Starring:
Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon
Thomas Gibson as Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner
Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan
Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid
A.J. Cook as Jennifer “JJ” Jareau
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
Lola Glaudini as Elle Greenaway
Special Features:
Commentary by: Director and actors, Director and filmmakers
All 22 episodes from the 2005-2006 season on 6 discs
Deleted scenes
“The Making of Criminal Minds” featurette
“Inside Quantico & The Criminal Mind” featurette
“Meet Matthew & Gray Gubler” featurette
Other Info:
Widescreen
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 15 Hours 55 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Their job is to catch criminals. Their specialty is to think like them.
Special Agents Jason Giden (Mandy Patinkin) and Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) head up the FBI’s most elite profiling team experts in analyzing criminal minds. Each team member has their specialty. There’s Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), who has a background in sexual offenses; Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), who focuses on obsessional crimes; Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), the smart-but-socially-challenged genius; and Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, (A.J. Cook), the rookie. With each mind-blowing case, they put their lives on the line as they match wits with the most ruthless criminals on earth.”
“Criminal Minds: The First Season” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
When “Criminal Minds” arrived in my mailbox, my wife said, “Ooh! I want to watch that one with you. I missed the first season.” I imagine many other people out there are in the same boat they got hooked on the second season but missed the first. Naturally I was curious to see what the fuss was about.
Now after having seen it, I can say that “Criminal Minds” is a lot like many of the other crime dramas out there. The heroes track down the killer of the week through clever investigating. I guess what separates “Criminal Minds” from the other shows is the unique cast and their method of investigation.
The cast is led my Mandy “You killed my father, prepare to die” Patinkin as Jason Gideon. He’s an interesting leader for the group and a kind of father figure for them. Thomas Gibson (“Dharma & Greg”) is the suit of the group as Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner. The rest of the cast are relative unknowns and feature unique characteristics one’s a genius, one’s a profiler, etc etc etc. They use their unique talents to figure out who their perpetrator is.
If you’re a fan of crime dramas or mysteries, then this DVD is one you’ll definitely want to pick up. The stories are solid, the cast is unique, and it stands firm among other competing crime shows.
The offering of bonus features is pretty good. You have commentaries on a few episodes as well as a couple of deleted scenes. Most noteworthy is the “The Making of Criminal Minds” featurette. It is 25 minutes long and features the entire cast individually. They also cover the sets, special effects, and other interesting stuff. This is followed by the “Inside Quantico & The Criminal Mind” featurette. It discusses the real world FBI profilers that the TV show is based on. The final featurette is “Meet Matthew & Gray Gubler”. It highlights the eccentric actor who plays the genius on the TV show. Apparently he’s just as odd as his on screen persona.
