CRIMINAL MINDS: LETS DISCUSS THE CHARACTER JASON GIDEON. ANY THOUGHTS?

Lets discuss Criminal Minds character Jason Gideon portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Any thoughts? :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: LETS DISCUSS THE CHARACTER DR. SPENCER REID. ANY THOUGHTS?

Lets discuss Criminal Minds character Dr. Spencer Reid portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler. Any thoughts? :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: LETS DISCUSS THE CHARACTER AARON HOTCHNER. ANY THOUGHTS?

Lets discuss Criminal Minds character Aaron Hotchner portrayed by Thomas Gibson. Any thoughts? :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: WOW! AM I STUPID.

When I first hit the internet trying to find things for this Criminal Minds blog I stumbled across a LJ of one of Kirsten's friends. His name is Eric and he had beautiful pictures of Kirsten as a bridesmaid at a friend's wedding which he graciously allowed me to use on the blog. This was many months ago but I remember looking at not only Kirsten's pictures but the pictures of everyone in the wedding. I remember thinking how beautiful and happy the bride looked and how original her dress was. Fast forward to my first day on the set when I met Gina Garcia Sharp and something in my head said you know this woman. Gina mentioned she was in a few scenes in the next day's shooting since she has the revolving part of Agent Sharp so I dismissed the voice in my head and assumed that this was why her face was so familar. Later that day I listened to Kirsten tell me how instrumental Gina was to Kirsten being Garcia on Criminal Minds. Fast forward some more to my returning home and Gina posting a comment on the blog and my deciding to research her for a possible blog post on minor role characters on Criminal Minds. I quickly found pictures of Gina and guess who the beautiful bride from all those months ago was? Talk about feeling stupid. I won the prize on this one. For more information on Gina Garcia Sharp please see her IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0752561/

And Gina: You were a beautiful bride. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: SHEMAR MOORE AT THE SOUL TRAIN AWARDS.

Shemar Moore, Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds, at the Soul Train Awards. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: FINAL TRIP NOTES

My trip to the set of Criminal Minds was wonderful and I wish I could share every detail with you. Once the next few episodes are aired I will be able to write more about the trip. After we escaped from Gideon's office we watched them shoot some more and then I walked around the studio taking some more pictures. I visited with Kris for a few more minutes which was very nice. Then it was time to head to the airport for the trip home. I met some very amazing people and I certainly had a once in a lifetime experience. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE GUEST STAR?

Who would you like to see guest star on Criminal Minds and why? :)

CRIMINAL MINDS "ASHES & DUST" PROMO:

Criminal Minds "Ashes & Dust" starring Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness and Paget Brewster airs Wednesday, March 21st on CBS. Thanks to roadtodream for posting this for us. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: WEEKEND CHAT INFORMATION

Just a few more days till our new episode of Criminal Minds. The Criminal Minds and Kirsten Vangsness Yahoo groups will hold their chats: Saturday, March 17th at 5pm est and Sunday, March 18th at 10pm est. Lets get pumped up for "Ashes and Dust" by discussing the show and our favorite cast: Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook. Have a great weekend everyone! :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: YOUR THOUGHTS

What are your thoughts about Criminal Minds? Who is your favorite character? What storylines would you like to see? Here is a place for you to tell whoever may be reading your thoughts and opinions. Have fun! :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: LETS TALK ABOUT THE WEBSITE.

Many times in chat the subject of the CBS Criminal Minds Website Page is brought up and highly criticized. Lets take some time and think of realistic ideas on how CBS could improve the Criminal Minds page. What do we want to see and what would make new viewers to the show excited to see on the site? :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: KIRSTEN VANGSNESS YAHOO GROUP CONTEST:

Since we never know when Kirsten Vangsness, Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds, is going to update her CBS blog I am throwing a little contest. The first person who sees the next update and is the first person to post about it in the Kirsten Vangsness Yahoo Fan Club will win an autographed picture of Kirsten. So keep your eyes on her blog and Good Luck to everyone.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/blog2.php?id=04

http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/kirstenvangsnessfanclub/?yguid=246454144

**Reminder: If you haven't already joined the Kirsten Fan Club then take a minute and do so now so you will be able to post when you see the update. Only members can post**

