I've been far too busy to keep up on the latest Bones news, so I was initially confused about "The Finder." I wondered who these new people were and why they were featured so prominently. Something clicked in my mind and I realized this was the backdoor pilot I'd read about some time ago.
The idea of a Bones spin-off is pretty good from FOX's standpoint. The network has had a hard time launching new shows, and aside from Glee, most in recent memory have failed (low ratings or cancelled). Bones has had very solid ratings for years and a dedicated core audience, which means that they will have to watch this new show at least once (or a portion of it, depending on how many people stopped watching after a while).
The problem, though, is that people want to watch Bones, not this new thing with three new people. The writers try to appease this problem by keeping Booth and Brennan somewhat active in the episode and bringing in the other characters later. The result, however, is a mess of plotting--unfocused, redundant, and with little mystery.
I could see this show working on its own. The three main characters aren't bad (though the British accent HAS to go) and a procedural about finding things could be fun. But this is a Bones episode and the awkward attempt to put the two groups together failed miserably.
Score: 7.0/10
