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'Criminal Minds,'
facing a midlife crisis

Joe Mantegna steps in as Mandy Patinkin leaves

By Diego Vasquez
Sep 26, 2007

“Criminal Minds” isn’t the first hit TV show to lose its star in the midst of a successful run, but it is the second CBS drama to lose Mandy Patinkin.

The actor, who skipped out on “Chicago Hope” during the 1990s, similarly shocked his co-actors and producers over the summer by failing to show up to work on the first episode of “Minds” and shortly thereafter demanding to be let out of his contract.

That came after a season in which the drama saw its ratings rise despite airing against ABC hit “Lost” and Fox powerhouse “American Idol” and winning the network’s coveted post-Super Bowl slot.

Patinkin still hasn’t really explained what happened, and CBS made it clear that the decision to leave was entirely up to him. But when the show’s third season opens tonight at 9 p.m., it will wrap up Patinkin’s plotline with an appearance by the actor.

His character, Joe Gideon, who has been the leader of the show’s crime-profiling unit, will go through a midlife crisis of sorts that will be resolved by the end of episode two. That opens the door for a new lead, Joe Mantegna (“Joan of Arcadia”), to join in episode five.

How viewers will respond to the switch remains to be seen. Some shows that lost their leads, such as “NYPD Blue” after David Caruso or “Charmed” after Shannen Doherty, remained strong creatively and in the ratings. Others, like “X-Files” after David Duchovny, flamed out almost immediately. Since it is a procedural more focused on crime than personalities, “Minds” has a decent chance at thriving.

“Minds” is coming off a solid season in which it ranked No. 19 on broadcast among households with a 9.0 average, up 8 percent over year one’s 8.3, and averaged a 3.9 in adults 18-49, 5 percent better than the previous year’s 3.7.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	"Dancing with the Stars" (R)	The season's first results show, featuring a performance by Dolly Parton.
8 p.m.	BET	"Hip-Hop vs. America" (N)	The conclusion of a town-hall discussion about issues within the hip-hop community.
9 p.m.	ABC	"Private Practice" (D)	Series premiere. The buzzed-about, Los Angeles-based "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff.
9 p.m.	NBC	"Bionic Woman" (D)	Series premiere. Some loved it and others hated it during upfronts, but what will viewers think?
10p.m.	CBS	"CSI: NY" (D)	Season premiere. During the investigation of a murdered musician, blood is found on the crown of the Statue of Liberty.
10 p.m.	ABC	"Dirty Sexy Money" (D)	Series premiere. A lawyer deals with a wealthy family after the patriarch dies.
10 p.m.	NBC	"Life" (D)	Series premiere. Cop drama following a detective who was wrongly imprisoned for 12 years.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	"My Name is Earl" (C)	Season premiere. Earl adjusts to life in jail, while Randy adjusts to life without Earl.
8 p.m.	ABC	"Ugly Betty" (D)	Season premiere. Betty tries to forget about Henry while Wilhelmina tries to take over the magazine.
8 p.m.	CW	"Smallville" (D)	Season premiere. A mysterious woman saves Lex from drowning.
9 p.m.	NBC	"The Office" (C)	Season premiere. Michael thinks the office is cursed after an accident occurs.
9 p.m.	ABC	"Grey's Anatomy" (D)	Season premiere. Cristina's back, and she tries looking for Burke. She might want to try NBC.
9 p.m.	CBS	"CSI" (D)	Season premiere. Sara's kidnapped by the miniature killer, and the hunt begins.
10 p.m.	ABC	"Big Shots" (D)	Series premiere. Four CEOs bond, "Sex and the City"-style.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform.
8 p.m.	CBS	"Ghost Whisperer" (D)	Season premiere. Melinda makes a surprising discovery while looking into her family's past.
8 p.m.	ESPN2	"College Football" (S)	Fun-to-watch West Virginia travels south to take on South Florida.
9 p.m.	CBS	"Moonlight" (D)	Series premiere. A P.I., who also happens to be a vampire, uses his powers to help people. Too bad he couldn’t help this pilot, which was completely overhauled.
9 p.m.	NBC	"Las Vegas" (D)	Season premiere. Tom Selleck plays the Montecito's new owner.
10 p.m.	CBS	"Numb3rs" (D)	Season premiere. Don tries to track down Colby after he escapes from prison.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:30 p.m.	ABC	"College Football" (S)	Regional coverage, including what should be a good one between California and Oregon.
8 p.m.	Fox	"Cops" (R)	Highlights (or is it low-lights?) from the first 20 years of "Cops."
8 p.m.	ABC	"College Football" (S)	Tonight it's either Ohio State-Minnesota or USC-Washington.
9 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	"Species: The Awakening" (M)	A college professor finds out she may be a descendant of aliens.
10:15 p.m.	HBO	"Boxing" (S)	A battle between undefeated fighters, as Jermain Taylor defends his middleweight title against Kelly Pavlik.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	"Saturday Night Live" (C)	Season premiere. The 33rd season opens with host LeBron James and musical guest Kanye West.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	NBC	"Golf" (S)	Final-day action of the President's Cup from Montreal.
7 p.m.	ABC	"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (R)	Season premiere. Ty and the crew help a Hawaii woman whose home was damaged by a flood.
8:15 p.m.	NBC	"NFL Football" (S)	NFC East rivals Philadelphia and New York match up at Giants Stadium.
9 p.m.	ABC	"Desperate Housewives" (D)	Season premiere. Lynette's chemotherapy is starting to show its effects, which means her cancer might not be secret for long.
9 p.m.	Fox	"Family Guy" (C)	Brian, that's right, the dog, moves in with Jillian.
10 p.m.	CBS	"Shark" (D)	Sebastian revisits the four-year-old murder case of Isaac's fiancée, but doesn't want Isaac to know.
10 p.m.	HBO	"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (C)	Larry regrets getting Richard Lewis' girlfriend a job.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.