Cheers to Criminal Minds for putting the spotlight on Kirsten Vangsness. The appealingly quirky actress, who's usually stuck behind a wall of computer screens, stepped out when techie Penelope Garcia met a hot guy in a coffee shop—and he shot her on their first date. Turned out he was a bad cop who thought Garcia was onto him, but the story line gave Vangsness the chance to share emotional scenes with her costars (especially Shemar Moore). Plus, it brought her a charming new love connection: Buffy alum Nicholas "Xander" Brendon as a fellow hacker. Hope Minds ' producers are smart enough to bring Brendon back.• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Nip/Tuck, How I Met Your Mother and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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Say this for Joe Mantegna: He doesn’t make Criminal Minds any worse. Like that’s even possible. This inexplicably popular crime drama remains the most pretentious, the most simplistic and the most dehumanizing of CBS’ current glut of procedurals. Replacing Mandy Patinkin, who quit between seasons — I’m guessing he finally watched an episode — Mantegna makes a valiant effort at creating an actual character, but he invariably gets lost amid the wood (his supporting cast) and the cheese (the scripts).We first see him bird hunting in a Virginia marsh. The next time we see water, a dead body (a brutalized, mutilated woman, naturally) is floating in a Dallas suburb. This victim’s backstory? She comes home to find a "Have You Seen Me?" poster on her door with her own face on it. Understandably spooked, she goes to the sheriff, who figures it’s just a Halloween prank. We know better, having seen this show in action before. Soon enough, she’s a go...
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Whenever I bring guests to set, there is always one thing that amazes them more than anything else: the food. Scratch that. Two things. First, they comment on how the ladies of the show are even more striking in person... then they comment on the food. There's lots of food on set. Every day, there are two meals prepared by catering. For breakfast, our caterer Hannah makes made-to-order plates from the catering truck as well as an omelet bar, some sort of hot entrée, and an assortment of rolls, cereals, etc;. Even while the crew eats breakfast, they are already working toward the lunch that will be served seven hours later. Lunch is cafeteria-style with different meat options, a fish, sides, pastas and salad bars. In addition, two "snacks" are served. There is one between breakfast and lunch, and one five hours after lunch (the crew works very long days on set). The crew works 14 hour days — and sometimes much more. It's necessary to keep them fueled. I however work at a d...
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Call it Stealth Television. Last season, CBS' Criminal Minds (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET) simmered just below pop culture's boiling point. Now a solid hit, the show's true-to-life stories of the FBI's hunt for serial killers, rapists, arsonists and terrorists frighten — and fascinate — millions of loyal fans. Many of whom may be harboring such questions as:
Is there a real Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) at the FBI? Yes, it is considered an elite team of agent profilers. "Of the 12,000 FBI agents," says star Mandy Patinkin, "only 26 are in the BAU."
What led series creator Ed Bernero to want to write about this subject? He's a former Chicago cop whose 10 years
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