Bones – Season One
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Episodes: C+
Networks
continue to dig deeper and deeper for hit television series, and this time FOX
hit Bones. Bones
– Season One stars Angel alum
David Boreanaz as a tough but caring F.B.I. agent (Seeley Booth) who seems to
have some skeletons in his own closet, having previously been a Sharp Shooter
in Iraq for the US Government. Bones also stars actress Emily
Deschanel as Agent Booth’s partner in crime solving Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan. Dr. Brennan lacks an array of social skills
almost to an extreme not understanding the emotions of grieving families,
social references to film, TV, or sports and seldom does anything to get to
know others. While Dr. Brennan may lack
most social skills she is one of the best forensic anthropologist in the entire
world, working for both the FBI and one of America’s top museum (think The
Smithsonian).
The name
of each episode is dawned with an unemotional label such as ‘The Man in the Morgue’ or ‘The Super Hero in the Alley.’ The titles of each episode can possibly be
alluding to two concepts, one being the title character has a great sense of
detachment from people and/or that the deceased individuals are merely a
faceless pile of bones until the great Dr. solves the crime. Overall, each episode has aspects of mystery,
suspense, drama, emotion, and elaborate science that is sure to excite all fans
of other series such as CSI, Law and Order: SVU, or Numb3rs.
The main
issue with Bones – Season One is the
characters’ emotions and interactions with each other. The writers of the series display Dr. Brennan
as this unemotional genius that is haunted by her past, this haunted past theme
continuing to several other characters on the series. The problem with their portrayal of the title
character in this manner is it disconnects her even beyond the fiction of the
series, disconnecting audiences from her.
This reviewer found it somewhat disheartening and annoying to watch this
character at times, waiting for her to take a chance or show some human emotion
but that sense of life or pulse never coming until very late in the
season. Also Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth
have an intended sexual tension from the first episode to the last, that works
on some levels and not others due to Dr. Brennan’s weird attitude and Booth’s
tainted past. Overall, the season was
entertaining to say the least but some negative aspects of this particular
season must be fixed if this series is to survive.
On a
positive note, two particular episodes stood out ‘The Woman in the Tunnel’ and ‘The
Man with the Bone,’ two episodes riddled with the mystery of treasure. This idea of treasure, pirates, and so for
forth has been well explored in films such as Indiana Jones and the recent National Treasure, but little has been
done on television. This reviewer found
those two episodes to be some of the best for this season and hopes that in the
future this and other series will further this intriguing concept of lost
treasures.
The guts
and bones of this DVD Season Set are nothing to scoff at, but do need some
flesh added. The DVD picture is
presented in clear anamorphic Widescreen that does at time shave some
light/dark issues that could easily be fixed.
The Sound is presented in the common Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround that is
adequate but at times sounds distant and muffled, but does not detract greatly
from the lab atmosphere of the series.
The extras on this DVD Season set are not very interesting and a little
sparse. Some features include a segment
entitled ‘Squints’ about the nerds of the lab and a second featurette on the
woman the title character ‘Bones’ was based on (Yes folks she is
real…somewhat). The only feature that
held interest was the few audio commentaries on select episodes.
In the
end, Bones is a mesh between the hit
series CSI and Numb3rs with its own personal contributions to the forensic
world. This particular series shows
heart and a cast of talented writers, if a few dramatic elements are tweaked
this series could grow greatly. For
forensic entrepreneurs this DVD set is a must buy, and for casual watchers tune
into season two on FOX Wednesdays to see how the series has grown. Bones
is a good series with promise; let’s just hope there is no osteoporosis here.
- Michael P Dougherty II
