Extreme Aggressor

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

After a fourth woman goes missing in Seattle in a period of four months, the BAU is brought in to track down the abductor before he kidnaps again. Meanwhile, SSA Aaron Hotchner is asked to evaluate SSA Jason Gideon secretly to determine if he is really ready to work full-time again after returning from a six-month leave of absence.moreless
8.9
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Fan Episode Reviews (29)

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  • When women begin to go missing in Seattle and are found strangled several days later, the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico is called in to hunt the killer.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Lady_Lancaster, Jun 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon has just returned to his job as the head of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit following a six month period of medical leave due to his involvement in the case of Adrian Bale, a bomber from Boston. Gideon and his team were on the case when he made a decision in tghe field which, in turn, lead to the deaths of six agents. Gideon suffered an extended depressive episode as a result but is asked to return to help track down a killer known as 'The Seattle Strangler'who kidnaps women and holds them prisoner before strangling them and dumping their bodies.

    Gideon's second in command, SSA Aaron Hotchner, is asked to unobtrusively assess Gideon's fitness to perform his duties but meanwhile, the team still has a killer to find, and with four women already having fallen victim, they know there will be more to come.

    This is an excellent first episode of what has become an amazing show. The incredibly talented actors and actresses, along with terrific scripts and a sense of realism to the characters as well as the events and the way the action unfolds make this show a 'must see'. If you watch this first episode and see the BAU team in action, you'll know why.

    Top class television all the way!moreless

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    4 0

  • The Epitome of a TV Pilot

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By PSUDaugh, Apr 16, 2011 Report Abuse
    I've been a fan of Criminal Minds for a long time but had not seen the pilot until this week. (I'm very thankful to have caught it on A&E.) Thus, I have the benefit of reviewing this episode after years of being a fan of this show. What makes this such an expert pilot is that it preview several important aspects of this series' plot. For starters, it gives a subtle yet revealing glimpse into the personality of each BAU member (and the soon-to-be member, Elle). The episode also shows not only what profiling is all about and how it is an effective criminal detection method, but it also shows (via the Gideon fighting PTSD subplot) how much of a toll profiling takes on the profiler.

    Though I became hooked on Criminal Minds based on later episodes, I feel sure that had I seen this one on its opening night, I would have been immediately hooked.moreless

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    3 0

  • Great Start

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Malora, Mar 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    I do so enjoy psychologically intensive TV shows and this one was every thing I enjoy with enough of a difference to make it stand out. The first time they used the photo to scene trick it was a bit of a shock but worked very well. The establishing scenes with showing small glimpses of life outside the unit were a good addition whilst the story built up slowly, gaining momentum to the all action finale. The facts are clearly stated to make sure the viewer knows what going on and each character was made slightly distinctive.

    The sub plots about Gideon being fit for work and the woman wanting a job showed the viewer that the programme is willing to treat them as intelligent people rather than thrill seekers wanting to see gunfights. There were also light moments to take the edge off the situation. The scene in the classroom was a nice touch whilst the story was appropately tone setting for future episodes.moreless

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    3 0

  • A cop from Virginia gets recruited to solve a series of murders in Seattle, perhaps the work of a serial killer.

    6.4
    "Fair"
    By marvelfan89, Feb 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    Yep, this is similar to other shows "Profiler", "NYPD Blue", " Hillstreet Blues", but it was
    an ok pilot. Was I impressed? Both yes and No. They spun a bit of originality in this
    one by having the character of Gideon be sort of poetic cop who likes to recite lines from Emerson,
    Nietzsche " If you look too deeply into the abyss, the abyss will look into you." Gideon
    is definitely out there.

    His two partners Agent Aaron Hotch (Thomas Gibson), Special Agent Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore) are the standard "by the book" geeks, who sometimes miss the obvious points in an investigation thus their recruitment to get back Gideon into the FBI/Priofiling field.
    I did like the character of Elle Greenway (Lola Glaudini), she's tough and speaks her mind.She and Derek have this gender battle going which is funny. In the pilot, they are tracking killer who likes to keep his victims alive for seven days before killing them, thus exploiting them.
    The killer is pretty clever, and eventually the team realizes that their profile (like most agents will tell ya) are wrong, and thus they start back to the drawing board.They hit paydirt with by tracking some geek who doesn't appear to be a killer but upon further inspection (he hasclippings of Gideon's past work as an agent and rubs it in), and thus the caseis broken wide open. However it's not over, Gideon doesn't think by the profile that this kid is as crazyas he seems and his right, he eventually comes up with a theory that they are two killers.The next couple of scenes are well executed, yet very familiar. They play the good cop/bad cop routine, and use the familiar, "your partner squealed on you bit" to bluff one idiot to reveal the whereabouts of the other. Yes I know it's standard stuffbut actually this is still part of the strategy of most profilers.

