| 80 |
Wall Street Journal Dorothy Rabinowitz
From the evidence of the first few episodes, "Criminal Minds" may be a hit, and deservedly. |
| 75 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
It's not clear how seriously Patinkin takes the whole thing--it's the same actorly mystery that makes David Caruso's whispery bitterness such a kick on CSI: Miami. [31 Oct 2005, p.39] |
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
It's kind of good. |
| 60 |
Chicago Tribune Sid Smith
May well be worth a look. |
| 60 |
Variety Phil Gallo
It has a few points going for it: Mandy Patinkin's onscreen magnetism; some truly eerie episodes; and a smartness that it wears on its sleeve. On the downside, it draws on too many other recent hits -- "CSI," "Crossing Jordan," "Medium," "House," "Law & Order: SVU""Law & Order: SVU" -- for visual style, character tics, mind games and an ability to find the truth in confounding evidence. |
| 60 |
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Viewers certainly like this sort of thing. CBS has become the No. 1 network with an incessant stream of it, and Criminal Minds is as well-made as any of them. |
| 60 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Solidly plotted and filmed. |
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
The problem with "Criminal Minds" -- other than there are 48 series in a similar vein, 39 of them on CBS -- is that every person in this cast has an area of expertise, and they spend the hour telling you about it in the most unrealistic workplace conversations you'll ever hear. |
| 50 |
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
Now and then, there are instances in which the profilers, and Gideon in particular, literally walk out of one scene and into another. It's a nice touch and a visually creative change of pace, but it's not enough -- not even with frequent shots of Patinkin's expressive face -- to distinguish this series in a particularly crowded genre. |
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly Nicholas Fonseca
Do yourself a favor and read some Nietzsche instead of watching this junk. [23 Sep 2005, p.82] |
| 40 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
It's not a cool-science show, but its crimes blur together with what we already see on the ''CSI" series, and its supporting cast is indistinct. |
| 40 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
"Criminal Minds" doesn't present any spin on the crime TV genre you haven't seen before, save for taking savagery against female victims to new heights. |
| 40 |
The New York Times Ned Martel
The problem with "Criminal Minds" is its many confusing maladies, applied to too many characters. As a result, the cast seems like a spilled trunk of broken toys, with which the audience - and perhaps the creators - may quickly become bored. |
| 30 |
PopMatters Marco Lanzagorta
Unfortunately, Criminal Minds confuses critical thinking with supernatural abilities. |
| 30 |
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
Patinkin looks especially unnatural in these scenes — just give that man a song to sing, I say, and let him do what he was born to. |
| 25 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
"Criminal Minds," which generates almost no creative energy of its own, has the aura - or is it odor? - of being patched together from scraps of failed CBS dramas of the past. |
| 25 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
Everything about Criminal is patched together from other shows, from the FBI setting to the tired visual gimmickry. |
| 20 |
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
Big talent meets weak script and every TV crime cliche known to prime time. |
| 12 |
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
A slick 'n' grim crime procedural piled high with deadly dull cliches |
| 10 |
Newsday Diane Werts
The whole project feels salaciously sleazy, unless you're enjoying the proceedings, in which case it's juicily depraved. |
| 10 |
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
CBS' crummiest imitation of CSI yet. |
