Bones Flashback
I had to go back to the start after watching the season 6 finale - almost like I had to see if I was making up how good it used to be. The differences jumped out instantly, though they weren't entirely what I was expecting.
One of my most common complaints about Bones is how they've changed how the way they write Bones herself. I truly love Emily Deschanel's performance, and I like whatever she does, but it's always felt disingenuous to me how they write her in more recent years, stripping her of the humor and warmth she had in the early years, trying to compress her down to a single dimension. I suppose it's pretty much par for the course in what you see in so many movies and TV, the ridiculous dumbing down of geniuses - as if somehow by being more intelligent, they are less human. Only the fact that Deschanel's taken it in an Asperger's direction, as opposed to "I have no social skills because I'm smart," has made it work. (One of the many reasons I loved this year's "The Doctor in the Photo" was that I felt they finally recognized what she'd been working so hard to do with the character. One of oly what, two good eps this year? I digress.)
At any rate, while I respect Emily's work regardless of what the writers hand her, she didn't have to use to fight so much to fold humanity into her character. In old episodes, I remember a warmth and energy that I haven't seen for years. (I also miss her wonderful ethnic jewelry and safariesque clothing, which always felt so much more appropriate to me.) Come to think of it, when was the last time we saw her mention Tae Kwan Do, or sit on the floor of her office, pouring through bones, gluing them together? Before the formula became cemented into immovable parts, this show actually let you into the character's lives and stepped outside its formulaic structure.
So I dove into the pilot. One of the few episodes that I'm aware of that is based in the actual books, the plot is a memorable one, that of a young intern killed, it appears, by a senator when he discovers she's carrying his child. (The truth turns out to be even nastier when it's the aid, played by Sam Trammel in his pre-True Blood days, who did the killing: because he wanted to keep his job, and couldn't afford to let the senator go down in flames.) Most of my memories of the differences proved accurate - but a few surprised me. I'd almost forgotten about the forensics of the show, back when it was really part of it, more than just a brief glance at the bones and a "ta-dah, it's a [mumbo jumbo] break that means [incredibly specific scenario]." There's a willingness to be less than exact in these early episodes; there's an awareness that characters are still struggling to accomplish things, and have to work to achieve things. They have bad hair days and simple wardrobes, and the passion in the air is tremble-worthy.
Of course, there are parts I'm happy to have left behind as well; the "Angelator," that absurd impossible magic holograph, as well as the tremendously lousy soundtrack that sounds like it was pulled from a junior high school kid's iPod, are both things I'd been happy to forget. The uneasy use of "squint" by extras and the awkward camera transitions aren't exactly thrilling, either.
But back to the impressive moments. Boreanaz nails Booth from the first scene; I could as easily believe this was his hundredth episode as his first, as comfortable as he seems in the role. It's also amazing to see the villain or hero of the week actually be given some time to act; I'm so sick to death of quick interviews with characters who should be too grief-stricken to speak, yet are somehow able to give cogent answers minutes after finding out their loved ones are dead. Deschanel's acting also catches my eye from the first episode; I love how she's given the opportunity to actually care about the victim, even while she doesn't understand the emotion. ("I don't get it. It wasn't jealousy, it wasn't passion. Cleo wouldn't get rid of her boss's baby, so you got rid of her. What kind of psychology is that? What kind of person are you?") And the team! They are more connected and properly geeky moments in the first episode than exist in the entire sixth season, a feeling of trust, connection, and a long history of late nights. There are depths and currents here in the first episode (terrible sound track be damned) that I haven't seen it in years. I wish I could corral all the writers and have them rewatch it.
But on to episode two: The Man in the SUV.
