Alex on CM: "The Big Wheel" - SPOILER thread

[lafluffy]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/04/30/we ... sode/17730

TVbytheNumbers is saying they will have Wednesday night's ratings up around 12:30 pm EST.

Thank you, susie. Question: in your expertise, how do you think Alex presented his character? Believable or not? I'm curious as to your take on Vincent, now that you've seen his performance..

Unfortunately, the writers seemed to have gone off profile. These types of psychopathic killers have no remorse, they can't feel empathy for their victims. They can usually fake it pretty good (ala Ted Bundy), but Vincent had empathy and caring for Stanley. That was definitely off profile. He even was "sorry" he had to kill Alice. Was he faking it? Perhaps, but to me that was real emotion, something these types of killers cannot feel for their victims (again per what I've come to understand about the makeup of these killers). So yeah, they went off profile a bit, but even the BAU Team said that it was very unusual, so there's that.

Personally, I don't think Vincent was off profile. I doubt that most normal serial killers are capable of feeling empathy. However, because Vincent was driven by his OCD, to me that makes him an exception. OCD drowns out reason and common sense...you get stuck so much in your rituals, that you no longer think about why you do something. However, it certainly does not drown out empathy. Vincent, despite his extreme OCD triggered actions, was still capable of experiencing compassion.

Vincent was driven by his inability to process the trauma and process it successfully to repeat the event.

[francis]

Thank you, Jade, for the caps.

[SirenSong]

OK, here's the translation of those rating numbers I posted above from the same site:

Fox’s American Idol stood well above the competition at 9 p.m., with 21.85 million viewers and a 7.5/19 among adults 18-49.

Tied for second behind American Idol was ABC’s Lost and CBS’ Criminal Minds as follows:

Wednesday 9 p.m.
Criminal Minds (CBS)
Viewers: 13.27 million (#2), A18-49: 3.3/ 8 (#3)

Lost (ABC)
Viewers: 8.81 million (#3), A18-49: 4.0/10 (#2)

Although Criminal Minds came in second in terms of viewers, it came in third in terms of the 18-49 demographics. Both the number of viewers and the 18-49 rating is par for the course. In other words, it didn't do any worse than previous outings of CM so it should rate pretty highly in the Nielsen ratings. (It should land as one of the top 10 shows for the week.) This is actually very good in terms of number of viewers because Lost was broadcasting its 100th episode so the likelihood it would pull viewers from CM was there.

Amy V.

Hmmm....this is kind of disappointing. If CBS was expecting a bump because of Alex's appearance, they didn't get it. The April8th episode was slightly lower than this, but April 22nd and March 25th were higher in both total viewers and demos. I was hoping that it would at elast reach the 14 million mark. The upside, it might still make it into the top 10, but we'll see.

[willing freshie]

Also, and this is probably not the best time to admit this, I have OCD, so a lot about this episode hit me pretty hard. .

Kelly, not sure if it was on this site or another, but I talked about my OCD. It takes me 1-1/2 hours just to go to bed at night for all the "rechecking" I have to do. If someone interrupts me, I have to begin from the beginning again. My hubby says to just stop. I can't. What triggers it is fear that I left something important undone and I check it, and the doubt sets in, so I check it again and again---you know what I mean. I tell people that in my brain I know it is foolish but I can't stop. If I try to, I break out sweating and feel nauseous. I was highly organized as a teacher and it helped me that way a lot, but the night time is horrendous! I know you get it!

[mwj01]

The only real question I had after viewing last night's episode was why Vincent kept killing women who looked like his mother. After rewatching the episode 3 or 4 times, I paid more attention to the video of his mother's death and realized something that I didn't on first viewing. (you bright and attentive ladies probably picked this up first off)

His mother was carrying on an affair in the house while Vincent was home. The father comes in, catches them in the act, throws the other man out and that's when the violence starts. The father yells at the mom about how she could do this with their son in the house and she yells back that she hates him (the husband) and hates her life. That's when he stabs her.

So is he killing these women as some sort of punishment for her actions or as some sort of way to keep her with him?

I wondered if that was part of the motivation too when I heard her say that she hated her life, that Vincent was punishing 'her' for destroying his life and possibly emulating his father's behavior. I think more so though that he was trying to relive the event to 'undo' what had happened since it had broken him. When he looked in the realtor's eyes as she was dying, it seemed like he was searching for recognition from his mother, especially by the way he cocked his head. There seemed to be a slight desperation too in his expression, which I take not as punishment, more like needing a connection with his mother. On the ferris wheel with Stanley, there was sadness and regret when he said he had seen his mother die too. I think another reason he related to Stanley was because they shared that sadness over their mothers being taken away from them.

[willing freshie]

. He REALLY held in any outward display of the enormous, in fact fatal, pain he was feeling, because he wasn't gonna miss his date with that child.

That is an excellent point, Grace!

[coco]

Just caught up on all the CM chat since this morning.

Jade!!! Thank you so much for the CM caps. You have no idea how much I'm loving those.

Kelly thank you for sharing your story with us and shedding light on some of the things from the episode. It makes a lot of sense and adds a great deal to the episode for me.

I'm going to have another watch of the episode later as I watched it at way too early an hour this morning and I'm sure I missed things and I'm really looking forward to the re-watch too.

[nayp]

The good news, 5 million more people saw Alex on CM, than watched him on Moonlight, demographics were real close with Lost (that still drives me nuts, viewers are viewers, and in todays economic conditions the over 50 are better off), and almost 4 million more viewers than Lost.

As for American Idol, unless someone taped another Moses separting the sea, there is no stopping that show. Sorry for all those that like this show, I am missing how this show is staying this strong. Same old, same old, thing every week.

CM was amazing this week, and the last 5 minutes of that episode, was Emmy winning.

