash them on there head to make it more satisfying. I need to get that 1 hour of my life back somehow.

Okay, maybe I am being a bit melodramatic, but come on.
I thought the Brit Guy was hot, but he was like "yeah, I'm hot, you know it." I can't stand that. AND I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS SAYING!
Same with Whittaker. His face is so distracting. Well his eye. I was poking my TV screen to make it correct. And how he was like, "Yeah, I'm gunna risk one of the most awesomess jobs on the planet for a 'vibe' I had, cause I can do that."
The blonde chick. Did she say 2 words through out the episode? I just couldn't be bothered listening to her.
Prophet looks pretty awesome, but how the hell does a ex-con get into the FBI?

Grrr.
And not enough Reid. Or Garcia. Or JJ.
I can't wait to get them all back to normal.
Please, just let Reid be oblivious to the normal world and be overly cute.
Please.

And Chris Mundy, Don't leave CM for some shitty spin-off.

[let-it-linger21.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree more with your interpretation.

[seythia.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely.

It ALL started with the first scene... Cooper fighting and WINNING against a YOUNG guy with twice his muscles.
Anyway...
Mick...with the strangest british accent I've ever heard, the blond chick whose name I forgot (great character introduction, so far, hm?), and Prophet, propably the only character I'm really interested in.

And even though I'd say that it, of course, is a matter f taste and that everyone's entiteled to their opinion but personally, I LOATHED that episode.
It was horrible and I was one of the few who were actually supporting the idea of a spin off (in a very roller-coster-ish way) .
The story would have been great, I COULD have overlooked the LACK of character in the new characters if this has been a damn two-parter.
But squeezing about 100 people AND a plot into 45 minutes?

I didn't even like Emily's 'witty banter' with the 'Brit' because there was none,apart from the ONE line that made me laugh ('what are you wearing?' 'A gun')
And forrest Whittaker? Sorry. I've only seen him when he was dubbed. I don't like the way he talks. It's really really creepy.

Ugh,enough bitching for today for me!

[pikacharma.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yeah, all this!!

I'm v new to the fandom, and this was my first ever "new episode." (Been watching reruns on Ion, got hooked hardcore after I caught Fisher King, and blew through like half the series via download\dvds in a few weeks). I was sooooo psyched for a new ep, and then I saw this fight club bullshit, and was just like "please don't tell me I fell in love with this show just in time to see it jump the damn shark."

IDEK what to think, but even my stupid newbie ass was cringing fairly hardcore. :\

[seythia.livejournal.com]

Don't let it discourage you!


Let's look on the bright side of last week's disaster: It can only get better!

[artistic-angle.livejournal.com]

ITA with what you said, except maybe with the story itself. But that's because I like both actors (Dad and Unsub) and am biased.

I have to say I AM disappointed. I love and value this show and hold it in high regard. I was initially reluctant because I was expecting the showrunners to make even cooler characters than on CM and I am fiercely loyal. Instead... not only did they fail to give these people all the cool vibe, but I actually resent the whole thing BECAUSE it failed to live up to the show's standard. It may sound hypocritical as if I'm trying to find faults with the spin off in every which way but I really don't think that's the case. I was expecting (and dreading) something super cool that would steal the original's mojo, instead this was so incredibly underwhelming that I was cringing all the way through.

[cailinamour.livejournal.com]

I didn't HATE it, per se.. I wasn't impressed either though, nor did I like it. More of a neutral..ish.. feeling? lol
The blonde girl bored me, and looked too like JJ for me to take her seriously. (I love JJ, but did they really need a character that was so alike?)
The "British" guy with the oddest accent I've ever heard -- British people, can the accent be called British even? lol I'm no expert, but it sure didn't sound like any British accent I've ever heard. Though I didn't mind him overall, I thought he was an exaggerated Morgan to some extent. He has potential, I suppose!
Prophet could be interesting, I guess. I wasn't overly interested in him when he was on screen though, but thinking back, he could be good on the spin-off.
Cooper irritated me hugely. The "rebel" or "Badass" kind of image they were trying to go for SUCKED. It failed hugely, and he annoyed me with his whole "I don't care with Strauss says, even if it gets us both into huuuge trouble because I think I'm right" type 'tude. Hotch could have taken care of it.I don't think he's like Gideon because he carries around a photo though, I mean, it's understandable for agents to do that. It's a difficult job, and there's going to be something you carry with you.

Hotch was all smiles. (Which was actually rather nice, seeing as its Hotch and his hotness) but it was just... too relaxed for Hotch! Did no one else think that? And WHERE was JJ and Garcia for most of it? Reid was missing, too, but I read that he was doing something..
Rossi and Emily, I liked. They wre in character and got enough screen time but that's about it.
I think I may like the spin-off, and I will give it a go as it has potential, but the cross-over was messy, cheesy and incredibly forced! I do hope the original CM isn't neglected either :(
On the other hand, I did like the plot and the UnSub&Vics. I also enjoyed the twist at the end, although I would have liked a quicker reaction from Emily. Maybe she was too shocked though.
Oh, I don't know. I think the spin-off is up against a lot of resiliance from original CM fans. Did other crime spin-off shows get this much haters before it actually aired?? We're loyal, but I don't want to doom the spin-off bfore it started. If other shows can successfully pull of a spin-off, then CM can :)
Anyway, this has turned into a LOOONG rant. Sorry!