That's a really nice, complementary article. Plus, true.

I sat down to watch Season 2 of 'Bones' the other day with my 10 year old nephew. It was actually quite some time in before I realized- oops, decaying corpses and dead bodies! (Still, as a 'Supernatural' viewing veteran he was fine.)

Which in itself proves that 'Bones' ISN'T about the sensationalism of it's genre- it's a nicely driven character study.

One which just-so-conveniently-happens to star the studliest ever stud of studs!

missb | April 15, 08:31 CET

Very nice article. Made me giggle often, and laugh out loud a couple of times. ("Get.Him.Drunk." Ooh! What about a "very special musical" episode!?)

I do truly love this show. I started watching it for David, and because I'm interested in forensic science. I stayed because it's got great characters, portrayed by talented (And nummy) actors, written by gifted writers.

Just the right amount of humor, angst, technobabble and "Eww! Gross!" and believable storylines.

ShadowQuest | April 15, 09:55 CET

Well, this is really the only procedural on TV that almost isn't a procedural... Numb3rs tries to pretend to be the same thing, but it's really not about the characters like Bones is.

Tibbittz | April 15, 12:08 CET

Ah, so with 'Bones' it's real but 'Numb3rs' is only pretending to have character stuff ? Riiight ;). I like 'em both personally and think 'Numb3rs' also does a great job of creating small character moments.

It's a nice fan piece and I agree with a lot of it but its central premise seems flawed to me cos i'd say that all modern procedurals are also about the characters, you just can't get away with the old fashioned "mystery of the week and then total reset at the end" anymore. How well they each do it is just down to personal preference, what's "awkward" to some is fine to others.

That said, what 'Bones' does do IMO is (often) separate the character moments from the procedural elements which makes them easier to spot. 'Numb3rs', 'CSI' etc. (hell, even my biggest guilty pleasure, 'NCIS') have plenty but they're often embedded within the procedural scenes which means you have to keep your eyes open to spot them. So in that sense I think it's fair to say that 'Bones' emphasises character over the procedural elements more than other shows of its type which in turn makes it much friendlier to people that don't usually like procedurals which in turn may explain why we then have those people claiming it's the best procedural ever ;).

And re: "best ever", what about stuff like 'Hill Street Blues' or 'Cagney and Lacey' or even 'House' (if you stretch "procedural" slightly) ?

Saje | April 15, 13:20 CET

It's a good thing that the focus in Bones is on the characters, because the mysteries just aren't mysterious. Which is okay, because it's a fine cast of characters indeed.

redeem147 | April 15, 16:06 CET

There were several reporters, including Matt Roush from "TV Guide" & Robert Bianco from "USA Today", that welcomed "Bones" back with high praise. I'm glad to see one more reporter join the group of tv critics that acknowledge the talent of the cast & writers in making a quality show like "Bones."

Kizzy | April 15, 16:07 CET

I was just checking out Thyne's roles from IMDB. Besides his three episodes in Angel S5, his first listed role was a Home Improvement episode called "Desperately Seeking Willow". Struck me as funny for some reason.

on the other side of that line is the head of a shark who is shampooing with Velveeta
Not quite sure I understand that one. Then again, I wear the cheese, it does not wear me.

OneTeV | April 15, 17:16 CET

This just makes me want to go dig out my DVDs of Bones and watch them all over again. Great, great show!

Scaniano | April 15, 18:12 CET

Given that I love to check out Whedonesque every day, I'm a little embarassed to admit that I wasn't really aware of Bones until recently. But I've been reading so much good buzz about it the past few weeks that I'm going to get the DVDs added to my Netflix queue. One thing I'm especially looking forward to is checking out Emily Deschanel's character, because I have a young son who is autistic and the actress and the character's creator have both said that even though it's not discussed explicitly in the show itself, they intended Temperance Brennan to be a positive example of an adult living a full life with autism or Asperger's syndrome.

BrewBunny | April 15, 21:23 CET

The closest i've come to meeting someone diagnosed with Asperger's is reading the novel 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' (which I loved) but Brennan does have some of the same qualities.

I'm surprised they said that though because the impression i've had all along is that "abstracting herself" was more or less a conscious choice she made early on in order to survive rather than an actual developmental condition, that she closed herself off to avoid pain and that Booth and her team are gradually bringing her out of her shell, showing her the benefits of trusting people (that might be coloured by the fact that i've always seen Brennan as a kind of nicer version of House though, who - tantalising hints aside - has always been portrayed as choosing to be how he is).

(and stick with 'Bones' BrewBunny, IMO it doesn't really gel until about half-way through the first season - before that I found it to be quite a standard procedural, albeit with an interesting lead character)

Saje | April 15, 22:13 CET

I've never really watched Bones until recently. I'm no fan of crime procedurals, but I really enjoyed Bones (I'll admit, partly because David Boreanaz is in it). It's a funny show that does some good work with character development. Maybe I'll consider going back and picking up a season or two now.

Supersymmetrical | April 15, 22:57 CET

Did anyone notice Channon Roe guest starring in the Bones season premiere last night? He also played Jack O'Toole in the Buffy episode "The Zeppo".

beg2differ | April 16, 00:37 CET

They changed that BrewBunny ... it's Zack that has Asperger's. That contributed to his being sent home from Iraq ... he couldn't assimilate into a military team.
They originally were going to write Brennan that way but decided it would be better with Zack...
I agree with Saje that Brennan made a choice to withdraw as a survival mechanism . And from the very beginning of the show she was trying to 'broaden her horizons' by making Booth take her out into the field.

resa | April 16, 03:07 CET

Ah, got it - thanks for the character clarification, as well as the encouragement to stick through several episodes. :-)

BrewBunny | April 16, 08:05 CET