CRIMINAL MINDS: MEETING MANDY...AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Criminal Minds Diary, Day Two: I would not even want to guess how many people had told Mandy Patinkin that I wanted to meet him before leaving LA. As I told you in a previous update the scene they were rehearsing and filming that morning for "Honor Among Theives" was a very long scene. I watched as they did it over and over again. I also watched my watch because my time was running down on the set and it was going to have to happen soon. As I told you before, the scene ends with Gideon and Reid opening the conference door and walking quickly down the hall. Gideon enters his office and Reid continues on down the hall. I had all the things I wanted Mandy to sign in my hands so that I would be ready at a moment's notice but my three cameras were still in my purse.

After the fourth or fifth take Mandy motioned for me and "A" to come upstairs to Gideon's office and from his hand gestures I knew he meant to do it quickly. We entered the office and I spoke with Mandy for a few minutes while he signed the stack of pictures and scripts that I wanted signed. He told me a really cute internet story from years ago when the internet was just coming into its prime and how some of his concert fans had really jumped on it and had formed a fan club. It is a long story for another day but it was very darling. I did not have my camera with me at the time so we just talked until he had to leave to go shoot that same long scene again. Mandy reached the conference room set before "A" and I could leave Gideon's office and then we heard it......."Action". When the Director says action you do not speak and you do not move but the problem was we were stuck in Gideon's office and we knew from watching previous takes of this scene that the camera doesn't stop shooting until he is seen going into his office.....and we were in there. I asked "A" what the hell we should do and she said we should stay out of sight. The best that I can remember I tried to hide in the chair that was away from the door and she stood in front of the bookcase against a wall. When Mandy walked into Gideon's office he was more than surprised to see us there but we all did laugh when he realized we had gotten stuck in there. "A", God bless her heart, asked Mandy if she could please go downstairs and get my camera so I could have some pictures of him and I together and he of course said yes. I did get the chance to finish telling Mandy the things I had always planned on telling him and I did get pictures which I will always cherish. When I mentioned how hard it is to get tickets for some of his concerts he gave me the name of someone to call if I ever have a problem. Mandy is an intense person. Not in a bad way. When he is filming he is in character and I know we interupted his concentration that day. When we were done and he went back to the conference room to continue filming we made sure to get the heck out of Gideon's office asap. We went back to watching the filming.

I am very grateful that I was able to meet Mandy. Many people had to do many things to make that happen for me and I appreciate them all. There is still more to my adventure but I will save it for another post. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: ONE WEEK UNTIL "ASHES & DUST"

The above pictures of Criminal Minds episode "Ashes and Dust" are copyrighted by Cliff Lipson/CBS and reproduced on this blog with their expressed permission.

Criminal Minds: "Ashes and Dust" airs on Wednesday March 21st. Starring: Mandy Patinkin, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook. Written by: Andrew Wilder and Directed by: John Gallagher. Guest starring: Nicole Smolen, Sean O'Bryan, Sean Peavy, Adrian Johnson, Virginia Morris, Angelo Custino, Christina Carlisi, Tom Schanley, Tom Dunlievy, Mercedes Colón, Anthony Ruivivar, Karen Lew, Jordan Garrett and John Nielsen. A serial arsonist who targets the homes of upper-middle-class families as they sleep is investigated. The BAU determines the arson victims are linked together through corporate development companies that have been accused of building on contaminated land. Episode information courtesy of cbs.com

CRIMINAL MINDS: MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER & HIS TRADEMARK HABIT.

Matthew Gray Gubler, Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds, and his famous habit of wearing mismatched socks are well known. I took a few pictures of Matthew on my second day on the set but didn't notice he was wearing mismatched socks until I downloaded the pictures when I got home. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: NIELSEN RATINGS FOR WEEK ENDING MARCH 11th.

