User Reviews

I really enjoyed the first three and a half seasons before things went downhill. After the episode containing Max's trial (season 3 episode 13), things weren't as good. Brennan's actions and the outcome of the trial completely ruined the show for me and while I did continue to watch it my view was changed for the remainder of the show. I also absolutely did not agree with Angela's actions in that same episode. Pretty much my entire opinion of the show was wrecked in one single episode. Needless to say I was not happy but continued to view the series. There were also some inconsistencies. The man in the beginning who was an archaeologist (I can't remember his name) was said to be on a trip away but never returned after Cam was hired. Also Booth told stories involving himself and multiple girls under bleachers in high school but in an episode involving a star basketball player says the last time he was under bleachers was in the eighth grade. Despite these, I did like the premise of the series and found it mostly enjoyable.

Main problem in the later seasons is the inconsistencies in the writing of Brennan. The story they are supposedly "telling" on screen doesn't match the character they are showing on screen. They have regressed this poor character to the point that she's almost become a caricature of her former self. Her speech pattern has become so terse and stiff that's it's hard not to see the character as one dimensional even though the script is telling us she has evolved and faced many changes over the years. It's inexplicable how stiff the mannerisms have become and how mechanical and one note the dialogue has become for her. It doesn't make sense for Brennan to be so stiff with people she has worked with for YEARS. She has gone through many tragedies and triumphs with Angela, Hodgins, Cam, Wendell etc. I can understand her being stern with a "new" intern but why would she be so detached and stilted around people she supposedly loves and has worked with for YEARS. She seemed to have MORE of a comfort level with them years ago than she does now! I miss the brilliant Brennan of earlier seasons who was arrogant and socially inept yes, but also SPUNKY and full of life. She had a zest for life and had a zest for Booth. Now she has no zest and has been reduced to mostly nothing but repetitive scenes of mechanical dialogue with interns and sprouting off meaningless scientific facts in a detached monotone voice. They throw in a few "mommy" scenes here and there and I guess that makes them think that they are making her seem to have more depth. Um...No. Just No. She still has chemistry with Booth (thankfully) but they get little screen time together and virtually no intimate scenes (another problem that's also very unfortunate). I don't understand the writer's difficultly in writing for her especially when they have done such a WONDERFUL job writing for Cam and Angela over the years. Both woman have evolved beautifully but yet still kept the core of their characters intact. They are not written as over exaggerated caricatures! Wish the writers would start showing the same respect for Brennan.

This show is really good and that it is really going to grown Dr Temperance Brennan played wonderfully by Emily Deschenal is great as the doctor scientist who tries to study bones in order to find out how the person got murdered. David Boranaz, after years of playing the straight man in Angel, gets to play the comic relief in Agent Steely Booth who makes Brennan the rear of his jokes. But the two find each other annoying as well as attractive to each other. As he must tag along as a liaison to her and she to him. Wonderful witty acting as well as great writing makes the show a must see! It can hold its own from Prison Break!

I love this TV series: it mixes drama, comedy, mystery, love story. I have seen a lot of time lot of episodes but they have never bored me even if i know all the scenes. The description of their method in order to find the killer and the precision of the scientific words are very interesting. I must be very careful in order to understand them.

I'll always have a soft spot for this one. I'll always think of it as the show that had the most potential out of all of the shows I've ever watched. But that potential was never reached, in fact that writers didn't even seem interested in reaching it, throwing away golden story opportunities time and time again. Years of buildup in the Booth/Brennan story was rewarded with no pay off when the writers wrote the culmination of their six year story off screen and didn't let the viewers see a single scene of their coming to terms with their feelings. My enthusiasm dampened immensely after that and although I loved seeing Booth/Brennan as an expectant couple after the time jump I never quite got over the disappointment of not getting to see something so huge and integral to their story. Quite a letdown and the series went from must see TV for me to being relegated to DVR viewing. Still loved the Booth/Brennan dynamic though but subsequent seasons proved to be a mix of highs and lows. They did have an awesome wedding episode and many episodes did still contain the trademark humor I adore. I also liked the intensity of the Pelant arc and love how they excel at special episodes like the "old fashioned catch a thief movie" and the recent documentary episode. But there were also many fails...a constant influx of rotating interns, many of whom never resonated with me the way earlier more fleshed out characters like Zach or Sweets did. Just rotating interns in every episode taking up space, talking incessantly and leaving less time to develop interesting plots/crimes of the week and less time for exploration of the Booth/Brennan dynamic. The show's downfall was definitely the emphasis on revolving interns over more substantial types of mysteries/plots and personal stories for the team. I've missed seeing Booth/Brennan solve crimes together...they were the heart of the show and a fantastic duo. I am hoping since the writers know season 12 is their last they will do away with the rotating intern theme and just let Booth/Brennan solve some crimes together and have some fun. I always liked the episodes where they went undercover and also the episodes that had a lot of suspense.

