Critics vs Criminal Minds

It's a common battle. Two television shows on different networks are placed in the same time slot. Which one will win the ratings war? In the 1990's, ER and Chicago Hope went head to head. ER won and Chicago Hope moved to a different day. One current show that seems to be an up and coming winner of the ratings war is the Mandy Patinkin starred, Criminal Minds.

CBS crime drama, Criminal Minds comes on the same night and time as Lost. At first, Lost was the clear winner of the time slot, but Criminal Minds has been holding its own. It has beaten Lost in the ratings lately, as well as the tv show Daybreak which has been holding Lost's time slot until the show returns in February. ABC seems to recognize the gaining popularity of Criminal Minds, because when Lost returns, it will be to a later time slot instead of directly opposite Criminal Minds.

This is great news for fans of the profiler drama, but the popularity of Criminal Minds has gotten some critics riled up. Not only do they criticize the show, but also the fans. Criminal Minds was chosen for the post Super Bowl spot, and TV Guide critic Matt Roush was not pleased. In his December 4th Dispatch he bemoaned the network's decision to put what he called "the most unpleasant of CBS' many procedurals" in the coveted spot. Matt Roush has spoken out against the drama before, once in his Ask Matt column on December 1st.

Other critics have had a problem with Criminal Minds. The upcoming move of Lost to a later time slot prompted senior Entertainment Weekly senior writer Jeff Jensen to write a column on December 11th. He calls Criminal Minds the "season's weirdest success story." He goes on to make criticisms of the fans of the show. He jokes that they must be hiding their shame, and calls the rise of Criminal Minds "blasphemous." He claims that people who switched from Lost to Criminal Minds must not have been serious fans and only watched for the cute guys.

It's not just professional critics who seem to wonder about the taste of viewers who choose Criminal Minds on Wednesday nights. In the December 8th Ask Matt column, someone posted a letter joking that the viewers must be too old to change the channel.

The ire of critics and some viewers over the success of Criminal Minds is puzzling, mainly when the critics turn their condemnation away from the show itself and insult the fans of the show. Despite this, this "unimaginative" show must be doing something right.