Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour
Now, I'm not usually one for sitting and watching tons of TV, but this one had me interested.
Aired originally in 2010 and cancelled after its first season, CMSB was made as a sort of spin-off from the very popular crime drama Criminal Minds - which, by the way, I have never seen. Anyway, bored and a little wired from typing, I decided to sit back and find something to watch and came across (on Love Film) the above psychological/thriller/suspense crime show.
And once I started watching it, I couldn't seem to stop.
If any of you are familiar with these police procedural dramas, they all have the same kind of M.O. There's a murder, a team is called in, the investigation starts and eventually - after one or two bumps in the road - the culprit is caught. CMSB is much the same, but with a few interesting additions.
The entire team is what the FBI call a RED CELL - a special response unit within the behavioural analysis unit that answers only to the Director of the FBI, using varied psychological approaches to get into the minds of the killers (or kidnappers, depending on the episode). It's all rather intriguing, if disturbing.
A particularly strong element to this series, I believe, are the characters and how they are introduced. First off, we have Samuel Cooper, the leader of the team and the man who does the main profiling; he's the one who really gets inside the culprits' heads (creepy). Then we have Beth, the feisty and determined woman who has been 'removed' from several units because of her 'forceful' opinions. Next is Prophet; this agent has a seriously dark past, some of it spent behind bars... Gina is an attractive blonde with a keen intelligence and family issues while Mick is the ex-sniper.
Unlike some shows, this programme has a sense of mystery regarding the character backgrounds and personalities; we don't know everything and all about them straight away. Their identities, much like that in real life, are shown to us over a period of time. The great thing about this is that it allows you, the audience to get attached to the characters in question, especially when they're put into life threatening or emotionally challenging situations. It's much more realistic: no one would dish out all their secrets to a relative stranger.
But it isn't just the characters, it's the stories - the episodes themselves - that I found interesting. Each one was unique, having different motives and requiring alternatives methods of attack. Furthermore, each episode seemed to require every team member to use a skill set, further enhancing relationship dynamics and character development. My particular favourite was 'One Shot Kill'. Action packed and full of psychological stuff, with a lot of character comparisons; plus, it was also kind of creepy.
My only real complaint about this series was how it ended. It ended on a cliff hanger. Now, I don't mind episodes starting with cliff hangers and then having those 'three days earlier' flashbacks... They are fine. But when a show is about to end, a cliff hanger never sits well; the entire point of a story is to have some sort of closure.
So aside from the one ickle nag about the last episode, I say, if you like peering inside people's brains (though not literally, I hope), take a gander at this. It's fast paced, well written and the line delivery is superb; the 'villains' in particular are fabulous.
Enjoy xxx
Aired originally in 2010 and cancelled after its first season, CMSB was made as a sort of spin-off from the very popular crime drama Criminal Minds - which, by the way, I have never seen. Anyway, bored and a little wired from typing, I decided to sit back and find something to watch and came across (on Love Film) the above psychological/thriller/suspense crime show.
And once I started watching it, I couldn't seem to stop.
If any of you are familiar with these police procedural dramas, they all have the same kind of M.O. There's a murder, a team is called in, the investigation starts and eventually - after one or two bumps in the road - the culprit is caught. CMSB is much the same, but with a few interesting additions.
The entire team is what the FBI call a RED CELL - a special response unit within the behavioural analysis unit that answers only to the Director of the FBI, using varied psychological approaches to get into the minds of the killers (or kidnappers, depending on the episode). It's all rather intriguing, if disturbing.
A particularly strong element to this series, I believe, are the characters and how they are introduced. First off, we have Samuel Cooper, the leader of the team and the man who does the main profiling; he's the one who really gets inside the culprits' heads (creepy). Then we have Beth, the feisty and determined woman who has been 'removed' from several units because of her 'forceful' opinions. Next is Prophet; this agent has a seriously dark past, some of it spent behind bars... Gina is an attractive blonde with a keen intelligence and family issues while Mick is the ex-sniper.
Unlike some shows, this programme has a sense of mystery regarding the character backgrounds and personalities; we don't know everything and all about them straight away. Their identities, much like that in real life, are shown to us over a period of time. The great thing about this is that it allows you, the audience to get attached to the characters in question, especially when they're put into life threatening or emotionally challenging situations. It's much more realistic: no one would dish out all their secrets to a relative stranger.
But it isn't just the characters, it's the stories - the episodes themselves - that I found interesting. Each one was unique, having different motives and requiring alternatives methods of attack. Furthermore, each episode seemed to require every team member to use a skill set, further enhancing relationship dynamics and character development. My particular favourite was 'One Shot Kill'. Action packed and full of psychological stuff, with a lot of character comparisons; plus, it was also kind of creepy.
My only real complaint about this series was how it ended. It ended on a cliff hanger. Now, I don't mind episodes starting with cliff hangers and then having those 'three days earlier' flashbacks... They are fine. But when a show is about to end, a cliff hanger never sits well; the entire point of a story is to have some sort of closure.
So aside from the one ickle nag about the last episode, I say, if you like peering inside people's brains (though not literally, I hope), take a gander at this. It's fast paced, well written and the line delivery is superb; the 'villains' in particular are fabulous.
Enjoy xxx
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