Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Serial killers, mysteries, Paget Brewster
Likes: Shemar Moore, Matt Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness
Dislikes: Gideon leaving
Hates: Cop shows

The Story So Far...
"Criminal Minds" follows a team of FBI profilers who tackle serial killers on a federal level or when invited by local authorities. Made up of a diverse group of agents, the team is led by veteran profiler Jason Gideon (Mandy Patankin) and FBI agent Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) as they attempt to paint a picture of the "unsub," the unknown criminal, in order to catch him. The first season was released on DVD in November of 2006, followed by the second season in October of 2007. DVDTalk has reviews of both sets: Season One | Season Two.

The Show
The announcement that Mandy Patankin would be leaving Criminal Minds was quite a shock, especially with the leader of another great CBS mystery, "CSI," already confirming his own departure from that series. But whereas Gil Grissom had already transitioned into more of a supporting role, Jason Gideon was still the focal point of the show, and honestly, was the biggest reason to tune in, providing an emotional core and dramatic bedrock for the series. Without him, it was hard to see what the show would be.

Part of the problem was how his time in the Behavior Analysis Unit would come to an end, as he was coming off a powerful finale at the end of Season Two, and the writers didn't have much leeway in making a transition, thanks to the curveball. They handled it well though, and wrapped up the storyline in a way that felt organic, if a bit too sudden. Watching Gideon's intensity and emotion for one last time hammered home how hard it would be to replace him and how integral he was as the show's voice, providing the neat bookends that tied each episode together cleanly.

Not helping matters was the status of the team's official leader, agent Hotchner, who was under heavy scrutiny from his boss, section chief Erin Strauss. The ultimate careerist bitch, she forced Prentiss (Paget Brewster) to become her mole at the end of Season Two, and planned to drive Hotch out of the B.A.U. Again, Gideon's departure changed things up, as there's no way the Strauss arc was planned to be so simple and one-dimensional. It probably went in a different direction than planned, but the creators rose to the occasion, and made it work for the show. It also set up the arrival of retired FBI agent David Rossi, in an attempt to fill the void.

Joe Mantegna is a fine actor. I have no issues with him. But unfortunately, he has an incredibly distinct voice, and, in my mind, that voice comes from a chubby animated gangster named Fat Tony. It's going to take some time to break that connection. As Rossi, a celebrity profiler with unfinished business in his past, Mantegna doesn't so much fill Gideon's spot, as it's more like he adds a different tool to the box. A headstrong profiler, he's aggressive and challenges authority, unlike the rest of the team. But, like Gideon, he's experienced and he cares, providing a veteran perspective, a helping hand and a voice of support. But importantly, he doesn't dominate the show, allowing the team to grow and balance out the series.

The episodes following Gideon's good-bye showed how strong the cast is, as there was no noticeable drop-off in the quality of the episodes, which raised the bar when it comes to network TV horror. The killers of "Criminal Minds" are incredibly creepy this season, giving the B.A.U. some of their toughest cases yet, including a killer who puts up missing-person posters BEFORE abducting his victim and an angel of death who fakes a series of suicides. Being the father of a young girl, I was affected by many of the stories, as for some reason there were a high number of child victims, with the episode "Seven Seconds," which focuses on an abduction at a mall, standing out especially. The show really knows how to get to the emotion of a case, using the team members to give viewers an in, if there's no obvious one presenting itself.

Like the stars of most procedural series, the B.A.U. profilers are a flawed bunch, and their personal lives give them no escape from the demons they battle at work. Hotch's home life is crumbling thanks to his focus on work and Reid (Matt Gray Gubler) is trying to overcome the damage done to him by an unsub in Season Two, but no one suffers like the team's analyst, Penelope Garcia. A pleasantly plump and adorably quirky lady, she's prone to letting her guard down when shown some affection, and though it's affected the team before, the consequences weren't as deadly as they are here. But finally, after a few season of innocent flirtation between Garcia and Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), she found a possible match in fellow geeky analyst Kevin (Nicholas Brendon), so things aren't all bad.

The variety of evil the team faces is amazing, and kind of depressing, considering many are inspired by real life murderers. From a satanic cannibal (played convincingly by a somewhat unrecognizable Jamie Kennedy) to a sadistic killer who uses his child as bait, there's no lack of unique villains, and oddly, some of them are sympathetic. "True Night," which features an out-of-character Frankie Muniz as a comic-book artist, is not only artistically different, taking on the look of the artist's drawings, but it also presented a bad guy you really didn't want caught. Instead of always hunting the unsub, this season there were several episodes, including the excellent Reid-spotlight episode "Elephant's Memory," that spent a good deal of time with the criminal, allowing viewers to learn more about them. We also get to know more of the team's past, with glimpses at their first case in "Tabula Rasa."

