Last fall, Mandy Patinkin explained why he abruptly left the CBS series “Criminal Minds” in 2007. “It was very destructive to my soul and my personality,” he said about working on a weekly procedural obsessed with the warped thinking of serial killers. “Audiences all over the world use this programming as their bedtime story,” he added as a bit of social commentary. “This isn’t what you need to be dreaming about.”
Looks like many American TV viewers don’t agree with Patinkin, despite the fact that he’s the mensch of the century as Saul on “Homeland.” We kind of, sort of, love serial killers, who surface all over the “dial,” most recently on Fox’s nascent hit, “The Following” and the CW’s “Cult.” Patinkin or no Patinkin, “Criminal Minds” has remained in Nielsen’s weekly Top 15 for five of its eight seasons. Twenty-two years after its release, “The Silence of the Lambs” has become a defining influence on programming, as these series probe the magnetic dynamic between detectives and serial killers. NBC, aware of that trend, is returning to the source on April 4 with “Hannibal,” in which Hugh Dancy’s FBI agent turns to Mads Mikkelsen’s Lecter every week for assistance.
Comments
Nice article, the power of life and death will always be interesting, mans desire to be God like, can be a very scary thing.. Best kept to the fantasies of the book or TV...
Great article. "The Following" started out with some promise, but got "24", circa seasons 5 thru 8, stupid, in a hurry. I remember the Red Sox had a player named Dave Stapleton, who to my mind is the only baseball player ever to have his batting average drop from year to year for his entire career. "The Following" just keeps getting worse and worse with each episode and is indeed the Dave Stapleton of TV dramas.
Thanks for this, it's thought-provoking. I agree about the first few seasons of Dexter as a great journey into both psychological and moral issues of violence and justice. I recently read this book by Zach J. Hoag that also explores Dexter's spiritual side: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-But-The-Blood-According/dp/0984779027/. Nothing but the Blood: The Gospel According to Dexter might provide some additional food for thought!
Also, I love bearded Mandy Patinkin :).