Unlike a lot of crime shows, Criminal Minds does more than make you fall in love with it's main characters. It gives you background information and important events in the characters life that give you a better understanding of the character and how they became the person they are now. We learn all of the information I'm about to include about two main characters in just the first two seasons.
Mathew Gubler's character, Spencer Reid, is a genius who is a socially awkward FBI Agent. He remembers everything he reads-- like a walking encyclopedia. His father walked out on him and his mom when he was younger. He put his mother in a mental Institution when he was 18 because she had schizophrenia and was unable to take care of herself and needed help. For a while, none of his coworkers knew that his mom was in a mental institution. He wrote her every day but never visited. He did this because he was scared seeing what the schizophrenia could do and he was afraid someday he might become just like her. We found out about his family history in episode 22 and 23.
Shemar Moore's character, Derek Morgan, is a strong and charismatic FBI agent. He is attractive and a fun-loving guy, which is why it is so easy for him to get women to like him. Though getting a date is easy for him, he never actually has a girlfriend. His reasoning for this is because the job takes up most of his time. Derek grew up without a father and got in with a bad crowd. The community youth center director, Carl Buford, took him under his wing and helped him become a football star and promised to get him into college. Everyone considered Buford a hometown hero, but actually, he was the complete opposite-- he helped boys by making them football stars and promising them a future but it came at a price. Derek was sexually abused by Buford and we found out later that he was not the only one.
Another reason it is a must see show is because the characters Garcia and Morgan have a strange and interesting relationship. You can't help but love their repertoire. They aren't together but the way they talk to each other makes you wonder why not.
The show explains about how to find criminals and serial killers. Unlike most shows that go by evidence and witnesses, they do more than just that. They explain what type of person did this and the most likely age of the person. They look more at what the evidence says while most shows just have evidence tested.
If you have never seen the show you should. The characters are lovable and memorable. The plot always keeps you interested and on edge. Plus the show looks at crime in a way that's much more different than most other related shows. If you love Law and Order or CSI, try this one on for size-- you might just find a new favorite show.
