Bones Review

Bones is one of my most favorite shows. the writing is witty and twisty and interesting. the characters are not just cookie cutters, like in some other shows. and the mysteries are inventive and sometimes mind-boggling. although the bodies can be kinda gory. not one to watch with the kiddies.

Bones is based on the books written by Kathy Reichs. I've not read the books, because i saw the show first, and i've found that reading the books afterward can be disappointing. I found this out after the Dresden Files was cancelled. I absolutely adored that show, so i read the books. Turns out the TV show was loosely based on the books. and one episode of the series was taken directly from one of the books. and changed. So when i read the book through the filter of having seen and loved the show, i was disappointed.

that lesson learned, i therefore can't comment on weather the show or the books reign supreme. i can only comment on the show. which is awesome!

Temperance Brennen is an anthropologist who came from a tough childhood, which included being in the foster system. She's a very respected scientist, and she does not "get" people. the living ones, anyway. she studies bones, hence her nickname. She works at the Jeffersonian Institution in Washington, DC. She's very literal and analytical and logical. smarter than everyone she meets, but in NO way conceited or pompous.

Her partner is Seeley Booth, an FBI agent who was once a sniper in the army. He's deeply heroic and has a strict moral compass, which is not to say he's a prude. He just has a very deep sense of right and wrong, but has the flexibility to realize there can sometimes be extenuating circumstances. Such as the case of Doctor Brennen's father, who murdered a man. Booth can understand the reasoning behind it, and is willing to forgive brennen's dad, even when bones' analytic, logical nature means she cannot understand nor forgive what her father did.

The cast is rounded out by the "squint squad" as booth refers to them. the rest of the scientists who each have their own pieces of every puzzle. my favorite is, of course, hodgins. Hodgins is the expert on "particle analysis" mainly soil and bugs and things of that nature. he has an interesting back story of his own in that he comes from a toothpaste tycoon's family, and is therefore independently wealthy and works because he loves his job.

each of the characters in this show have a story like that. they're not just simple, two-dimensional cookie cutter characters. you don't have the "angry guy" and the "princess" and the "washed-up jock" or whatever passes for character development on other dramas. and each show you watch may reveal some tidbit about a character you never would have thought of on your own.

these last few seasons have introduced a few new characters. there's a revolving door or grad students, each quirky in their own way, and the best new character, Dr. Sweets. Sweets is a psychologist employed by the FBI, originally assigned to evaluate booth after he had an incident on the job. sweets is boyish and disarming, but fleshed out really well. and he's fascinated by the relationship between booth and bones. or, truthfully, the lack of one. because there's a strange sort of impasse they've got. they're both too professional to even admit that what they feel is a deep love for each other. both claim they have no romantic feelings toward the other. this dynamic is what ultimately makes the show so interesting.

the beauty of bones is that it maintains a perfect balance between drama, medical mystery, and soap opera. some shows seems to slide off in one direction, over-indulging in the explanation of peoples inter-personal dynamics. or playing up the "when will they kiss already" vibe. some shows are all about the mystery at hand, and don't develop their characters nearly enough. and the soap opera element? my husband has been turned off from many shows that we both liked because, as he puts it, "it's gotten all soap-opera-ish" i think what he means here is the interpersonal dynamic of the characters gets too muddied by the webs they weave. so-and-so WAS dating that guy, but then guy #2 came back to work there and now she wants to date him. so that left so-and-so out in the cold. so he shacked up with that girl from accounting and then they had a love child and blah blah blah blah blah. enough already! in the real world, people's lives may be that complicated, but TV isn't really the venue. and i watch a lot of shows. i can't keep track of the love triangles and webs of lies these people are weaving. (the main culprit in the soap opera-ing of TV dramas being ER. don't get on my case about it, but ER got really hard to follow after a while. that show was flat out a soap opera by the 4th season. i couldn't take it. but anyway, rant over, back to the topic.) Bones avoids those pitfalls, or has so far anyway. and i hope they don't go firing writers or whatever. keep everyone! the show is just perfect! although i miss Zach. i'm holding out hope that he'll come back eventually. Sweets is cool, but he's no Zach Addy.

Bottom Line: give this one a shot. i recommend netflixing the first few seasons, because the story line is better understood. but it's totally not necessary to catch up. each episode is satisfying on its own, too.  oh, and booth IS hot. OMG!