CRIMINAL MINDS AP ARTICLE

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
‘Criminal Minds’ gets Super boost

By Bridget Byrne THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONG BEACH, Calif.— The team from “Criminal Minds” is attempting to build a profile of an unknown suspect who must be stopped before he commits more heinous crimes.

Gathered around a desk, the elite FBI squad’s brains buzz and leap, their words flowing with clever ideas as they watch Web video and listen to a 911 call.

“We may be asking the wrong question,” interjects team leader Jason Gideon, cutting into the combined thought processes of agents Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Jennifer “JJ” Jareau.

The disparate team, headed by Mandy Patinkin’s Gideon, a brilliant behaviorist, also includes computer whiz and fashion freak Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness). Her appeal, coupled with the public’s fascination with murder, mayhem and serial killers, has made the CBS series a smash hit in its second season.

The show’s regular time slot is Wednesdays at 9 p.m. But the network is giving the series an added push, airing an episode titled “The Big Game” in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot on Sunday.

“It’s completely shocking, because I had no idea anyone was considering us (for the slot). It’s the most incredible opportunity I’ve ever had. I’m also a Chicago Bears fan, so it may be the greatest single day of my life,” enthuses executive producer Ed Bernero.

Although most of the cast registers some degree of excitement about the high-profile air date, Bernero stresses the special episode won’t differ too much from the norm.

He defines that norm as “telling stories that are Arthurian in nature. ... We have someone in distress, a team meets at a round table, is called to adventure, and goes out to battle monsters.”

The monster on this episode appears to be someone who is streaming viral video of a ghastly crime. James Van Der Beek (once Dawson Leery of “Dawson’s Creek”) is the guest villain. Or so it appears.

“Criminal Minds” is very clever with its multiple themes and plot twists, so he could turn out to be not at all what he seems, or even just a red herring in the story line about the murder of a wealthy couple after a Super Bowl party.

For a series that often deals in gruesome gore, there’s considerable levity on the set.

Shermar Moore, the ensemble’s glamor guy who portrays Morgan, finds plenty of time to do his flirtatious thing as the ensemble teases each other through the numerous takes needed when pre-produced video and computer imagery are woven into a scene.