For those of you tuning in late, the ever-restless Mandy Patinkin announced in July that he was leaving "Criminal Minds" over creative differences. The show promptly traded up, hiring Joe Mantegna, who made his debut on the show last night. …

I should say that I find Mandy Patinkin an impressive and unpredictable actor. But for pete's sake, this is Joe Mantegna. "House of Games." "Things Change." "Searching for Bobby Fischer." And, as co-star Kirsten Vangsness said on her blog, " a voice on one of the greatest shows in the history of television," meaning "The Simpsons."

So I put aside my general squeamishness about "Criminal Minds" (as I get older, I am less and less inclined toward gore and creepy crimes, except in occasional, small doses) to watch last night's episode, and was not at all displeased with Mantegna's role.

He plays David Rossi, a retired FBI agent who has come back to fill the gap left by the departure of Patinkin's character. But he's also back because there's an old, unsolved case that haunts him. And he's interesting not because of that case but because he's old school, relying as much on instinct as the big-time gathering of data, and an old guy, apparently a mentor to Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and one of the founding members of the BAU. So he not only has his own way of doing things, he's not about to sit around a table waiting for someone to make a decision.

Rossi's debut worked well as a re-introduction of the series, since some new viewers may have stopped by to check out Mantegna; bringing him in required more explanation of what the unit does, and how it works. And, since Rossi has been retired for some time, he brought a gee-whiz element to what the unit does — impressed, for example, that it now has a jet. When a show has been on a long time, viewers may come to take its trappings for granted; Rossi is a way of reminding viewers that this is a cool job.

But would I watch the show again? I don't know. It's reasonably well done, although the plot on Wednesday's telecast was pretty linear and not all that complicated. And I do like Mantegna, and I liked his interplay with Gibson and the other characters. Also, Vangsness's blog (which you can find on CBS.com) hints at a big development in the next episode. But the crimes still make me sick.

The peripatetic Mandy Patinkin has once again exited a hit show while in progress..

Official statements released today:

ON BEHALF OF ABC STUDIOS AND CBS PARAMOUNT NETWORK TELEVISION:
Last week, Mandy Patinkin asked to be released from his role on Criminal Minds. We have honored this request, which was not in any way connected to contract renegotiations or salary issues. His departure from the series will be explained to audiences in an episode to be filmed in the near future and broadcast early next season. We thank Mandy for helping to make Criminal Minds a strong and successful series, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. A new character will be added to the series for next season.

ON BEHALF OF MANDY PATINKIN:
Due to creative differences, Mandy has asked not to return to Criminal Minds this season. Mandy would like to thank the studios and network for releasing him from the series and he wishes the cast and crew continued success in all of their endeavors and looks forward to continuing to work with the Disney and CBS companies in other capacities in the future.

You will recall that Patinkin also ankled "Chicago Hope," then returned.