In the pantheon of Criminal Minds madmen, Frank (Keith Carradine) deserves a special spot in hell. The twisted sexual sadist is said to have tortured and killed more than 100 people in the back of his RV over the course of 30 years. To add insult to fatality, he's the only suspect the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit ever let escape. "He is absolutely the worst. The most psychotic. The most compassionless," says exec producer Edward Allen Bernero. A sort of Hannibal Lecter on steroids. Or, as Mandy Patinkin, who plays BAU senior agent Gideon, puts it, "the Times Square of horror."

Chillingly, he's also based on a real person. While interviewing actual FBI profilers, Bernero and coexecutive producer Simon Mirren were told of a case involving one of the most prolific serial killers agents had ever come across. The culprit has yet to be caught.

When we last saw Frank, he led the team on a wild corpse chase into the Nevada desert, leaving his bizarre hostage and love interest, Jane (Amy Madigan), a gift of wind chimes made from the bones of his victims. Gideon let him get away in order to save a group of schoolchildren who would have otherwise died.

Now, in the creepy season finale (airing tonight at 9 pm/ET, on CBS), Frank is back, and he's taking his evil shop of horrors on the road in an episode that could be called "Mr. Psycho Goes to Washington." Gideon has something Frank wants, so the killer journeys to the FBI's neck of the woods to find it, slaying innocent people along the way — and even turning our hero into a suspect after Gideon's girlfriend is murdered.

"Without a doubt, this is a very personal case for Gideon," Patinkin says. "In terms of catching up with this man, it is something he would do until he took his last breath. He wants to annihilate this individual, and everything he stands for, from the face of this earth."

It won't be easy. Frank is as brilliant as he is heinous, and the finale explores his dark past and why he does the things he does. Once again, he's played to eerie perfection by Carradine (Deadwood), who says the role comes more easily to him than you might want to think. "With the criminally insane, it's an edge that any one of us could cross over, given the circumstances or a chemical imbalance," he says. "It's not difficult to imagine it, but it's also not a place where you want to spend that much time." After a long day inhabiting Frank, he says, "it's really nice to go home and say ‘hi' to the wife and the cats."

In what has to be the kookiest couple since Gomez and Morticia, Frank and Jane continue their romance — despite the fact that he once tried to mutilate her. The episode will attempt to explain why the two have a thing for each other, but Madigan has her own theory: "He's her Prince Charming," she says. "He completes her."

Other secrets will also be revealed. Throughout the episode, Hotch (Thomas Gibson) appears to be talking to a therapist. Is he getting all Tony Soprano on us, or is something else going on? Meanwhile, we learn that Gideon keeps a scrapbook of all the potential victims he's saved, which may lead to big trouble down the road. And we finally find out more about Agent Prentiss (Paget Brewster), whose family life was touched on briefly last month, with Kate Jackson playing her ambassador mother. Says Brewster, "There's always been some questions about how Prentiss' paperwork got past Hotch and Gideon and how she was accepted into the BAU. This episode will answer that question."

And what's the fate of Frank? Nobody's saying much. We do know the final confrontation takes place at D.C.'s Union Station (though it was filmed thousands of miles away at L.A.'s Union Station). Teases Bernero, "When we talked to Keith and Amy, we talked about a two- or three-episode arc with these characters, so we may or may not be ending that streak here." Frankly, that's terrifying.

