CRIMINAL MINDS: AN EPISODE WORTH WAITING FOR!

Criminal Minds: There's no better way to start the New Year than with a Criminal Minds episode written by Debra J. Fisher and Erica Messer and directed by John Gallagher. The Gruesome Twosome plus John G. = The Fab Threesome! I'm really looking forward to this episode. Love the show but tired of reruns and our ladies never disappoint!

"Soul Mates" - The BAU team suspects a member of an affluent community in Atlanta is responsible for the disappearance of a local young woman and that the suspect may have worked with an accomplice, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Michael Boatman ("Spin City") guest stars.

GUEST CAST:
Jordan Todd............................... Meta Golding
William Harris......................... Michael Boatman
Andrea Harris................................ Dana Davis
Sharon Harris......................... Valarie Pettiford
Det. Linden................................. Steve Rankin
Stephen Baleman......................... George Newbern
Lisa ....................................... Casey Weiant
Holly....................................... Hayley Holmes
Worried Father............................. Jim Gleason
Connie Mayers.............................. Tay Blessey
Bailiff.................................... Desmon Heck
Young Girl #1............................... Julia Max
Young Girl #2.......................... TaiVon McKinney
Young Man................................. Hector Bucio
Annie Baleman.............................. Kate Martin
Kim Groves........................... Tunisia Hardison

WRITTEN BY: Debra J. Fisher and Erica Messer

DIRECTED BY: John Gallagher

CRIMINAL MINDS: ED BERNERO INTERVIEW

Criminal Minds' executive producer Edward Allen Bernero offers his opinion on what makes his show a success and details what he looks for when he's hiring a staff writer. A very interesting interview!

ED BERNERO'S NEW YEAR'S GREETING:

2009. When Criminal Minds started, there weren’t a whole lot of people that would have bet we’d be ringing in 2009 at all, much less comfortably in the top ten. But here we are, bustling along, still getting the opportunity to make a show with a family we all love.

And we only get to do it because of the fans and, more specifically, our amazing “Fanatics”, who support us week in and week out. Always know that we immensely appreciate every one of you and your amazing support of the staff, cast and crew.

We all read the blog and the updates and sometimes it’s a topic of conversation the next day on set (for example, the beauty shot of Andre, our effects guy, got a lot of mileage since he’s nowhere near that pretty in real life!).

One of the greatest (and most unexpected way back in 2004 when we were just starting out) aspects of my Criminal Minds experience has been the chance to get to know the people that watch the show. Thanks for being you.

I’d like to wish all of you an amazing New Year with loads of love and happiness. And always remember: Dream big and then GO FOR IT!

Much love and respect –

Ed

Criminal Minds calendar courtesy of Sindee in Germany!

CRIMINAL MINDS NEW YEAR'S EVE BLOG NOTES

Criminal Minds fans have a lot to be grateful for this year. Ed Bernero and our wonderful writing team hit the ground running when the WGA strike ended and we were one of the first fandoms to have new episodes! The fourth season of Criminal Minds has been terrific and well received by fans and Nielsen families! A.J. Cook, Rachel Dworkin and others gave birth to healthy babies this year which expanded our Criminal Minds family. The Criminal Minds chat room has been abuzz with wonderful chats with our writers, actors, guest stars and directors. Thank you to Ed Bernero for making that possible!

On New Year's day, the moderators of the Criminal Minds Fanatic website are launching the new site! I have purposely not looked at it. I want to be surprised along with you. Thank you to all of them for their hard work and dedication. I hope everyone enjoys the fruit of their hard work.

The Criminal Minds convention moderators will be traveling to LA the last week in Feb. to pick and secure the hotel for the convention. Thank you to that committee for everything from securing the convention planner to answering emails from interested Criminal Minds fans. We'll have a firm date for all of you during the first week of March, along with registration info. At that time we will also have further info on those CM folks that will be participating.

I have been asked by a well read entertainment website to help find them an IT person. If you have IT experience and are interested, please email me. (Not you Bri!! You're ours). This website is well respected and one of the few I normally read. Their site will require quite a bit of work upfront but there is a chance of compensation down the road.

I wish all of you a very healthy and happy New Year!!

CRIMINAL MINDS QUOTES FOR "TABULA RASA"

Criminal Minds quotes for "Tabula Rasa" written by Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Paget Brewster, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook are:

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. We must die to one life before we can enter another." -- Anatole France

"What though the radiance that was once so bright, be now forever taken from my sight. Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind." -- William Wordsworth

The last one is not really a quote, it's a passage from his poem, Ode to Intimations of Immortality.

