Review - Bones Season 7 Episode 2 The Hot Dog in the Competition

The characters of Bones are generally fun and well-meaning, but boy were some of them mean. The new intern Finn might have a distinctly Texas accent and a juvenile record, but Hodgins and Caroline really overreacted. Maybe that was the drama the writers were looking for, but good drama does not come from likable characters being dicks. Likewise, Brennan being inhuman for the thousandth time without any character growth or understanding gets old. Of course Booth wanted to be there when she saw the sex of the baby.

The rest of the episode was about what one would expect. Everyone becomes friendly under the backdrop of a case involving competitive eating. After a rough start, people accept Finn and all is well.

Score: 8.2/10

Review - Bones Season 7 Episode 1 The Memories in the Shallow Grave

Six season of will-they-won't-they, the final three marred by Hart Hansen's bad decision making. Six seasons of Bones being distant and cold, the last seasons filled with Booth pining for Bones. Then at the end of last season, bam!, it all changes. Bones is pregnant, she and Booth are together, the pining is over. It's a bit sudden.

Honestly, I'm not sure the writers had a better choice, what with Emily Deschanel getting getting pregnant. Her pregnancy already delayed filming the show, and hiding her pregnancy, or avoiding it completely, would delay the show even more or create an unnatural situation where the director is constantly trying to hide the baby bump. There are very few options.

That said, the handling of the pregnancy thus far hasn't been good, though this is only the first episode of the season. The jump from last season--when the relationship was going nowhere fast--to this season--Booth and Bones living together--is way too sudden. While the relationship of the past few seasons was stagnant, at least it was consistent. All the problems of the past are washed away, stricken from the record.

And the relationship problems haven't really gotten better with the pregnancy. The prime squabble of the season premiere? Booth wants a permanent residence for his family, but Bones is unwilling. On top of that, Booth, idiotically, wants to split their money 50-50 for the house. Booth, do you want to split 50-05 and have a tiny house because you have no money, or don't split and have a massive house paid by a small portion of Bones's wealth?

Another problem is that the pregnancy focus took away from the case. The pacing is languid, the suspects minimal, and the case is tossed around until it's solved.

I like Bones a lot--the characters, the cases, the bodies. But Booth and Bones, who are the heart of the show, have been very problematic characters when the writers focus on their relationship. Normally, there relationship episodes and normal episodes, with normal episodes as the majority. I worry, however, that the pregnancy will convert every episode into a relationship episode.

Score: 8.1/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 23 The Change in the Game

Progress! Bones has been stagnating for so long that significant development is welcome simply because little has actually happened these past few years. There are lots of arguments why this latest development might not be optimal--it results from the trauma of Vincent's death so it lacks meaning, it's too sudden, we see little of the transition--but I like it just because it sends the show on a new trajectory. Instead of the will-they-won't-they dynamic, which has dominated the show and has gotten less returns as the show progressed, the show can firmly transform itself. Booth and Brennan can still be friendly, but without all the awkwardness.

The plot of "The Change in the Game" is mostly fluff with the murder of a bowler and the conclusion doesn't matter. Booth and Brennan spend their time undercover at the bowling alley, unnecessarily, I have to add, but it gives them something to do while Angela is giving birth and the other characters do the lab work.

During the undercover scenes, there was definitely something different about the way the characters acted. Brennan is smiling a lot and seemed a lot happier than she usually is, and Booth was a touch cheerier as well. Max didn't really need to be around to clue us into the changes.

The question going forward is, of course, how the writers handle this situation. Will they put Booth and Brennan together immediately at the start of the next season, or will they drag this out even longer, making a season of "Booth wants Brennan to marry but she's afraid to commit, until she gives birth?" The latter would be very problematic, possibility more so than the Hannah stuff. But for now, I'm willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume they won't drag their feet any longer.

Score: 8.6/10

Preview of Week 5/15/11 - 5/21/11

NCIS - CBS, Tuesday, May 17, 8:00pm ET

After the way the last episode ended, I'm looking forward to the season finale and the possible capture of the P2P killer. The question is, who will die?


Bones - Fox, Tuesday, May 19, 9:00pm ET

Will we get confirmation that Brennan and Booth slept together? The episode is titled "The Change in the Game," but Hart Hanson loves to play tricks--remember the alternate universe finale? In any case, we know Brennan and Booth are going undercover for sure.