Everything comes to a head in the season finale, "Lo-Fi," which puts the team in New York City, where a gunman is seemingly killing at random. Unfortunately, it's much bigger than that, and the team's presence may be exacerbating the situation, which they come to realize has terrifying potential. Also unfortunately though, it's ends with a cliffhanger, so if you're just catching up, hopefully you have the first episode of the new season available, because you're not going to feel great with it just ending the way it does.

The DVDs
Another victim of the writers' strike, the 20 episodes in "Criminal Minds"' third season are spread evenly over five discs, which are packed in three slipcased clear ThinPaks (two with dual hubs), which have episode descriptions on the covers. The discs feature animated anamorphic widescreen menus, with options to select individual shows, adjust the set-up and check out special features. Language options include English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, and English closed captioning, though there are no subtitles. For those concerned about edited DVDs, there's a note on the packaging that says "Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions." This seems to be a standard now, as I didn't notice any major changes.

The Quality
Consistency is king, as the anamorphic widescreen transfers in this set look as good as they have in the past two sets, delivering appropriate color and deep blacks, with a high level of fine detail throughout (sometimes a bit too much, when dealing with bodies and wounds.) The show uses many different looks, depending upon the episode, and they all are achieved without issue, as there's no noticeable dirt or damage, and no obvious digital artifacts.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is put to good use on this show, enhancing the sense of dread through powerful music tracks that have ominous bass to put you on edge. The majority of the dialogue and sound effects are fed to the center channel, but it's the little touches in the sides and rear that help put you in the right mood.

The Extras
Deleted scenes are available for six episodes, and though they don't reveal anything series-changing, they are worth a look, especially for one exchange between Morgan and Prentiss and then Morgan and Garcia that's pretty entertaining.

After offering up four solid audio commentaries last season, this year, we get none. Zero. Zip. Nada. It's a severe disappointment, especially with so much happening in the show that would be worth talking about. Perhaps that was the problem. There were rumors of issues that arose because of Patankin's departure, and maybe they just didn't want to talk about it. Either way, it sucks.

On the plus side, there are more featurettes than last time, with six in total, but make sure you watch the series first, since there's a lot of info/spoilers revealed. Up first is "Profile: Rossi/Mantegna," an eight-minute look at the new arrival, both as a character and an actor. It's a solid introduction to the newest profiler. It combines nicely with the 16-minute "Killer Roles," which focuses on the season's villains and the guest stars who play them. As you only get a small amount of time with these characters and actors in their episodes, putting a spotlight on them is a nice change. The 12-minute "From Script to Screen: 'True Night'" goes a step further, showing how that particular episode came together, and Muniz' participation in the show. It was a good choice considering that episode's unique look, and the change of role it symbolized for the former "Malcolm in the Middle" star.

Bringing everything together and serving as an overview of the season is the 20-minute "The Criminal Element: The Making of 'Criminal Minds' Season Three,'" which covers the changes in the show and the big storylines, via interviews with the cast and crew. There's not much detail about the developments with Gideon, as expected, but it's put together nicely, and has enough insight from the cast and crew to satisfy the show's fans.

Less focused on the series is "Shemar Moore: 'Criminal Minds' Wild Ride," a six-minute featurette following Moore's bike-riding team for an MS fundraiser. It's one of those things that makes you really like this show, as the cast turns out to support their pal on their off-time, and you see a star lending a hand to a good cause. That sense that the cast and crew really enjoy working together is extended through a five-minute gag reel that's funnier than most you'll see. For such a serious show, this a very fun group and it really shows here.

Also included are some previews.

The Bottom Line
These team investigative series are all pretty similar in their construction, so they've got to have something special to stand out. For "Criminal Minds," it's the fascinating criminals they tackle each episode, which are supported by smooth, stylish production and a talented cast, who had a solid season packed with great episodes. The DVDs look and sound very good, but the lack of commentaries hurts an entertaining collection of featurettes. With what's essentially a reboot of the series thanks to Gideon leaving, its a decent time for new viewers to jump on, though there's plenty of continuing storylines that make the series deep.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.