"Criminal Minds" Derailed (2005)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Félix Enríquez Alcalá

Writers:

Jeff Davis (creator) and
Jeff Davis (writer)

TV Series:

"Criminal Minds" (2005)

Original Air Date:

23 November 2005 (Season 1, Episode 9)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A paranoid schizophrenic takes other passengers on a train hostage, including Elle.

Plot Keywords:

FBI Profiler | Serial Killer

Cast

Mandy Patinkin	...	Jason Gideon
Thomas Gibson	...	Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner
Lola Glaudini	...	Elle Greenaway
Shemar Moore	...	Derek Morgan
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Dr. Spencer Reid
A.J. Cook	...	Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
Chris Bauer	...	Dr. Theodore "Ted" Bryar
Kirsten Vangsness	...	Penelope Garcia
Susan Gibney	...	Linda Deaton
M.C. Gainey	...	Moretti
Jeff Kober	...	Leo
Anil Raman	...	Josh Patel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kendall Clement	...	Train Security Guard
Kevin Cristaldi	...	Anderson
Phinneas Kiyomura	...	Medic
Stephen Moffatt	...	State Trooper
Scott Norris	...	SWAT Team Member
Alice Rietveld	...	Elaine
Mark Stefanich	...	HRT Commander

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Company:

CBS Paramount Network Television

Goofs:

Factual errors: There are many errors in the Texas drivers licenses shown. A standard drivers license would be Class C, not class 0; the seal is wrong; a license always expires on the birth date of the holder; the numbers are inconsistent with the dates they were likely to be issued given the ages of the holders.

Quotes:

Elle Greenaway: Um, Reid, you probably saved my life in there.
Dr. Spencer Reid: Probably? I totally saved your life.
[he smiles]
Dr. Spencer Reid: And I'm pretty certain it was caught on tape.

Too Many Unexplained Scenes Make This Not One Of The Better Episodes

A delusional, paranoid mental case, prodded by his "buddy," takes five hostages on a train headed toward Dallas. One of the hostages in the train is "Elle" from the BAU of the FBI.

We hear a few quick profiles of some of the other passengers at the beginning of the show before the whack-job takes control. Since the show never followed up on this stories, what was the purpose that....to kill another three minutes of the show? Later, there were more unexplained actions by people, leaving this a bit disjointed.

Gideon and the BAU team must discover why this man of severe delusions wants to see "someone of higher authority" (someone of official government capacity, we find out) and why he "wants it removed" before he totally cracks and starts killing people. The BAU must find out what "it" means, too.

It's supposed to be a super-suspense story, but I didn't find it such. It was okay, but the first time so far in this series that I can safely say it's not an episode I wouldn't watch a second time. It wasn't one of the more intelligent episodes of the season.