CRIMINAL MINDS ~ Fans Don't Like Change ~ Rachel Nichols

SHEMAR MOORE and Rachel Nichols on the set of
"Criminal Minds"

Rachel as Agent Ashley Seaver

People don't like change and many CRIMINAL MINDS fans were upset by the recent cast changes. Some folks got downright hostile about A.J.Cook and Paget Brewster leaving the series.

Enter Rachel Nichols, a beautiful young actress hired to become part of the BAU. As an outstanding rookie agent (shades of Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs"), Nichols was to open the series to new story line possibilities. As Seaver, Nichols comes with an interesting backstory. She's the daughter of a serial killer. Also, she seems to have a special bond with SSA David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), although the details of that story hasn't been explored yet.

The actress, a veteran of two other TV series ("Alias" and "The Inside") seems competent enough, as demonstrated by the episodes where her character was centric. She has definite charisma in her scenes with Mantegna, but then, Joe makes everybody look good. We need to see more of her interacting with the rest of the cast to make a judgment about her chemistry with them. Sadly, we may never get the opportunity.

The word is that A.J. Cook is negotiating with CBS to come back to CRIMINAL MINDS and Paget Brewster may be back as well. We love A.J. and Paget, too, but what does this mean for Nichols? How many women does the BAU need on one team?

Oh, and the haters are salivating. They would like to see Nichols dumped. They acted like it was her fault that CBS decided to fiddle with the cast. They never gave her or her character a chance. Many of the remarks made on some CRIMINAL MINDS message boards and blogs were vicious. Some of us at LOVING MOORE were appalled at the way this actress has been treated.

Judging by her interviews and her "tweets," she seems like a sweet person. She hasn't deserved all of the venom that has been spewed at her. We don't know what lies ahead for her future with CRIMINAL MINDS, but we wish her the best with whatever projects she works on. Hugs, Rachel!