CM: I found Ashley far more recruit-like this week-- asking questions and learning. I can live with that.

And they are setting up Prentiss for quite the breakdown, aren't they? ::sigh::

I just finished watching last night's CM. Really well done, even though it was almost exclusively Morgan. Strauss has grown on me over the years, so I like it when she makes her occasional appearances.

One thing that stood out for me was how very Shawshank the score was--way to go, music writers!

Kyle Secor is still a hottie.

Kyle Secor is still a hottie.

Mm... yes. And Phillip Casnoff, sadly, is not.

Good to know. I haven't seen him since VM Season One. Although I often think of him when I eat a grilled cheese sandwich, because of the Bayliss white-boy-grilled-cheese thing.

I was watching Ion's CM reruns last night, from Tabula Rasa through The Angelmaker.

Both Tabula Rasa and The Angelmaker hold up really well as standalone eps. I love all the flashback stuff in TR--the first time we see young Reid, he's wearing the same sweater he was wearing in the series pilot (even though MGG's face has definitely changed a lot over the years, especially the chin and nose), Morgan is back in his suit and tie, and Hotch is wearing his wedding ring. Even better, though, is the modern day stuff. CC (the prosecutor) hitting on Hotch, Hotch taking out the defending attorney by profiling him from the witness stand, Reid re-bonding with the victim's dad and stopping him from killing the murderer, JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia tracking down the murderer's birth mother. Just an excellent ep overall.

Oh, god, profiling the attorney. That's one of my favourite Hotchalanches. It's smoking.

And Reid's talkdown is great too.

Oh yeah-- profiling the attorney rocks, especially when Hotch says the phone is about to vibrate and the whole courtroom is looking at the phone.

And Reid reciting that portion of Wordsworth slays me, every single time.

Funny, though, that you mention those eps as particularly good standalones, Kathy, because I was thinking the same exact thing last night, about both of those episodes. Tabula Rasa, in particular, I think gave us one of the most sympathetic UnSubs because we didn't get to know him as the UnSub in the process of committing crimes, but in a really unique aftermath.

I honestly think that there are large chunks of seasons three and four that have really outstanding standalone episodes. Perhaps fewer in S5 and now, so far in six, I'm not really grooving on them as a whole. Much as I loves me some Shemar, the episodes have been a little too Morgan-centric, or at the very least, have felt unbalanced, which is odd, given that for the most part, they've been one cast member short.

I think so far, this season, my favorite one was the one with the reveal of Garcia's hobby of acting.

That was cool in the episode, but so unlikely in real life. She can really get off work at scheduled times for rehearsals and performances? She has time for that in addition to her victim support stuff? Eh.

so far in six, I'm not really grooving on them as a whole, so far. Much as I loves me some Shemar, the episodes have been a little too Morgan-centric, or at the very least, have felt unbalanced

Yes, unbalanced is a good word for them! Whereas both Tabula Rasa and The Angelmaker both had great moments for just about everyone in the cast. The Angelmaker had Morgan with the prison guard and then he and Prentiss finding his body in his house, Prentiss and Rossi interviewing the killer's #1 fan, Rossi and Reid dissecting the killer's correspondence and then Reid cracking the code ("What do you need to crack it?" "The ability to clone myself and a year's supply of Adderol?" "I'll make the coffee."), JJ and Garcia tracking down the unsub through birth records ("Your baby's daddy is a math teacher? Well, mine likes to poke people in the stomach with a screwdriver, so there."), and then Reid and Prentiss distracting the unsub while Morgan gets her latest victim out of the house, all while Hotch is trying to keep keeping on, ignoring his ear injury from "Mayhem."