Customer Reviews

Profiler - Season One

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dr. Samantha ("Sam") Waters used to be a forensic psychologist/profiler for the FBI until a serial killer obsessed with her, called "Jack-of-all Trades" ("Jack"), killed her husband. She quit the Bureau & went into hiding. Sam & her daughter, Chloe, had been living with Angel (Sam's best friend), an artist. Sam made ends meet as a photographer until her mentor & friend, Bailey Malone, asked her to help the FBI solve a series of murders at the same time when "Jack" resurfaces. After the suspect of the murders had been caught, Bailey asked Sam to rejoin the FBI on a full-time basis. Sam agreed but she set certain conditions. The new FBI unit, headed by Bailey Malone, was called the Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF). The VCTF was in charge of investigating & solving violent crimes all over the US - this included tracking down the elusive "Jack" who continually taunted Sam.

"Profiler" was an exceptional series. It had a female lead: an FBI agent working as a profiler that was BRILLIANTLY played by Ally Walker. Ms. Walker was able to portray Samantha Waters as a strong & intelligent woman without sacrificing the character's femininity. She convincingly played a mother (to Chloe) & friend (to those around her). Samantha Waters was one of the best female characters that have ever appeared on TV. I loved the fact that "Sam", with all her problems, still had a good sense of humor (especially around Bailey). While watching the series, one could really feel for what "Sam" was going through. As for the other characters in the show, a viewer could sense that the core VCTF team (Sam, Bailey, Grace, John, & George) was like family. This could only happen with a great supporting cast. The series was very successful in integrating a short plot (good for a 1 hour show) & a long sub-plot (the "Jack" storyline).

The show lasted for 4 seasons on NBC but Ally Walker only stayed on until the 1st 2 episodes of the 4th Season. The new profiler for the remainder of the 4th Season was played by Jamie Luner. With all due respect to Ms. Luner, in my opinion, Ally Walker was the one & only profiler.

I'm very happy that "Profiler" is now available to pre-order on DVD. I can't wait for the other seasons (all the episodes of the show) to be in DVD format.

I have to take issue with Amazon's Editorial reviewer Jeff Shannon, and his review of Profiler Season I.

Mr. Shannon attempts to review not the DVD itself, but what he *thinks* are the behind-the-scenes truths of the Profiler production. One, he refers to the DVD commentary of Ally Walker - suggesting that she is in fact giving the reason why she left after only "two" seasons. (Psssst, Jeff... it was after THREE seasons - not to mention she headlines the opener of the fourth season).

Then he gives more of his "insight" when he suggests that NBC was troubled by the "miscasting" of Ally Walker. Well, not that I believe Mr. Shannon has any reliable inside information, but what does that have to do with reviewing this DVD? I tend to think that Shannon was insinuating his own feelings about Walker, and trying to use the NBC network - based on rumor - as a way to reinforce them. A more candid review would have read, "I wasn't terribly impressed with Walker, and felt she was miscast in the role."

But that probably wouldn't have held-up against the enormous fan-following of Walker on this show (or as Shannon understated in his review, "growing popularity"), nor would it have stood up well against the fact that after Walker left and was replaced by Jamie Luner, the ratings pretty much tanked.

Make no mistake about it: this is a GREAT show. You will esecially enjoy this Season I DVD. The isolated, episodic stories are each fantastic in their own right, and the Jack thread is very addictive. Ally Walker's performance is compelling, and she leads a solid cast - notably Robert Davi, Peter Frechette, Julian McMahon, and Roma Maffia. You'll watch Season I, and you will RUN to grab Season II.

Profiler is truly a magnificent series. Starring Ally Walker as Samantha Waters, a brilliant forensic psychologist with a unique gift for understanding the criminal mind, the show focuses on the Violent Crimes Task Force, an elite unit of the FBI that investigates the most violent of crimes, including those perpetrated by the infamous serial killer, Jack of All Trades.

The storylines in this show constantly surprise and delight and the on-going cat and mouse game between Sam and Jack is handled with great aplomb. The first season finale, 'Venom', is perhaps one of the show's best episodes, with an intriguing storyline and a shocking cliffhanger.

The cast always turns in stellar performances. Ally is superb and flawless in her portrayal of the tormented but strong Sam. Julian McMahon and Robert Davi are equally good, but mention must be made of the fantastic Peter Frechette and Roma Maffia, who may not be featured as much in the spotlight, but turn in some wonderful performances each week, anyway.

I'm really looking forward to picking up this set, as I've only ever seen "Into the Abyss" and "Venom", the last few episodes of season one. I also really look forward to season two.

The cover art for this set is gorgeous, and keeps very much in with the dark nature of the show.

Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed.