The Mentalist - CBS, Thursday, May 19, 10:00pm ET

I've been very pleased with The Mentalist this season, and was impressed by the Red John-themed episodes in the beginning of the season. Now, the two-hour season will address who Red John's CBI is, and hopefully we will learn a bit more about Red John.

Supernatural - CW, Friday, May 20, 8:00pm ET

The jig is up and the Winchesters know Castiel was behind much of the bad things that happened in the season. While this two-hour season finale probably is as anticipated as the Lucifer showdown last year, the writers are always good at season finales.

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 22 The Hole in the Heart

"The Hole in the Heart" is a pretty significant episode for a number of reasons. One of them is the death of Vincent Nigel-Murray. He was my favorite squintern, so I'll be sad to see him go. This plethora of random knowledge was always entertaining and he had an undeniable charm. It's also good to know that Vincent was killed for a good reason since his actor, Ryan Cartwright, is on Alphas, which Syfy picked up. The episode handles the situation well, dealing with the emotional ups and down, as well as resolving the Broadsky plot.

But perhaps greater than all this is the implication that Brennan and Booth slept together. All we see is a grieving Brennan lay on top of Booth, and she later tells Angela that she got into bed with Booth and possibly something more happened. Brennan and Booth give each other a bunch of looks at the end of the episode, but there is not definitive answer. The dialogue is written ambiguously for a reason, to get fans interested and questioning. I don't want to get negative since this is the closest we've seen to resolving 6 seasons of UST; however, this better not be another fake-out.

Score: 9.2/10

Preview of Week 5/08/11 - 5/14/11

Stargate Universe - SYFY, Monday, May 9, 9:00pm ET

The Stargate franchise comes to an end tomorrow night with the series finale of Stargate Universe. Unlike some people, I won't be too sad. There was already a Hollywood movie, 10 seasons for SG-1, 5 for Atlantis, 2 direct-to-DVD movies, and 2 seasons of Universe. There have been missteps along the way--3 failed video games (I feel sorry for those who bought Resistance), premature cancellations, and the new movies not going ahead--but it's been a long journey which had to come to an end eventually.

Community - NBC, Thursday, May 12, 8:00pm ET

The epic paintball fight which begun last week will continue this week with the second part and season finale.

Bones - FOX, Thursday, May 12, 9:00pm ET

If you watched the promos, something really big is supposed to happen. We'll see if the writers can deliver.

Smallville - CW, Friday, May 13, 8:00pm ET

After ten seasons, Smallville finally comes to an end with a two hour series finale.

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 21 The Signs in the Silence

The goal of "The Signs in the Silence," it seems, was to pack as much pathos into a single episode of television, all else being damned. Every contrivance, every discovery directly leads into a scene where the characters try to connect with the girl.

Look how much Bones cares (even though she usually treats people like shit)! Look how much Booth cares! Hear the music! The girl reconnects with her old family!

The episode might have worked if the writers cared to include a thorough plot, but they hastily throw some plot-related scenes which make little sense, give no explanation, and the episode is done.

Score: 7.8/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 20 The Pinocchio in the Planter

Sorry for getting this one out late. I had computer troubles and now Friday shows are here.

"The Pinocchio in the Planter" is one of those episodes which isn't much of anything. Everything is acceptable, but nothing, save the one scene between Angela and Hodgins, really stands out. The radical honesty concept could have been taken further for both Brennan and Booth with their numerous secrets, Brennan in particular. In the end, though, Booth just expresses his gratitude, which isn't any big revelation.

I don't believe I've mentioned the Toyota product placement yet since I don't really mind too much, but the whole automatic parking thing was a little much. Still, that's part of what keeps Bones on air and we have to remember that.

Score: 8.4/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 19 The Finder

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

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 17 The Feet on the Beach

"The Feet on the Beach" is a frustrating episode, because it has many funny moments between all the characters. This part of the episode was top-notch, and I had a great time watching it. Unfortunately, the rest of the episode is wholly inadequate, and really dragged the episode down.

What I don't understand is how Bones could have regressed so far as to attack someone's life's work with no regard to his feelings, and even making fun of him in her paper. I thought she had gotten over this, and she really hasn't been overtly mean for a very, very long time. Why start again? Is the implication that Bones, despite years of being with Booth and Sweets, is unable to change? Or is it just that the writers decided to bring back this version of Bones because they had nothing better?

The case had several aspects to it, but it seemed really obvious from the beginning. Right as the murder comes on screen, he has a shifty look and nervously adjusts his glasses. I was hoping it was because he had something else to hide, but no, he was just the murderer.

