[dswallow]

I think they should've just canceled the series. The "team" was spouting every theory with every excuse and had absolutely no direction or clue about what they were doing. This "higher-up/director" woman is a moron and I can't believe anybody with any brains would work for her longer than it'd take to resign.

 

[pcguru83]

Wow, what a disjointed episode. It was glaringly obvious that this episode was aired out of order and was shoe-horned to fit into Mandy's leaving the show. What a shame, this show was probably one of the most under-rated shows on TV, and was definitely in my top three.

 

[getreal]

It seemed that Gideon turned out the lights.
I agree that the lady boss was unreasonable, and not altogether believable.
I'm still liking the show, though. Hafta' see how they introduce Joe Mantegna's character over the next week or two.
I don't think the series should stop because of one major casting change. Let's give it a chance.

 

[Rob Helmerichs]

Wow, what a disjointed episode. It was glaringly obvious that this episode was aired out of order and was shoe-horned to fit into Mandy's leaving the show. What a shame, this show was probably one of the most under-rated shows on TV, and was definitely in my top three.

Ironically, it's an episode that was held back from last season because of the Virginia Tech shootings.

I'll wait until the changes Patinkin forced on the series have shaken out before I pass judgment.

 

[ebf]

Ironically, it's an episode that was held back from last season because of the Virginia Tech shootings...

Ah! I was just looking in my recently deleted folder to see if Gidion was in any scenes with the rest of the cast-- I forgot that quickly, but it was already gone. So, this was not actually the real first episode of the season.

 

[Rob Helmerichs]

Ah! I was just looking in my recently deleted folder to see if Gidion was in any scenes with the rest of the cast-- I forgot that quickly, but it was already gone. So, this was not actually the real first episode of the season.

It pretty much was...they reshot parts of it to make it fit.

 

[Peter000]

Dammit, my TiVo didn't pick this up. Guess I'll have to reorder some of my SPs.

 

[ebf]

It pretty much was...they reshot parts of it to make it fit.

So, are you saying this episode was NOT "held back from last season because of the Virginia Tech shootings..."? All the news says Mandy did not show up to work on day one of this season, so this must be an "old" episode-- with the new cabin stuff added in.

 

[Rob Helmerichs]

So, are you saying this episode was NOT "held back from last season because of the Virginia Tech shootings..."? All the news says Mandy did not show up to work on day one of this season, so this must be an "old" episode-- with the new cabin stuff added in.

It was reworked to make it fit in now as opposed to then. I'm guessing a lot of (if not all) the stuff with Hotch, Emily, and Evil ***** are new, and probably most if not all the voice-over (Gideon's suicidal tone would have been drastically out of place). Also, everything with Frank's dead girlfriend had to be new, since she was killed after the Virginia Tech episode was originally slotted.

You said "So, this was not actually the real first episode of the season"; I'm just saying that the reshoots did make it the first real episode of the season, since now it clearly fits into this precise slot in the continuity.

 

[YCantAngieRead]

If they make him kill himself, I'm going to be very disappointed. It's very out of character. I know they have to write him out and that was extremely disappointing, but that just seems like a bad way to go.

 

[getreal]

If they make him kill himself, I'm going to be very disappointed. It's very out of character.

Agreed. Totally out of character for Gideon. But that seems to be the allusion.

I thought back to "Hill Street Blues" when James B. Sikking's character came to the same end. He wrote his note, took off his glasses, put the gun barrel in his mouth, cut to black screen with credits, then sound of gunshot. That was pretty powerful.

 

[dswallow]

Would it really be so wrong for someone to just wake up one morning and decide they didn't want to deal with the serial killer mindset anymore and just quit and get a job washing cars for awhile?

Must they always soul-search, place blame, consider suicide or be attacked to leave such jobs?

 

[Rugged]

out of curiosity...was it ever officially released why Mandy Patinkin left the show? All I remember was creative differences or something like that...What does that mean.

 

[phox_mulder]

out of curiosity...was it ever officially released why Mandy Patinkin left the show? All I remember was creative differences or something like that...What does that mean.

Just how Mandy handles TV jobs.

He did the same thing with Chicago Hope, 2 years into his contract he just up and wanted out of it.

Chicago Hope died soon after Mandy left.

phox

 

[Ntombi]

I'm not sure he'll actually kill himself (I agree it would be completely out of character), but I wouldn't blame the producers for making sure he couldn't come back. As much as I have always LOVED Mandy Patinkin, I don't think he acquitted himself well in this saga at all. As for Chicago Hope, he didn't just not show up for work one day. This was much worse and completely unprofessional.

As for the episode, I think they did really well weaving in his imminent departure without disrupting the story too much. It actually added to it, lending an air of doom over the entire thing.

I'm going to miss him, but I think the show will be just fine. And Joe Montegna is a great choice!

BUT, I'm so sick of the interoffice intrigue. WHY must there always be someone with some hidden agenda, blah blah blah?

 

[YCantAngieRead]

I'm not sure he'll actually kill himself (I agree it would be completely out of character), but I wouldn't blame the producers for making sure he couldn't come back. As much as I have always LOVED Mandy Patinkin, I don't think he acquitted himself well in this saga at all. As for Chicago Hope, he didn't just not show up for work one day. This was much worse and completely unprofessional.

Yeah, I have to agree with this. I love Mandy Patinkin, but he's working REALLY hard at making me dislike him and his antics.

 

[AJRitz]

I don't see it at out of character at all for him to kill himself.

Remember, when the series began he was just coming back on duty after a breakdown occasioned by a field decision that backfired and got several team members killed. He been pushed back to the brink, as he explained, by both his personal and professional "safe zones" being violated. In it's own twisted way, death is the only "safe" way out.

 

[speedy4022]

I don't think the series should stop because of one major casting change. Let's give it a chance.

This is the shows second cast change although the last one was not as major. One more episode and I am finished.

 

[busyba]

Also, everything with Frank's dead girlfriend had to be new, since she was killed after the Virginia Tech episode was originally slotted.

Watching on a big screen in HD, during the shots where Gideon "sees" her in the crowd, you can tell that she was digitally inserted into the scene.

I was confused as to why they would CGI it if they weren't going to do any weird FX with her, but now that I know this was an "old" episode, it makes sense.

 

[bicker]

Just a technical note. thefutoncritic.com is apparently still calling this episode 221, with next week's episode as 301. That's going to get a little confusing, if we call next week's episode S03E02...