    Overall it looks like an ok show. will it last? Well CBS is already filled with cop shows and investigations "Cold Case", "Without A Trace", "NCIS", "CSI", and it's crappy ,crappy imitation "CSI New York", so it may not last due to the fact that they're plate is full but I would give it a look.



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    0 7

  • Disappointed...

    7.9
    "Good"
    By zaha, Feb 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    I expected better from a series that stars Mandy Patinkin.

    I'll start with the positive: The production values were good, there was some suspense, story was decent.

    What didn't do it for me:

    - Shemar Moore overacting.

    - Awkward interactions between the ensemble cast

    - Too many characters (the show would work well with just 2 or 3 agents plus Patinkin. I vote for Agents Hotch, Greenway, and Reid.

    - Uninteresting backstory. I didn't once wonder what had happened to Patinkin in Boston.

    - In this episode at least things were teetering too much between darkness and business as usual. Patinkin is really good at pensive, dark roles, the writers should allow him to go there.

    - Knowing too quickly into the episode just who done it and how. They should take a hint from "Without A Trace" or "Cold Case." The reveal has to happen later in the hour to be good.

    - Lots of psychobabble given to create a profile for the killer but then I didn't see the connection between it except in the most basic way and the actual perpetrators.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • When speaking to Reid, Morgan referred to Gideon as a "unit chief" when, in fact, Hotch is the unit chief and Gideon reports to him.

      Edit
    • Hotch was worried that Haley wanted serial killer names for their son: Charles (Manson), Henry (Lee Lucas) and Jeffrey (Dahmer). Hotch and Haley finally named his son Jack. Edit
    • In the first unsub's home, Gideon found the book Journal of Applied Psychology written by Special Agent Jason Donovan. Jason Donovan was Jason Gideon's name until it was changed after the series was picked up.

      Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • A.J. Cook did not appear in the pilot episode. Edit
    • The song heard at the beginning of the episode was "Penitentiary" by Citizen Cope. The song at the end of this episode was "Rock Music" by The Pixies. Edit
    • The original title for Criminal Minds was Quantico, and the pilot was filmed in Vancouver. In the Quantico script, Jason Gideon was named Jason Donovan. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES

    • Morgan: All right. I'm an insomniac who listens to Metallica to go to sleep at night. What song could possibly speak to me?
      Reid: "Enter Sandman."

      Edit

    • Reid: If so, knowledge of law enforcement does suggest a criminal record.
      Morgan: Or that he watches television. May I?

      Edit

    • Hotchner: (discussing naming their son with his wife) Let's call him ... Sergio.
      Haley Hotchner: Please tell me you're kidding.

      Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • Morgan: 1940s. Who put bombs in train stations and movie theaters?

      George Metesky set more than 30 bombs in New York beginning in 1940, targeting public places such as office buildings and theaters. His threatening notes were signed F.P. for Fair Play. Metesky promised to refrain from his bombing during the years of America's involvement in World War II and kept his promise. When the New York police called on the help of psychiatrist Dr. James Brussel, they requested and received the first criminal profile. This profile figured greatly in Metesky's arrest in January 1957, after which he confessed and was committed to a state hospital. He was released in 1973, and lived peacefully until his death in 1994.

      Edit
    • Richard Slessman: Heirens said a man living inside of his head was the one who committed the murders. You said he was lying; that there'd never been an actual case of multiple personalities. William Heirens was the so-called Lipstick Killer who left the message "For heavens sake catch me Before [sic] I kill more I cannot control myself" scrawled on the wall of six-year-old Suzanne Degnan's bedroom. During his initial defense, he claimed the murders had been committed by another man, George Murman, who lived inside his head. Edit
    • Reid: Before his "Son of Sam" murders, David Berkowitz set a multitude of fires. David Berkowitz, like many other serial killers, kept detailed accounts of his exploits, including scrapbooks of all related media stories. Edit

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Season 1 Episodes

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Compulsion
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Extreme Aggressor

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