Nielsen ratings for the week ending March 11
1. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
2. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
3. American Idol - Thurs (FOX)
4. House (FOX)
5. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (FOX)
6. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
7. Without A Trace (CBS)
8. CSI (CBS)
9. Cold Case (CBS)
10. Heroes (NBC)
11. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
12. CSI: Miami (CBS)
13. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
14. Survivor (CBS)
15. Criminal Minds (CBS)
16. 24 (FOX)
17. Deal Or No Deal (NBC)
18. Rules of Engagement (CBS)
19. Lost (ABC)
20. NCIS (CBS)

CRIMINAL MINDS YAHOO CHAT INFO:

Lets get together and chat about Criminal Minds "Lessons Learned" starring Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, Mandy Patinkin, Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness on Wednesday, March 14th at 10pm est. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: AN EXAMPLE OF CUT SCENES

I had several copies of this Criminal Minds cap printed prior to my trip so I could ask Kirsten Vangsness and Shemar Moore to sign them. Even though this scene was cut and never made it past the promo stage I like the cap. Not because I want to see Morgan and Garcia date but because I think it shows the close friendship these two characters have with each other. Their onscreen phone calls are some of the best moments on the show. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: SOME THOUGHTS

Linn posted a comment asking if I hid some notes around the Gideon office on the Criminal Minds set and it made me think about some of things that happened during my visit that I wanted to share. "A" told me many do's and don'ts prior to arriving on the set on day one and I tried very hard to make sure I followed the rules to the letter. I made some innocent mistakes along the way but all in all I think I did alright. One rule is do not touch anything. When I was in the storage area taking pictures of Garcia's desk I picked up the garbage can sitting on the desk and placed it on the floor. It never occured to me that this was wrong but it was and thankfully one of the props staff assured me that it was okay and not to worry about it. I was told to always stay out of an actor's line of sight when they are shooting. I have no idea if I did this well because I am still not clear on what it means or what to do about it when you are packed like sardines in the hall while they are shooting infront of you. There is no way to move so what do you do to accomplish that? No idea but I wasn't thrown off the set so I guess I did alright. Many people are asking about the set layouts and it is a great question. The main BAU set with the desks and the stairs leading to the offices, the offices and conference room are main sets and the areas in the studio around those sets are where everything else is filmed within the studio. Someone else emailed and asked if I had any regrets and the answer to that is yes. I have things I did not see that I would have liked to because I forgot to ask. I would have liked more time to speak with Mr. Bernero but he is a very busy man. I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish while I was there and half of it is still not accomplished. I still wonder if I adequately thanked all the crew for everything they do week after week. So yes there are lots of things I would do differently. Early on day one I watched while a visitor being hosted by Touchstone received a whole bag of Criminal Minds promotional giveaways and I remember thinking how great it would be to give those items to members of the Yahoo group I run but since CBS had already done so much for me I never asked even though I know it would have happened had I asked. Later when I was back home and another fan and I spoke I felt even more guilty about letting you down because these are very generous people and the fault was mine. I think that is enough of my notes for now. I still have my meeting with Mandy, MGG wearing his mismatched socks, getting stuck in Gideon's office and more to post so I will shut up now. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS FILMING OF "HONOR AMONG THIEVES"

Criminal Minds Trip Diary, Day Two: Thomas Gibson finished signing autographs for the members of my Yahoo Group and shooting for "Honor Among Thieves" had started. The first scene they were shooting was a very long scene. I can't give anything away about the episode but I need to tell you a few things so you will understand what happened to me later that morning. The scene in question is very long and it ends with Gideon and Reid opening the conference room door and quickly walking down the hall where Gideon goes into his office and Reid continues down the hall. What you also might want to keep in mind is that Mandy Patinkin can run faster than me and that when I say they shoot the same scene over and over I am really serious and......if you are a fan of the show getting stuck in Gideon's office is probably not a bad thing unless you forgot to carry your camera. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: "LESSONS LEARNED" INFO:

Criminal Minds: "Lessons Learned" on Wednesday, March 14, 9pm et/pt starring Mandy Patinkin, Shemar Moore, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, Paget Brewster, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook. Written by Jim Clemente and Produced by Guy Norman Bee. The Behavioral Analysis Unit has only 48 hours to determine whether or not a terrorist sleeper cell will strike within the U.S. and where. Episode info courtesy of cbs.com