CRIMINAL MINDS: SLEEPING BEAUTY

On CBS' Criminal Minds, actor Matthew Gray Gubler portrays Dr. Spencer Reid, a genius FBI profiler who has been plagued by violent nightmares. "He's haunted by the faces of victims and young children, people that he wasn't able to save. ... He sees terrible things on a daily basis," says the actor, whose character's harrowing journey grew even more sadistic two seasons ago after he was kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer, played by a former Dawson's Creek cast member, no less! It's enough to send anyone off the deep end, and Gubler's alter ego is no exception. He's struggled to overcome his issues through varying means, from the conventional (therapy, introspection) to the, well, not (drug addiction, sulking). And while it's a long road back, Dr. Reid has attempted to put his personal demons to rest so he can continue slaying the real ones......

http://www.cbswatchmagazine.com/Travel/sleeping-beauty.php

CRIMINAL MINDS HAD A GREAT YEAR!!

Criminal Minds earned a spot in Newsday's Top 10 TV shows of 2008 based on the cumulative Nielsen ratings for the 2008-09 season. Congrats to the cast, writers and crew of Criminal Minds! You all rock hard!

Timeslot: Wednesday, 9 p.m.
Rating/Share: 10.2 / 16
Audience: 11,671,000
Total viewers: 16,302,000

www.newsday.com

CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE TABULA RASA

Criminal Minds: "Tabula Rasa" written by: Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin. Criminal Minds starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness. Re-airs on December 31st at 9pm est.

"Tabula Rasa" - The team uses brain fingerprinting to see if a suspected serial killer who wakes up after four years in a coma really doesn't remember any of the crimes he supposedly committed.

CANADA LOVES CRIMINAL MINDS!

Criminal Minds is loved in Canada! Here are the top 10 television programs in Canada, with viewer numbers, for the week of Dec. 15-21:

1 "Criminal Minds" (CTV, Wednesday) - 2,103,000
2 "C.S.I. New York" (CTV, Wednesday) - 2,076,000
3 "C.S.I. Miami" (CTV, Wednesday) - 1,775,000
4 "C.S.I." (CTV, Thursday) - 1,507,000
5 "Without A Trace" (CTV, Tuesday) - 1,372,000
6 "CTV Evening News" (CTV, Monday-Friday) - 1,351,000
7 "Sunday Evening Movie" (CBC, Sunday) - 1,313,000
8 "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (CBC, Monday) - 1,258,000
9 "House" (Global, Tuesday) - 1,184,000
10 "Hockey Night in Canada" - (CBC, Saturday) - 1,163,000

Source: BBM Nielsen Media Research

CRIMINAL MINDS: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Criminal Minds: Happy Holidays to my Criminal Minds friends, Edward Allen Bernero, the writers, directors, cast and the fantastic crew of Criminal Minds! Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and/or Happy Thursday! :)

JOE MANTEGNA & THE LATE LATE SHOW

Criminal Minds: Joe Mantegna, David Rossi on Criminal Minds, pictured above with fellow actors Patrick Pedraja and Tucker Albrizzi, during the taping of their segment of "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" at the Taste of Chicago restaurant.

What a wonderful addition Joe Mantegna has been to the cast of Criminal Minds. We were very lucky he joined the show!

CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE CHAT ~ "THE CROSSING"

Criminal Minds: The Criminal Minds Conversation Yahoo group and the Criminal Minds Fanatic website will be hosting a chat on Sunday at 4pm est to discuss "The Crossing" written by Erica Messer and Debra J. Fisher (pictured above with Criminal Minds guest stars Jeffrey Pierce and Bonnie Root).

CRIMINAL MINDS SCORES WITH "NORMAL"

Criminal Minds ratings info for the week ending December 21, 2008. "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder kept us in the Nielsen top ten! Great job Criminal Minds!

