Remembering ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 1 With Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Lola Glaudini, And Mandy Patinkin
Was Criminal Minds on CBS better with Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner and Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan? What about Mandy Patinkin and Lola Glaudini who played Jason Gideon and Ellie Greenaway respectively? Where are they now?
Today, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Mandy Patinkin, and Lola Glaudini are no longer with Criminal Minds. A lot of fans are disappointed with some of the casting changes.
Mandy Patinkin suddenly left his Criminal Minds role as Jason Gideon in Season 2, and Lola Glaudini likewise left her role as Elle Greenaway, in the first half of Season 2. Padget Brewster joined the cast as Emily Prentiss in Season 2 Episode 9 according to IMDb, in an effort to fill the shoes of Glaudini.
Thomas Gibson was terminated from Criminal Minds by CBS in Season 12. Shemar Moore left to seek other opportunities late in Season 11. There has been a decline in ratings for Season 12. Will that trend continue in Season 13?
Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, and Kirsten Vangsness will be the only remaining season 1 cast members going into Season 13 since Padget Brewster and Joe Mantegna are also veterans of Criminal Minds by now. They too remain part of the Criminal Minds cast.
Newcomers Adam Rodriguez, Aisha Tyler, and Damon Gupton are struggling to fill some really big shoes, with Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore both so recently missing. As Criminal Minds ratings flounder, in the absence of Thomas Gibson and Shemar Moore, here is a look back in time to the show’s history. Enjoy this look back in time to the year 2005.
Criminal Minds with Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, and Lola Glaudini premiered in September 2005, attracting 19 million viewers. CBS was riding high that year and for the four previous years. CBS surpassed its closest competition, ABC, by two million total viewers in its 2005 – 2006 season, according to USA Today archives.
Criminal Minds with Thomas Gibson, Mandy Patinkin, and Shemar Moore performed exceptionally well in its first year, even though, the show’s ratings never matched their initial premiere ratings. In the beginning, Criminal Minds was shockingly violent and somewhat controversial for the times.
Criminal Minds Season 1 centered around Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon, then at the helm as chief. It wasn’t until the end of Season 2 that Thomas Gibson’s character Aaron Hotchner picked up that mantle and became the BAU unit chief.
Criminal Minds’ first episode, Extreme Aggressor tracked down a twisted killer who had abducted four women. Criminal Minds gore was shocking back in 2005, according to a 2005 review article from USA Today. At least one critic found the violence upsetting and took issue with the portrayal of women as perpetually the victims of sexual predators.
“Perhaps it’s the signature scene: a caged woman, duct tape on her eyes, crying, screaming, struggling, as the killer clips her already bloody nails to stop her from scratching at her blindfold. Or perhaps it’s the plot itself, which plays like a how-to guide for sexual predators.”
Mandy Patinkin would come to agree with this assessment. Mandy left Criminal Minds suddenly without notice. Producers were shocked at Mandy’s departure and afraid Patinkin’s absence would wreck the fledgling show. Patinkin went on to star in Homeland.
Thomas Gibson’s character Aaron Hotchner, affectionately known as Hotch, assumed the position of Unit Chief, which Thomas Gibson as Hotch held until early in Season 12. Thomas Gibson was terminated suddenly in Season 12 Episode 2, following an alleged altercation with a co-producer.
Mandy Patinkin later said he regretted his role in Criminal Minds. Patinkin is quoted in TV Guide.
“The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do Criminal Minds in the first place. I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year. It was very destructive to my soul and my personality.”
While Criminal Minds has certainly not backed off from the gore, it’s hardly an issue in 2017. With shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead taking all the flack now, for gratuitous violence and excessive gore, Criminal Minds violence is no longer shocking. In 2005 though, the first season with Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, and Mandy Patinkin caused quite a stir.
The Criminal Minds original cast included Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Lola Glaudini, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Kirsten Vangsness. Technically A.J. Cook joined the show a little later in Season 1. These seven people began with high hopes, but four left the show along the way.
Criminal Minds stars Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Lola Glaudini, and Mandy Patinkin are learning though that there is life after Criminal Minds.
After Criminal Minds, Lola Glaudini still enjoys a successful career in TV and Movies, both as an actress and as a producer. Among her credits are That Awkward Moment, The Expanse, Persons Unknown, and Certain Prey. Although CBS was, even then, itching to recast the role, Lola Glaudini parted amicably. It seems Lola was homesick for New York anyway according to TV Buddy.
Mandy Patinkin continues to star in Homeland, now in its sixth season. Patinkin is also the voice of Papa Smurf in Smurfs: The Lost Village Mandy is also helping out with the refugee crisis in Greece.
Thomas Gibson, who had not missed a day’s work on the Criminal Minds set in 12 years, has taken some time for himself, traveling and spending time with his children.
Shemar Moore starred in a movie called The Bounce Back and recently landed a role in the promising pilot for S.W.A.T. which will likely become a new series on CBS.
As Criminal Minds wraps up season 12, it’s nice to see where the show has come from. Criminal Minds has been renewed for Season 13, but some fans still miss actors from Seasons 1-11.
#NoHotchNoWatch continues their boycott of Criminal Minds in protest of the termination of Thomas Gibson. #NoHotchNoWatch Protesters meet each Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on Twitter, to honor Thomas Gibson.
#NoHotchNoWatch wants CBS to offer Thomas Gibson his old job back, and to make a public apology for the way Gibson has been treated.
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Current Criminal Minds stars A.J. Cook and Padget Brewster have also been fired from CBS but they returned following fan petitions to save their jobs according to this Inquisitr article.
#NoHotchNoWatch hopes that Thomas Gibson will be allowed to return to Criminal Minds. Sadly, CBS shows no sign of wavering on the issue.
Criminal Minds with Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Lola Glaudini and Mandy Patinkin can still be viewed on Netflix, who have all 11 previous seasons.
[Featured Image by Peter Kramer/Getty Images]