Emotional gore! And Safari outfits! The opening scene alone led me to (verbal) explosions. Here we face the uncomfortable subject of terrorists, specifically what appears to be a suicide bombing by the leader of the Arab-American friendship league. Bones is called in to identify the body, and quickly, in the hopes they can disprove this embarrassing incident. Written in 2005, this incident was just far enough away from 9/11 to have an episode treading on those unsettling waters, and just close enough to be filled with confusion about how to treat the subject matter. But truth is, I'm not interested in dissecting the muddy, ugly grounds of racism, terrorism, and fear; I'm interested in the performances and the writing, so here we go.
In episode one, Bones notes she's recently back from Guatemala, having assisted in identifying bodies resulting from genocide. Unsurprisingly, she handles the bodies in this second episode with calm competence. It's a delicate difference, but I love the way she's handling this scene; in future episodes, she'd be stiff, unaffected in general, and the cameras would be focusing on the nastiness of the gore, as opposed to the disturbingly human aspect of the gore. Season six Bones, maggots and slipping rotten skin; season one Bones, weeping, wounded people, all-too-human bones, and emotional responses all around her while she has to hold it together, because damnit, she's a professional. I also love the scientists' frustration with interlopers; there's a calm rationale in these early episodes that I love, when science is not some miraculous magic that, pulled out of a magic hat, renders answers, but an actual process that can be understood, followed, that is worked for. Maybe that's what bugs me most; everything is too damn easy in season 6, and the answers are always so bizarrely concrete.
Oddly, Zach - whom I thoroughly disliked for some time - I find far more enjoyable this time through. His character works for me; I feel like I finally get what he was aiming for, a kind of callous humor that everyone takes to be shallow and is actually sincere, and it makes the utterly insane yet tragic season 3 make so much more sense. I don't know which is the chicken or the egg, but I have to give him his props. Actually, I'm liking everyone more - I can even tolerate Angela here; she actually has her own goals and interests, as opposed to whining about being an artist or simply having no real purpose. (For the record, I find the actress charming in every little interview I've ever seen of her. I find the character, on the other hand, abysmally boring and self-centered.) The lab is also busy; sure, it's absurdly gorgeous, large, and technical, but it also looks like a working lab. Booth, self-confident apparent God of FBI in season six, faces actual consequences and accountability in this early year, as well. It's often the limitations that build a show, and I wonder if they've just abolished one too many challenges in the current Bones.
This episode is also willing to do what we haven't seen in a while: put Bones in the field. Don't get me wrong; I think it's ridiculous to have Bones constantly in trouble as season two and three liked to do (though damn, those were good episodes). But the airport scene has a tension I haven't felt in any episode in ages, as they desperately search for the villain. It's a telling moment when Bones identifies the villain by his walk and assures Booth it's okay to shoot him; he, uncertain, refuses to shoot until she calls his name and he turns around. A little too on the nose, perhaps, as she insists that this is what she does, he must trust her...but the scene works neverthless.
Perhaps even better: this was a time when Bones was aware of sex. Not just openly aggressive in her pursuit of sexual gratification, as later episodes portray her, but aware of, let's say, options. How's this for some undercurrents as they drink together at the bar:
Bones: I thought you FBI guys liked your medals.
Booth: I take no pleasure in taking someone's life.
Nothing to celebrate.
Bones: You've saved so many people, Booth. Don't forget that.
[Bones' hand covers Booth's.]
Booth: Another drink?
[Bones removes her hand.]
Bones: Shouldn't you be heading home?
[beat]
Tessa will be worried about you.
[beat]
Booth: Yeah.
[Booth leans back to leave, pulls back in, and finally moves away again.]
I guess I should.
The loneliness and very subtle resentment Bones has towards Booth's beautiful blonde is beautifully done, as is the follow-up in this scene as she goes to sort bones in the lab while Booth heads home to a home-cooked meal. The jewelry that peeks out of her lab coat serves as yet another identifier of their differences; his conservative nature (before the "Cocky" belt buckle), her more variable dress. They were real opposites back then, and a wide and lonely gulf stood between them. No wonder the tension was so great.