1. "NCIS," CBS, 19.9 million
2. "The Mentalist, CBS, 19.3 million
3. NBC Sunday Night Football, 18.9 million
4. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 17.9 million
5. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 15.2 million
6. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 14.6 million
7. "Without a Trace," CBS, 14.5 million
8. "CSI: NY," 13.4 million
9. "60 Minutes," CBS, 13.1 million
10. "CSI," CBS, 12.7 million

CRIMINAL MINDS: FILMING "THE CROSSING"

Criminal Minds: Photos from the filming of the Criminal Minds episode "The Crossing" written by Debra J. Fisher and Erica Messer. Directed by Guy Norman Bee. Featuring Jed, who is half St. Bernard and half Lab. His "character" was named Brodie after Deb Fisher's dog. Criminal Minds magic brought to us by Edward Allen Bernero. Starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

CRIMINAL MINDS PROMO FOR "THE CROSSING"

"The Crossing" - Morgan, Prentiss, Reid and J.J. attempt to stop a stalker before he gets close to the woman who is the object of his affection. Meanwhile, Hotch and Rossi consult on a murder case to determine if a wife who killed her husband can claim battered-woman syndrome, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, December 24th (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) Writer: Debra J. Fisher, Erica Messer. Director: Guy Norman Bee.

Starring: Thomas Gibson (Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner), Matthew Gray Gubler (SSA Dr. Spencer Reid), Paget Brewster (SSA Emily Prentiss), A.J. Cook (SSA Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau), Joe Mantegna (Senior SSA David Rossi), Kirsten Vangsness (Analyst Penelope Garcia), Shemar Moore (SSA Derek Morgan)

CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE SCHEDULE:

Criminal Minds episode schedule for the rest of Dec and the first part of Jan. The repeats are great episodes of Criminal Minds. This is a good schedule!

12/24/08 - Wednesday - "The Crossing" (CBS)
12/26/08 - Friday - "The Last Word" (A&E)
12/17/08 - Saturday - "The Last Word" (A&E)
12/31/08 - Wednesday - "Tabula Rasa" (CBS)
1/14/09 - Wednesday - "Soul Mates" (CBS)
1/28/09 - Wednesday - "Lo-Fi" (CBS)

CRIMINAL MINDS RATINGS FOR CANADA

Criminal Minds is still bringing in wonderful ratings in Canada!

TORONTO - Here are the top 10 television programs in Canada, with viewer numbers, for the week of Dec. 8-14:
1 "C.S.I." (CTV, Thursday) - 2,891,000
2 "House" (Global, Tuesday) - 2,242,000
3 "C.S.I. New York" (CTV, Wednesday) - 2,137,000
4 "Criminal Minds" (CTV, Wednesday) - 1,894,000
5 "Survivor: Gabon" (Global, Thursday/Sunday) - 1,855,000
6 "C.S.I. Miami" (CTV, Monday) - 1,652,000
7 "Law and Order: SVU" (CTV, Tuesday) - 1,610,000
8 "Survivor: Gabon - Reunion" (Global, Sunday) - 1,557,000
9 "ER" (CTV, Thursday) - 1,489,000
10 "CTV Evening News" (CTV, Monday-Friday) - 1,362,000

Source: BBM Nielsen Media Research

CRIMINAL MINDS CLIPS FROM "NORMAL" **SPOILER**

Criminal Minds videos from "Normal" courtesy of CBS.

"Normal" -- Agents investigate a serial killer dubbed "The Road Warrior", a suspect who kills luxury car owners while they are driving on freeways in Southern California written by Andrew Wilder, directed by Steve Boyum and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

CRIMINAL MINDS SCREENCAPS FOR "NORMAL"

Criminal Minds screencaps for "Normal" are courtesy of Keren. "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

CRIMINAL MINDS: HANGING UP HER RUNNING SHOES

Criminal Minds: Kimberly Harrison, Exec. Asst to Criminal Minds Executive Producer Ed Bernero, is hanging up her running shoes after completing the Aids Marathon. Great work Kim! Here is a note to all of you from Kim.

Hello all,

This past Sunday, December 14th I completed the Honolulu Marathon in a little over 7 hours. Overall I raised over $8,000 + and with Aids Marathon Los Angeles we raised over a million dollars!!! I'd like to thank each one of you for donating to such a great cause. As you all know this was my first marathon and I'm pleased to announce that I'm retiring from marathons. :) Again, thank you for the support!

Best,
Kim Harrison

CRIMINAL MINDS OVERNIGHT RATINGS INFO FOR "NORMAL"

Criminal Minds once again blew away the competition and helped CBS to an easy win in the Nielsen ratings. "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness and guest starring Meta Golding owned the night!!!

"Criminal Minds" was the night's most-watched show, pulling in 15 million to see "Murphy Brown" alumna Faith Ford in an unusual role. At 9, ABC's "Private Practice" was a distant second with 6.7 million viewers. NBC's "Life" was third with 5.2 million.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2008/12/cbs-rolls-to-we.html

CRIMINAL MINDS WRITER ANDREW WILDER CHAT INFO:

Criminal Minds writer Andrew Wilder will be joining us in the Criminal Minds chat room to discuss his episode "Normal" on December 17th at 10pm est. I've received several emails asking me if it is alright to ask AW questions about his previous episodes and that is perfectly fine.

