Let's get one piece of information out of the way before I begin: I never saw an episode of FOX's Bones last season. It wasn't because I didn't want to; I've been a fan of David Boreanaz for a few years (and became more of a fan since reviewing Season one of Angel for Retro Squad) and really wanted to see how he worked out in his new role. Unfortunately, fearing the show would be canceled after getting emotionally attached to it and the characters, I decided to ignore the show and just go on my merry way.
Something brought me back, though . . . a chance to preview an early copy of the second series premiere to share with all of my adoring fans. After viewing the show I can honestly say that I should've watched during the first season, because Bones is a pretty decent, although somewhat visually graphic, show. Plus, seeing David Boreanaz smiling, laughing and wearing something other than basic black was a breath of fresh air after watching him sulk for five seasons on Angel.
For the uninitiated, Bones is an investigative drama starring Boreanaz as FBI Secret Agent Seeley Booth. He is partnered with forensic anthropologist and sideline novelist Doctor Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel). Dr. Brennan (who is loosely based on real-life forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs) works out of the Jeffersonian Institution where she and her colleagues assist in murder investigations where the bodies are too burned, mangled are destroyed beyond recognition for normal autopsies to be conducted. It's best that you're not eating a heavy meal when scenes of these bodies are shown.
Boreanaz fits easily into his role as Agent Booth because it's really an extension of the role he played on Angel. Booth doesn't seem as smart or worldly as Angel (he leaves the smarts to Temperance, whom he nicknames 'Bones'). He is much more chipper and optimistic than his former alter ego and definitely has an easier time talking to people. Deschanel as Dr. Brennan is the mirror image to Booth. She has some problems with this world and is much happier working with her mangled bodies rather than talking to suspects. Yet, they both respect each other's professions and are slowly opening up to each other's investigative skills.
A bit graphic at times, Bones is actually quite amusing. It definitely takes a lighter touch at the procedural drama than, say, CSI or Law & Order:SVU (which has been downright dreary lately). In fact, you could probably compare it to Crossing Jordan in tone and in characterization of the main and secondary characters. In addition, the series probably has the most sophisticated lab of any crime-drama on TV today. The holographic tank, which is used frequently when showing how mangled body parts looked when originally put together, is one of the stars of the show.
If you never had a chance to see Bones, this Wednesday's premiere at 8:00 on FOX is probably the best place to jump on. Although there is an ongoing plotline left over from last season (the search for the murderer of Dr. Brennan's mother), you get a good idea of who the characters are as well as their respective personalities. In addition the mystery Booth and Brennan are brought in to solve (the death of a Senator and a high-profile businessman) keeps you interested throughout the entire hour. Oh, by the way, I'll be watching Bones this season since I've taken over the reigns of the weekly review. So, see you all next week.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-28-2006 @ 5:06PM
Lacey said...
I watched MOST of the first season, as soon as I saw that David Boreanaz was in it, I was on board.
And while it did have quite a few off episodes, this show deffinatly had something (other than hunky David Boreanaz) that kept me coming back.
I love the technology in this show, and I absolutly love the bonds between the characters.
I HIGHLY reccomend picking up this show on DVD and filling yourself in on the going ons between the characters in the first season, because there were a lot of things (that I won't spoil for you) that I'm sure we'll be seeing and hearing about again.
I'm glad they brought this show back for another season.
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8-28-2006 @ 5:07PM
Kim said...
I love this show, I started watching season one even though I expected it to get cancelled, but I felt being a loyal Buffy and Angel fan I had to give it a try. I was hooked after the first show, I am so glad it is back for season 2! David Boreanaz is really great in this role and the chemistry he has on screen with Emily Deschanel is wonderful, they make the show worth watching.
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8-28-2006 @ 9:22PM
Rob said...
I watched this show all season last year, and I am glad to see it returning for another season. It took some time for the show to gel, and I'm glad Fox gave it the chance to develop into what it has become. It got progressively better as the season when on. And the supporting lab cast is first rate!
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8-28-2006 @ 6:05PM
Dan said...
I have been catching up with some stuff I missed recently. I still hadn't got around to watching the finale of Bones. Watched it today and thought it was awesome. The show is solid week to week and the cast is darned good too.
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8-28-2006 @ 6:05PM
hessian said...
I also gave the show a shot because of Boreanaz. The first episodes of Season 1 were a bit uneven, and I was very worried that it might not survive, but sometime in the middle of the season, the show found its legs. If you're skipping it because you didn't care for one of the early episodes, you're missing out.
It's good to know I'm not the only one expecting Booth to erupt into flames every time he steps into the sunlight. It would be cool, though, if he could 'vamp up' to intimidate suspects every now and then.....
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8-28-2006 @ 6:17PM
Margaret said...
I, too, love Bones. I watched the entire first season. I was not acquainted with Boreanaz, but soon became a huge fan - of his and the rest of the ensemble cast. They're terrific together. Since I was so crazy about David's character, I soon found out about Buffy and Angel. I've watched almost the full 5 seasons of Angel and am working my way through Buffy (just beginning season 2). As I now know, Boreanaz has had a long career in television; but I totally missed out on him until Bones. He is a terrific actor and I absolutely love his befuddled state of mind and his comedy timing is perfection. Deschanel is very enjoyable, too, and they play off one another beautifully in Bones. As I said, it's a great ensemble cast. I hope this show is around for several seasons.
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8-28-2006 @ 6:57PM
Cillian said...