Profiler was a show way before its time. Atmospheric, well acted, stylish and yes, sometimes so edgy it was downright scary....many an episode will leave you with that uneasy feeling long after it is over. A great cast led by the incomparable Ally Walker, Robert Davi, Julian McMahon and Roma Maffia ( the latter two went on to star together in another edgy drama-Nip/Tuck)pulls down some serious dramatic performances....this is a cast ensemble you grow to really care for. The story revolves around Samantha Waters (Walker) a very strong profiler for the FBI's Violent Crime Task Force, who has taken a sabbatical from work after a serial killer known as Jack Of All Trades has fixated on her to the point of stalking her family and killing her husband, Tom, leaving her and her young daughter Chloe alone and vulnerable. Now living with her best friend, Angel, sam is called back into action when the latest MO on a serial killing spree matches Jack. The Jack story becomes a common thread throughout each weekly episode. As far as the boxed set is concerned, the sets are pricey although not much pricier than half of the HBO shows on the market today. In sett One, episode four is missing due to licensing issues over a song that could not be replaced since the story was closely connected to it. Some have found flaws such as picture and sound....I did not find this on mine. The picture is recorded dark and was so in its original run on NBC. I found the sound to be very crisp and clear on my stereo system, in fact louder than most and had to be turnedd down which is unusual with TV productions. not much for extras here...there are commentaries by Ally Walker and Robert davi on the pilot, an A & E episode of American Justice called Profiles of Evil as well as cast bios and stills. i enjoyed the set but bought it at substantial savings through an Amazon seller. Great set worth the purchase! I only gave it four stars because of the missing episode and high purchase price. If you can afford it, it is definitely worth every penny! I enjoyed it even more on DVD than I appreciated it on television! Excellent!

I love this show but can not hear what is being said. How could A&E produce these DVD's without CC. Entertainment companies need to acknowledge that the people who watch these shows and buy the DVD's are of the older population and just do not hear as well as they use to. As for me being a senior citizen, I can little afford to buy from companies that do not provide CC.

This is the show which made me look over my shoulder when taking the trash out at night! Even with episode 4 missing - it's worth it for the super cinematography and cool audio visual elements. A forerunner to '24'-style storytelling.

I was not a viewer when Profiler was first run on network television but now I've seen the first season and I can see both strengths and weaknesses.

Things I liked:

1. Samantha's character and her relationship with her friend Angel in the first couple of episodes. Ally Walker did a great job with this character.

2. Some of the cinematography-- the way the pilot was shot was very good.

3. The way Samantha's flashes of insight where dealt with in the story.

4. The sexual zing between Samantha and Coop, especially when they first met on the series.

Things I found distracting or unfortunate:

1. A lot of scenes are played out in the dark but with glints of light off eyeballs and teeth. The watcher may not know what else is going on but is never in doubt as to where the eyeballs and teeth are in these scenes.

2. Angel was shoved from an artist who created metal sculpture with a blow torch to a baby sitter-- ok, she was teaching art to inner city kids or something, but she was seen most of th time watching Samantha's kid. Really a waste of a good character.

3. Icky saliva sounds that went with all of the love scenes.

Just as a side note the commentaries from Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the pilot are unintentionally hilarious. Unlike a lot of these tracks, these were recorded separately so there is no intereaction between the commentors. Ally tells us things like Robert Davi's infatuation with hair spray and a stetson hat. Robert Davi seems really upset that the series didn't last longer or at least that they didn't do a made for TV movie spin off because NBC owned the whole package.

My final impression was that this was a good idea, that it had some good characters involved but all of the really good ideas were used early or muted down for one reason or another.

It's difficult to believe that at the price set for this DVD that the producers couldn't afford the rights to the music in episode 4.
When most TV DVD sets are retailing for $50 to $60 they expect people to cough up $100 (Amazon does try to help with the discount) for an incomplete season.
I'll wait for A&E to get it right or not bother.
The show was fairly descent back when it aired but eventually it will be released correctly and at $100 I have time to wait.

Follow up:
When I originally wrote this review in Jan 2005 this DVD actually was $100.
Now that it's down to $25 it seems more reasonable, but I've moved on to better shows.

The profiler is definatly a darker series then most would like, although I really enjoyed it. Most of the reviews i've read say they don't like the "Jack" sub-plot but I think it make's it more darker. It's like in Silence of the Lambs with Hannibal Lector. This season is the best place to start if you decide to watch this series. Being as though I say this the first time a round I may be biased. The first three seasons of this show are what made this series but the forth revamped the whole series and went down in flames. Ally Walker and Robert Davi flow so well as though they know what to do without direction.

I haven't seen this series for years [though I have them on video tape somewhere in the garage]... It was like watching the whole season for the first time. Outstanding storylines, scare and creep factors not too bad [but I'm not bothered by that stuff most of the time - having grown up with the X-Files from day one] and Jack-o-all-Trades is a fabulous scary bad man.