The summer doldrums have forced me to watch shows I would usually surf right by on the way to Parks and Recreation or Top Model. For some reason, I keep getting caught up in the CSI franchise, and especially Criminal Minds.
Oh Criminal Minds. You have a decent cast (I have leftover goodwill for Joe Mantegna from his Joan of Arcadia days) and are a good way to spend an hour while folding laundry. So why must you overuse the word “unsub”?
The term, which Wikipedia tells me stands for “unknown subject of an investigation,” is uttered by all the characters (studly black guy, stern white guy, brunette lady and quirky lady with a crush on studly black guy) ad nauseum. For me it’s become the equivalent of fingernails on chalkboard.
“Where’s our unsub?” “The unsub fits the profile of the Springfield serial killer.” “If I’m guessing right, we’ll find our unsub at Subway.”
I’m not kidding. Watch this clip.
As Cathy would say, ack.
