 Bones
Pilot
original airdate: 9/13/05
Fox's
new forensic crime drama airing Tuesdays at 8 pm, attempts
to take its place in the long list of successful dramas
available for viewing almost every night. Amid a sea of
CSI's, Law and Order's, and real crime dramas - not
to mention other new series trying their spin on the now-familiar
formula, can Bones make a name for itself?
Clearly
the show's creators realize that there is still a strong
desire to see formulaic drama with a sizable dose of forensics,
and mystery, but the challenge is how to present a show
similar enough to the existing competition, but distinctive
enough to keep people watching it instead of the others?
One
way is to pair a FBI detective with a forensic anthropologist
and turn them loose on the bad guys. Agent Seeley Booth,
played by David Boreanaz of Angel and Buffy
fame, is a straight-laced detective who puts solving crimes
above all else. Temperance Brennan, a.k.a. Bones, is a forensic
anthropologist who recently published a mystery book, played
by Emily Deschanel. Having been orphaned as a teenager when
her parents disappeared gives her a passion about crime
solving that most scientists would lack. Though her expertise
is in the laboratory she prefers to be in the field, allowing
her extra insight on her bodies before they get to the lab.
Booth,
a former military sharp shooter, balances her naivety in
the field with the gravity of a seasoned agent. Brennan's
scientific team, played by Eric Millegan, T.J. Thyne, Michaela
Conlin and Jonathan Adams, bring a combination of high-tech
gadgets and obscure knowledge to the table.
The
dialog is more witty than most shows of this genre, and
there is some chemistry between Booth and Brennan. It will
be interesting to see if they can keep this without exploiting
it by allowing a potential romantic link to take away from
the crimes they are solving. The jabs between Booth and
the scientific team add a layer to the show, as does the
obvious empathy Brennan feels for her victim's families.
She is able to tell these families where there loved ones
are, something she longs to know about her family. Brennan's
past will likely rear its head in future episodes.
Bones
debuted last week with great ratings, but one has to wonder
how it will do this week opposite the NCIS season
premiere. While CBS's shows tend to appeal to older audiences,
there will definitely be some overlap between these two
shows - attractive, wry male lead with a strong supporting
cast, and a pairing of science, technology, bad guys and
whodunits. Brennan's strong female lead stands out, and
audiences will be drawn to her strong scientific abilities
balanced by her lacking social skills. While it's great
to see a female scientist in a lead role in such a show,
it'd be nice to see one with better social senses.
I suspect
Angel fans will be split in their reviews of Bones.
There are a few distinct differences between Angel
and Bones. For one, the bad guys are rather dull
by comparison - all human. And the dialogue is not quite
up to Joss Whedon's grade.
On its
own Bones is a good show and will appeal to viewers
that crave another formulaic show that will always end with
the bad guy in custody. For Angel fans going through
Whedon-withdrawal, you're better off getting your fix from
the Angel DVD's which you can buy here.
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