CRIMINAL MINDS: DAY TWO CONTINUES

Criminal Minds Day Two: After talking with Aaron Zelman I decided I needed some coffee and we headed down to Craft Services. Thomas Gibson was walking out while I was walking in and he pointed to me and said that as soon as he was done in wardrobe he would be all mine. *He meant to sign the rest of the photos I had with me*. I love playing with all my friends who are Thomas/Hotchner lovers so here is your fangirl moment...Thomas was wearing his street clothes and he was gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. Ok the moment is over because he walked one way while I walked the other way. Kris was in the room so I talked with him and we took some pictures of us together and then I grabbed some coffee and headed back to the BAU set to see what was happening. I also made sure to ask about a dozen people if Mandy was indeed in the building. Walking onto the set I first saw Matthew Gray Gubler kicking back so I took some pictures of him and then I saw the guest star for "Honor Among Theives". I was asked to wait a while to announce who it is but here are her initials: KJ. Gina Garcia Sharp was there since she was in the first scene. There was also a very cute young lady dressed in pjs and a fuzzy bathrobe. I had already read the script and was holding the single scene booklet and for the life of me I could not figure out how a woman in a bathrobe was involved. It turned out she was one of the costume designers and she likes to dress to match her mood. Very cute. The majority of the cast was still in makeup so there were stand ins working the scene so lighting could start setting up. My day was going great but soon it was going to get better and very weird because soon I was going to meet Mandy and get stuck on the set. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: AARON ZELMAN & THE SPECIAL WALL

Criminal Minds: We are all looking forward to "Ashes & Dust" which airs on March 21st. My first day was the last day of shooting that episode. My second day on the set was the start of shooting for "Honor Among Theives" written by Aaron Zelman, pictured above who was also the Co-Executive Producer of the episode, and directed by Jesus Trevino. I read this script and it is brilliant. I know it will change a lot during the shooting but Aaron wrote an incredible episode which is no surprise since he has written some of the very best episodes of the series to date: "Poison", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Machismo" and "Psychodrama". Please trust me when I say that "Honor Among Theives" is even better. I think it is his best yet and meeting him was an honor. I had spoken a few words with him the day before but I had spent the night reading his script and it was a treat for me to gush just a bit about it to him. He is so down to earth and sweet. I remember wanting to run upstairs and thank Ed Bernero for assembling such an outstanding writing staff. In case you are wondering....I didn't....but I should have! :)

CRIMINAL MINDS TRIP: THANK YOU AGAIN SCOTT & GINA

The tone for my second day on the Criminal Minds set was sealed in smiles the minute I spotted Kris on the set. My sincerest thanks again to Scott David and Gina Garcia Sharp (who was kind enough to post a comment today) for helping our "adopted star in training" Kris get the last voucher he needed for his SAG card. As luck would turn out they needed him the next day as well so he spent two days working on the set. I visited with Kris many times before I left the set and I will post more pictures of him later in this diary. My second day was off to a good start. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: CAST & CREW BECOME PROPS.

Pictured above is Barry Hatchett, one of the great Set Decorators for Criminal Minds. The wall of pictures we see in many scenes on the show are pictures of the writers and crew of the show. Barry was happy to pose in front of his picture. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: I WENT TO BED THINKING ABOUT THOMAS GIBSON

The above picture of Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner on Criminal Minds is copyrighted by CBS and reproduced on this blog with their expressed permission.

Criminal Minds: When I left the set on day one I was very tired and as I went to bed I was thinking about how tired Thomas Gibson must have been at that same time. He had a very long day on the set and he had told me earilier in the day that he was tired and here I was at my hotel laying down and he was still at the studio shooting. Amazing to me how hard these actors work. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: TALKING WITH ANDREW WILDER

