Forest!

[yendi]

I've been skeptical about the long-discussed Criminal Minds spin-off, given how inferior the two CSI spin-offs are to their progenitor (I have no thoughts on the NCIS situation, as the original is already utter crap surrounding a few shots of Pauley Perrette looking and acting cute).

But Forest Whitaker in the lead?

Oh, hell yes!

I'll certainly watch it for a few episodes, at least.

Comments

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

Were you an NCIS fan at any point?

I have still seen nothing beyond Season 2.

[yendi]

I've tried episodes a handful of times over the years, but never been impressed.

[eh-notsomuch.livejournal.com]

I watch Criminal Minds all the time, and it's a pretty good show. (I have a huge crush on Spencer/Matthew Gray Gubler.) And I realize it's fiction and not meant to be a documentary. But aren't the "unsubs" getting way out of hand crazy? I mean, the collector girl? I understand they have to come up with a freak of the week, but I doubt real serial killers have that kind of free time.

I found the episodes with that guy who was decompensating and lashed out in a pharmacy and the one with the wonderful Mitch Pileggi to be very realistic and all the more frightening because of the realism.

[yendi]

Well, they were just borrowing from Dollhouse with the collector girl. :-)

Yeah the two you cite are two of my favorites, but I don't expect constant realism out of CM; I look at it as the closest thing to a weekly horror movie, so I expect some over-the-top stuff.

I enjoy

[aquila-dominus.livejournal.com]

both Criminal Minds and NCIS for completely different reasons. That said, I really am quite tired of the spin offs. I understand that NCIS was a spin off of JAG but it doesn't have the look and feel of JAG.

NCIS: LA is basically NCIS West Coast. Both CSI spin offs revolve around the crime labs. Just not seeing another BAU show good. Now if it's completely different, like say the White Collar Crime division or something then perhaps.

I'm a fan of Forest Whitaker and would likely give the show a chance however I'd like it to be something new, not just another hour of the BAU.

Re: I enjoy

[yendi]

Agreed, to an extent. I don't want two hours of CM every week (or if I did, I'd want two hours of the original). That said, I want them to keep at least some elements of the original, but bring something different to the game (and I look to the Law and Order franchise as one that's done this well, even if only CI is on my must-watch list). That said, the CSI spin-offs take one core element -- the lab -- and turned the rest of their shows into a general clusterfuck (in the case of Miami), or an action hero showcase (in the case of NY), neither of which serve the concept well.

But yeah, Whitaker's involvement means I'll give it a shot, no matter what the premise.

Re: I enjoy

[aquila-dominus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, L&O did a really good job of tying the franchise together and yet have completely different shows. I haven't watched any of them in a long time but I was impressed with how they handled all the parts and the linkage. That's where I think, as my example, the White Collar Crime Division would work well since the profiling techniques would be useful and apply but it's not straight up the BAU.

As to CSI, yeah. Clue and I took to calling the first spin off CSI: Miami Vice and we enjoyed the first 2 seasons of NY but then they really went of into left field and it turned us both off. Of course, we also stopped watching the original before Grissom left.

Re: I enjoy

[mfree.livejournal.com]

Grissom left? Huh. Maybe that's why I haven't bothered recording any of this season.

I was an ardent CSI watcher, but only the original. The only series that comes close is House, which I yet still get absolutely cranky if I miss for some reason.

CSI:Miasmi is pure eye candy and I have left it playing (syndicated and nothing else on) before *purely* because the multiplexed/oversaturated camera work looks positively gorgeous on my television.

NCIS? I've watched a few episodes. No matter how stunning I find Perrey Paulette Pauley Perrette (god, I always do that) even she's not enough to put my thumb to the 'record series' buttons.

And that's really it... nothing else lately has gotten enough of my interest to get me to even wiki the plots.

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

*Incoherent squeak!!!*