Network: Fox
Day/Time: Tuesdays at 8/7 Central
Premise: A forensic anthropologist and a FBI agent team up to solve murders.
Creator: Hart Hanson based on the life of Kathy Reichs.
Cast:
Emily Deschanel
David Boreanaz
T.J. Thyne
Jonathan Adams

Thoughts Regarding Premiere:

Fox has taken a hint from other networks, most notably CBS and conjured up their own crime scene investigation show. This one has to do with examing the bones of the victims, finding out how they died, and who or what caused their death.

The title also applies to the nickname the lead character (Emily Deschanel, Zooey's older sister) has been given by her colleagues. Speaking of which, she states that her best relationships are with dead people because of her difficulties with human interaction on a personal level. It's also important to note that she is a hard-nosed person. The premiere makes certain we know this by having her knee a congressman's lawyer in the groin when he attempts to stop her from collecting evidence.

She's joined on her exploits by a more straight-laced and otherwise by-the-book FBI agent ("Angel" himself David Boreanaz). As is customary in this day and age of television and film, they are required to exchange barbs relating to sexual differences and personality in the function of establishing a rapport that the viewer can grab a hold of and care about as the show progresses. The two leads do work well together and it is their relationship that keeps one's interest when the storyline gets bogged down at times.

There isn't much different in the show's narrative structure. For all intents and purposes, it plays out like an episode of "CSI" as a victim is discovered at the opening and the rest of the time is spent alternating between lab and field work. Speaking of the lab, the show utilizes a holographic imaging technology that's purported to be a computer program by which the victim is reconstructed to look like they did when they were alive. The bone structure can even tell things such as race and more obviously, gender. This is the centerpiece of an elongated scene and it works well because of the manner in which the script doesn't feel the need to dumb down things for the viewer. The anthropology angle that forms the show's premise is given enough subtlety in details that one feels that while it shares narrative structure similarities with other crime dramas, the conceit is itself not entirely shopworn.

The only quandary I have with the show based on its premiere is that it ended with a comparable whimper. One expecting a last-minute revelation similar to those commonly found on "CSI" will be disappointed as the conclusion appears almost as an afterthought, a foregone conclusion if you will.

Bottomline: "Bones" shows enough promise with a likable cast and a different twist on the whole "crime drama" sub-genre that one hopes that its few problems (inconsistent pacing/conclusions) are a sporadic occurrence and that it provides something entertaining to watch while one waits for the next episode of "House" to come on.

B+


Your thoughts?

They aired the pilot of BONES again tonight so I decided I'd watch it for the hell of it, and I'm glad I did. I found it to be very good and I loved Emily Deschanel on it. I will keep watching.

Grade: 8/10 (B+)

Did anyone catch the second episode surrounding terrorism? It was a decent episode (Deschanel and co have good chemistry) and the next episode (sex scandal at an elite private school) looks even more intriguing. The ratings did suffer a noticeable drop from the premiere but if they can level off it should be fine.

I saw it. I thought it was good but not as good as the first. I'll still keep watching though.

It sucks that it dropped so much in ratings. Fox is stupid for not putting it after HOUSE to help it out in the ratings. They should definitely switch places. I hope they'll decide to do that really soon before it's too late.

Does anyone watch this show? I've found the recent episodes to be quite entertaining and look forward to tonight's episode. Plus, it is good to watch while waiting for "House" to begin after it's over.

BONES gets a second season!

AWESOME! I only watched the first few episodes but really liked it. I missed one though so I didn't bothering watching any more because I don't like to if I miss an episode. I was hoping it would get a second season, especially since it could have done so much better had Fox not been the complete morons that they are and aired this after ratings monster HOUSE instead of before it! What were they thinking? They could have gotten killer ratings for BONES airing it after HOUSE instead. It was the absolute stupidest move. But thankfully, while things were uncertain for awhile, it has been doing a little better now and they are giving it another season.

I want to check out the first when it comes to DVD, which will hopefully be well before the second season starts so I can catch up.

its a solid show, I don;t watch every week, but when I do I like it. The leads are both good and the have a good chemistry together.