Criminal MindsMasterpiece
Original Air Date: Nov 19th, 2008
JD - TwoCents Reviewer
JD@thetwocentscorp.com
Sometimes I think the people at Criminal Minds like to try to shock us with their casting choices for unsubs. We've had James Van Der Beek (who was so surprisingly good, I had to question my entire existence), Frankie Muniz, Luke Perry... and now they've given us Jason Alexander as Professor Rothschild. I was skeptical. But after watching Masterpiece, the question must be asked... Who ever knew George Costanza was such a creep?!
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[photo: Vivian Zink/ABC Studios]
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Criminal Minds
ReplyDeleteMasterpiece
Original Air Date: Nov 19th, 2008
JD - TwoCents Reviewer
JD@thetwocentscorp.com
Sometimes I think the people at Criminal Minds like to try to shock us with their casting choices for unsubs. We've had James Van Der Beek (who was so surprisingly good, I had to question my entire existence), Frankie Muniz, Luke Perry... and now they've given us Jason Alexander as Professor Rothschild. I was skeptical. But after watching Masterpiece, the question must be asked... Who ever knew George Costanza was such a creep?!
When the episode begins, David Rossi and Spencer Reid are having a Bad Day. Not as bad as the woman and her daycare children that the unsub has nabbed, but we'll get to that in a minute. After an opening sequence that was just as pretty as it was disturbing--the trapped family crying and banging on walls to get out of their confines, juxtaposed with with classical music and Da Vinci--we cut to Reid and Rossi giving a recruitment lecture at a college. That's not the part that's going badly. It's more that Reid seems to have an innate knack for dragging the room into awkward silence. Really, the world is a better place for Reid not having taken up stand-up comedy.
When they're done with their lecture, Reid and Rossi leave the class and start to head back to Quantico, when they're approached by Professor Rothschild...
Warning sign number one: Do you hear how that guys talks? Only lunatics and B horror movie villains talk like that.
Warning sign number two: He gets Reid's joke. In fact, he sees it and raises it. Again, why are my two profilers' red flags not going up yet?
Warning sign number three: Oh yeah, he just happens to be carrying around photographs of seven women he's murdered by showering them with acid. Um... ouch.
It seems like we've caught the unsub a little early, doesn't it?
But there's always a catch. Rothschild tells Rossi and Reid that he has five other people captive, and they're all going to die in less than nine hours if the BAU doesn't find them. Rossi calls Hotch to tell him what's happening, actually uses the word 'hinky' in normal conversation, and then the hunt is on!
Right away, Rothschild seems fascinated by Reid (and who isn't?), and completely hell bent on tearing a chunk out of Rossi's ego. He seems to think of himself as an artist too, comparing himself to Da Vinci. Rothschild is absolutely placid when he's taken in, so the team decides the only way to to get information is to shake him up. They decide to start reverse profiling to see if they can determine who the past victims were by looking at the unsub. They begin with the photographs, determine that all the women have dark hair, and they have a start.
Oh, and Reid? He has to go sit in a corner. He's told that even with Rothschild asking for him, he's not allowed to be part of the interrogation. Instead, Rossi takes Prentiss in to confirm the theory that Rothschild hates brunettes, which works when Rothschild recoils from her as if... well, as if he'd been burned by acid.
Rothschild continues to insult Dave's intelligence once she leaves. Paint Reid unhappy. Paint Rossi defensive. And paint the whole team out of luck when Rothschild finally tells Rossi another part of the plan. All five victims won't die at once in nine hours. One will die every two hours. It's time for a new strategy, and when Hotch suggests Dave let Reid in on the interrogation, paint the entire viewing audience disbelieving when Rossi appears to be playing right into Rothschild's hands.
This entire episode is just plain fun. I should probably not be be so gleeful when fictional women and children are in danger of dying. But I was.
Not only is this episode fun, though, it's beautiful as well. From the opening sequence, to pictures fluttering down after Rothschild throws them, to the 360 on Reid when he's figuring out the puzzle, and even what that puzzle represented, it really felt like the folks at Criminal Minds were trying to create art with the episode, as much as Rothschild thought he was making art with the women he murdered.
I should probably just come right out and say it: I think this is the best episode so far this season. The unsub was original; his methods were exciting, and scary, and oddly beautiful. Jason Alexander was surprisingly good, considering in my mind, he'll always be the voice of Duckman.
