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Profiling Criminal Minds

An investigation into our obsession with the TV show "Criminal Minds"

For the most part, it is a well-written/acted film. However, great jump (& Josh Stewart's performance) scares don't make up for the fact that the heroine has no backstory. Sheila went back and made sure that the music she complained about, was, in fact, a gospel hymn: "Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me home". We will call if a secular homage?? (no copyright infringement - it was written in 1937)

Just Josh'n #12: The Neighbor

We are stunned by how much we love this season of Dexter. Thank you "Original Sin".

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 510 (In the Beginning); 511 (Hop a Freighter); 512 (The Big One)

We loved the season - lots of notes but we still loved it.

Criminal Minds: Season 19 In Review

Will we ever find out what Dexter's problems with religion are?

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 507 (Circle); 508 (Take It!); 509 (Teenage Wasteland)

Loved The Fan. Loved that plot points were addressed BUT at one point, Dan was aghast and Dr. Redmond stopped the stream because she couldn't believe what she heard.

Criminal Minds 1910: Bad Blood

Stunning!!!!!!! Everyone needs to go and watch this!!!!!!!!!!
Here's the film company logo Dan was talking about in re: Odysseus' archery skills - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVmLoexuVQ

Just Josh'n Special Report: The Odyssey

We already think this is a better season than season 4. Will it continue?? Stay tuned!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 504 (Beauty and the Beast); 505 (First Blood);  506 (Everything is Illumenated)

The most contrived episode of Criminal Minds in memory - honestly!! But WE LOVED IT!!! Find out why.

Criminal Minds 1909: Special Agent Garrity

Dexter's life has been completely upended and he just doesn't understand that grieving takes a lot of different forms. 

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 501 (My Bad); 502 (Hello Bandit); 503 (Practically Perfect)

This was such a creepy episode. Loved it!! And we can't wait for more about Voit and The Fan.

Criminal Minds 1908: Requiem

Josh Stewart appears in CSI S4E18 and CSI Miami S7E14. Of course, he is great. We spend most of our time finding out that we actually really liked CSI Miami because it has heart, not just beautiful scenery. CSI, on the other hand, is too dark and soulless. 

Just Josh'n #11: CSI Double Feature

And the hits keep coming. Kudos to the casting team - The Fan is perfect.

Criminal Minds 1907: The Furies

We now remember why Dr. Redmond checked out of watching Dexter! It's all bad writing - DUH!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 410 (Lost Boys); 411 (Hello, Dexter Morgan); 412 (The Getaway)

Paget shouldn't have responded the way she did but she has apologized. After Dan reads the article out loud (read it at link below), we can understand why Paget was upset.
Paramount+'s Criminal Minds Format Change Finally Backfires By Shealyn Scott. Published Jun 20, 2026, 7:15 PM EDT
 

Sunday Show: Reviewing the Reviewer!

You just needed to call the mint!!! and other quibbles & eye rolls take up most of the episode. We still enjoyed the episode - love that Brian :-)

Criminal Minds 1906: Proxy

We accepted Arthur's origin story in the beginning. Clearly, we are  not so sure by the time we get to the end of this episode of PCM.

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 407 (Slack Tide); 408 (Road Kill); 409 (Hungry Man)

We love Paul F. Thompson! Just a great episode.

Criminal Minds 1905: Friendly Fire

Good episode, although we did have a bunch of quibbles!

Criminal Minds 1904: The Witching Hour

We liked these 3 episodes a lot better than the first 3. Dan gives all sorts of spoilers, then reminds us that this is a "re-watch podcast".

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 404 (Dex takes a Holiday); 405 (Dirty Harry); 406 (If I had a Hammer)

The first 35 minutes are taken up with complaints about bad writing, lack of continuity and contrivances. What's happening? John Lithgow is brilliant.

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 401 (Living the Dream); 402 (Remains to be Seen); 403 (Blinded by the Light)

We loved it, loved it! We do a little fan fiction discussion concerning Voigt's pre-10 years-old childhood.

Criminal Minds Season 19, Episode 3: Body Count

To prepare you for the genius of John Lithgow before we tackle The Trinity Killer.

The Year of Dexter: John Lithgow meets Brian DePalma

Criminal Minds is back and still makes us happy! And also your Canadian hosts talk about the CRTC?

