After more than 15 years and countless imitations, the novels Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs continue to influence crime fiction. Criminal Minds DVD Thomas Harris' books not only made the antics of Dr. Hannibal Lecter famous, but they also popularized the psychological profiling of the FBI's renowned Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). Criminal Minds, the latest of the Harris clones, portrays a group of BSU agents as they pursue brutal socio- and psychopaths. Lost DVD Unfortunately, Criminal Minds confuses critical thinking with supernatural abilities.The series' many shortcomings were apparent in the premiere episode, when we met the members of a BSU tactical team, all conforming to stereotypes. The leader is Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin), a brilliant FBI profiler who is still recuperating from the nervous breakdown he suffered after confronting a particularly difficult and ghastly case. Cold Case DVD His personal struggles are thus immediately part of the show's "criminal" fabrications. Not so original.Just so, in the series premiere, a sadistic killer was kidnapping, torturing, and killing girls in the Seattle area. Gideon and his unit were sent to investigate. Morgan (Shemar Moore), the team's wise, charming African American, True Blood DVD quickly realized that the killer lures his victims by advertising a sporty Datsun-Z series for an attractively low price. Gideon further deduced that the murderer was using an auto dealers' psychological trick, to gain the trust of their clients, claiming the low price is a "personal favor." One Tree Hill DVD The unsuspecting victim feels compelled to reciprocate the seller's act of good will, and buys the vehicle. Even though dealing with a used car salesman is a worst nightmare for many of us, the modus operandi of this villain was too droll to be ironic.