[willing freshie]

I really need to give props to the writer of that episode. It was rich with meaning, and the extraordinary way Vincent was made to be sympathetic character is a testament not only to the talent of our guy, but the writing of the role.

You realize that Simon Mirren was the writer. He is the one who was trying to write a pilot with Alex earlier this year and CM is his show. Alex says this episode was written FOR HIM and Simon and Alex are good friends.

[VAsusieQ18]

Kelly, by off profile, I mean the BAU Team were wrong in their profile. What you've said is exactly what I was trying to say, but you said it so much better Early on in the episode, they tagged him for a sexual psychopath. That was wrong. Vincent was not filming these women to relive the moment for sexual gratification. We then learn that Vincent's mother had been stabbed to death by his father. Vicent stayed with his mother for hours, most likely witnessing the life pass out of her, out of her eyes. Thus his fascination with watching the eyes of the women he killed. Obviously no one recognized the mental health issues that a young Vincent was dealing with and this illness, combined with his OCD, ultimately let to the man we see as an adult Vincent. I would have loved for the BAU Team to realize their mistake and admit as such before the episode was over. Again, I can't wait to talk to my work colleagues tomorrow and see what they think. As I said above, they actual hate Criminal Minds with a passion, saying they oversimplify a very complex and always evolving science.

Alex did a great job of showing how scared, alone and confused Vincent felt in the real world. He struck out at the perceived source of his misery, i.e. these women and/or society in general. His OCD only added to the psychosis he'd been dealing with as a result of witnessing his mother's murder.

[darlingcat]

. He REALLY held in any outward display of the enormous, in fact fatal, pain he was feeling, because he wasn't gonna miss his date with that child. /quote]



That is an excellent point, Grace!

I just watched the scene when Vincent is getting shot and "treats" his wounds. The expression in his eyes when he is in such pain breaks my heart

(Someone posted the epi on youtube already)

[mwj01]

OK, here's the translation of those rating numbers I posted above from the same site:

Fox’s American Idol stood well above the competition at 9 p.m., with 21.85 million viewers and a 7.5/19 among adults 18-49.

Tied for second behind American Idol was ABC’s Lost and CBS’ Criminal Minds as follows:

Wednesday 9 p.m.
Criminal Minds (CBS)
Viewers: 13.27 million (#2), A18-49: 3.3/ 8 (#3)

Lost (ABC)
Viewers: 8.81 million (#3), A18-49: 4.0/10 (#2)

Although Criminal Minds came in second in terms of viewers, it came in third in terms of the 18-49 demographics. Both the number of viewers and the 18-49 rating is par for the course. In other words, it didn't do any worse than previous outings of CM so it should rate pretty highly in the Nielsen ratings. (It should land as one of the top 10 shows for the week.) This is actually very good in terms of number of viewers because Lost was broadcasting its 100th episode so the likelihood it would pull viewers from CM was there.

Amy V.

Hmmm....this is kind of disappointing. If CBS was expecting a bump because of Alex's appearance, they didn't get it. The April8th episode was slightly lower than this, but April 22nd and March 25th were higher in both total viewers and demos. I was hoping that it would at elast reach the 14 million mark. The upside, it might still make it into the top 10, but we'll see.

I'm not sure if this source was posted; this is the one criminalmindsfansblogspot references:

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2009-4-3 ... -wednesday

"American Idol" did its normal "American Idol" thing in the 9 p.m. hour, delivering a 13.0/20 for FOX. CBS' "Criminal Minds," featuring guest star Alex O'Loughlin, was second with an 8.4/13. The 100th episode of "Lost" on ABC had a 5.5/8. Repeats of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" on NBC and "90210" on The CW trailed.
CBS moved into first at 10 p.m. with an 8.1/14 for "CSI: NY." NBC's "Law & Order" had a 5.1/9 for second. ABC's "The Unusuals" was third with a 3.4/6.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

[VAsusieQ18]

Yeah, I'm kind of dissapointed in the ratings as well. I was hoping for a uptick in viewership. Somewhere around 14 or 15 million. Looks like CM averaged the same number of viewers that it does every week. Its never going to beat American Idol, but then no show will. And Lost was having its 100th episode, so I guess I should be happy that the numbers remained constant. Still, I can't help but feel a bit down about those numbers.

[mwj01]

Kelly, by off profile, I mean the BAU Team were wrong in their profile. What you've said is exactly what I was trying to say, but you said it so much better Early on in the episode, they tagged him for a sexual psychopath. That was wrong. Vincent was not filming these women to relive the moment for sexual gratification. We then learn that Vincent's mother had been stabbed to death by his father. Vicent stayed with his mother for hours, most likely witnessing the life pass out of her, out of her eyes. Thus his fascination with watching the eyes of the women he killed. Obviously no one recognized the mental health issues that a young Vincent was dealing with and this illness, combined with his OCD, ultimately let to the man we see as an adult Vincent. I would have loved for the BAU Team to realize their mistake and admit as such before the episode was over. Again, I can't wait to talk to my work colleagues tomorrow and see what they think. As I said above, they actual hate Criminal Minds with a passion, saying they oversimplify a very complex and always evolving science.

Alex did a great job of showing how scared, alone and confused Vincent felt in the real world. He struck out at the perceived source of his misery, i.e. these women and/or society in general. His OCD only added to the psychosis he'd been dealing with as a result of witnessing his mother's murder.

I agree, it would have been nice to hear the team acknowledge that the killings weren't for sexual gratification.

Speaking of young Vincent witnessing his mother's murder, it was just a flash but did the kid seem 'off'? Odd reaction I thought.

[mwj01]

I was really hoping to see a noticeable blip in those numbers too. Was the 100th Lost ep heavily pushed?