User reviews

This review will reference the original Criminal Minds a lot and is solely based on first and only episodes released so far, therefore my opinions may change as the season progresses.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior follows a Rapid Response Team (aka RED Cells) consisting of SA Sam Cooper (Forest Whitaker), the "level-headed" leader, Mick Rawson, the calm "foreign-accented" pretty boy, Simms, the trouble-some, angry vigilante, Beth Griffith, the overly attached empathizer, Gina LaSalle, the yet undeveloped personality, and lovable tech-savvy Penelope from the original CM. The team contains the typical garden variety of character archetypes.

Like I mentioned in the title, CM: SB is more detective work than profiling unlike the original series from which it took its name. Also unlike the other series which utilizes natural dialogue to explain what they are doing, CM: SB crowbars this in awkwardly with pointless conversation and ridiculous monologue. Characters also jump from one conclusion to another without much thought and rely much on assumptions. Other details such as when the team found the location of the body annoyed, since it is rather impractical to take your whole team without police help to canvass an area for a body. I know the opening title said "untraditional" but seriously, an FBI team operating from a gym? Little stuff like that bothered me in this series for some reason.

One last thing, in CM, the unsub was revealed more and more as the episode progresses and based on what the team concludes which I think is a very clever method. However in this, the unsub was hidden and then totally shown midway through the episode even though RED Cell didn't have a clue as to who he was. The hints of his identity came after his identity was already revealed.

All in all, it is an average detective show but no way on par with the original series.

In season 5 of 'Criminal Minds', the BAU team up with another Cooper and his team to solve the murders of homeless men. The Red Cell team is led by Sam Cooper (Forest Whitaker). The rest of the team is Beth Griffith (Janeane Garofalo), Prophet Simms (Michael Kelly), Gina LaSalle (Beau Garrett) and Mick Rawson (Matt Ryan).

It's a bit darker and more grim than the original Criminal Minds. Whitaker feels like he's slumming it on network TV. The addition of Garofalo does nothing. Garrett provides little more than her model looks. Kelly is always a great character actor. Ryan is somewhat forgettable. The chemistry isn't the best and there is no real need for a second Criminal Minds show anyways. Nothing really clicked on the show.

I liked it ... If you watch the pilot and first season of L&O SVU, which is also a spin off show, it was very poor. But the producers identified what (and who) worked and what didn't and by the second season fixed it and most people would now say that the show is better than the original. It's always the case with spin off shows, they are very difficult to get off the ground because people can't let go of the original and are reluctant to accept and get comfortable with new characters in the world, created by the "mother ship". Even in the original show new characters are hard to integrate when they are the replacement of a former character when Rachel Nichols came in to fill A.J Cook's position she wasn't greeted with open arms by the shows fan base even though she is a great actress and plays her role very well. But after one episode of CM:SB I would say there is room for improvement but on the whole, if you can forget about Hotch, Reid and the rest of th BAU and try to view it as just another drama series then you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Nothing gets under my skin more than when a network cancels a show after one season. It takes so much time to build up characters, and to establish a following. The original Criminal Minds didn't even come into my radar until the second or third season. I only hope that in the future, networks will learn that it might take a little while. I can't believe after all the success of Law and Order and CSI spin-offs, CBS won't even give this show a chance. I imagine they will at least give a conclusion to the impressive season finale in the original series to satisfy people like me, but if they don't, it might just end my love for CM all together.

Most people probably dislike the show because they were expected, basically a Criminal Minds, from this point shortened to CM, clone, and no, that is not what you are getting or should expect.

The show have after 3 episodes done a bad job at making you bond with the characters, it's almost like they expected you to have seen the episodes of CM where these people appeared, and then assumes that they don't have to give you a better insight.

In difference from CM, these people don't seem to make much of a profile, they seem more obsessed with finding small hints, that other have overseen. Only the main character seems to have some insight in the minds of the criminals, since he try to place himself in their shoes, and understand why they did what they did.

However it isn't all bad, the criminals are somewhat interesting, as well as their crimes, and there seem to be a element in the series that have been poking my mind, but I have yet to put the finger on, which might make it better with time as one get used to that element (assuming it exists, and my mind aren't tricking me). Currently this seems to be all it is living on, but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt(for now), but it really do help to not think of it as an attempt to clone CM, and stop comparing it to CM.