I really do look forward to season six; I want to see if they can pull it together in time for the finale. I have no doubt Boreanaz and Deschanel will bring their game. I just hope the writers do.
One of my most common complaints about Bones is how they've changed how the way they write Bones herself. I truly love Emily Deschanel's performance, and I like whatever she does, but it's always felt disingenuous to me how they write her in more recent years, stripping her of the humor and warmth she had in the early years, trying to compress her down to a single dimension. I suppose it's pretty much par for the course in what you see in so many movies and TV, the ridiculous dumbing down of geniuses - as if somehow by being more intelligent, they are less human. Only the fact that Deschanel's taken it in an Asperger's direction, as opposed to "I have no social skills because I'm smart," has made it work. (One of the many reasons I loved this year's "The Doctor in the Photo" was that I felt they finally recognized what she'd been working so hard to do with the character. One of oly what, two good eps this year? I digress.)
At any rate, while I respect Emily's work regardless of what the writers hand her, she didn't have to use to fight so much to fold humanity into her character. In old episodes, I remember a warmth and energy that I haven't seen for years. (I also miss her wonderful ethnic jewelry and safariesque clothing, which always felt so much more appropriate to me.) Come to think of it, when was the last time we saw her mention Tae Kwan Do, or sit on the floor of her office, pouring through bones, gluing them together? Before the formula became cemented into immovable parts, this show actually let you into the character's lives and stepped outside its formulaic structure.
So I dove into the pilot. One of the few episodes that I'm aware of that is based in the actual books, the plot is a memorable one, that of a young intern killed, it appears, by a senator when he discovers she's carrying his child. (The truth turns out to be even nastier when it's the aid, played by Sam Trammel in his pre-True Blood days, who did the killing: because he wanted to keep his job, and couldn't afford to let the senator go down in flames.) Most of my memories of the differences proved accurate - but a few surprised me. I'd almost forgotten about the forensics of the show, back when it was really part of it, more than just a brief glance at the bones and a "ta-dah, it's a [mumbo jumbo] break that means [incredibly specific scenario]." There's a willingness to be less than exact in these early episodes; there's an awareness that characters are still struggling to accomplish things, and have to work to achieve things. They have bad hair days and simple wardrobes, and the passion in the air is tremble-worthy.
Of course, there are parts I'm happy to have left behind as well; the "Angelator," that absurd impossible magic holograph, as well as the tremendously lousy soundtrack that sounds like it was pulled from a junior high school kid's iPod, are both things I'd been happy to forget. The uneasy use of "squint" by extras and the awkward camera transitions aren't exactly thrilling, either.
But back to the impressive moments. Boreanaz nails Booth from the first scene; I could as easily believe this was his hundredth episode as his first, as comfortable as he seems in the role. It's also amazing to see the villain or hero of the week actually be given some time to act; I'm so sick to death of quick interviews with characters who should be too grief-stricken to speak, yet are somehow able to give cogent answers minutes after finding out their loved ones are dead. Deschanel's acting also catches my eye from the first episode; I love how she's given the opportunity to actually care about the victim, even while she doesn't understand the emotion. ("I don't get it. It wasn't jealousy, it wasn't passion. Cleo wouldn't get rid of her boss's baby, so you got rid of her. What kind of psychology is that? What kind of person are you?") And the team! They are more connected and properly geeky moments in the first episode than exist in the entire sixth season, a feeling of trust, connection, and a long history of late nights. There are depths and currents here in the first episode (terrible sound track be damned) that I haven't seen it in years. I wish I could corral all the writers and have them rewatch it.
But on to episode two: The Man in the SUV.
Emotional gore! And Safari outfits! The opening scene alone led me to (verbal) explosions. Here we face the uncomfortable subject of terrorists, specifically what appears to be a suicide bombing by the leader of the Arab-American friendship league. Bones is called in to identify the body, and quickly, in the hopes they can disprove this embarrassing incident. Written in 2005, this incident was just far enough away from 9/11 to have an episode treading on those unsettling waters, and just close enough to be filled with confusion about how to treat the subject matter. But truth is, I'm not interested in dissecting the muddy, ugly grounds of racism, terrorism, and fear; I'm interested in the performances and the writing, so here we go.
