Mindhunter: Episode 1

October 13, 2017 6:20 PM - Season 1, Episode 1

In 1977, frustrated FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford finds an unlikely ally in veteran agent Bill Tench and begins studying a new class of murderer.
posted by Fizz (18 comments total)

There's a very Silence of the Lambs blended with the smarter first season of Criminal Minds (before it went way off the fucking rails) feel to this show. I'm digging it thus far.
posted by Fizz at 6:22 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

I really wish it were gender swapped because I like Debbie much better than Holden.
posted by AFABulous at 7:34 PM on October 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Holden is not a likeable kinda guy. He's awkward, but not in that annoying super savant way. I like that it's not obvious where this show is going. I first thought, oh, these two guys are going to drive around the country and solve murders! When it didn't happen that way, I was initially frustrated with the fact that they just left the police department, driving in the dark, but leaving it so open ended is refreshing.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:20 PM on October 13, 2017

I really wish it were gender swapped because I like Debbie much better than Holden.

I've already finished this. No spoilers, but I'll just say that she's not as background as the series progresses further.
posted by xyzzy at 1:12 AM on October 14, 2017

I finished as well... couldn’t turn it off. Really enjoyed it... the pacing is stretched out in places but I liked how they took their time with everything . No spoilers..., but it’s good.
posted by pearlybob at 11:14 AM on October 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

Get some sleep, xyzzy and pearlybob!
posted by AFABulous at 11:28 AM on October 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was looking for something to watch yesterday. Was tired and had a couple of hours to kill. Decided to give this a shot. Almost turned it off in the first half hour because I found it blah and then it grabbed me. I finished it early this morning and only because I fell asleep for the last 2.5 episodes.

The characters all got more interesting and complex as the series went on. Like others I liked how the main characters wasn't always likeable and not a super hero stereotype. I also found the portrayal of the development of this type of profiling and looking at criminal behavior interesting from a historical and social perspective. Some of it, including terminology which is now common and even mundane even outside law enforcement was so radical.

The portrayal of the time period was also a treat. There were so many little details that weren't necessary for the story but for me made it so much more richer. Everything from the coffee machine graphics (oh I remember those) to the foil wrapped baked potatoes in the fancy restaurant gave it an extra layer of enjoyment.
posted by Jalliah at 12:56 PM on October 14, 2017 [4 favorites]

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would going in. (I binged the entire thing as well.)

I'm going to rewatch the first episode before I comment on it specifically so that I don't reference wrong stuff.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 8:27 PM on October 14, 2017

Holden is not a likeable kinda guy.

whoa I thought he was the first genuinely likeable white male protagonist of a TV series I have seen in the last ten billion centuries approximately. it is damn hard to write a patient, earnest, naive, powerful man who is neither vicious nor arrogant nor stupid, in a moderately realistic TV drama (i.e. one in which you cannot just pull a Dale Cooper and let reality worry about itself.) I don't know about the show overall and 1977 is a hard time to watch at the best of times. and he might turn out to be a total cock in episode two and following. but god damn he was likeable here. admirable too.

that is pretty amazing for a serious show with a man in the center of it, like most of them. it is almost impossible to get a male actor to play a character who doesn't come across like he knows the show is about him and expects it as his due. but Holden was all right all the way through.

the other main dude is just a garbage bag full of smirks and him being played intentionally that way doesn't make me like it. but one likeable man is already one more than I expected so hey.
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:48 PM on October 14, 2017 [12 favorites]

I'm most of the way through the first episode and popped into see if the general take matches mine. I'm liking it rather a lot, but I like period pieces, and the 70s has recently receded far enough back—and my own childhood memories of it gotten hazy enough—that I'm not irritated by revisiting it.

The Age of Ultron GIANT PLACE TEXT is a bit odd though and throws me out of mood. Would rather it was more like ⅓ the screen size, and in a font more period appropriate. Minor quibble though. It's pleasantly cerebral for a crime fixated show.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 9:03 PM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

I started watching this because my kid is sick so we're confined to bed and I needed something to watch. I'm really liking it but the Kansas references at the top of the episodes are making me think about BTK and nobody wants to think about that.
posted by blessedlyndie at 9:40 PM on October 14, 2017

Almost turned it off in the first half hour because I found it blah

Huhn, I just paused it at 33m21s to come over here and say Blah, and also Meh Acting! It's been a long while since I read Douglas' book but I remember finding it really engaging, whereas this so far feels, well, blah. The scene with the sleeve & bare apartment sort of put me off too; IIRC, Douglas came over as a pretty healthy, decent human, and I'm not too interested in yet another tortured and boring Will Graham. I'll finish the episode - thanks for the unintended encouragement, Jallilah! - but am a little disappointed by this.

Also, because I am 37 going on 78, that sex scene didn't need to be so graphic.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:54 PM on October 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

I learned from this show that It's Always The Mother's Fault.
posted by Orlop at 1:12 AM on October 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

I like the evolving dynamic between Bill and Holden. I'm 3 episodes in.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:13 AM on October 15, 2017

I learned from this show that It's Always The Mother's Fault.

I have not read the source material so I can't say it is or isn't accurate but it beggars belief that all these reasonably well educated men had to do hours on hours of disturbing interviews with very tall murderers to start to get a glimpse of this radical notion that if a man likes to kill women, he definitely thinks that women are just the worst and he definitely thinks it is their fault for making him hate them. as if everybody except apparently the FBI did not already know about and agree with this theory. in the 30s, never mind the 70s. Holden mentions Freud, for heaven's sake, so you know at least he knows.

also I have already gotten sick of Holden getting all his good ideas from his girlfriend who understands basically everything about human psychology. the more right she is the more galling it is. I assume it gets worse.
posted by queenofbithynia at 9:23 AM on October 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

I read Todd VanDerWerff's review on Vox yesterday (I used to like his Mad Men reviews of old), and watched the first episode - so far so good
posted by growabrain at 11:25 AM on October 15, 2017

I am just here to note that it was filmed in Pittsburgh.

I liked it, and I like Holden. I agree with queenofbythia, he's (thus far) a vanishingly rare example of a male lead who is not an asshole, but still complex and interesting. Like, someone realized that there are more traits to pick from your Interesting Character grab bag than just "arrogant dick."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:17 PM on October 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

My girlfriend usually hates procedurals and cop shows but she enjoyed this and said she would be happy to continue watching the series, so that's good I guess (since Mr. Mercedes and Get Shorty just finished). I enjoyed it enough and liked the modest "twist" at the end.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:04 PM on October 16, 2017