Will not recommend it, at least not in it's current form.

I liked the first episode somewhat mostly because I already had it my mind that I would like the show. When the this team first appeared on the original Criminal Minds I liked them very much and thought "boy, I would like to see more of them" so it seemed like my wish was granted. Maybe I liked them so much on the original show because I enjoyed the interaction of the two teams, especially Prentiss and Mick.

After watching the first 5 episodes I just can't take it anymore. Forest Whitaker always seems distracted-like he's daydreaming-not focusing on the case at hand. I do like him as an actor-thought he was excellent in "The Shield"-a really nasty piece of work character and also in "Species" as the empath. However, the writers haven't fleshed out the characters quickly enough. Nothing to make the viewers like or care about them.

The detective work is shoddy. I found myself creating a better profile quicker than they did. Too bad, I really did want to like it, two hours of quality Criminal Minds would have been awesome.

Poorly written with scripts that are at best,improbable.The story ideas aren't bad,but they are poorly written.The dialog is I'm guessing,supposed to be urgent and tense,but is merely rushed.There is little empathy between the characters and no cohesion in the unit.It's like every time they show up to work they're meeting each other for the first time.The acting is dismal-even Forest Whitaker turns in marred performances.The premise of the show has promise,yet the writers and the director(s?) churn out a very flawed product.I am surprised that this show has not been canceled yet.I will be further surprised if it's picked up for a second season without drastic changes in front of,and behind the camera.

I like it. Not the best show ever made, but certainly isn't the worst. You have to separate it from the original. I appreciate that they tried to tie them together by bringing Garcia in to it, but there's no way the FBI would have only one tech master so they could have had a completely different character for that roll, but all in all I like it. I like the cast together and don't feel like I'm "missing" the cast from the original because I can watch them too. Too bad people couldn't give this show a shot as a stand alone from the same family. If you can see it as a completely different show I think you'll find its just as good as anything else out there right now. The more episodes I watch, the more I like it, which is unfortunate since its over.

I was pretty excited to see that they had made a spin off of Criminal Minds, as that is one of my favorite shows on TV. I'm three episodes in now, and just cannot get into it. I even stopped watching one of them, I was that uninterested. In fact, I'm in the middle of "watching" the show I DVR'd last week, and stopped to type this review.

They either need to get creative with the casting, maybe bring in some cameos from the original version to spice it up for an episode or two or flat out replace some of these people.

The cast is blah, the content is blah....whole thing is blah.

Overall, very disappointing.

I absolutely loved the show and kudos on them bringing Garofalo into this I love her acting. I enjoy shows more when they don't always bring in perfect sized or looking people because in real life that isn't very realistic. There are a few actors/musicians that didn't make it on their looks alone.

I found that TV/movies has put so much glam on that perfect hero figure that they all should be 6 foot tall and very pretty to look at, or have their girls half popping out of their shirts. Most work places around here would have you fired for dressing like that.

I hope that this show continues on as I really enjoyed it.

Personally, I find the show quite good. I do have a few issues, however. Forest Whitaker is a wonderful actor, but not as a lead role in a television series. He's extremely distracting - and it's not because of the eye. It's his voice. He constantly sounds like he's out of breath...ran a marathon to get to the scene. His sentence structure is also annoying. He pauses in odd places and the whole dialog sounds forced. I was excited when I heard he was going to be on the show, but now...he's just annoying! There's too much time spent on him and not the rest of the team, which doesn't make a balanced show. I realize it's early though, so hopefully, the characters will flesh out more as we go along.

Secondly, Janeane Garofalo - I don't understand the hatred of the woman and the character. I personally love her. I think she's still trying to find her feet with the character, but she's got the potential of being quite amusing...of being the one person on the team who will just say exactly what she thinks when she thinks it. I really like her and I'm willing to give her a chance to settle in the role.

As for the rest of the team, I like all of them. I'd like to see more about Prophet's past - Michael Kelly makes Prophet such a quiet, interesting character. Beau Garret is perfect for the role of Gina - she's got that no nonsense look about her - hair stuffed in a ponytail, little makeup. She really sells Gina as the real deal.