Criminal Minds Season 19: 1901 (Now and Then); 1902 (Cluster)

Season 19 starts tomorrow!!! We are so excited!

Criminal Minds Season 19 Preview: Our Exclusive Interview with Breen Frazier!

Dan and Dr. Redmond disagree on whether Miguel would have become a serial killer on his own. "Dexter has real problems with Ghost Harry's betrayal".

The Year of Dexter: Dexter (310 Go Your Own Way); 311 (I Had a Dream); 312 (Do You Take Dexter Morgan)

We end up talking about The Punisher and vigilantism again at the end of this episode. So is morality or the lack thereof our reason for watching Dexter?

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 307 (Easy as Pie); 308 (The Damage a Man Can Do); 309 (About Last Night)

Dexter's search for family turns to a discussion of The Punisher by the end.

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 304 (All in the Family); 305 (Turning Biminese); 306 (Si Se Puede)

Wherein Dexter freaks out over becoming a father and maybe finds a "bestie".

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 301 (Our Father); 302 (Finding Freebo); 303 (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)

My bad, it's Monday. We watched the myth making around Entebbe with 2 more movies. Then, we rank the 4 Entebbe movies. 

Sunday Show: Return to Entebbe

We always love a chance to talk about The Mentalist. Josh Stewart does, of course, give his usual great performance.

Just Josh'n #10: The Mentalist

No politics! Just a short missive from Dan who just got off the plane from London.

Sunday Show: Back From Vacation With Dexter News!

On a good note, Dexter is a really good boyfriend and stepdad!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 210 (There's Something About Harry); 211 (Left Turn Ahead); 212 (The British Invasion)

We want to see the movie, "Doakes"! We continue to be amazed at the difference "Original Sin" has made to our viewpoint.

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 207 (That Night, A Forest Grew); 208 (Morning Comes); 209 (Resistance is Futile)

Yes - don't write! It is Menahem Golan not Menahem Golum (Freudian slip). Dan was right, it is Yonatan or "Yoni". Sheila is having a hard time with all of this. And the peace talks are already over!

Sunday Show: They Keep "Raiding Entebbe"!

Could you undo years of gaslighting? Sigh. Shades of Season 17 (the Gold Star year) of Criminal Minds.

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 204 (See Through); 205 (The Dark Defender);  206 (Dex, Lies and Videotape)

We gush and gush. If you are looking for something to watch, this should be it!

Sunday Show: Babylon Five is on Prime Video

Impressed with the portrayal of PTSD and Rita's handling of Dexter's addiction problem. Doakes is on the trail!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 201 (It's Alive!); 202 (Waiting to Exhale); 203 (An Inconvenient Lie)

RIP Chuck Norris, you weren't a good actor, but we loved Walker: Texas Ranger. Also, this movie is crazy propaganda and mythmaking!

Sunday Show: Delta Force

Two more bit parts for Josh Stewart - although one was pretty obviously supposed to be a recurring character before homophobia changed the show's direction!

Just Josh'n #9:  Episodes from "The Rookie" and "Southland"

Did we just find the movie that inspired Archer? I don't know... maybe?
Also, it's surprisingly relevant to today's news!

Sunday Show - The Soldier

We are so surprised with our shifting views on Dexter. It really makes us want a Season 2 of "Original Sin".

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 110 (Seeing Red); 111 (Truth Be Told);  112 (Born Free)

Turns out that the best Game of Thrones thing has happened, and it's just getting started!

Sunday Show: A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms!

If only Dexter had continued with Therapy. Our biggest question: "Why didn't Brian just marry Deb?"

The Year of Dexter: Dexter 107(Circle of Friends); 108 (Shrink Wrap); 109 (Father Knows Best)

Still impressed by Dexter - much to our surprise!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter: 104 (Let's Give the Boy a Hand); 105 (Love American Style); 106 (Return to Sender)

And so it begins! Turns out that watching Original Sin has reshaped the way we are watching the original series. This is going to be fun!!

The Year of Dexter: Dexter: 101 (Dexter); 102 (Crocodile);  103 (Popping Cherry)

A really suspenseful little horror film that is structured a little differently than most. Josh puts in a great performance. Watch it first if you can! 

