#CRIMINAL MINDS BEYOND BORDERS EPISODE 4 SERIAL#
#CRIMINAL MINDS BEYOND BORDERS EPISODE 4 CRACK#

The show trades on a real, tangible fear many Americans have about travelling abroad, falling victim to some horrible crime and being stranded thousands of miles from home. A deeper issue is the fact that there's something undeniably xenophobic about the execution of Beyond Borders.

#CRIMINAL MINDS BEYOND BORDERS EPISODE 4 SERIAL#

Are we really to believe that every single mission this team deals with involves a serial killer targeting innocent Americans? If serial killers were even remotely as plentiful in real life as they are on TV, humanity would be extinct by now.

#CRIMINAL MINDS BEYOND BORDERS EPISODE 4 CRACK#

It wants to continue the usual formula of a crack team hunting down criminal masterminds lurking beneath the surface of polite society but also focus on a team aiding American tourists in distress. The show also seems a bit at odds with itself in terms of its premise. The city of Bangkok is depicted mainly through generic stock footage, with the actors themselves spending their time standing against green screens or occupying small, closed sets alongside extras who speak remarkably clear English. For one thing, it's often painfully apparent that the show isn't actually being filmed abroad. But that approach creates its own problems, as well. International unsubs beware.Īt the very least, one would think that the international angle would help bring a little flavor and variety to the show. The lone bright spot is the charming rapport between Simmons and Davis, who function much better as a duo than as individual characters. Sinise and Williams both feel especially wasted in their roles, with the latter doing little more than consoling worried parents and making phone calls to the rest of the team. And even in Seger's case, most of that development occurs in the form of a few exposition-heavy conversations between her and Garrett.

Apart from Seger, little attempt is made to flesh out these characters or give them more than the barest hint of a personality. At one point Sinise's character helpfully reminds his colleagues that serial killers often start out by murdering animals, which shows you the extent to which this show is willing to plumb the cavernous depths of criminal psychology. A crime is committed, the team assembles, Sinise's monologue delivers a thematically appropriate proverb and then the characters go about their business of making implausibly rapid deductions about their 'unsub' (unknown suspect). Beyond Borders is almost aggressively generic in how it deploys the usual procedural tropes and builds on the familiar Criminals Minds formula. The team's first mission brings them to Thailand as they track down two college girls kidnapped by a local psychotic. In her place is Clara Seger (Law & Order's Alana de la Garza), a worldly cultural anthropologist with a knack for languages and a tragic past. The big change is that Anna Gunn's character has quietly vanished. His team includes Special Operations Agent Matt Simmons (X-Men Origins: Wolverine's Daniel Henney) as the obligatory handsome muscle, Medical Examiner Mae Davis (The Intern's Annie Funke) and Technical Analyst Russ 'Monty' Montgomery (Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams). Gary Sinise makes his return to the realm of procedural crime drama as he plays Special Agent Jack Garrett, an accomplished leader only slightly less generic than his name would suggest.

The majority of the cast featured in that backdoor pilot return for the new series.

Criminal minds beyond borders episode 4