I say Boreanaz it's the ONLY thing that makes this show works. Well, he and the secondary cast. The lead actress is poor at best. She's a put off for the show. The character's lineaments are not clear and Deschanel just makes it more obvious. since the beggining I can count three types of personalities for Bones. The writers keeps changing her to make her likeable. The good thing: she has to banter with David, whom with Charisma Carpenter probably made the best banter-witty couple. He had plenty with her and also with the cast of ATS. But sometimes it looks like Boreanaz is bantering with a brick wall. She lacks in charisma to make her rude attitudes likeable or at least causing the viewer feel that hate-love that House radiates thanks to Laurie. So she often looks stupid and/or annoying. With another actress it could be better.
Another thing, forget about all the rules of science and procedures while you watch this. The have a lot of mistakes in that area.
The gang of geeks are ok. I don't like Angela, but the actress is good.
The scripts are predictable and the twists are obvious. The dramatic episodes are bad, the writers are subtle like hammers. The humor episodes are the best. So, if you don't care the bad science, the monotone, linnear actres, and you don't expect good plots, only banter and funny watch for an hour, it's a good. The problem it's that often the writers have aspirations of making something deep and the fail.
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8-28-2006 @ 7:25PM
MrsEldubya said...
I really enjoyed this show last season. Like everyone else, being a Buffy fan I had to see David in action. One of my favorite episodes is when they went to Hollywood. There were a few good banter scenes between Bones and Booth. They really did develop the relationship over the season and the scripts kept getting better.
I'm so glad this show got renewed. Fox had alot of faith by putting it before the AI results show. It's original time slot was killing it but Wed at 8 pm is great.
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8-28-2006 @ 7:57PM
Megan said...
I agree about David Boreanaz as the heart of the show. And I agree too about Cillian's (?) post about Emily Deschanel. I don't like her at all. I blame her for my dislike of Brennan. And it's weird because I feel closer to characters like House, Scully, Chloe (from 24), etc; so it's not the type of character but the performance. And I don't see that *awesome* chemistry, just *meh* and I think it's mostly for the actress.
Besides that, Boreanaz's work is amazing. Hope he'll get more screentime and a more Booth centered season.
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8-28-2006 @ 10:02PM
Edgeoforever said...
First of all, love your Angel reviews.
Your comments on Bones are also right on (hard to believe you didn't see the first season). The first season was quite good - at least from episode 4 onwards. To be sure, David Boreanaz did strike the right note with his character from day one, but Bones needed a bit of tweaking - in the writing rather than the acting to be believable. Once that was accomplished , the quality of the stories went up dramatically, until reaching such gems as Man in the Morgue or Two Bodies in the Lab. And the rest of the cast is competent and enjoyable as well (I needed to say that in reply to some of the comments here)
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8-28-2006 @ 10:29PM
Martha said...
I ended watching the season the past week. I liked David's work and some of the squints. Not trying to responde comments or anything but I tend to agree about the actress. She didn't nail the character and It's true that more that character development, the changes were to make her nicer because the reactions were bad. She was barely good at best. And Angela's character tends to annoy me. I think the male characters are better. Wich is rare on a suppoused to be feminist show. But well, Boreanaz: loveable. Deschanel: not good; Squints: likeable (after a very bad beggining)
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8-29-2006 @ 12:17AM
yatesy said...
I also agree that Deschanel is just bad on this show and that it seems David is talking to a brick wall. It'sa real turnoff for me. I am also a fan of Dave's from Buffy and ATS and was excited to see him back on tv but this show.....man she makes it hard to watch. It's just bad, bad acting.
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8-29-2006 @ 7:01PM
Taylor said...
FYI: You can watch episodes of Bones for free with limited commercial interruption online if you live close to any these nine cities that have FOX owned and operated stations.
www.myfoxny.com/myfox/ (New York)
www.myfoxla.com/myfox/ (Los Angeles)
www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/ (Boston)
www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/ (Dallas-Fort Worth)
www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/ (Washington, DC)
www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/ (Tampa Bay)
www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/ (Orlando)
www.myfoxal.com/myfox/ (Birmingham)
www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/ (Greensboro)
You might be able to watch them even if you don't live close to any of these locations. I'm not sure. I live in the Boston are, so I have no problem. Anyways on the first page, there's something that says FOX On Demand. You just click on that and it takes you to a menu of sorts. You can watch Bones, American Dad, Stacked (Why? I don't know.), Prison Break, and The Loop.
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8-30-2006 @ 12:50AM
Tamara said...
If I may disagree with you on two points:
1.David has been able to fit so easily into the role not because Booth is an extention of Angel, but because Booth is an extention of David. He's hinted as much in interviews. Moreover, he's talented.
2.Booth cannot compete with the squints' IQ, which is not to say he isn't smart. Considering his past and present careers, if he wasn't smart, he'd be dead.
Yay for you doing Bones reviews! The show's good and deserves the attention. Please persevere, unlike your collegue who bailed, and shall remain nameless...
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9-06-2006 @ 8:53PM
wayne said...
I try to watch Bones but the lead actress is terrible she seems to always be stumbling through her lines, and I am sorry she cant convince me she is as smart as the character is supposed to be she was miscast in this role time for a new actress, the lead actor is good though
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9-17-2006 @ 7:38PM
Sarah said...
I totally disagree with all of you!! Emily plays the character absolutly PERFECT!!!!! I couldn't think of another person to play her character. I LOVE how in every episode when she is talking to Booth and he says something sarcastic and she either takes it seriously or says "I don't know what that means?" She always says that as a question. I love the tention between Booth and Bones. Absolutly superb!! I mean I have the 1st season on DVD and I cannot take my eyes off of it.I always saw something between Angela and Jack in season 1 and the beginning of season 2. NOBODY CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF BRENNAN OR BOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!♥ This is my FAVORITE tv show. I say the story twists are exellent and the writers are doing a fab job!! It's like Brennan does not mind to be hurt physicly but when it comes to being hurt emotionally Booth is there by her side. I for one would love her to have an emotional breakdown either in front of the Squints or just in front of Booth.
BONES RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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