Criminal Minds: Day One Ending: I was very tired by this point in the day. Everyone was tired. While "A" stood in the hallway I stepped into a very small room and sat in the first chair I saw behind the Director and the Script Supervisor. Andrew Wilder, the writer of "Ashes and Dust" came in to sit and watch and I offered him what turned out to be his chair back but instead someone else got up and gave him their chair. I loved talking with Andrew. It was late in the day and he was asking me this and that about what the fans are talking about. Since there was almost nobody in the room and we were whispering anyway I decided to go for it and I asked him every question I have ever had since the show started. We had a great conversation basically matching each other question for question. Looking back on it our conversation was probably the highlight of my whole trip. I shared with him some of my observations about my day and some of the things I had heard and suspected. For about half a minute he tried what Mr. Carroll had tried earlier in the day...he tried to unspoil me. I told him I was more spoiled than cheese in a hot car and that I wasn't stupid and having people all over the building asking me the same exact questions independently of each other certainly had told me everything I wanted to know. I also told him at this point I obviously could be trusted and I can. At this point the real conversation started. It is very clear that Andrew is passionate about the show and especially about the cast. He has written four of our finest episodes to date and he talked to me about his motivation when he wrote them. I told him some things that I would like to see on the show and he explained to me why I would never get those things. The entire time the cameras were rolling and we would stop chatting to watch the different shots they were taking. Next to the Director sits a woman who I had not paid any attention to all day. Because we were in such a tiny space I really was taking notice of how busy she was. She sits there and writes feverishly and her book has literally tons of stickies hanging throughout it. They filmed the same one snippet six times and each time Thomas Gibson said his opening line she would turn to the few of us in the room for clarification of how he was pronouncing one specific location name. The Producer asked for something to be done to one of the cameras and since we had a few minutes I finally asked her what exactly was her job. She is in charge of script continuity. She notes which shots the Producer liked the best, wording problems, basically she is the walking diary of every single shot taken everyday. I would not want her job because it is very hard. She asked me a few questions about the blog and I mentioned that we do discuss continuity and actually my friend Stacy has some concerns. A look of relief came across her face when I told her it concerned Hotchner's backstory and she was very quick to tell me that that is the writers and not her. Andrew asked what the problem was and even asked John E. Gallagher, the Director of "Ashes and Dust" to listen to what I had to say. I explained to them that Stacy had basically charted the dates out and they had really made a big mess. Both of them said that they would take a look at it and see if they could find ways of working fixing it into future episodes. They also were going to share the info with the other writers. Do I believe them? Yes I do. These people are so invested in this show and they are so professional. Nobody wants the show to be great more than they do. Our cast is great but the writers and producers of this show are the very soul of Criminal Minds. Tomorrow I was going to get to have some time with Aaron Zelman but closing my first day talking with Andrew was great. They were still shooting when "A" and I decided to leave. My first day on the set of Criminal Minds was wonderful. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: QUOTES & SONGS.

Criminal Minds: "The Riddle" by Five for Fighting featured in "The Fisher King, Part Two". Thanks to seahershey80 for posting this for us.

I had the opportunity to sit next to and talk with one of the brilliant writers of Criminal Minds, Andrew Wilder for a long time before my first day ended. One of the first questions I asked him was who picks the songs and quotes used because I love them so much. He was smiling when he told me that the writers make those choices. He said that the songs are easier to pick then the quotes. Of course I couldn't stop myself from asking where they found the quotes. God Bless Google is all I have to say. More on Andrew later and then we move on to Day Two. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS YAHOO GROUP CHAT INFO:

The Criminal Minds Yahoo Group chat for today, Sunday March 11th, will be at 9pm est. I love this picture of Matthew Gray Gubler kicked back in the chair. :)

CRIMINAL MINDS: WHY IS SHEMAR STILL IN THE STUDIO?

Hours earlier in Craft Services Shemar Moore, Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds, told us that he only had one more scene to shoot and then he was going to his new house to start unpacking boxes. He told us all about a wonderful husband and wife painting team that were finishing up painting the house and that he was looking forward to going home to start decorating his walls. That was four or five hours earlier and he was still shooting. I asked Andrew Wilder, the writer of "Ashes and Dust" why Shemar was still there and he explained that when shooting is running behind and one of the actors has to leave for a prior commitment then the other actors have to fill in. Matthew and A.J. had already left the studio earlier in the day so Shemar was worked into the scenes since Mandy had to leave. He explained that this type of thing is not uncommon because all the members of the cast have outside commitments now and again. When we see the scenes they shot that afternoon we will not even notice that some of our cast wasn't there for this particular shooting thanks to the wonderful post production editing talent the show employs. This all relates back to what I said in an earlier post about things changing all the time with a script or why some spoilers never hit the screen. What I knew at that time was that I was getting tired, "A" looked like she was getting tired and the shooting was still at a rapid pace. :)