Maybe it's a result of getting older. Or maybe it's a symptom of the decline in overall tv programming quality available on the broadcast networks. Regardless of the cause, I find myself watching more crime shows than I would have a few years ago, and while it pains me to admit this: some of my favorites this year are, in fact, crime shows. The Mentalist, of course, has me hooked. Castle is also a fun show, though I haven't seen more than a few episodes yet; since it's been picked up for another season, I think I'll catch up this summer and jump into its Fall season with high expectations.
Given the dearth of solid one-hour dramas on broadcast tv, it's no surprise I've resorted to the well-sprung crime story to fill my copious tv time. Yet, I suspect this new penchant could be the result of something more Freudian because I'm also watching crime shows in my streaming Netflix/XBox list! Considering the thousands of available hours of decent tv available to stream, the fact that I've gone through 4 seasons of Bones is damning evidence that I might be growing up.
Don't panic, I won't be streaming episodes of Perry Mason or Hunter just yet. Having accepted my new crime drama exploration, though, I think it's time to simultaneously praise and complain about Bones.
The summary is this: I recommend Bones. As a crime drama it has pretty typical fare: weekly murder mysteries with a scientist/cop crime-solving duo as lead characters. The show manages to stay fresh by (paradoxically) using the Fox Network's winning formula of snarky, almost juvenile dialog coupled with mostly plausible hard science. It worked for X-Files, and it has worked for House, Fringe, and Bones as well. Fox seems to do this better than just about anyone else. CBS has a similar format with CSI, but that show fails to deliver the "fun" that Bones cranks out every week. As with any show that shines among its competitors, I credit the writers on Bones, and that means I have to credit the production company - 20th Century Fox Television - for making good choices when it comes to hiring good writers. A company like Alliance Atlantis Communications (the producers of CSI and its related spinoff CSI Miami), however, seems to prefer crank writers. Crank writers are the folks that can "crank out" dozens of episodes that are basically the same, following a paint-by-numbers television scheme. You can guess my feelings about these shows and crank writers.
Bones doesn't revel in the technical details like CSI. In fact, the great science in the show is secondary to the character interactions; I find myself really empathizing with the lab geeks in the show because their interpersonal dialog is only sometimes interrupted by talk of hydrocarbons and luminol. Ostensibly, the show is about a forensic anthropologist and her FBI partner, but the talented writers have made much more of the show. If you like the weekly murder format, you will find comfort in Bones, and if you demand more from your characters (more humanity, more weakness, more empathy) Bones delivers there too.
Now for the complaining. If you watch Bones, you will know exactly where I'm going with this. !!Spoiler Alert!! Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't seen the show and plan on watching it. Season 3 finale (Bones is currently in its 5th season and has been picked up for its sixth). Zack Addy. Serial Killer's Apprentice?! W... T... F...???
I can summarize the season 3 ending this way: Worst. Twist. Ever. In a general sense, I have nothing but good and laudable things to say about the writers on Bones, but sometimes when the mighty fall, they leave a gigantic crater of crap. The season 3 ending twist, while probably designed to write a character/actor out of the show with style, took ridiculously unbelievable to new heights of eye-rolling stupidity. I've trolled the interwebs for viewer comments, and without going into quotations and detail, I'll just say that I can't find anyone who thought tossing aside a beloved character this way was a good idea. I kept waiting for one of the main characters to wake up from a drug-induced hallucination, in fact I was begging for some trite do-over plot device when I started on season 4. No such luck.
And I must say, the show is weaker for the lack of [insert fired actor here]. The show hasn't completely succumbed to the 4th season curse (see e.g., Alias, 24, and West Wing), mostly thanks to the utterly compelling relationship between Angela and Hodgins, but I'm squinty with wariness now. In other words, I recommend the show, but I've got my eye on these writers. I'm hoping the 3rd season twist was a decision made at the production level that was forced on the writers. That won't excuse the writers for going along, but it at least gives me hope that they won't do it again. If they do - you'll see a future blog post right here, publicly retracting my recommendation. For now, however, give Bones a chance. And let me know what you think of the 3rd season twist.
P.S. -
Erica Durance, I love you.
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