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You had to feel for America's Next Top Model contestant Dionne Walters. First Tyra Banks and her prickly panel of judges didn't like the way the 20-year-old Alabaman dressed. Then they didn't like the way she posed. Then, finally, since they didn't even like the way she smiled, they gave her a reason to frown: They booted her... in favor of bizarre, bubble-headed Natasha, no less. Still, the single mom sees the constant criticism she received almost as a compliment — and not in an "I don't understand what you mean, so I'm just going to smile and nod" Natasha kind of way, either. Here, she explains her reasoning to TVGuide.com.TVGuide.com: Well, I gotta tell you, I lost 20 bucks last night. I had money on you going to the final three!Dionne Walters: [Laughs] I wish I could have done it for you! Sorry!TVGuide.com: That's OK. I have $50 on Renee to win the whole thing. What bugs me, though, is that they kept Natasha over you!Dionne: I was a little surprised, too, considering how they did say that she fell flat in her photo shoot.TVGuide.com: Fell flat? She fell asleep. Her photo doesn't look like heroin chic, it looks like DayQuil tacky.Dionne: [When I saw her picture], I was like "What the hell is that?" You know what I mean? [Laughs] I thought my photo was a lot more professional than hers.TVGuide.com: Professional shmofessional — it was gorgeous! Plus, you really warmed up, which they kept harping on you to do.Dionne: I know, right? I was so comfortable with the whole thing once I got over the challenge with the [Australian tribal] dance. The next day, the weather was completely different. It was a lot warmer. I thought I did an excellent job with the shoot! But I guess the judges thought otherwise. Maybe they'd already decided who they wanted to [let go] from the beginning. You just never know. TVGuide.com: Do you think Mr. Jay's comments about you after the shoot doomed you?Dionne: I don't think that did me in. I think what got me was when Tyra asked the final question, "Who has the most potential to be America's Next Top Model?" I thought she meant which of the girls standing behind me, so right there, that was a lack of communication. I think that's what did me in.TVGuide.com: Yeah, I wouldn't have known that "Me!" was an option! Dionne: [Laughs] Yeah, that was kind of weird. Then, when we got to the bottom two, she said, "You were the only girl who didn't name yourself as having the most potential," and I was thinking to myself, "Hold up! Wait a minute, I thought you meant out of the other three girls and not including myself!" But I couldn't say anything then, so there was no way to defend myself. TVGuide.com: You were damned if you did, damned if you didn't. If you had done it, they would have told you that you were an egomaniac. Dionne: I know, right? I think the judges sometimes contradict themselves. They'll tell you one thing and then turn around and tell you the exact opposite the next time. They have confused a lot of girls on that show. Seriously! TVGuide.com: They need a mental health program for you all to go into once the show is over.Dionne: They do, because we did get confused quite a few times. They say something like, "OK, make sure you're standing up straight and that you keep your back straight" and then they'll say, "During this photo shoot, we need you to have a hump in your back" or something. And we'd be like, "Hold up, they just told us to stand up straight! Which one is it?" TVGuide.com: At least they were consistent in nailing you for scowling in every picture.Dionne: I wouldn't say every picture. But in some of the pictures, that mean look was on the film. But I don't think it was in every frame or even every picture. When you look at the first, second, third and so on, I don't even have the same expression in those pictures. I think it was kind of an issue, but it was just a natural look for me. I don't know that I'm doing that until someone says, "Hey, Dionne, are you mad or something?" That's the only time I realize I'm doing it!TVGuide.com: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seemed like you kinda lost your "oomph" toward the end.Dionne: I've had someone else say that it looked like I was giving up, but I actually wasn't. It was just that when we had to do that dance, I was kinda confused by the whole thing. I was like, "How do you dance and tell a story?" But at the same time, I said, "You know what? I'm just gonna do what I think. I didn't want to be out there in the first place! It was extremely cold and we had to wear these little, thin tube tops.... Who the hell wears that in the wilderness?! It was freezing! I was overtaken by the whole weather thing, and it completely took me out of my focus. TVGuide.com: They love to make you guys as cold as possible, I've noticed.Dionne: I know! And that's so crazy, right? But I guess that's part of the challenge. You have to do some things that you don't really want to do or go some places you don't really want to go! That was one of those places that I just did not want to be.TVGuide.com: Was it as bad as being in panel with Tyra picking on your hair and clothes every week? I mean, she was on you!Dionne: She really gave me a hard time about that! But I think that it was because she was trying to find something in me. There was something about me that she liked, and she wanted to see me change up just a little bit to see what I would look like. But during the whole process, I was like, "OK, what's wrong with what I'm wearing? What's wrong with my hair? I thought I had it together!" At first I didn't really understand where she was coming from, but then I thought, "Maybe she keeps saying this because she really wants to see if I'm going to crack under pressure." But I was like, "Whatever. I'm not going to show her I'm mad or that maybe I don't agree with her. I'm just gonna be like, 'OK, I'll try something else and see if she likes that.'"TVGuide.com: It's almost like a compliment if she's paying you that much attention. At least she's noticing you!Dionne: I know, right? That's the plus side of it!TVGuide.com: TV Guide's Rochell D. Thomas recently wrote that she was sick of hearing reality-show contestants — you included — go on and on about how much they miss their babies, when obviously you all knew what you were signing up for. Care to respond?Dionne: OK, for me, first of all, I did not get on this show and constantly say, "I'm doing this for my baby." Yes, of course I was doing it for her, but most of all, I was doing it for myself. This is something that I want to do and something that I want to pursue. Of course, once you get that little bit of fame, anybody would be like, "I did this for my family," because once you hit it big, of course you're going to provide for your family. So I think [that writer] should have come up with some better opinion than that. I'm sure if she has children or a niece or nephew or a sick mother or something, I bet she's providing for them and not doing it for herself. That's my point of view on that. Everybody does not have a silver spoon in their mouth. TVGuide.com: Mm-hmm. So, um, what's next for Dionne? Dionne: I definitely want to continue to model. This is an experience that I'll never forget. I want to do this for myself most of all, but for my family as well, because they are so proud of me. So I want to continue to make them proud of me. If somebody wants me to play a role in a movie or something, with the right coaching and prices, I definitely will do it!

