Mindhunter

Well written, well cast, just well done. Why there isn't a 3rd season is beyond me.

I was a fan of Criminal Minds, so it was fun to think this is where the BAU started.

Having the story line based upon real criminals made this believable and interesting. (They didn't shy away from details, although a bit gruesome, was necessary to the plots).

The time period was well done, with the soundtrack truly adding to the atmosphere. The characters were not only believable, but you could empathize with them thanks to the great work of the actors in the cast.

It is criminal (sorry for the pun) that good productions like this eek out only 2 seasons while gossipy, glossy, air-brained 'reality shows' go on for 4-5 seasons or more. It's a travesty - this show was just too smart for the room.

Two episodes in and I'm already hooked. Technically speaking, this series is very good (it's directed by David Fincher, of course it's good) and it stays true (so far) to the real-life crimes it was based on. I can't say the same for the characters, and how close they are to the people who really did this work, but considering their names are different and the book they adapted wasn't some sort of biography, most of their personal (love) lives must be fictitious or at least overtly dramatized.

You see, this series here isn't some kind of good cop, bad cop chase villains and shoot and explode a lot of stuff and at the end of the day (or episode) they go back to their wives and sleep like babies. No. There are way too many series like that, so search elsewhere if that's what you want, because you won't find that here.

Mindhunter is slow. Very slow. At first it might look like an simple thriller but actually it tells the story of two FBI agents in their pursuit to, as very precisely said by Holt McCallany's character, "understand how crazy thinks". But that doesn't come easily. Crazy is crazy. You gotta be crazy to understand crazy. But that doesn't stop naïve Holden Ford from interviewing the most despicable real-life psychopaths alive in America in the late 70's to develop the ideas that will become the tenets of the criminal profiling system.

As I said before, Mindhunter is directed by David Fincher, and as expected from his work, it's impeccable, both pacing and cinematography are top-notch. At the end of the episode you will be like "wait, that's it?" as the credits roll and the song keeps playing like the story is still going on. And somehow you are watching the next episode.

Writing and dialogue are great too. All very natural and haunting. Damn psychos could very much be the real ones. And that gets me to the acting, from what I've seen there's enough to say it's fantastic. The characters are brought to life by the actors. Also, the chemistry between characters Holden Ford and Bill Tench is incredibly real and sometimes, even through the bleakness of their work's nature, hilarious.

To finish off, I'll just say the biggest review cliché: Mindhunter is not for everyone. I know you know everyone says it, but it's truer in this case. If my review and the trailer got your attention, you gotta watch it. If it didn't, you'll probably hate Mindhunter. That's how it goes.

This fictionalized show about the development of 1970's police forensic psychology and profiling is brilliant. It takes a premise, which could have been a documentary, and develops it around fictional and real characters. The scripts and storyline is brilliant. The acting by the main characters, especially the two leads, is fantastic. The Direction by David FIncher and others is movie quality. The 1970's attention to detail is just stunning. The interweaving of the brilliant role outs of real serial killers is just amazing to watch. The people and the scripts surrounding Manson, the Co-ed Killer, BTK, the Son of Sam and more are just fascinating. The is a thoughtfully constructed show and one of Netflix's finest additions. I wish I had watched it sooner.

Today's choices for decent dramatic programming is very spotty so when I saw that Mindhunter was canceled I couldn't be more disappointed. This was an excellent show about the start of the FBI's profiling program. It was well made and acted and now it's gone. The first two season were great though so it is definitely worth watching. There were no story lines that required a third season to wrap up so you won't feel cheated when you realize season two is the end. This show was about the criminals and how they were profiled rather than the FBI agents who did the profiling. It is still a 10 star show even without a third season.

I almost gave up on this around the 2 episode. Something told me to hang in there, and I'l glad I did. If you're fascinated by the psychology and methodology of a serial killer, you should watch the entire series. It does start off slow, but well worth the wait. When it comes to "Mind Hunter," patience is a virtue!