The password for the chat room will be changed on Monday morning. Please email Laura or Debbie at cmfchat@gmail.com for the password.

CRIMINAL MINDS RATINGS FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 14, 2009

Criminal Minds ratings for the week ending December 14th. Criminal Minds remains a top ten hit!

CRIMINAL MINDS GUEST STAR FAITH FORD

Criminal Minds: Faith Ford will be guest starring in "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder and set to air on December 17th. I'm enclosing a spoiler concerning Faith's character in the comment section. This sounds like a wonderful Criminal Minds episode!

CRIMINAL MINDS: "NORMAL" WRITTEN BY ANDREW WILDER!

Adam Taylor/ABC Studios ©2008 ABC Studios Television

"Normal" -- Agents Hotchner (Thomas Gibson, left) and Rossi (Joe Mantegna, right) investigate a serial killer dubbed "The Road Warrior", a suspect who kills luxury car owners while they are driving on freeways in Southern California, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, December 17 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Written by Andrew Wilder, directed by Steve Boyum and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

Guest starring Faith Ford, Danni Nucci and Mitch Pileggi!

CRIMINAL MINDS PROMO FOR "NORMAL" WRITTEN BY ANDREW WILDER

Criminal Minds promo for "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder. "Normal" -- Agents investigate a serial killer dubbed "The Road Warrior", a suspect who kills luxury car owners while they are driving on freeways in Southern California, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, December 17 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Written by Andrew Wilder, directed by Steve Boyum and starring Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, Matthew Gray Gubler and Kirsten Vangsness.

Guest starring Faith Ford, Danni Nucci and Mitch Pileggi!

CRIMINAL MINDS: "NORMAL" GUEST STAR ELAINE HENDRIX

Criminal Minds: Elaine Hendrix is guest starring in "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder. She recently gave an interview about her experiences on the set of Criminal Minds.

"The episode is called 'Normal,' and it's anything but."

Hendrix says she had a wonderful time working on the series even though it was only for one episode.

"People were very nice and professional," she says. "My scenes were mainly with Mitch and then Paget (Brewster) and Thomas (Gibson)."

"Minds" also allowed Hendrix to be reunited with her former "Joan of Arcadia" co-star Joe Mantegna, though they had no scenes together.

To read the rest of the article which includes some light spoilers:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/01/or-native-nabs-criminal-work/

CRIMINAL MINDS: MITCH PILEGGI GUEST STARS IN "NORMAL"

Criminal Minds: Mitch Pileggi is one of our guest stars in "Normal" written by Andrew Wilder. "Normal" airs on December 17th. Andrew Wilder will be joining us in the Criminal Minds chat room after the episode airs on the east coast.

BE: Last question: is there one TV guest spot that you’re most proud of?

MP: (Considers the question) That’s a tough question, because I can’t think of everything that I’ve done. Um…I couldn’t even answer that. But I’m getting ready to do a character on “Criminal Minds” that’s really interesting. The guy’s a real mess. He’s a character who’s kind of like Michael Douglas in “Falling Down.” I’m just starting to shoot it tomorrow, actually. But I’ve really got to prepare myself for that, because it’s gonna be a tough one…but it’s gonna be fun.

http://www.premiumhollywood.com/2008/10/01/a-chat-with-mitch-pileggi/

CRIMINAL MINDS: A NOTE FROM KIM HARRISON

Criminal Minds: Kim Harrison is now in Hawaii getting ready to run in the Aids Marathon. She sent this note for the Criminal Minds Fanatics. What our Criminal Minds runner didn't mention in her email to all of you is that she broke her arm this past week. I think Kim is absolutely amazing to power through like she is doing! Please remember that the Aids Foundation is an important organization and worthy of contributions even now that the marathon fundraising is over!

Hey CM Fanatics,

I finally made it to Hawaii!!! It's been raining all day but I'm pumped for the race tomorrow. We had a AIDS Marathon pep rally a few minutes ago which only reminded me about how amazing this marathon is going to be. Rain or shine I can't wait to get out there tomorrow a 3:30am. Thank you for helping me raise over $8,000 dollars and donating for such a great cause. Jill, thank you so much for being the force behind this whole fundraiser. You've definately made a name for yourself over at the AIDS Marathon office. Please keep me in your prayers tomorrow.

xoxo
Kim