And lastly, Matt Ryan as Mick Rawson. At first, I was put off because a Brit joining the FBI seemed like something created just for the show. I admit my ignorance in this matter - I didn't even know British citizens could join the FBI...although maybe he's a naturalized citizen. I don't know, but I have to say I really, really, really like the character. He's cocky, cheeky and interesting. He's also gorgeous, which doesn't hurt. His accent isn't hard for me to understand, but I've heard lots of Irish, Scottish and British. So, Mick is a nice all around package for me.

Poor Garcia...she just seems like a fill in...she's there so the viewers have someone they know and love and the producers knew that those fans will follow her to a new show. I'd like to see her actually interact with the team, not just via communication equipment.

So, I give the show an 7 out of 10 and hope that it just keeps getting better and better. Thanks for listening!!

Frost

Seeing the first episode was really a major disappointment. The Role of Jonathan (Michael Kelly)telegraphs the ending "drama" in such a predictable manner that I nearly have to say this review is a spoiler. It seems like all of the characters lack real emotional commitment and are basic stereotypes. The first episode of this series does not have either the layers of complexity or commitment of Criminal minds. This seemed to be a "buddy" show. Forest Whitaker can find and play far better roles than this. Don't watch it, it's a complete waste of time. Although not all of the character have been properly introduced in the first episode it does not appear to have the makings of a good show.

Forest Whitaker is by far the WORST actor in the world. Criminal Minds is the BEST show on TV and now this spin off is absolutely atrocious now that Whitaker is in the lead role. The Over Acting is ridiculous and kinda funny at times. What the F**K were they thinking when they cast him in the role. Stay on the big screen and leave the small screen for the good actors! He makes me laugh though. While CM is supposed to be a drama, it's comedy night at my house!

Lead by example and follow Jason Gideon! Once Forest is gone, the show might be watchable. It's TOO BAD that they cast him as the lead role. This show is downright RIDICULOUS!

Suspect Behavior it a great take on the criminal minds franchise offering a unique perspective on the cases. I also love that Garcia is in both series. I really like Forrest Whitaker and the other characters/actors are good and can really grow in their parts, however Garofalo stopped growing at 4'3 and would not fool anyone as a FBI agent. The acting is also terrible and so robotic that we could have an Avatar do her part (that could be 6 foot tall!) For the show to succeed and be truly realistic, as you are trying to match the very successful Criminal Minds, you need credible looking and acting people. Garofalo is neither.

I watch Criminal Minds from a Cinamatographer's standpoint you DP does a great job filming the show. you mus be using Panavision Cameras, I watch the show looking for camera angles, lighting, following the actor, keeping the actor in frame.you are probably using dolly cranes and camera dolly to follow an actor down a street or in a hallway keeping the actor in frame when you zoom for a CU is important. your shot is with film then edited add music sound effects special effects after all that is done then you can put it in the can( convert to DVD)

back in the day I worked for a short time for Paramount all the Star Trek TV shows were shot with film your DP is doing a great job keep up the good work

Stan Bollinger

I was very disappointed with the first episode of this show and it seems this will be what show is about, a lesser version of true Criminal Minds.

Not a single character of this show is convincing, Forrest Whitaker has seen far better roles then this one, as a team leader he is weak, not all too likable. Basically, this show is a copy of the real Criminal Minds, only far, far worse, actually it can't stand in the same sentence with the original show. Matt Ryan character, for example, you basically couldn't understand what the guy is saying.

In all honesty, I would be very surprised if this show survives the first season, it just isn't worth it.

It started off feeling rushed and pushed but by the 7th or 8th episode they found their stride, unfortunately we'll never knew the end of the cliff hanger that they left us on in episode 13. I enjoyed how they started to bring in the characters back stories, but it did take until the 5th or 6th episode to get there. The first 3 episodes were scattered and rushed as if they didn't know exactly where they were going to go with it. I really enjoyed the cross over of Penelope Garcia from the original Criminal Minds. I hope Netflix picks this up if the actors schedules are available, however since it's already been about 5 years since this show was canceled, I highly doubt it will get picked up.

Crimonal Minds is a great show, maybe not so great as of late, what has been great and still has potential, but I don't buy into the whole law and order effect. That is that not all good shows need a spin off. When I started watching this show, I hated it, I couldn't find any of the characters that interesting, and the plots seemed to be dumbed down versions of CM episodes in seasons 3, 4, and 5. As it kept going, I have grown to like it a bit more, and the characters have become better developed, but it is still not all that great.

