Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
Criminal Minds Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 2005 - 2006
The CBS series "Criminal Minds" centered on the Behavioral Analysis Unit, a special section of the FBI that specialized in profiling, tracking, and apprehending serial killers and other compulsive bad guys. The program's debut season stars Mandy Patinkin as the prickly Jason Gideon, widely recognized as the best profiler in the FBI; and Thomas Gibson as agent Aaron Hotchner. Their squad deals with a number of dangerous psychopaths, including a serial arsonist torching buildings at a college, a man who spends time pretending to be the father of various families before slaughtering them, and a deranged madman obsessed with King Arthur who pulls each member of the BAU out of their vacations by sending them individual clues. Meanwhile, each member of the unit struggles with how the intensity of their work life compromises their personal relationships.
Episode 1
Extreme Aggressor
Thu, Sep 22, 2005 60 mins
The team profiles a serial killer who has abducted a woman who may still be alive. Meanwhile, Agent Aaron Hotchner is asked to evaluate Agent Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), who suffered a breakdown after his actions in an investigation led to the deaths of several agents. Morgan: Shemar Moore. Elle: Lola Glaudini. Reid: Matthew Gray Gubler.
Episode 2
Compulsion
Wed, Sep 28, 2005 60 mins
The team searches for a serial arsonist who's terrorizing a college campus, but hits a wall in their investigation when the behavior doesn't fit their standard profile of an arsonist. Gideon: Mandy Patinkin. Hotch: Thomas Gibson. Reid: Matthew Gray Gubler. Morgan: Shemar Moore.
Episode 3
Won't Get Fooled Again
Wed, Oct 5, 2005 60 mins
The team searches for a copycat serial bomber whose MO is identical to that of Adrian Bale (Tim Kelleher), the bomber responsible for killing six of Gideon's agents, and Gideon confronts Bale in prison to see if he's linked to the crimes. Joe Reese: Jeff DeSerrano. Gil Clurman: Tom Virtue. Det. Morrison: Jay Acovone.
Episode 4
Plain Sight
Wed, Oct 12, 2005 60 mins
The team heads to San Diego after six rape-murders occur over a three-week period, crimes perpetrated by a killer who glues his victims' eyes open. Brenda Samms: McKerrin Kelly. Franklin Graney: Kirk B.R. Woller. Capt. Griffith: Daniel Zacapa. Marcia: Patty McCormack.
Episode 5
Broken Mirror
Wed, Oct 19, 2005 60 mins
The team profiles a kidnapper who abducts a teen (Elisabeth Harnois) and demands $500,000 for her return. But what's most intriguing is his fixation on the girl's twin sister: She is the only person he wants to talk to and he demands that she make the drop-off. Meanwhile, Hotch learns that his pregnant wife is having contractions, but she insists that he stay on the case and save the girl. Evan Davenport: Robin Thomas. Vincent Shyer: Matthew Letscher.
Episode 6
L.D.S.K.
Wed, Nov 2, 2005 60 mins
The team searches for a sniper---or L.D.S.K. (Long Distance Serial Killer) in FBI speak---who has shot six people, but only in the stomach. But the task is daunting, in that there is no known profile for this type of criminal, since they are rare. Morgan: Shemar Moore. Elle: Lola Glaudini. Reid: Matthew Gray Gubler.
Episode 7
The Fox
Wed, Nov 9, 2005 60 mins
A killer targets families with two children who are about to go on vacation, and holds them hostage for days before killing each family member. The case hits home for Hotch, as he has just become a father. Haley: Meredith Monroe. Allison Crawford: Allison Dunbar. Chris Crawford: Dameon Clarke.
Episode 8
Natural Born Killer
Wed, Nov 16, 2005 60 mins
The team works with a Baltimore FBI unit to find a killer described as a "pure psychopath" who tortures and mutilates his victims, when it's believed that he's holding an undercover agent (Joe Sikora) captive. Vincent: Patrick Kilpatrick. Freddy: Val Lauren. Michael: Francesco Quinn.
Episode 9
Derailed
Wed, Nov 23, 2005 60 mins
Elle is among a group of hostages being held on a train by a psychotic man who believes the government is monitoring him, and he demands to talk to the "higher authority." Elle: Lola Glaudini. Reid: Matthew Gray Gubler. Hotch: Thomas Gibson. Morgan: Shemar Moore.