Score: 8.0/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 16 The Blackout in the Blizzard

I haven't had many chances to say this since I started blogging, mostly because these past few seasons have been very uneven, but now is the perfect time: Whenever Bones tries to be fun and fresh, it is, in my opinion, unmatched by any procedural--nothing comes close.

"The Blackout in the Blizzard" puts the team in a unique situation, having to solve a crime without their usual equipment. This leads to liberal usage of potatoes to power a cell phone, cellophane to produce an x-ray, and lots of improvising. Meanwhile, Angela and Hodgins have a couple tear-jerking scenes with the information that their child may be blind (1 in 4 chance or 1 in 5, I can't remember). They power through and remain steady regardless of what happens.

The only problem with the episode is the writers explicitly telling the viewers they'll drag the thing between Booth and Brennan even longer. At this point, I'm in the mindset that he should either get them together or forget it altogether. Brennan stating that she's still not "impervious" and Booth stating that he's angry doesn't do any good. It's just dead weight.

Score: 8.9/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 15 The Killer in the Crosshairs

Hannah who? Now that Bones is past the latest pointless roadblock, it's actually digging into deeper themes that it could have been explored earlier in the season. "The Killer in the Crosshairs" features the return of Jacob Broadsky, the sniper who killed the Gravedigger, and he's killing other evildoers who have escaped serious punishment.

But the episode goes far beyond the usual plot of catching criminals, with Booth question his motives and mindset. Always looking for answers, Brennan wonders if Booth is somehow similar to Broadsky, which causes Booth distress. While there are similarities between the two--both being snipers, having a strong sense of justice--there is clearly a major difference in the way the two do business, and Brennan clarifies her positions, perhaps too cleanly, saying that Broadsky is bad and Booth is good.

Vincent isn't featured much in the episode but like the other interns, he's reversed course on his quirk and active attempts to have conversations instead of blurting out factoids. The other subplot is Hodgins and Angela getting the right to name their child--but only after Hodgins agrees to have Angela's father's face tattooed on his arm.

Score: 8.9/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 14 The Bikini in the Soup

How about that final scene? Booth and Brennan at the shooting range, using authentic 20s weapons, is the fun couple I remember, and it's not tinged with romantic overtones that the majority of endings the past couple seasons.

"The Bikini in the Soup" has a good amount of investigation, and agreement between Booth and Brennan that Valentine's Day is pointless--but .there is a pointless time limit imposed on the investigation. Cam doesn't have to be there to arrest the suspect, but the writers force it into the episode so Cam spends the episode telling people to hurry up.

What's up with the interns changing behavior? Fisher is trying to be less depressed and now Clark has done a 180, telling everyone about his personal life. If this keeps going on, Nigel-Murray and Daisy will stop yapping all the time (which is a negative for Nigel-Murray and a positive for Daisy).

Score: 8.5/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 13 The Daredevil in the Mold

We all knew Hannah would go eventually and that episode is "The Daredevil in the Mold." The way in which this is done, however, is as clumsy as could be. Everything is going fine, Booth buys a big diamond ring, but when he proposes, Hannah says no. That's fine, but the explanation is awful. Hannah says she's not the marrying type, which I can understand, given her penchant for dangerous assignments and free spirit. When Booth is left there stunned, she explains further, saying she's told him this many times before. Really? When did she tell him this very, very important piece of information before? This is the first time I'm hearing of this, and apparently Booth never heard her all those times she told him. Afterwards, Booth throws the expensive ring into the pond, which might have been more stupid than Hannah's explanation.

Anyway, there's a wonderful scene following that disaster with Booth drinking at the bar before Brennan joins him. Booth is in a bad place right now, and there's lots of things the writers can do. Unfortunately, their track record leaves me with little confidence.

Considering this is a "Hannah episode," "The Daredevil in the Mold" has a lot of forensics work and Fisher especially gets lots to do, showing that he's trying hard not to be doom and gloom all the time.

Score: 8.3/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 12 The Sin in the Sisterhood

Another episode reinforcing the point that Booth and Bones love each other? Fine... I don't want to say this, but Bones has gotten tiresome with the continual subplot which goes nowhere.

With the polygamist plot of "The Sin in the Sisterhood," Booth comes to the conclusion that everyone has someone they love the most, and of course it's Bones in his case. Unfortunately, about 50 other episode have already gone over this topic thoroughly. The only new addition is that someone can love more than one person as well, the obvious parallel being that Booth can love Hannah and Bones, but loves Bones more.