"Bones" is the nickname given to Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist with the fictitious Jeffersonian Institute, and inspired by real-life writer Kathy Reichs. Brennan is a best selling author, a tough scrapper, a dedicated scientist who does not compromise in the search for truth, an unapologetic atheist, and an apparent sufferer of Asberger's syndrome in that she cannot stop her sharp tongue from saying exactly what she thinks. Each week she is given a set of bones of a murder victim to analyze and with her FBI partner (and later lover/husband) Booth, figures out the cause of death and ultimately the culprit. She is aided in her endeavors by a gang of lab rats including the free-wheeling artist Angela, Angela's conspiracy theory boyfriend/husband Jack, their boss Cam and a rotating door of supporting interns, lawyers and psychologists.

Bones started off nearly ten years ago and has been a steady performer for Fox ever since. While much credit must go to some of the fascinating crime story lines and the associated science, a lion's share should go to the refreshing lead character and Emily Deschanel, the actress who plays her with such straight-forward no-bull delivery. David Boreanaz is a likable counterpoint as her more conventional FBI partner. And regulars Michaela Conlin, Tamara Taylor and T.J. Thyne deserve much credit for creating a spirit of camaraderie among the supporting players.

This is not to say that all of the show is great. In the early days, the weak link in the cast was an intern named Zach, played by Eric Millegan. Millegan did his best, but Zach was obviously supposed to be a junior Bones and his flat line readings became annoying. Even worse, the socially awkward Zach become an example of a character that could only exist in the mind of writer and it was impossible to see him functioning in real society. Mercifully, it seemed even the shows insiders realized this and rather surprisingly wrote Zach out. The far more appealing psychologist Dr. Sweets (played by John Francis Daley) was added, and a rotating roster of interns were brought in to pick up the slack. Also added on a semi-regular basis is the acerbic attorney (the priceless Patricia Belcher). The rotating interns are more hits than misses - Michael Grant Terry's likable Wendell, Carla Gallo's adorably nutty Daisy, Ryan Cartwright's babbling Brit. I have not warmed though to either Brian Klugman's obnoxious know-it-all or Luke Kleintank's simpering aw-shucks rube.

However, in recent seasons the show seems to have lost its footing on several fronts. It has not ever done sentimentality well, and episodes that require an overdose of sentiment are usually badly written misfires. A 9/11 commemorative episode from last year with the male interns giving badly written, flatly delivered endless pageants to the camera was near unendurable. I am all for a 9/11 commemorative, but did it need to be this bad? I have no problem with the creators getting Brennan and Booth together, but did they really need to be this conventional? Another episode ham-handedly included an unrelated subplot about Booth helping children with a disease, which included the cast apparently reading brochures directly to the camera in an attempt to "inform" us. And any episode where the show tries to integrate schmaltzy supernatural elements is a disaster.

Additionally, I have never seen a serious show work so hard to undermine its leading character. It started a few years ago with an episode where Booth is trapped on a ship with a "ghost". The episode barely saved face by the later revelation that Booth had a head injury. A later episode had the team commissioned to investigate what turned out to be the JFK assassination. When Brennan positively proves that it could not have gone down like the government said, she fudges her findings because it may upset Booth. No real scientist would do such a thing - and they would be fired not congratulated by their boss for this move. It had Brennan seem like a hypocritical sell-out and Booth seem like a weak man-child who cannot cope when something challenges his outlook. Subsequent bad episodes have featured a ghost haunting the lab, Cyndi Lauper as a "genuine" psychic (Lauper is actually pretty good but could they not find a better role?), and Brennan having a conversation with her dead mother. Is this a show about science set in a lab or is it Miss Cleo's hotline (or a church)? Even worse, nearly every other episode features Brennan having to subvert her views in order to prop up Booth and make him feel better...huh?! Whereas Brennan used to stand her ground on religious issues, she now blinks and submits lest Booth have a boo-boo. I am waiting for that "very special" episode where Brennan finds Jesus. The writers truly seem to be robbing her of the spirit, tenacity and off-beat views that made her interesting in some misguided attempts to have her conform to the norm - which is exactly what she should not be doing.

This can still be a wonderful show when it sticks to form, but less effort to undermine its lead would be a welcome step in the right direction.

The show was never 100% original, in that odd partners and detective shows are a penny on television.

But it was generally enjoyable, although to be honest the episodes are very similar to one another - can't escape that, in that it's identify cause of death and catch the bad guy/gal every week.

But it should have ended when Bones and Booth became a couple. And given the stretched out will they/won't they story, that was more or less rushed through in a few minutes.

Once together, it became more about babies and family discussions. Not exactly a crime series, and it felt out of place and frankly boring.

The visit to the UK killed it for me more than anything. Stereotyped to high hell, and there's no way you'd get a vintage mini car from a hire firm either (other than those renting classic cars). Cringeworthy television at its worst.

If it had stuck to 5 seasons, I'd have rated it higher. However, Season 6 onward killed it for me.

A shame that shows like this carry on (and on and on and on), yet other shows get cancelled halfway through their first run.