Criminal Minds (CBS) is the new CSI.

For me, anyway.

I don't watch a lot of TV. Or, I should say that I'm not loyal to too many shows. I do watch quite a bit of TV, but most of it is the typical male, non-commital channel surfing. I watch some older shows like Seinfeld, Star Trek TNG/DS9, and other shows that I used to watch regularly when I was single. But lately, I just don't have the time to invest in a show. I can't just watch a show at random. I want to be drawn. I don't want to religiously watch a show mindlessly... as if that statement makes any sense.

CSI is my favorite show on television. At first, yes, I was captured by the whiz-bang effects, the camera "movements" and the interesting science. But, I've really found that, after the two knock-offs (Miami and NY), which have the same effects and all, what draws me to the show is the characters: Grissom, Warrick, Sara, Nick, Katherine, and especially the coroner and Brass. Even the minor characters have a great interaction with the main characters. It's almost as though the show lucked out in a way because the chemistry is just fantastic. And it is really just that. CSI: Miami and CSI: NY have the same everything except the characters, yet I can't stand CSI:NY (even though I love Gary Sinise) and it wasn't until recently that I actually started to like CSI: Miami. I could go on about CSI: Miami and the things that bother(ed) me about it, but that is another blog.

So, I've started to watch Criminal Minds. And I love it. It's one of those few shows that I look forward to every week. It's intriguing, suspenseful and has a lot of information. And then there are the characters. I don't even know all their names yet and I like them. They aren't paper cut-out stereotypes. The nerdy genius guy is just that, but there's more than that. He has the same social shortcomings that can be expected, but he's not annoying or cutsie about it. The woman is smart, but she's not like Callie Duquesne in CSI: Miami: impossibly sexy and hardly realistic. Even Katherine in CSI is sexy, but believable. The white guy is slick and professional, but it's not forced. The black guy is macho and cool, but he's down-to-earth and smarter than he lets us realize. And agent Gideon is like Grissom. He's just got layers, like an onion. He plays a great part and he's a natural. And the chemistry between all of them is fantastic. There are no/few special effects and not a lot of action. It's all plot and character, which is why I like it.

Now, do I believe that all the stuff that they talk about is true? It's hard to say. It all sounds believeable. I don't know if bombers are perfectionists. I don't know if kidnappers are "collectors." And I don't know if an FBI agent, according to tonight's episode, could actually accomplish a kidnapping without getting caught. But, I want to believe it, and that is what makes good television. And when I don't have the dissonance in my own mind that, "Oh man, that's never gonna happen," or "That can't be true," then I can simply enjoy the show. And that I do.

All I can say is that I hope I can get CBS in Kuwait.