jls2971

Exactly. I think even fans who aren't NoHotchNoWatch would be upset, and there's a chance killing Hotch off screen for no reason could alienate fans who are still watching the show. I can handle Gideon dying off screen, but Hotch is completely different. Plus, the character is not the actor and vice versa. I think some people are forgetting this.

Musidora

Yes, and with Gideon it happened quite a while after he left, once fans had pretty much completely moved on from the character. With Hotch it would be way too big of a blow. He's been around for 11 whole seasons, killing him off (especially off screen) is the worst decision they could make.

jls2971

Yeah, exactly. Plus, we saw him a few times this season too. He was just there a few episodes ago, he went on assignment, and now he's dead? I just don't think it would work. And it would be a slap in the face to fans and Thomas (even though he made mistakes, he still helped this show for 11, almost 12 years and put a lot of time into it).

Prentiss'#1fan

And what good would it do to kill off Hotch anyway ? The only thing it would accomplish is infuriating a vast majority of the viewers. Because wether you're part of the NoHotchNoWatch crew or not, Hotch meant something important to many of us for a very long time. Nah, I still say they won't touch a hair on his head unless they officially wanna kill off the show too. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Musidora

Yeah, it's one thing knowing Hotch had to leave because Thomas messed up, but if they choose to kill off the character, they're basically asking fans to quit the show.

jls2971

lizzybug57

Thanks for sharing! He looks so happy but goofy in the soccer photo.

Logan

more from Virgil on what went down


Criminal Minds
Posted November 12 2016 — 12:42 PM EST

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/12...-thomas-gibson

This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com

Virgil Williams, a writer for the CBS drama Criminal Minds who was recently involved in a physical altercation with actor Thomas Gibson, is encouraging high school teens to take a stand for what they believe in.

During a recent visit to Ghetto Film School Los Angeles, where he hosted an interactive workshop for students aspiring to work in the entertainment industry, the writer-producer spoke candidly about the importance of telling your story.

“There’s a certain cycle that needs to be broken,” Williams tells PEOPLE. “One of these kids came up and asked me, ‘I’m doing a full report on the diversity problem in Hollywood and how do you think you fix that?’ The first thing that came to my mind was ‘You guys. You guys are the way that we fix that. You guys are here right now. You’re fixing it right now because you’re spending time and you’re studying and you’re working on your craft and you’re trying to tell your stories. You have to be the change that you want to see.’ ”
***********


After being asked by a student how difficult it is to write off a major character on a TV show, Williams immediately referred to Gibson’s departure — and admitted it was not easy.

“It hasn’t been smooth,” Williams tells PEOPLE about writing off Gibson’s character, who only appeared on the first two episodes of the current season. “It was very abrupt. But we tried to do it seamlessly and move on. We’re going to keep moving forward and we’re going to keep telling great stories.”

As for the altercation that ultimately resulted in Gibson’s departure from the hit show in August, Williams says it stemmed from a professional disagreement.

“He came to me with a line change that he wanted. Because of this particular episode, the change that he wanted hurt the story,” Williams said. “I offered him a fix. He didn’t accept the fix. He said, ‘Fix it so I’m happy’ and then walked off.”

Shortly after a second heated conversation between him and Gibson, the writer — who was in search of the showrunner to explain the situation at hand — said that Gibson kicked him in the shin as he walked by him.

However, according to Gibson, the situation unfolded a little differently.

“He came into that room and started coming towards me,” Gibson, 54, previously told PEOPLE. “As he brushed past me, my foot came up and tapped him on the leg. If I hadn’t moved, he would have run into me. We had some choice words, for which I apologized the next day, and that was it. It was over. We shot the scene, I went home – and I never got to go back.”

After what was supposed to be a two-week suspension, Gibson was informed that he was “dismissed” from the show. Since his departure, the CBS drama has seen a decrease in ratings and a twitter campaign using the hashtag #NoHotchNoWatch has been launched in attempt to get his character, special agent Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner, back on the show.

Williams — who admits he himself was once suspended from set for raising his voice — believes Gibson created a “hostile work environment,” but reveals he will, in fact, miss his character.

“[The fans] got to watch him, but I got to write him,” says Williams.

Though he doesn’t foresee working with Gibson in the future, Williams wishes him the best.

“I pray for him,” he says. “I hope that he’s getting time with his family. I hope the best for the guy.”

lizzybug57

Thanks for sharing! Who knows what really happened, but it's good to hear the writer's side of the story.

It's just unfortunate the show and fans have to suffer because of an altercation someone participated in. It's the unfortunate thing about firing someone in a high profile position.

jls2971

We have Virgil's side of the story and Thomas's side, now we need a witness's side. That third perspective could probably piece together pieces and give us a better idea of what happened.


I mentioned this in the Elliott's Pond thread, but I hope they continue to mention Hotch from time to time. It would suck if they just totally stopped talking about him and forgot he existed and didn't care he was gone.

It would be nice if maybe in episodes with where Mr. Scratch is involved that they mention wanting to catch him so that Hotch and Jack can come home. It would be nice if they had more motivation to take down Mr. Scratch so that they can help Jack and Hotch.


Also, saw this on Tumblr and thought it was funny

Source

Logan

Last night saw ep 3-20 Low Fi and 4-1 Mayhem . Two strong Hotch heavy episodes ..
3-20 a black Govt SUV , end scene in the finale , blows up . Not till 4-1 we see it was Hotch and his woman from Interpol is gravely injured . Despite being injured Hotch gets to the hospital .. Then the ep goes into Morgan heavy ..

Again , this was when CM had real crazy cliffhangers ..

lizzybug57

Thanks for the reminder! Love the old episodes!

Logan

I find it interesting that he hasn't been hired for another TV series or movie . Perhaps after 11 years of working 14-15 hrs a day + flying back and forth to Texas , he is enjoying his time off . He made and still makes $$$ off of all the syndicated criminal minds ep .

jls2971

Source

jls2971