Being a big fan of the TV show Criminal Minds, when I heard that they were shooting a segment in Frazier Park I jumped in my car and went to town. When I arrived there were at least a dozen big white trucks and a big, black SUV parked neatly out of the way. When I found the crew handling the shooting they were down at the little pink house on Pomona Trail just north of Mt. Pinos Way.

It was totally amazing to see how large the crew was. There must have been 120 people there to handle the innumerable functions required for the filming. I walked over to Phil (who was obviously in charge of something) and asked if I could speak to him for a few moments. It turned out that he was a location manager and was happy to speak with me. He told me that they would be shooting from Monday until Thursday and where they would be.

About this time I turned around and out came Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) from the house where the crew had been filming. What a nice and sensitive person. He immediately gave the people standing around all the autographs and pictures that they were clamoring for.  When I asked Mathew if he could give me a little background, he said his only experience had been a small part in a movie called Life Aquarius and then got the call to try out for Criminal Minds.

Later on I had the opportunity of meeting Shemar Moore. He had spent seven years in the Young and Restless and was very popular in the series.  He got the call to Criminal Minds and is now in his fifth year with the program. He is a very astute and self assured man who felt that the show appealed to such a cross section of the public because of the dark side with justice prevailing and the compassion shown by the actors.

Next I was so lucky to meet Joe Mantegna, one of the later actors to come on board. I complimented him for showing the empathy and respect for his fellow members of the show. That really seems to be the backbone of this wonderful program. He is my favorite character and just seems to fit his part so well.

My compliments to April Webster, who has done a superb job in casting this show. I would certainly love to meet her someday for she has a fine eye for characterizations. Some of the other people that I did get to meet were on-set location manager Greg Friedkin and on-set dresser “Fleabag” as he is lovingly called. “Fleabag” was dressed for our cool weather in his bear hair pants.

Everyone I met on this location was without exception extremely polite, happy to speak with me and answer any questions that I had. They were equally nice to the small entourage that was following them around town all week. They included Scarlett Martin, Sierra Kerr, Rhianna White and Drew Ludwig.

So on May 12 at 9:00 p.m. on CBS be sure to tune into Criminal Minds. See if you can recognize our little town depicted as a small town in Alaska (with scenes shot at the top of Mt. Pinos), the house on Pomona Trail and Big John’s Restaurant.