2 Questions for the experts

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

I have two questions, if anyone can help:

1. Does Hotch have a history of childhood abuse by his father -- or am I confusing him with some other show? Any info much appreciated.

2. Where exactly are the offices of the BAU? I thought they were at Quantico, which is about 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC; however, Reid is contacted by the psycho boy who wants to kill women in the "Metro" (subway) station where he says he's seen Reid several times -- that would be in D.C. itself or close by, no? And Reid then appears *running* into the office, which would seem unlikely after a 35-mile trip! Quantico is on a Marine base -- they do have an Amtrak station but I can't imagine they have a subway station. The real-life Behavioral Sciences Unit has been headquartered at Quantico, I guess as part of the FBI Academy there, but... Anybody? Also is there any canon on what towns/areas the team members live in?

Many thanks --

Comments

[bergann.livejournal.com]

1. It's never been said outright that Hotch was abused, though it's been heavily hinted towards.

2. I don't know for this. Maybe he took a cab XD

[bergann.livejournal.com]

The last one shouldn't be taken seriously, at all. it's late. I am not fit for the public.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

:-) Thanks!

[asesinos.livejournal.com]

Having lived in DC and driven to Quantico many times, you're right – he can't run there. I can only assume he was downtown doing something at the J. Edgar Hoover building and then drove really quickly back to Quantico, and all they bothered to show was the running part. They don't have a Metro stop in Quantico; all of the Metro runs through DC out into the closer towns – Alexandria, for example, has several stops.

As far as I know, all the team members live somewhere within commuting distance of Quantico (people can, in fact, live in DC and drive to Quantico – I know several people who do – but it's impractical and expensive, generally speaking). From looking at Hotch's house, probably somewhere in the suburbs around the base? As for the other team members, I have no idea.

(Also: Elle didn't seem to live that far away when she was around, but, you know. That's not really helpful at this point.)

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! All this is very helpful and I'm gonna put it in a little info file for myself. :-)

[parisntripfan.livejournal.com]

I need to make a CM icon....


There was an episode where Hotch made some comment that could be interrupted that Hotch was abused in childhood. However given what we saw in episode with the firebug (blanking on the name right now) it is clear that he was very close to his father. So it could be a step-farther or maybe even his mother.

As for the where the BAU is? I think the writers don't have a clue on that one. That or they don't think we do. Or maybe they have confused the FBI Headquarters which is in DC and Quantico which as you said is some 30 miles south of the city. (There was some talk about placing some more of the Homeland Security offices down there as it is outside the predicted blast zone...)

[asesinos.livejournal.com]

You mean the "Ashes and Dust" episode? I don't know if he was particularly close to his father in a positive way; actually, I thought he seemed a little resentful. But who knows – the writers could be hoping we all forget season one, in which it seemed like Hotch was implying it was his biological father who had abused him.

[siggen1.livejournal.com]

No, in "Natural Born Killer", right at the end, that's the biggest hint towards Hotch having grown up in an abusive household.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Ah, I will look out for that, thank you very much.

[asesinos.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know – it's just that parisntripfan asked about the fire episode where Hotch talks about his father having cancer, etc (at least, I'm assuming that's what they were referring to); as for the alleged-abuse episode, yeah, that's "Natural Born Killer." I meant that in "Ashes and Dust," Hotch didn't seem particularly warm towards his father, which would be consistent with season one canon.

[siggen1.livejournal.com]

Ah, right:P Sorry.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Appreciate the info.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

The Metro doesn't go to Quantico, but there is a train line (the Fredericksburg Line of the VRE) that does (to the town at least, don't know how close it would be to the base/FBI since I never got off on that stop), and that connects to the DC Metro at Union Station, Crystal City, and Alexandria. It's possible that Reid lives in the metro area and takes the Metro from his apartment to the train station and then the train to Quantico. That would fit with Nathan watching him, but doesn't make sense with the running, etc. unless the writers actually think that BAU is in the FBI building.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's very helpful. I'm thinking the show writers *are* perhaps a bit confused about where BAU nests! heh.

Love your icon -- I am thinking of the particular eyebrow at the end of "Search for Spock". :-)

[heleneotroy.livejournal.com]

Quantico is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but for good reasons. Its a large training facility that needs space and privacy. Go watch The Silence of the Lambs again and you'll see what I mean.
The writers of the show are taking some artistic license, I think, about Reid traveling on the subway in this episode.
However, the FBI headquarters is located in the J. Edgar Hoover building in downtown DC at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Its easily accessible by using the Archives/Navy Memorial station. The show's writers my be combining the two places.

As for where they live....
It is not unusual for people in this area to have very long commutes, often two hours (or more!) each way. Sprawl is alive and well and Washington!
The area around Quantico runs the broad scope of suburbia, from lower-income apartments to large single-family homes. I don't believe canon has ever established the names of any of the places they live.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! All this great info, amazing how many CM fans live in the DC area!

[shawngf.livejournal.com]

I would think the team would need to live nearby, however, to be available on the crack of a whip that they so far have been. I would guess within 15-30 minutes commute at worst.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Good point. I've also wondered what airport they use for their plane, near DC.

Metro

[time-testudinem.livejournal.com]

Well, in "Derailed" the train supposedly in Texas had a map on the wall of the DC Metro, so it seems in C.M. world the Metro goes everywhere.

Re: Metro

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Hee! Sharp eyes!

Re: Metro

[atari363.livejournal.com]

HAHAH! That cracked me up.

I remember the post about that map...

Re: Metro

[time-testudinem.livejournal.com]

I just saw that episode for the first time on DVD this week. I grew up with a poster of that map on my wall, and for almost fifteen years I saw it every day. (This is even weirder that it seems because I did not grow up anywhere near DC. The system was brand new when I was young and I was just fascinated by the architecture and the technology.)It is so familiar that I found it to be distracting during the episode. Oh well, it is a pretty map, I can see why they would use it for set dressing.

[slash-girl.livejournal.com]

In Extreme Agressor, when they first show the exterior of the Hotchners' house, it says "Washington, DC".

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Now I'm picturing him living in Georgetown. :-)

That icon of yours... *watches and watches and watches...*

[califmole.livejournal.com]

Well in Unfinished Business they show a building with a graphic that says Behavorial Analysis Unit - Quantico, Virginia and then cut to an interior office shot with the team.

But the episode Sex, Birth and Death with its references to the Metro and immediate access to DC crime scenes only works if the writers were thinking of the FBI Headquarters in DC.

The speedy access they have to a plane argues somewhere near a large civilian airport, which seems to rule out Quantico, but the airport they showed in the first episode was clearly not Washington National (aka Reagan), which is the closest to downtown DC, so this is also inconclusive.

So I guess the conclusion is--it depends.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Time and space in BAU land obviously do not work quite like time and space on earth. For example, not only does the DC Metro run all over the world, but you can get two Chevy blazers into the cargo hold of a corporate jet, and get anywhere in the world (or at least North America) with them in about 90 minutes.

[califmole.livejournal.com]

:-)

And you also carry your own team of FBI swat agents in the hold of that jet. Based on the number of scenes that involve FBI swat teams storming suspects' hideouts, rather than local PD, I can only assume that the FBI agents are flash frozen and thawed as needed.

[asha-dreamweave.livejournal.com]

I always thought that the FBI SWAT teams would have come from the local FBI field offices. Same with the SUVs.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Alas. The SUVs all over the world have the same tags.

[decarnin.livejournal.com]

Hee! Or, dried and you just add water like those sponge dinosaurs.