One of my peeves is Penelope. I never liked her in the first CM installment, she was too bright and flashy, and her character had about the same depth as a ground-level fountain. If you want a big change for that, you won't get it here, though you might wonder where the hell she has the time to coordinate between two teams. As for the other characters, none really stand out, Prophet is over aggressive and seems to have a massive chip on his soulder, the British guy is, well, British, The Black haired lady is a bit stuck up and hostile towards everyone, and Gina just seems to be the insecure blond who knows that she really isn't as talented as the rest. Sam Cooper is nothing to write home about either. The problem isn't that these characters are uninteresting, but that they are essentially clones of CM characters (Black-haired lady could be Hotch, Brit Guy Prentiss and Morgan, Cooper is a bit Gidean and a bit Rossi, and Gina is almost a clone of Seaver), so they took out Reid and called it good. And okay, I didn't really expect much else, which is why I gave it a sevon, same with the L&O franchise, they stick to the same characters.

As for the plot, while later episodes show some promise, other then them being more gritty then most CM episodes, the plots are the same: bad guy commits crime, normally murder, and good guys go after them. Okay. They took out some of the more character-driven plot from the origonal series, and again, okay, good that they didn't stick to the same formula. The fact is that the plots alone are just not worth watching right now, I mean, there is no real difforence between the caseloads, and really, it just becomes average fare pretty quictly. Yes, some are interesting, but not enough to set the whole show apart.

In conclusion, this show is good if you want a Crimonal Minds without the strong character building parts of it, and if you just want a quick fix of bad guy gets cought action. Nothing really sticks out about it, but it is on an upword spike, so who knows. Had I reviewed this after the first episode, I would have given it a 2 or 3, so yes, it has improved, it just isn't as good as the origonal.

A real shame as I am a great fan of Criminal Minds, so was looking forward to Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour. Especially after catching up on some short-lived shows recently (i.e. Law and Order: Trial by Jury), that while having flaws showed a lot of promise and were cancelled when they were still growing. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour unfortunately never seemed to get off the ground, a slow start would have been forgivable (most shows do and even Criminal Minds did) but to show little improvement even when halfway through was indication of a show that wasn't going to work.

Sure the episodes were well-shot but never anything extraordinary, lacking the darker, grittier touch that the original Criminal Minds show brought to its darker scenes. Also thought very little of the music, the background scoring brings nothing different compared to that of other detective shows, sounding more generic than haunting or pulse-racing and the opening titles theme is so rushed that remembering it is impossible. The writing is all over the place, constantly not knowing what to do with itself and filled with poorly written lines delivered like wood. All of it just sounded rushed, on-the-surface with no development whatsoever and often over-the-top.

The story lines for Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour are never attention-grabbing, all of them feeling like retreads of the story lines for the original Criminal Minds but with none of the tension, suspense or the emotion. It was all just so dull and bland, and some of them were also convoluted to the point of getting lost part way through. None of the characters are easy to engage with at all either, little if anything is learnt about them, they never develop instead acting stupidly and lifelessly, and apart from Garcia (who is pointless on this show and has none of her spark) deciphering who was who was difficult initially. The villains are also not creepy enough to be anywhere near as memorable or detestable as the best villains on the original, and their development is at best sketchy. The acting is also some of the worst I've ever for any detective/mystery series, with only Michael Kelly showing any effort and even he seemed a little out of place.

Especially bad is Janeane Garofalo, who shows the emotions of a robot, if she was trying to be serious it comes at the expense of personality, and the character just grates. Forrest Whittaker is terribly and shockingly inconsistent, at points he goes completely through the motions (slurring words and all) and at other points he clearly over-compensates for the poor writing, the authoritative personality is overdone and then any empathising or emotion is delivered with a face of stone. Kirsten Vangsness, a bright spot in the original, doesn't make a smooth transition here, as aforementioned Garcia is pointless and just doesn't fit and Vangsness has lost her spark due to poor writing and being underused. All the acting's just a constant uncomfortable mix of lack of emotion and over-the-top-ness.

In conclusion, even on its own merits Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour is a very poor show that never gets off the ground. I've been known to defend short-lived shows, but this is a case of an early cancellation being justified. 2/10 Bethany Cox