Cam finally gets a subplot of her own, not relating to her daughter, so it was refreshing to see her romance take off, and do some ballistics at the same time. As far as the crime solving goes, there is about one major twist which does not effect the ultimate outcome of the episode.

Score: 8.6/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 11 The Bullet in the Brain

I'm really busy this week, so very short reviews only.

As far as plot goes, "The Bullet in the Brain" is nothing special, with a scant amount of forensic work and interviews. It does, however, give us a close look at each character, bringing the Gravedigger, Max, and Caroline back for an emotional episode. Before sounding too positive with this change of pace from the Hannah stuff, I also have to note that we have to see what happens next before laying on the praise.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 10 The Body in the Bag

Increasingly, Bones has been separated into two kinds of episodes, Booth and Brennan episodes and regular episodes, with stark differences in quality. Booth and Brennan episodes used to be the highlight of the show in the first couple seasons as the cases actually reflected on their characters and they grew through the course of the case. These days, however, Booth and Brennan episodes focus on whatever inertia is holding them back--Hannah in the case of the six season. The case running simultaneously with the relationship problem is given less time and there's a detached feeling to the crime solving.

"The Body in the Bag" has a few running themes, cultural identity and counterfeit goods, but the conclusion is quickly shoehorned into the episode after a miraculous facial reconstruction. As it turns out, the "Prada police" slept with her and later killed her. He's arrest and it's over--no follow up or anything.

It's necessary to talk about the relationships since so much of the episode was spent on it, but at this point, you can't expect much. Brennan and Hannah are back to being good friends--exactly where they were at the beginning of the episode. It seems like the writers don't have a good plan and are just circling until they can think of something good. We all know the endgame is Booth and Brennan together, but Hannah and Brennan are really good friends instead of the mortal enemies you'd expect, which is very problematic.

The episode has several strong points with Angela and Hodgins, and Clark finally showing some interest. These elements of the show have always remained strong, though, and the rest of the episode simply does not match up.

Score: 8.2/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 9 The Doctor in the Photo

I am an entire day behind the television watching, so for the sake of time, reviews for Thursday and Wednesday shows will be very short (shorter than they the present short reviews). I was overwhelmed this week with other stuff, but I'll definitely be churning out reviews next week.

Despite the fact that the first half of the episode has ridiculously clunky dialogue--some of the worst I've ever heard--and frustratingly unsubtle parallels between Brennan and the surgeon, "The Doctor in the Photo" contains the biggest development for Brennan, and Emily Deschanel is fantastic.

Along with the tricks Brennan's mind plays on her, Micah (presumably, he was part of her imagination) and the same voice and photo, the episode becomes watchable. And now that Brennan realizes she should have made the move earlier, Booth knows, and we're finally moving ahead and out of that ditch.

Score: 8.6/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 8 The Twisted Bones in the Melted Truck

Bones suffers from an inundation of romantic relationships. There are only three options with them: together (Angela and Hodgins, Booth and Hannah), apart permanently (Booth and Cam), or the weird, dysfunctional UST of Booth and Brennan. Currently, the show is simply juggling too much relationships. In addition to the aforementioned ones, there is also Sweets and Daisy who get significant screen time in "The Twisted Bones in the Melted Truck." Frankly, I could less about them--as long as they don't interfere with the plot.

Sadly, however, the time spent on Daisy being weird while Sweets helps her, Parker liking Hannah, takes away from the the main story, which should be the focus of the episode. Instead, we barely get any investigation or science and just a load of predictable gooeyness.

Score: 8.0/10

Review - Bones Season 6 Episode 7 The Babe in the Bar

I may have said this before, but I'll say it again: Vincent Nigel-Murray is my favorite intern. His unyielding enthusiasm is fun and more tempered than Daisy's, and his wealth of knowledge about every subject is truly impressive. What's not to like about him?

On my Castle review earlier this week, I talked about how some people say that Castle is the Bones of ABC. Clearly, that's not the case. Bones has a massively more diverse and interesting cast, not to mention wacky cases which Castle never comes close to. "The Babe in the Bar" effectively juggles the main plot about a woman found dead inside a giant chocolate bar, as well as two subplots for Cam, and Angela and Hodgins.

Did anyone see anything really wrong with what Cam did? Not only did she subvert Michelle by going behind her back, she also was doing something which is probably illegal, writing Michelle's Georgetown essay herself.

Score: 8.8/10