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."

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.

I was willing go a little handwavium for that, given how it framed the episode as a whole. But you're right, of course.

The Angelmaker both had great moments for just about everyone in the cast.

And don't forget, "He's so lifelike..."

I'm possibly overly invested in the characters as real people....

Unpossible.

Okay, maybe possible. I'm in no position to judge.

My handwavium was that is was a small company with a short run.

I'm possibly overly invested in the characters as real people....

Who are you talking to?

Heh. It's like how I still worry about Hotch's ears!

Living in DC with a crazy job (though not as crazy as Garcia's), it's possible. it's a pain in the ass, which is why I don't act anymore, but it's doable.

From the Futoncritic:

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- CBS has pushed the next original episode of "Criminal Minds" to Wednesday, January 19 at 9:00/8:00c.

Said installment, originally set for January 12, will serve as the lead-in to the Wednesday premiere of "Blue Bloods" that same night at 10:00/9:00c.

"Bloods" likewise won't air an original episode until January 19: repeats of "The Mentalist" will now fill the Friday, 10:00/9:00c hour on January 7 and January 14.

Ahh, because this season they should make Criminal Minds more difficult for me to stay engaged with the show?

The dvr will watch unless I've dumped cable and then I'll watch or have a quiet break up with CM. Whatever.