Fans of CBS‘ Criminal Minds are grieving the departure of Shemar Moore, an original cast member who touched us in each episode as FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan. His tough-yet-sensitive character played a major role in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team, and it is difficult to imagine the show without him.
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I think, however, that Criminal Minds, though an aging drama in its 11th season, will stay around for at least another season; we have yet to hear confirmation on a 12th, though. Some characters carry a show to the point that it collapses without them, but the BAU is enough of an ensemble to continue even without a key character. Undoubtedly, though, the departure of Derek, who said a tearful goodbye to his comrades in a recent episode after becoming a father, leaves a void requiring a new actor to fill.
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And I, a Cold Case devotee who still laments the cancellation of this incredible show in 2010, have just the solution. Let’s bring Danny Pino, who played Philadelphia Police Detective Scotty Valens in Cold Case, on board to play a new hunter of bad guys for the BAU.
Pino plays the tough-detective role perfectly. As Valens, he did it alongside Kathryn Morris (Detective Lilly Rush) for seven years of Cold Case, and then, as NYPD Detective Nick Amaro in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for four years. With Pino, producers of CriminalMinds could create a whole new lawman character in the same mold, and know that he will play it well and attract viewers with his intensity and good looks.
But I have an even better idea, far-fetched as it may sound. I say CBS resurrect the Valens character from Cold Case and move him to Criminal Minds, with Pino as the same character. Those who didn’t watch ColdCase won’t get the connection, but they don’t need to; they would just know that this new agent is a former Philadelphia homicide detective. And we Cold Case fans, angry that CBS just cancelled the show without the proper finale and closure that Derek got, would get a new incarnation for a part of the thrilling and touching series we loved.
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After all, BAU agents sometimes deal with child predators. In one memorable Cold Case episode, The River, Valens kicked the !@#$ out of a pedophile trolling for kids in the park. Though the detective was stepping outside of legal bounds, we fans all were thinking, “Go Scotty!”
So, how about it CBS? You can save one popular show and (sort of) bring back another!
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