{"id":6161,"date":"2013-09-19T23:43:37","date_gmt":"2013-09-20T06:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2013-09-19T23:58:24","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T06:58:24","slug":"review-criminalminds-s8-dvd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2013\/09\/review-criminalminds-s8-dvd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: “Criminal Minds”: Season 8 + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cCriminal Minds\u201d: Season 8<\/span><\/b> isn\u2019t bad with a few highlights throughout the year including a fun supervillain in the Replicator and Jeanne Tripplehorn\u2019s first foray is semi-satisfying though not an equal replacement for Brewster and some of the stories are getting tiresome blending together like a Friday the 13th<\/sup><\/i> sequel. The DVD released by Paramount does offer a respectable amount of features and the audio\/video transfers are pretty good.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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“Criminal Minds”: Season 8 (2012-13)<\/strong><\/p>\n


REVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
The Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Genre(s): <\/span><\/b>Crime, Suspense\/Thriller, Drama
Paramount | NR \u2013 1014 min. \u2013 $64.99 | September 3, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span><\/span>
Directed by: <\/span><\/b>Various<\/span>
Writer(s): <\/span><\/b>Jeff Davis (created by)<\/span>
Cast: <\/span><\/b>Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna, Shemar Moore, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness<\/span><\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span><\/span>
Features: <\/span><\/b>Episode Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel<\/span>
Number of Discs: <\/span><\/b>6<\/span><\/p>\n

Audio: <\/span><\/b>English (Dolby Digital 5.1)<\/span>
Video: <\/span><\/b>Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78<\/span>
Subtitles: <\/span><\/b>English SDH<\/span>
Region(s): <\/span><\/b>1<\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Note: <\/b>This review contains spoilers<\/b> about season plotlines.<\/p>\n

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Season 8 of \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d<\/b> finds another change in the cast after the second departure of Paget Brewster, this time by her own choice, and replaced by Jeanne Tripplehorn playing Alex Blake, a senior agent who was made the scapegoat after a mission went wrong years earlier.<\/p>\n

Blake joins the established BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) consisting of leader Aaron Hotchner (THOMAS GIBSON), Supervising Special Agents David Rossi (JOE MANTEGNA), Derek Morgan (SHEMAR MOORE), Dr. Spencer Reid (MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER), Jennifer \u201cJJ\u201d Jareau (A.J. COOK) and technical analyst Penelope Garcia (KIRSTEN VANGSNESS).<\/p>\n

This season, the BAU tackles more cases and attempt to track down new socio and psychopaths before they kill again. In a strange way, the \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d<\/b> series is similar to the Friday the 13th <\/i>franchise in that, with few exceptions, the crimes blend together with only a couple cast changes being the difference.<\/p>\n

Season 8 is not all that different from the other years although the writers try to spice things up with the new addition of Jeanne Tripplehorn giving her an interesting background and tensions with BAU Section Chief Erin Strauss (JAYNE ATKINSON). The season also gives Reid a pseudo love interest with a woman (BETH RIESGRAF from \u201cLeverage\u201d) he only communicated with via pay phones and whose relationship reaches a crescendo with the harrowing episode, \u2018Zugzwang\u2019.<\/p>\n

The major storyline for this eighth season involves a supervillain nicknamed the Replicator who has it out for the BAU by copying solved past crimes. The story unfolds over the course of the season with bits and pieces tailing at the end of different episodes. However, as good as this story was, it\u2019s pretty inconsistent although the two-part season finale, \u2018Brothers Hotchner\u2019 and \u2018The Replicator\u2019, is one of the better of the entire series\u2019 run and wasn\u2019t merely a time waster with no consequences to the team.<\/p>\n

The year also contains a semi-impressive list of guest stars including Ray Wise, Matthew Lillard, Nicholas Brendon (in his recurring role as Garcia\u2019s ex), Brad Dourif, Michelle Trachtenberg (\u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d), Jamie Luner (\u201cProfiler\u201d) and Mark Hamill.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not prepared to say \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d<\/b> is growing tired with its incessant and dark storylines, but the show is starting to show its age. Even so, the cast still shares great chemistry with one another and Jeanne Tripplehorn, while hardly an equal replacement for Paget Brewster, adequately fills the roll well enough.<\/p>\n