The climax had me at the edge of my seat in the best way ever--in the way that you're staring at your screen in little spasms of anxiety over something terrible that has happened to your favorite people in TV land, even when you know it just couldn't have happened at all, when you know something is not adding up, but you can't figure it out. I have to admit, I completely bought what the show was trying get me to buy, believing exactly what it wanted me to believe about Rossi's faults and what was really happening. Did you guys? Oh, tell me it wasn't just me!
Paint this reviewer really, really pleased. What did you guys think? Give me your two cents!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was sucked in by what they wanted me to believe at the end. I knew they just couldn't be killing the whole team but Rossi, but I had no idea he'd figured all that out and foiled Rothschild's plan.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised by Jason Alexander's acting. If by "pleasantly" I mean "I hated him, but it's okay because I was SUPPOSED to hate him and his acting was spot-on".
I love the focus on Rossi, and the quotes from his books. Those quotes made me even more convinced that Rossi, not Gideon, was modeled after legendary real-life profiler John Douglas. Douglas' books are definitely worth a read by all Criminal Minds fans. It was great to see Rossi's tough-guy nature come out at the end, too.
I thought the black & white action sequences intercut with Rossi's last few minutes with Rothschild were also part of the beauty of this episode.
I couldn't disagree more about Jason Alexander's acting. By putting on a long wig and speaking softly, we're supposed to buy that he's a menacing guy? Ask yourself if you could actually picture his character hurting these women and disposing of the bodies . . . I didn't see it. He was an actor playing at what he thought a psychotic killer should act like. And though I didn't see the complete surprise at the end coming (the taped confession), once Rossi started commiserating about how his faults and (seemingly) agreeing with Rothchild - I knew something was up. It just isn't in Rossi's character to doubt himself so easily. Jason Alexander should have taken a page from his George Costanza playbook and taken every instinct he had about playing this character - then do the opposite.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous ~ the last 3 minutes that we have with Professor Rothschild is the window into how this long haired, soft spoken guy is menacing. It's the anger boiling under the surface that makes this type of character so effective. He's nice enough to be believable on the surface, slick enough to slide through life ~ and yet psychotic and twisted to the core. When he's in control of the situation (playing Rossi, pissing off Derik) he's calm & cool as lemonade ~ but take his control away, show him that he's not a genius & he's an attacking killer bent on revenge against all the people who have harmed him.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm still not sure how I felt about Jason Alexander in this role (he was good but I couldn't get past George having hair and a southern accent) ~ this was one of the best story lines they've done.
The visual effects of art & the music were spot on. Bravo!!
(Gotta say, the new girl is good - but they'd better bring JJ back soon!)
Carfinel ~
ReplyDeleteI got sucked into the idea that Dave's ego was getting in the way of the case. Of course, there was no way they were killing the team, though, but until Rossi said, "What did I ever do?" I didn't realize that Rossi was scheming somehow.
Yes! It was definitely good to hear excerpt from Rossi's books. I think even if you haven't read Douglas' books, it's interesting to get Rossi's perspective on page. We already knew he was for the death penalty, for example, but it was intriguing to know why.
I love the sequence at the end... even if it had me worried. :)
Anon ~
ReplyDeleteI suppose it all depends on how you look at it. From my perspective, it was the character doing an impersonation of a "menacing guy", not Alexander. He talked about being born with an extra Y chromosome, and has obviously read Rossi calling his brother evil. In someone with that level of psychosis, it's entirely possible he became what he thought he should become. XYY was debunked, but Rothschild obviously still believed evil (or perhaps even eeeviiil, mwahaha!) was his destiny. Though everyone, of course, will view Alexander's performance differently. I can definitely see your perspective, even if I don't agree.
It just isn't in Rossi's character to doubt himself so easily.
I AGREE.
I suppose I should have been more specific, but I wasn't because I hate to give away endings in the actual review, specifically where something we are obviously supposed to believe is revealed as untrue.
I believed totally that he was letting his ego jeopardize the case. That IS something we have seen before, and the unsub was certainly getting to Rossi if he accused Hotch of thinking he was stupid. When it got to the final scene with Rothschild, I still believed Rossi's ego was spurring him on right up until Rossi said, "What did I ever do?" And then, yes, a massive red flag went up in my head. Is Rossi stubborn to a fault sometimes? Yes. That is the part of this that I bought into, that he could screw up out of his own stubborn pride. Does he question himself in the face of a serial killer? No, you are absolutely correct!