Just Josh'n #8: Cold Moon

We really want a Season 2. As of the end of 2025, it isn't going to happen :-(

The Year of Dexter: Original Sin 110 (Code Blues) and Recap

The Insidious Franchise

Matthew Gray Gubler: The Unauthorized Documentary “North of Juárez”
We do our political stuff after the fluff :-)

Sunday Show: Gubler is Back and Better than Ever!

So are we going to actually like Brian???

The Year of Dexter: Original Sin: 107 (The Big Bad Body Problem); 108 (Business and Pleasure); 109 (Blood Drive)

We might still be angry but this week we had some comedy relief - 3 million Epstein files. We also ask the question: "Is The Blacklist America's Vincenzo??

Sunday Show: The Blacklist was a Pretty Good Show

Harry is just a monster. Training his own personal assassin. On the other hand, he obviously did a good job :-(

The Year of Dexter: Original Sin: 104 (Fender Bender); 105 (F is for Fuck-Up); 106 (The Joy of Killing))

If you want to avoid our political commentary and go straight to our defense of Season 4, Episode 2 as the best episode of "Murder She Wrote", it starts at 45:40. 

Sunday Show: The Best Episode of "Murder She Wrote"!

The year of Dexter is finally here. We are pleasantly surprised by the 1st three episodes.

The Year of Dexter: Original Sin 101 (And in the Beginning); 102 (Kid in the Candy Store); 103 (Miami Vice)

Who knew this was an adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities; Batman was Sidney Carlton, and Bane was Robespierre?

Just Josh'n #7: The Dark Knight Rises

Trigger Warning - This episode is largely a discussion of the murder ICE committed. And it's our analysis of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises on Thursday - apt companion to the 19th century.

Sunday Show: Welcome to the 19th Century!

Let's rank every single episode of Profiler! An extra long episode of PCM with little digression (!) Play along with us using the:
Profiler Tiermaker: https://tiermaker.com/create/profiler-episodes-18581721

Profiler: The Entire Show In Review

With yesterday's news, Sheila feels like she has been thrown back in time to the 1970s and early 80s by the Wayback Machine! And not in a good way.

Sunday Show: Welcome to the 1970s

So it ended with a bang. Do we care that we didn't get a movie to solve the cliffhanger? Nope!

Profiler: 419 (Tsuris); 420 (On Your Marks)

Absolutely Fabulous! We can't wait for Season 2!

Pluribus Season 1

This was last week's Sunday show! Sheila hasn't been on top of things this week. :-(

Sunday Show - The World's On Fire, Let's Hang Out

A real relief to watch some decent episodes and Jared is back!

Profiler: 417 (Mea Culpa); 418 (Pianissimo)

We ask one question after these two episodes: Were they written by the winners of a 2nd -year screen-writing course? Just asking!

Profiler: 415 (The Long Way Home); 416 (House of Cards)

Two episodes with serious problems. Dan had to watch the 2nd one twice to try to make sense of it!

Profiler: 413 (Proteus); 414 (Paradise Lost)

Happy that John gets a whole episode but we bemoan the lack of professionalism on the part of Rachel.

Profiler: 411 (Random Act); 412 (Besieged)

You will also see Dexter, The Eras Tour, Hitman, Fast & Furious, and Just Cause Tributes. Is M. Night Shyamalan turning into a poor man's Quentin Tarantino?

Sunday Show: The Simpsons had a Criminal Minds Crossover!

The crossover this time was so much better. We think that the 2 writing staffs must have actually collaborated! BTW: we love The Pretender.

Profiler: 409 (Quid Pro Quo); 410 (Clean Sweep) and The Pretender S4E10: (Spin Doctor)

Well, both episodes needed some rewrites, but the secondary plots about drug addiction were just weak.

Profiler: 407 (Original Sin); 408 (Train Man)

Flat episodes but we think we finally understand why Profiler didn't last.

Profiler: 405 (Infidelity) & 406 (To Serve and Protect)

A slimmed down Criminal Minds without the bonded staff!!

Profiler: 403 (Blind Eye); 404 (Old Ghosts)

The Jack episodes are now over an we are so sorry to see it end. Then again, Jack (aka  Albert Newquay) was a pretty good child psychiatrist!

Profiler: 401-402 (Reunion)

Just a brilliant film until the last 20 minutes or so. Watch it before you listen; it is full of spoilers!

Just Josh'n #6: Law Abiding Citizen

Las Brisas was a wash - except for the trial of Donald Lucas, which made the whole episode bearable. Listen to us ramble on about the season as a whole.