Episodes (favorites are marked with an asterisk):
<\/b>1. The Silencer
2. The Pact*
3. Through the Looking Glass*
4. God Complex*
5. The Good Earth
6. The Apprenticeship7. The Fallen*
8. The Wheels on the Bus…
9. Magnificent Light
10. The Lesson*
11. Perennials
12. Zogzwang*
13. Magnum Opus
14. All That Remains*
15. Broken
16. Carbon Copy*
17. The Gathering
18. Restoration*
19. Pay It Forward
20. Alchemy
21. Nanny Dearest
22. #6
23. Brothers Hotchner
24. The Replicator*<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Matching the previous season sets, the 6-discs are contained in three slim cases tucked inside a matted slip case.<\/p>\n

Episode Commentaries
<\/span><\/b>– \u2018The Fallen\u2019: Actor Joe Mantegna & Writers Rick Dunkle and Danny Ramm
– \u2018Restoration\u2019: Actor Shemar Moore & Writers Janine Sherman Barrois and Jim Clemente<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (TRT 2:58)<\/span><\/b> are featured for episodes \u2018The Lesson\u2019 (0:33), \u2018Carbon Copy\u2019 (0:58), \u2018Restoration\u2019 (0:23) and \u2018Pay it Forward\u2019 (1:04)<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: Cooperative Vigilantism (5:20)<\/span><\/b> takes a closer examination of the episode \u2018The Pact\u2019 with interviews by the cast and crew breaking down the plot and characters.<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: God Complex (5:22)<\/span><\/b> is about the episode looking at the plotline and characters.<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (6:48)<\/span><\/b> examines the episode \u2018The Fallen\u2019 and giving a glimpse at Rossi\u2019s young adulthood and serving in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

New Directions (1:53)<\/span><\/b> is a short featurette advertising the organization that helps homeless veterans.<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: Peter Pan Syndrome (7:08)<\/span><\/b> offers a look at \u2018The Lesson\u2019 directed by Matthew Gray Gubler.<\/p>\n

Beautiful Minds (7:05)<\/span><\/b> is about the relationship between Reid and Maeve.<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: Dissociative Identity Disorder (5:13)<\/span><\/b> covers the episode \u2018All That Remains\u2019 and how the story came about and features (primarily) interviews with the writer and guest actor (Ken Olin).<\/p>\n

The Profiler\u2019s Handbook: \u201cObsessive Imitation\u201d (6:30)<\/span><\/b> looks at the season finale and the supervillain, the Replicator.<\/p>\n

The Killing Season (28:39)<\/span><\/b> is a Q&A roundtable hosted by A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness asking questions of various members of the executive producers (some of whom also wrote different episodes this year).<\/p>\n

Alex and Jeanne (5:51)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This featurette examines the new kid on the show, Jeanne Tripplehorn and her character, Alex Blake, and developing her from the ground up.<\/p>\n

Gag Reel (6:05)<\/span><\/b> contains your usual line flubs.<\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\u201cCriminal Minds\u201d: Season 8<\/span><\/b> arrives on DVD courtesy of Paramount presented with a 16×9 enhanced video. Given the tone of each and every episode is quite dark, this is not a festival of colors but it does pretty much match up what is shown on TV just not quite as sharp.<\/span>
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AUDIO \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is low key yet still effective enough showcasing clear dialogue from the center channel while the eerie score, as well as ambient noises, makes use of the front and rear speakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Overall, \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d: Season 8<\/b> isn\u2019t bad with a few highlights throughout the year including a fun supervillain in the Replicator and Jeanne Tripplehorn\u2019s first foray is semi-satisfying though not an equal replacement for Brewster and some of the stories are getting tiresome blending together like a Friday the 13th<\/sup><\/i> sequel. The DVD released by Paramount does offer a respectable amount of features and the audio\/video transfers are pretty good. As a fan of the series, and even though it\u2019s not quite up to the same quality as previous seasons, I still would be happy to include it in my collection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Brian Oliver, The Movieman<\/span><\/i>
Published: <\/span><\/b>09\/19\/2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cCriminal Minds\u201d: Season 8 isn\u2019t bad with a few highlights throughout the year including a fun supervillain in the Replicator and Jeanne Tripplehorn\u2019s first foray is semi-satisfying though not an equal replacement for Brewster and some of the stories are getting tiresome blending together like a Friday the 13th sequel. The DVD released by Paramount … Continue reading “Review: “Criminal Minds”: Season 8 + Screen Caps”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1043,2315,1041,1665,1044,1664,1040],"class_list":["post-6161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dvd-reviews","tag-a-j-cook","tag-jeanne-tripplehorn","tag-joe-mantegna","tag-kirsten-vangsness","tag-matthew-gray-gubler","tag-shemar-moore","tag-thomas-gibson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6161"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6172,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161\/revisions\/6172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}