Profiler - Season 3

Rating:
Summary: FROM A GREAT SHOW TO ...
Review: BACKGROUND: Dr. Samantha ("Sam") Waters (played by Ally Walker) used to be a forensic psychologist/profiler for the FBI until a serial killer obsessed with her, called "Jack-of-all Trades" ("Jack"), killed her husband. She quit the Bureau & went into hiding. Sam & her daughter, Chloe (played by Caitlin Wachs), had been living with Angel (Sam's best friend; played by Erica Gimpel), an artist. Sam made ends meet as a photographer until her mentor & friend, Bailey Malone (played by Robert Davi), asked her to help the FBI solve a series of murders at the same time when "Jack" resurfaces. After the suspect of the murders had been caught, Bailey asked Sam to rejoin the FBI on a full-time basis. Sam agreed but she set certain conditions. The new FBI unit, headed by Bailey Malone, was called the Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF). The VCTF was in charge of investigating & solving violent crimes all over the US - this included tracking down the elusive "Jack" who continually taunted Sam.

SESASON 3 (some spoilers): In the end of Season 2, the audience was left with a cliffhanger - in the jail where Sam eventually kills Jill (played by Traci Lords). The third season picks up from where Season 2 ended but it takes on a different route (which was weak compared to the previous two seasons). The storylines were not very interesting especially that "Jack" was caught in the first episode of Season 3.

Furthermore, there were a number of major inconsistencies: (1) Marcus Payton (played by Shiek Mahmud-Bey), who had a significant part in the final episodes of Season 2, was nonexistent (the character's departure was never explained), (2) Chloe's age was moved up 3 years (from 8 years old to 11 years old) even though in the timeline of the show, there was no 3-year interval (the season begins right where Season 2 ended), & (3) Sam's religion was suddenly changed from Catholic (emphasized in Season 1 - the episodes "Unholy Alliance" & "I'll Be Watching You") to Baptist (shown in the first episode of Season 3 - "Coronation").

Since "Jack" was caught, Sam, Chloe, & Angel moved out of the safe house. Sam bought a house where she & Chloe lived while Angel moved someplace else. Hence, there were only a few episodes that included Angel (compared to the first two seasons).

Sam had a love interest (with someone from the District Attorney's office prosecuting "Jack's" case) in Season 3 but the chemistry just wasn't there (not like in Season 1 - with Sam & Coop (played by A Martinez)).

In my opinion, the two good episodes in Season 3 were "Otis, California" (where there is a "surprise" involving "Jack") & "Burnt Offerings".

Season 3 ended with Sam being kidnapped by "Jack" & Bailey being shot by "Jack".

The 3rd Season was a disappointment especially if you had watched the first two seasons. A great show became an average show - a show that one would watch because of being a fan from the start of the series &/or in the hope that the storyline would improve.

OTHER COMMENTS: In the beginning, "Profiler" was an exceptional series. It had a female lead: an FBI agent working as a profiler that was BRILLIANTLY played by Ally Walker. Ms. Walker was able to portray Samantha Waters as a strong & intelligent woman without sacrificing the character's femininity. She convincingly played a mother (to Chloe) & friend (to those around her). Samantha Waters was one of the best female characters that have ever appeared on TV. I loved the fact that "Sam", with all her problems, still had a good sense of humor (especially around Bailey). While watching the series, one could really feel for what "Sam" was going through. As for the other characters in the show, a viewer could sense that the core VCTF team (Sam, Bailey, Grace, John, & George) was like family. This could only happen with a great supporting cast. The series was very successful in integrating a short plot (good for a 1 hour show) & a long sub-plot (the "Jack" storyline). I don't know why so many changes were made during Season 3.

The show lasted for 4 seasons on NBC but Ally Walker only stayed on until the 1st 2 episodes of the 4th Season. The new profiler for the remainder of the 4th Season was played by Jamie Luner. With all due respect to Ms. Luner, in my opinion, Ally Walker was the one & only profiler.

Even if Season 3 is weaker than Seasons 1 & 2, I'm happy that "Profiler" Season 3 is now available to pre-order on DVD. I hope that the last season of the show will also be made available in DVD format so I can complete my collection.

Rating:
Summary: Without a clue
Review: I ordered this DVD set with great excitement. I waited VERY impatiently for it to arrive. When it finally did I tore open the box and happily placed the first disc into my DVD player. That's when my emotions hit rock bottom. None of the episodes are captioned, that's bad news to a deaf t.v. junkie. The fact had not even entered my mind that they wouldn't be captioned so it was a great shock to me. The television shows are all captioned, all the several t.v. shows I own on DVD are all captioned. Why would such a well know distributor of fine shows like A&E release a show without captioning it? They are the final losers though. Take a look at the percentage of deaf and hearing impaired in our nation. A&E are shooting themselves in the foot by not making it available to those hundreds of thousands. Yes, not just a few, a multitude.

Rating:
Summary: A truly wonderful and dark series.
Review: Much darker than almost any series you'll ever watch and Ally walker, robert davi, and the rest of the cast are perfectly cast. I just wish it would have stayed on longer than it did.

Rating:
Summary: A truly wonderful and dark series.
Review: Much darker than almost any series you'll ever watch and Ally walker, robert davi, and the rest of the cast are perfectly cast. I just wish it would have stayed on longer than it did.