Profiler

With no need for conspiracy theories, alien abductions or psychic forevision Dr. Samantha Waters manages to do a very fine job indeed. The photography is brilliant, particularly so when we're led into one of Jack-of-all-Trades' many lairs. The night scenes, too are shot in such a distinctive way that you couldn't possibly mistake this brilliant series for any other currently "out there". This may not yet be a 'realistic' portrayal of life in the bureau, but at least everyone concerned has a field of expertise and seems to excel in it.

Furthermore, this one is a genuine ensemble piece. Ally Walker is undoubtedly the star here, but all the other major characters can easily be defined as being in leading roles themselves.

There IS intelligent life in television after all. Just check out 'Profiler' and take the plunge...

I once believed this was the best show on earth (thriller that is) until Ally Walker left. Don't get me wrong, I like Rachel Burke (Jamie Luner) too, but it's just not the same. Rachel is very much like Samantha, yet she is totally different. She's the same kind of pretty female, she's got the sixth sense and all. But still I found the power that drove Sam (Jack of all trades) much stronger. There is just something lost now. But it still is good. I mean you still have Davi, Maffia, George and the other guy who are funny sympathetic and believable. Luner is good too, but no-one could replace Walker. She does the best that can be done.

I started tuning into this show when Samantha (Ally Walker) was still the lead and pretty soon I was hooked. I think it was great. The stories were always interesting, because always there was some new psycho with a different reason and a different twist than the last one. Also there was the whole Jack-of-all-trades- background which gave Samantha and the whole series an immense driving force. After Samantha left the VCTF in came a new profiler, called Rachel (Jamie Luner), who is actually the reason why I'm writing this, for changing lead's often result in a lessening of the quality of a series. First I want to say that Rachel is kind of the same as Samantha because she has the sixth sense. But she brings a whole other character on the tube which I had to start to like and eventually I did, although she can never replace Ally Walker whom I still find much better on screen, plus I liked Walker's character much better. Soon after the replacement of Walker the creators or the writers must have felt what I felt while watching, that without Samantha and Jack-of-all-trades a huge driving force was gone and so they created a new one, ex detective Joel Marks, I don't know about other people, but I like the way they inserted him into the continuous part of the show.

As for the others, they are still great, they were great with Sam and now are on Rachel's side. You have the sarcastic forensic Grace (Roma Maffia) the friendly, in-control and always know what to do Bailey (Robert Davi) and George (Peter Frechette) and of course John (Julian McMahon). Those two last ones are actually the only persons who have really changed on the tube since Samantha lived. I always found that George and Samantha were very good together and I miss that and now she's gone we have a lot more of McMahon with Luner. Not that McMahon and Walker were bad together, but George has been pushed into the background a bit, I feel. Still a good show though, because it still is intelligent and original, because as a viewer you always tend to try a bit of profiling yourself.

With Ally Walker GREAT

Without her (still) good.

Although being a long time avid tv series viewer, I can safely guarantee that I'll never watch a tv show so brilliant as Profiler, especially in its first two seasons. By the time the end credits of "Ring Of Fire" (the second episode of the series ever) were rolling, I knew I was hooked big time. The stories were riveting and scary, the characters intriguing and the whole atmosphere of the series just captivating in its uniqueness.

Now, the reason I said the first two seasons in particular are the best television output ever, is because after them the series changed dramatically. And in my opinion, for the definite worse. The concept of the series was totally ruined by the new producers who were not capable of retaining the series' story standards set by the original production team, headed by Kim Moses and Ian Sander. However, I still continued to watch, because I cared deeply for the main character Sam Waters and the other characters as well.

But then, the Profiler world was shattered when it became official that the lead of the series (Sam Waters / Ally Walker) was going to leave. I believe the character of Sam Waters is one of the most positive, inspirational and original female tv characters ever. To see her being replaced by such an offensive, gross stereotype such as the Rachel Burke character was is still something I haven't gotten over.

My advice to anyone who wants to appreciate the real Profiler is to watch the seasons in which Ally Walker stars, and it goes without saying that the first two are the gems of the series. Sam Waters will always be missed.

Dr. Sam Waters (Ally Walker) is a detective with the Violent Crimes Task Force. It's a federal agency which often works with the FBI, ATF, and other crime-solving agencies.

It's a pretty simple dark crime procedural with a continuing manhunt for a killer known as Jack of All Trades. Ally Walker has enough presence to lead this show. It also had Julian McMahon, and Robert Davi as star actors. It was a pretty good show at the start, but generally declined as it went on. It lasted 4 seasons. The show really deteriorated in the 3rd season, and then Ally Walker leaves the show and destroys what was left.