Law & Order, Cold Case, NCIS, the 190 different versions of CSI… I've always loved a legal/cop procedural. Someone breaks the law, a crack team does whatever it is they do, they nail the sonofabitch, the credits roll.
They might not be especially profound or groundbreaking, but they are clever, inventive and hugely entertaining. I love them all. But my favourite has to be Criminal Minds. Yes, it's sometimes formulaic and not completely believable and everybody's way too good-looking. Doesn't matter. It's still fantastic viewing.
I've been a fan since it debuted in 2005 and my ardour is only deepening. From the start it's been pacy, witty and exciting – with twisty plotlines, thoughtful subtexts and great characters. The show follows the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit as they track down serial killers, terrorists and other dangerous threats to society. They study pathology, run statistics, cross-check patterns and utilise all the tools of modern crime fighting. But they also lean on intuition and experience.
And Criminal Minds is getting better with each season. Earlier episodes sometimes felt a little gimmicky, almost like the show didn't trust its own ability to hook the viewer without ladling on shock turns. But it's progressively become more authentic: deeper, more contemplative and multilayered. The characters are properly believable. Even the geek-cool genius Dr Reid, who could be a cartoon in less skilful hands, is fully fleshed out by excellent writing, pacing and acting.
Indeed the balance of characters in Criminal Minds, up to last year, was as good as it gets in ensemble TV: decent, intense team leader Hotchner; grumpy old owl Rossi; sweet-natured Jareau; wry, intelligent Prentiss; and my favourite, Garcia, a Day-Glo, hyperactive brew of pop culture nerd, emo girl, earth mother and computer whizz.
Season six, which is now airing on Living, has seen Jareau ditched for some perplexing reason, and the appearances of Prentiss reduced. But the remaining characters are still as strong as ever, served by sharp writing and directing. Some episodes, particularly two-parters and season finales/openers, are as deftly constructed, fiendishly plotted and thrillingly, irresistibly enjoyable as anything on television.
Oddly I didn't really enjoy the recent Grim Reaper season opener: Tim Curry was too cartoonish, with his rotting teeth and random, implausible pathology. And they bolted on a sentimental back-story to explain this evil monster, which was out of character for Criminal Minds: the killers here aren't tortured, charming or brilliant. They're creeps and predators and losers… like in real life.
But Season six has since settled into the groove nicely, with two excellent subsequent episodes rinsing out memories of Toothy Tim. JJ had a tense plot, almost like a play, centred on two Leopold and Loeb types, and a touching denouement as the titular Agent took her leave, while last Friday Remembrance Of Things Past was gruelling and gruesome, and scarier than usual, with the team tracking down a killer come out of retirement – a residual nightmare from Rossi's past.
With its torture chamber and double-team of sadistic "hunters", it drifted towards horror, but retained enough warmth, good humour and brisk intelligence to remind us why we love the show, and whet our appetites for more.
Criminal Minds might require a certain suspension of disbelief – they (almost) always get their man. But I can live with that. Because Criminal Minds is also genre storytelling of a superior quality.
But maybe that's just me. What do you think? Will the loss of JJ unbalance the programme? Are they running out of original plots about serial killers? And what about the forthcoming Forrest Whitaker spin-off? Let us know …
• Criminal Minds is on Fridays at 9pm on Living TV