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Let's cut to the chase: Jaclyn Smith is pure heaven. And now that the former Angel has spread her wings into reality TV — as host of Bravo's hairstyling competition Shear Genius (Wednesdays at 10 pm/ET) — we decided to have a little coif-y talk.

TV Guide: First off, you look amazing. You have the body of a 20-year-old.Jaclyn Smith: Boy, you're sweet. I like hearing that on a stressful day.

TV Guide: Now obviously, you know hair....Smith: Well, I definitely have a point of view, and I've learned a lot from [Shear judges] Sally Hershberger, José Eber and Frederic Fekkai, who really are [among] the elite group of hairstylists.

TV Guide: And you have no problem voicing your opinions about the competitors.Smith: Yeah, well, it's sort of hard to see them go. I think they're all extremely talented and they all have their own individual personalities. Of course, you root for certain ones and you have your favorites, but it isn't the most talented who makes it to the end. I think it's the most rounded, the most grounded, the one who stays within the confines of the challenge.

TV Guide: Shear Genius' early ratings weren't exactly Project Runway numbers.Smith: I think it started off better than Top Design and, from what I understand, our [premiere] numbers were better than Top Chef's. What I'm amazed at is the reaction to the show. My daughter tuned me into Project Runway because all of her friends get together and watch it. But this show is [attracting] old, young....

TV Guide: Because everybody gets their hair cut.Smith: And hair can make or break you. When people say that a woman's hair is her crowning glory, I think that's very true.

TV Guide: Is the show bringing up flashbacks of bad 'dos gone by?Smith: [Laughs] Kind of. Charlie's Angels is running again and yes, I had a classic hairstyle, but I'm thinking, "Why didn't I do this or do that?"

TV Guide: Honestly, Kelly Garrett had the best Angel hair, but Farrah [Fawcett]'s got all the hype.Smith: [Laughs] Well, her hair was pretty amazing. It just had a life of its own. But my first acting job came from a Breck commercial, so [hair] has always been a part of my history.

TV Guide: And then there was Rage of Angels. That hair was huge!Smith: Oh, yeah. Well, that spanned a big period of time. And it's one of my favorite TV-movies. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, too. Again, three decades, three different looks using wigs. In George Washington, I was in wigs again. Hair in the research of a character is very important. Creating the look, the demeanor.... It puts you in the mood of that period of time.

TV Guide: Was there anyone on Shear Genius you would let do your hair?Smith: Oh, absolutely. I think they're all very talented. I wouldn't mind having any of them do my hair.

TV Guide: Would you let them use hedge clippers like Evangelin did in the household-tools challenge?Smith: That — I don't think so! [Laughs] Although that cut was pretty great, wasn't it? Pretty daring.

TV Guide: And I'm glad to see one of the episodes pays some attention to men's hair.Smith: That one is really like, "Wow." It's so visually impacting because I think some of these guys hadn't touched their hair in years. [Laughs]

TV Guide: Would you allow yourself to be one of the subjects?Smith: That would be a really fun way to go. Not that they would do it that way, but with Sally there, it's almost like you want to try things. Certainly when you go back for a second season, you have more of a handle on it. This was basically unknown terrain for me. If you had told me I would be doing a reality show, I never would have imagined it.

TV Guide: What would you say was your worst hairstyle ever?Smith: Probably the bubble cut: short, very unimaginative. It was worse than a ducktail. I'm not a short-hair person.

TV Guide: What did you think of the Charlie's Angels movies? I know you made a cameo in the second one.Smith: I thought they were great. Obviously, the movies are different from our show. They had computer enhancement, they were like superheroes, jumping off buildings and remaining alive. [Laughs]. It's just another genre of film, modern. I think Drew [Barrymore] is amazing and certainly masterminded it wonderfully. And I think it's great to bring back a winning concept.

TV Guide: What's it going to take to get an "original Angels" reunion movie?Smith: Boy, I don't know. A great script, for one thing. It would be fun if we could work out our schedules and had a great script. No need to come together if it wasn't the greatest. We certainly have thought about it, though.

TV Guide: Let's put it out there so those screenwriters can get cracking on something.Smith: [Laughs] Yeah. Manifest it!

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