In episode one, Bones notes she's recently back from Guatemala, having assisted in identifying bodies resulting from genocide. Unsurprisingly, she handles the bodies in this second episode with calm competence. It's a delicate difference, but I love the way she's handling this scene; in future episodes, she'd be stiff, unaffected in general, and the cameras would be focusing on the nastiness of the gore, as opposed to the disturbingly human aspect of the gore. Season six Bones, maggots and slipping rotten skin; season one Bones, weeping, wounded people, all-too-human bones, and emotional responses all around her while she has to hold it together, because damnit, she's a professional. I also love the scientists' frustration with interlopers; there's a calm rationale in these early episodes that I love, when science is not some miraculous magic that, pulled out of a magic hat, renders answers, but an actual process that can be understood, followed, that is worked for. Maybe that's what bugs me most; everything is too damn easy in season 6, and the answers are always so bizarrely concrete.
Oddly, Zach - whom I thoroughly disliked for some time - I find far more enjoyable this time through. His character works for me; I feel like I finally get what he was aiming for, a kind of callous humor that everyone takes to be shallow and is actually sincere, and it makes the utterly insane yet tragic season 3 make so much more sense. I don't know which is the chicken or the egg, but I have to give him his props. Actually, I'm liking everyone more - I can even tolerate Angela here; she actually has her own goals and interests, as opposed to whining about being an artist or simply having no real purpose. (For the record, I find the actress charming in every little interview I've ever seen of her. I find the character, on the other hand, abysmally boring and self-centered.) The lab is also busy; sure, it's absurdly gorgeous, large, and technical, but it also looks like a working lab. Booth, self-confident apparent God of FBI in season six, faces actual consequences and accountability in this early year, as well. It's often the limitations that build a show, and I wonder if they've just abolished one too many challenges in the current Bones.
This episode is also willing to do what we haven't seen in a while: put Bones in the field. Don't get me wrong; I think it's ridiculous to have Bones constantly in trouble as season two and three liked to do (though damn, those were good episodes). But the airport scene has a tension I haven't felt in any episode in ages, as they desperately search for the villain. It's a telling moment when Bones identifies the villain by his walk and assures Booth it's okay to shoot him; he, uncertain, refuses to shoot until she calls his name and he turns around. A little too on the nose, perhaps, as she insists that this is what she does, he must trust her...but the scene works neverthless.
Perhaps even better: this was a time when Bones was aware of sex. Not just openly aggressive in her pursuit of sexual gratification, as later episodes portray her, but aware of, let's say, options. How's this for some undercurrents as they drink together at the bar:
Bones: I thought you FBI guys liked your medals.
Booth: I take no pleasure in taking someone's life.
Nothing to celebrate.
Bones: You've saved so many people, Booth. Don't forget that.
[Bones' hand covers Booth's.]
Booth: Another drink?
[Bones removes her hand.]
Bones: Shouldn't you be heading home?
[beat]
Tessa will be worried about you.
[beat]
Booth: Yeah.
[Booth leans back to leave, pulls back in, and finally moves away again.]
I guess I should.
The loneliness and very subtle resentment Bones has towards Booth's beautiful blonde is beautifully done, as is the follow-up in this scene as she goes to sort bones in the lab while Booth heads home to a home-cooked meal. The jewelry that peeks out of her lab coat serves as yet another identifier of their differences; his conservative nature (before the "Cocky" belt buckle), her more variable dress. They were real opposites back then, and a wide and lonely gulf stood between them. No wonder the tension was so great.
I really do look forward to season six; I want to see if they can pull it together in time for the finale. I have no doubt Boreanaz and Deschanel will bring their game. I just hope the writers do.