So my roommate and I have a full slate on our livingroom DVR. We are total Bravoholics, from Real Housewives to Flipping Out to Make Me A Supermodel – we watch them all. We also seem to have a very strange penchant for crime shows like CSI (NY, Miami and Las Vegas), Numb3rs (not really so much), and Criminal Minds. I think our favorite of the crime shows is Criminal Minds. We start watching on Friday night on A&E and don’t finish watching until sometime Sunday night. Totally hooked. Like we were totally devastated when Garcia got shot. Like she’s part of our family, too.

The other night we were watching an episode and found ourselves wondering if some of the crimes depicted actually happen. Then we thought, “Oh hell, even if they don’t actually happen, who the hell in their right minds thinks this crap up??” We sit for the hour yelling at the characters to not go in that room because the bad guy is in there or don’t turn around because the bad guy is right behind you. I should find a tape recorder for when we watch tv. We’re even worse when watching The Vampire Diaries.

One of the reasons that I like Criminal Minds is because it’s not a normal whodunnit where a crime is committed, witnesses are questioned and then the field of suspects is narrowed down until, finally, an arrest is made. Most of the Criminal Minds crimes are serial cases, meaning a person or persons commits the same type of crime over and over using a particular pattern. Like the Son of Sam and BTK. Also, the investigators are not local police: they are from a division of the FBI called the Behavior Analysis Unit. They study the crime scenes and then draw together the data of the previous crimes to put together a profile of the criminal they are after.

Aaron Hotchner is the leader of the team and he oversees the other investigators and helps them to piece the puzzle together. David Rossi was a retired profiler, but returned because of a 20-year-old case that he promised the victims he would find who did it. Dr. Spencer Reid is the youngest of the group and assists with analyzing the logistical and psychological aspects of the case. Derrick Morgan is total eye candy, but serves as a big-brother-type to Spencer Reid and handles some of the heavy-handed work during investigations. Jennifer Jareau (JJ) handles the media including press releases and putting together profile packages for the local law enforcement. Penelope Garcia is the tech chick who specializes in cross-checking databases for information the team needs or that can help fill in missing pieces. Garcia and Reid are the godparents for JJ’s son, and Garcia and Morgan have absolutely adorable phone conversations that just make me wonder if one day they won’t actually hook up.

I could care less about the validity of their methods and whether or not the techniques used actually work. My concern is always being entertained. Up until a few months ago, quite honestly, I hadn’t given Criminal Minds much thought because it was just another crime show. But now that I have been watching it (new episodes are set to record on the DVR), I’ve grown accustomed to the characters and my roommate and I agree that all we want for Christmas is a Garcia.