With Many Patinkin a receding memory, Joe Mantegna ("The Starter Wife") joins the cast of CBS's "Criminal Minds" (9 tonight) as a replacement for Patinkin's Jason Gideon.

Mantegna's Dave Rossi is an FBI retiree and one of the founders of the BAU. Initially he has a friendly rapport with Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) until he starts going all loose cannon on the team.

Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson, "24") welcomes Rossi back to the unit, but she doesn't quite trust him. Turns out he does have an ulterior motive for getting back into the FBI, but tonight's episode doesn't really explain it so much as hint at it with flashbacks to scenes of children being terrorized and blood spatter (ah, "Criminal Minds," good times). Are they his kids? The children of friends? And why does Rossi want access to files about a case? Bloody good questions and I'm sure the show will get around to answering them some day, but first there are women's faces for a killer to skin off. Like I said, good times.