Slice of Paradise ~
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how people can see a character so differently, and it often can swing so wildly from love to hate. Not that I'd say I loved Alexander here, but I was pleasantly surprised by him. I'm just looking at my screen amused now that of the three of you who have commented so far, and then me (I've typed up my version of why I liked him in my comment to Anon just above, if you're interested), there doesn't seem to be a single opinion that's the same. Ah, variety! :)
I'm so glad you agree about this being a great storyline! I'm not sure I'd say that in the grand scheme of things, but I think it's the best this season, in my opinion!
(Gotta say, the new girl is good - but they'd better bring JJ back soon!)
Oh, well, I have to admit, JJ is not a character that excites me much. I'd love Todd to stay. Though... I really don't think I like where this is going with Morgan. If they're going to throw them into bed together, yes, please bring JJ back, and soon.
Did anyone else notice how Rossi suddenly has a first name? Don't they usually call him "Rossi"? First the un-unsub (he's not unknown!) calls him David, and then Hotch calls him Dave. Seemed weird.
ReplyDeleteYes, "Dave" has similarities to John Douglas. Also Robert Ressler.
The whole Mwahaha Cant-stand-ya thing: I had kind of mixed feelings. He was spooky, but a little uber-spooky. But JD makes a good point, he may have come off as a stereotypical evil maniac because it wasn't genuine for him, just a role he took on.
The way the whole episode was so focused on him though, added to the whole melodramatic stereotypical feel. It's like Jason Alexander said "Sure I'll do an episode, but I want a character I can really show off my acting chops with, something that will make everyone forget about George Costanza."
Jenny -
ReplyDeleteActually, Hotch calls Rossi "Dave" most of the time, if not always--they have know each other for quite some time. Also Reid often calls Rossi "Dave/David" (usually David) a lot, particularly when speaking directly to him. No one else on the team seems to call him by his first name though, at least not on a regular basis. I think it's like an "old school" kind of thing, maybe? Maybe back when he was starting the BAU, everyone used their first names more often? And of course, Reid picked it up from Hotch, I'm sure. (Or maybe the writers wanted to show him moving past his hero-worship stage with that!) :)
As far as Rothschild, I'm sure he was calling him David just to try to mess with him by being too familiar. :)
"Sure I'll do an episode, but I want a character I can really show off my acting chops with, something that will make everyone forget about George Costanza."
Ahaha! Oh, maybe it WAS Jason Alexander with the eeeviiilll schemes, after all. ;) Poor man. He'll never get out of the pigeon hole.
I can totally see it either way; I just didn't dislike it in the least.
I think Hotch always calls him "Dave", and at least twice (in "Limelight" and "Mayhem") Reid has called him David, which I think is cute. :D
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Rossi uses people's first names, too. Doesn't he call Morgan Derek a couple of times in Season 3? Oh, darn, an excuse to break out the DVDs and find out!
Oh, yes! Dave DOES tend to use first names, doesn't he? I think you're right! I think it's sort of charming and "old fashioned". (That might not exactly be the right words for it, but it's what I'm using anyway.)
ReplyDeleteI guess you're right about the Dave/Rossi thing. I think I was probably thinking of YOU. You usually refer to him as Rossi! Guess I got a little confused! :)
ReplyDeleteOH! I DO call him "Dave" more frequently than "Rossi" outside of this site. Actually, I tend to call Reid "Spencer" a lot, as well, because I'm clearly on a first name basis with them.
ReplyDeleteI normally try to keep the first names out of my reviews, though, because most people think of them by last names. Guess I slipped a couple of times. Whoops. :)
I've been watcthing this on A&E and have fallen in love with the series. However, I thought the surprise ending of this particular episode was contrived. Rossi explained he "knew" Rothschild wouldn't kill 10 people that day because 10 didn't fit the sequence. BUT how did he know that Rothschild was really targeting his team instead of the kidnapped victims (which also numbered 5)? Also, neither set of potential victims fit the previous pattern of humans with "perfect" facial proportions (with the exception of Morgan who is impossibly handsome). Oh well, I guess you can't expect "perfection" in the "masterpiece" episode.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me if there is anything existential about this episode?
ReplyDeleteI totally and completely agree with the person who posted as Anonymous on January 31, 2010 10:40 PM. it really frustrates me that no one else was incredibly bothered by the fact that Rossi was able to "save the day" by somehow knowing that his team was being targeted instead of the kids.
ReplyDelete