Trouble inside Criminal Minds’ BAU? – Guest Clack

Aryeh S. is back guest clacking for us again this week ….

I’ve never watched a single episode of any incarnation of CSI. But clearly, the show works on numerous levels; its success as a franchise speaks volumes about the ability of its creators to apply a tried and true formula to multiple cities, with multiple casts.

But not all smash hits a franchise does make. Case in point: Criminal Minds. No, I haven’t heard rumors of a spin-off in the works. But the show has taken some casting hits, and the results have been a little rocky for a show that relies on its luminous cast to shine.

Aaron Hotchner, played brilliantly by Thomas Gibson (I still can’t believe he’s from Dharma & Greg), is exactly what you want in a Behavioral Analysis Unit Chief. He’s smart, decisive, and not afraid to storm ahead into an armed situation. But allow me the opportunity to indulge a question that has nagged at me for awhile now, one that my wife won’t let me ask her anymore: who’s the real head of the team these days?

Granted, Hotch’s position was made apparent in a number of last season’s episodes. But for two years, the amazing Jason Gideon, played by the even more amazing Mandy Patinkin, effectively led our group of agents into battle. The show made a half-hearted attempt to explain to us that, while Gideon was the most senior agent on the team, some long-forgotten fatal mistake had left him unfit for the top slot. But we all knew who was really in charge at Quantico.

Now don’t get me wrong; Hotch is awesome. In fact, I wish he were given a larger role on the show, because no one restates the obvious (okay, maybe he’s tied with Reid) better than Hotch does. My problem is with Gideon’s replacement, David Rossi.

First of all, can someone who’s better known for his Fat Tony on the Simpsons even play a good guy? Joe Mantegna’s a great actor, but Rossi’s been-there-done-that attitude is tiring. And the presumption that he can assume Gideon’s grandfatherly role on the team? Step up Hotch! These are your Supervisory Special Agents, so tell the old man to back off!

Besides, Rossi will never be Gideon. Go back to the first two seasons of Criminal Minds; can’t you almost hear Mandy Patinkin calling Reid “Peanut?” (If you don’t get the Dead Like Me reference, you should be ashamed.)

The question at hand is who runs the BAU. And the answer is: Hotch; shoot Fat Tony in the knee, let him know who’s boss, and take your team back. We’ll all feel better about it.

And speaking of take your team back, I don’t care how real A.J. Cook’s pregnancy was; JJ’s due back at her desk ASAP. Her replacement, Jordan Todd (played by Meta Golding), seems just as unfit for the role as Paget Brewster is stiff as an actress. I was no fan of Lola Glaudini’s Elle, and shed no tears when she left, so if I’m calling her tenure the good old days….

No complaints from me about Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) or Morgan (my wife says thanks for casting a head-shaved Shemar Moore). And Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) is my favorite character on the show, hands down. He’s evolved from the most awkward of TV nerds into … well, he’s my favorite. I hated his drug-addict arc, but no TV character’s perfect, right? Anyway, he makes up for it by being a “Dr.” with a gun (is he even technically an agent?).

The bottom line is that the core of this show has always been the team. While some of the defections, both temporary and permanent, have not been of the network’s choosing, it’s still up to them (or the show runners) to fill those slots. All I ask is that they do a better job. This is no CSI assembly-line … this is the BAU.

Clacked by Keith McDuffee
on Dec 28, 2008 @ 12:07 EST5EDT