Episode 10
The Popular Kids
Wed, Nov 30, 2005 60 mins
The team goes to a small town where a teen was murdered. A skeleton found at the crime scene suggests the death could be connected to a satanic ritual. It is also discovered that the victim was with a girl who is now missing and is possibly being held by the group responsible for the murder. Cory: Will Rothhaar. Cherish: Ellen Woglom. Veronica: Rae Ritke.
Episode 11
Blood Hungry
Wed, Dec 14, 2005 60 mins
The team---minus Gideon, who's stuck at the office on crutches---travels to Tennessee to find a psychotic killer who eviscerates his victims and takes their organs, supposedly to eat them. Annie Stuart: Rhonda Aldrich. Charlie Stuart: Gabriel Sunday. Sheriff Hall: Mark Ralston. David Stuart: Stewart Skelton.
Episode 12
What Fresh Hell
Wed, Jan 11, 2006 60 mins
The team members search for an 11-year-old girl who was abducted in a park, but they were notified 20 hours after the crime, and their chances of finding the girl alive are greatly diminished.
Episode 13
Poison
Wed, Jan 18, 2006 60 mins
The team travels to New Jersey where several people have been poisoned with LSD that's 10 times more potent than the street dose, which has led to one fatality. Hotch: Thomas Gibson. Reid: Matthew Gray Gubler. Morgan: Shemar Moore.
Episode 14
Riding the Lightning
Wed, Jan 25, 2006 60 mins
Gideon and Hotch interview a couple on death row for serial-murder convictions hours before their executions to see if there are undiscovered bodies, and Gideon suspects the woman may be innocent.
Episode 15
Unfinished Business
Wed, Mar 1, 2006 60 mins
A retired BAU profiler (Geoff Pierson) works with the team when a serial killer who eluded him years ago---and has become his obsession---may have resurfaced and started to kill again. The former profiler's lack of personal life has Elle reflecting on her own life and her lack of fulfillment outside of the job. Sylvia Gooden: Laura Gardner.
Episode 16
The Tribe
Wed, Mar 8, 2006 60 mins
A group of college students in New Mexico is tortured and murdered, and the team suspects a group of killers with a knowledge of Native American rituals. The investigation is helped by a man respected among the local Apache Indians.
Episode 17
A Real Rain
Wed, Mar 22, 2006 60 mins
In New York City, the team tracks a serial killer who seems to choose victims indiscriminately, and as Morgan points out, "with no discernible victim pattern, a killer is practically impossible to stop."
Episode 18
Somebody's Watching
Wed, Mar 29, 2006 60 mins
While conducting a training seminar for the LAPD, Reid and Gideon become involved in a celebrity murder case and call the rest of the team out to California. As the case develops, they find it necessary to protect an actress (Amber Heard) who seems to develop an attraction to Reid, and the feeling is mutual. Parker: Jason Olive. Det. Kim: Ian Anthony Dale.
Episode 19
Machismo
Wed, Apr 12, 2006 60 mins
The team travels to a tourist town in Mexico where a woman was murdered. The local authorities there want the profilers to confirm that this is an isolated murder and not the work of a serial killer as the press is suggesting, thereby threatening the town's livelihood. Unfortunately, all the evidence points to a serial killer.
Episode 20
Charm and Harm
Wed, Apr 19, 2006 60 mins
The team travels to Florida to search for a serial killer (Andy Comeau) whose identity is known, but who is eluding the local authorities while holding a woman captive. The team investigates his past, hoping to find clues that will reveal where the man is going. Doug Gregory: Robert Pine. Raymond McCarthy: Mark Totty.
Episode 21
Secrets and Lies
Wed, May 3, 2006 60 mins
Gideon's team investigates a CIA counter-terrorism unit to identify a traitor who had a fellow agent murdered and who is trying to find and kill the unit's informant, a Saudi woman with two children who are in hiding.
Episode 22
The Fisher King Part 1
Wed, May 10, 2006 60 mins
Part 1 of two. A kidnapper brings the vacationing team members together by playing a frustrating game, giving them cryptic clues to lead them to a young woman (Amanda Bernero) being held captive. The kidnapper has also hacked into the team's personal files, posing a threat to Hotch's wife and child, who have to be relocated until the case is solved. Gerald Dupree: Aaron D. Spears. Diana Reid: Jane Lynch.
