"Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" The Matchmaker (TV Episode 2016) Poster

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1/10
Turkey is poorly judged.
zeynepelman21 May 2016
When I watched this episode I couldn't believe that it was my country, my city. I am very disappointed. It got me thinking if in the other episodes the countries and cultures were told wrong too.Please research harder and study the language better. Lots of people in all over the world watches this show and no one wants tho watch their country is poorly judged on TV. I really want to forget "The Matchmaker" episode. You could really find tons of Turkish people living in the U.S and hire them for consultation. It must be hard to create the atmosphere of a country and the story or casting. But still I wish Emir wasn't dressed like that. I don't know what it was but it is not likely to find around Antalya for sure. Also I have to add that we are not Arabic. And all that veils on the streets, it is not accurate. I used to like the show but now I have some doubts according to it's reliability.
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1/10
Too bad and shame everything is too far away from the facts that Turkey is not an Arab country
sonerayanlar11 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
If you really want to show American superiority that FBI is resolving the problems all over the world.. then script writers please pay attention to a bit of knowledge about the history and geography.. Antalya does not have a mosque like that that is in Istanbul Turkish was so poor.. and why you let Arabs play the role of Turkish the clothes are chosen all so like Pakistanis Locations chosen poorly Antalya is one of the most beautiful city with lots of tourists from all around the world, people are modern and women are not in veil and is not covered in black... hasn't anyone just googled before they do the scenario.. well I believe that this crew of writers and producers are all judgmental about the other countries and the cultures where ever they shoot the show. Terrible but you can make it better if you search a bit AND invest a little time to get knowledge prior to put on scene..
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1/10
Offensiveness meets its match
TheLittleSongbird24 February 2020
Despite being hit and miss for a while now (Seasons 1-5 being its best period and the worst of Seasons 9 and 11 being it at its worst), 'Criminal Minds' at its best was one of my favourite and most watched shows. For me, and quite a few others, none of its spin offs worked. 'Suspect Behaviour' was a very bland and dull show that often didn't make sense or have characters that were investable or worked cohesively. But at least it didn't have much that was offensive or condescending, with all of 'Suspect Behaviour's' flaws present made worse.

That was the case with 'Beyond Borders'. There are not many shows to show little to no improvement, apart from some sporadic moments of more cohesion or a character made more interesting. And certainly not many to be continually bad and not have a good episode (certainly the case with the first season especially) throughout its run. 'Beyond Borders' is one of those rare shows on both counts. One of its nadirs is "The Matchmaker" and the portrayal of Turkey, while one of its worst problems, is not its only problem. A disgrace to the franchise and even the worst of the original show would be more preferable to watching this.

Its least bad asset and the only thing to be considered a redeeming merit is the game effort of Juliete Angelo who is the only actor to not actually be lost amongst everything else. Usually Alana De La Garza is the one halfway tolerable aspect of the show, not this time due to not remembering her.

Gary Sinise looks bored, don't think he was ever worse than he is on 'Beyond Borders' and he is well above the terrible material the show continually gives him, and my intense dislike of Mae still remains and never went. None of the team members have compelling personalities and some irritate. They don't work cohesively as a team either and even don't seem to have much chemistry. The villains are stereotypical and un-menacing, not coming over as realistic either. The one sympathetic character in the whole is the victim and she is sketchily developed and has little to do, it is only the sadistic treatment of her that makes her sympathetic.

Writing is continually awkward and treats the viewer like idiots in the way it talks down to them. Any attempts at levity, once or twice perhaps, feel too pat, thrown in and out of place. The story has no dramatic tension (the stakes don't feel that high here), no suspense, makes little sense and the treatment of the victim is far too gratuitously cruel. Then there is the ridiculous and predictable climax and the tacked on very end that is so at odds with what came before. The episode is very basic at best-looking with no care or authenticity and the music has no presence.

As said, the representation of Turkey and its culture is going to cause offense even for those not easily offended and badly ruins the episode. Have very rarely come across an episode for anything, or even anything full-stop, that stereotyped a person, country etc. in so negative, judgemental, one-sided and grossly inaccurate a way, it was insulting and this sort of thing usually does not bother me. The writers for 'Beyond Borders' continually showed that they had little sense of geography knowledge and their research skills were at best rudimentary, a lot of the time like here (one of the worst examples on the show) both go completely out of the window.

Concluding, 'Beyond Borders' continues its bad run and this is one of the worst and most insensitive episodes. 1/10
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1/10
Episode 9
sema-8632922 May 2016
I'm sure there are lots of creative and script staff who work for CSI beyond borders. But I have to say that all of them are really illiterate. Turkey isn't an Arap country. Turkey is a secular and civilized country. Your script writers should have to search about Turkey. I hope that they can use computer and how to surf on the net. Antalya is visited millions of tourists every year. It is one of the most important summer holiday destinations in the world. Turkey beaches, historical places an natural beauties are waiting for you. You can visit Turkey and Antalya municipality pages. Please pay more attention.
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1/10
Really bad representation of Turkey(Antalya)
k-cirpici28 May 2016
I can understand that they hired Arabic cast to play Turkish people but i really cant understand that they even cant speak Turkish properly. First of all Turkey is not a ordinary Muslim country, we are more European that they showed in this show. I even tried to count that woman who shows their hair to public and according to Criminal minds its between 1 woman to 12 or so also a disappearing under-aged kid is a really important matter for Turkey because 18 is the legal aged you considered as an adult , i even think 16 year old American can enter this country without their parents . I wish they bought a plane ticket which is not more than 500-700$ to come and see the country so they can represent it adequately. I live in Istanbul but i have been in Antalya numerous times and never see the places they go, there is even no resemblance , BTW they use a mosque in Istanbul in credits which is far worse. Antalya is one of the most important turistic location in Istanbul and believe it or not its more like Greece mykonos. I wish my country would sue them for their representation.
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1/10
Terrible
ammcev2 September 2021
Exactly how stupid was this girl supposed to be? Turkey portrayed really badly, full of stereotypes. Every episode seems to be getting worse I can see why this show was cancelled. Best part is the into - Americans leaving the "safety" of their borders. Don't waste your time, avoid.
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1/10
The worst from Criminal minds
amagical28 August 2017
This episode is full of bs. Literally. How did they get to film this in Turkey? This episode pretends like the US is angels vs. the rest of the world that's full of demons.

In reality if someone is connected in any way to terrorism they would never let the individuals be freed. The girl would go through deep psychological inspections and the boy Emir would never set a foot in the Us ever again.

Ah this episode is just bad straight through.
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