BONES – Season Two
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B
“Sticks
and stones make break my bones, but names will make me go in the corner and cry
for hours” (Eric Idle). Well there won’t
be any name calling here, but there will be plenty of sticks, stones, and
bones. Now available for the first time
on DVD is BONES: Season Two ,
featuring a storyline that once again centers on a distinct and fantastic crew
of forensic experts and an experienced police force who do everything in their
power to solve some of the most unlikely and unsolvable crimes. This season rejoins FBI Agent Seeley Booth
(David Boreanaz) and skeletal remains expert Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily
Deschanel) along with her crack team. At
first glance BONES seems like nothing
more than another forensics drama like the now fading CSI series, but behind the veil of bones and bugs the real story
lies in the people.
Now
frequent readers of this site may notice a change in this reviewer’s attitude
over last season, but the fact of the matter is that the series has
evolved. Last season, BONES mainly went after just the crimes
and only began to develop personal relationships and emotion very late in the
season; which to this reviewer was too late.
Making Dr. Brennan (Bones) so disconnected from her fellow cast, being a
social hermit, only stood to distance the audience from her as well. Season
One was a good start and was truly enjoyable, but Season Two could be the spark that lets this series hang around.
In Season Two, character development gets
flung into high gear. Most of the angst
Seeley Booth had about being a sniper (which writers had no intention to go
that far back) has been dropped for more relevant topics like his son, drama centering
on current crimes, and most importantly a bubbling relationship with Dr.
Brennan. Dr. Brennan has also been toned
down a tad this season, no longer being a total social reject; now if that is
alluding to her growing as a person having all these great friends around or
just a plot device change? Who knows and
who cares?! All that matters is that it
works much better this season. Even the
other characters of the series were kicked up about ten script notches this
season, now being much more vital to the series and plot.
Other
actors such as Michaela Conlin (Angela Montenegro on the series), T.J. Thyne
(Dr. Jack Hodgins), and Dr. Zach Addy (Eric Millegan) are all simply
brilliant. Emotion and heart run through
every line. For a series that focuses so
heavily on a cold topic like death, the supporting cast lends a dimension of
heart and soul that is just astounding.
As previously stated the supporting characters are given a much more
intense purpose this season having their own story arches and sense of
importance to the series. This improved
the series ten-fold by no longer letting it be a one man show. A huge thumbs up to the supporting cast.
The
series continues to give each episode an unemotional label such as ‘The Blonde in the Game’ or ‘The Woman in the Sand.’ As previously proposed by this reviewer
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. This hypothesis
remains valid and in many ways the second part of the hypothesis seems to be
the most likely option. Overall, a
creative and interesting use of titles.
One of
the plot devices of the series that was majorly used this season was the
relationship between Dr. Brennan and her long lost (supposedly dead)
father. To this reviewer this concept is
still in the air and is not quite sure how well it is working. The idea did seem to evolve quite well with
the progression of the season, but not so great that it can be deemed a solid
plot device. If anything it did seem to
give a greater dimension to Booth’s and Brennan’s relationship. So maybe all is not lost.
The
technical features on this 6 disc set are very, very well put together. The picture is presented is slightly improved
over Season One in an 1.78 X 1
Anamorphic Widescreen image that is clear, crisp and in good light/dark
balance. The light/dark being a big
issue on the filming of this series and the manner in which it is
designed. The sound is once again
presented in a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround that is clearer than last season and
truly ‘pops’ and ‘bangs’ when necessary.
The extras are not huge but nicely presented to fans of the series
offering a chance to hear audio commentaries on select episodes, a gag reel
(pretty funny), deleted scenes, and a featurette exploring the visual effects
of the series. Not a bar bones release
by any means.
Last
review this reviewer stated this series was a cross between CSI and Numb3rs. With the coming of Season Two, to compare this series to
those would not do it justice. Season Two truly allowed BONES to stand out on its own as a
great series with an array of dimensions.
No corny onliners and visual effects are holding this series together;
it is the people that make this series great.
Skull to Phalange.
- Michael P Dougherty II