Profiler 321 (Las Brisas) and Season 3 In Review

The beauty of Season 2 is you can just enjoy watching it. When we find out that Hardcourt is diagnosed with "toxic masculinity", all we did was laugh and laugh and laugh!! Then there are the political drive-bys!

Bonus Episode - Peacemaker Season 2

We decided do these seasons/episodes in chronological order, hence the animated season. We assume there will be a season 2 of CC. Loved all the backstories of the monsters!

Bonus Episode - Creature Commandos: Season 1

Full of spoilers. We can't wait for Season 2 to end!

Bonus Episode - Peacemaker: Season 1

A cross-over episode with the Pretender that begs the question: "Did The Profiler writing room actually know what The Pretender episode was about?" The 2nd episode was just a mess.

Profiler 319 (Grand Master);  320 (What's Love Got to do With It)

Brilliantly written comic book movie. At times, so funny, then so distressing; Sheila just can't wait to watch Peacemaker!

Bonus Episode - The Suicide Squad

These are the dullest and the craziest episodes this show has ever had. Honestly!!

Profiler 317 (Three Carat crisis); 318 (Seduction)

One brilliant episode with some quibbles and the second was rather a mess!

Profiler: 315 (Spree of Love); 316 (Burnt Offerings)

Profiler 313 (Heads You Lose); 314 (Otis California)

Rewrote both episodes this week. Why? Because the second episode threw everything the show had accepted as given out the window!

Profiler: 311 (Where or When); 312 (Inheritance)

Again, two competent serial killer episodes. But, we still miss Jack. Are we ever going to get a resolution?

Profiler: 309 (All in the Family); 310 (Ceremony of Innocence)

Two reasonably solid episodes. We just wish that we could care more about the people!

Profiler:  307 (Perfect Helen); 308 (Home for the Homicide)

Two fun episodes that are clearly precursors to Criminal Minds!

Profiler: 305 (The Sum of Her Parts); 306 (The Monster Within)

This is the week Profiler became Criminal Minds! We are still upset about Donald Lucas.

Profiler: 303 (Do the Right Thing),  304 (Double Vision)

Nooooooo!! This can't be Jack, can it???? However, the crimes of the week were really good.

Profiler: 301 (Coronation), 302 (Cravings)

The end of Season 1 lived up to expectations! Season 2 was, for the most part, a wash.

Just Josh'n #5: Dirt - The Rest of the Show

Beware! Less violence but a lot more softcore porn than Sons of Anarchy!!

Just Josh'n #4: Dirt Season 1 - Episodes 1-7

Re-watching the season didn't change our minds about the ending. However, we are still blown away by the characters' journeys!

Criminal Minds Season 18 in Review

This is what it sounds like when you don't stick the landing.

Criminal Minds 1810: The Disciple

It's back and here to radicalize us all! A perfect ending to a brilliant analysis of the modern world.

Squid Game Season 3!

If you're not interested in hearing Dan talk about Miami Vice, skip to the 6 minute mark!

Criminal Minds 1809: CollateRal

In which we attempt to figure out a convoluted plot point and somehow neglect to mention that Dan probably had a character named after him!

Criminal Minds 1808: Tara

Doubly disappointed! One: little Jack. Two: the main plot cops out big time. And Sam is truly her father's daughter! Our best pick of the season? "Every Five Minutes"

Profiler: 219 (The Root of All Evil)

A horror episode and a great cliffhanger! If you are afraid of spiders, skip the opening death - just saying!!

Criminal Minds 1807: ...And All The Devils Are Here

Three forgettable episodes that have moments of interest. We do a major rewrite of "Die Beautiful"!  Warning: Don't buy a frigging piano!!

Profiler: 216 (Lethal Obsession); 217 (Cycle of Violence); 218 (Die Beautiful)

Great episode, solid killer of the week. However, Dr. Redmond is still not convinced that Voit is a changed man. The last episode will decide who is right.

Criminal Minds 1806: Hell is Empty...

The first one is Against Out Will as a TV episode. Almost as good at discussing rape as the soaps, which excel at understanding the impact and trauma of rape.

Profiler: 214 (Every Five Minutes); 215 (Breaking Point)

A. J. Cook needs an Emmy for this episode alone!