My lovely friend Amanda went to France recently, and she sent me Seasons 1 and 2 of Bones to keep me occupied while I couldn’t text her every moment of the day.  Well, she’s created a monster.

I love the way the episodes are named.  “The Woman in Limbo.”  “The Superhero in the Alley.”   “The Man in the Fallout Shelter.”  “The Man in the Mansion.”  Just about every episode (at least in the seasons I’ve watched) is named this way.  The way the episodes are named suggests distance and generality.  (Is that a word?  I’m pretending it is.)  Only by watching the episode do you realize that it isn’t general at all; each case is personal and (usually) heartwrenching.  There’s so much more to the “woman in limo” and the “man in the fallout shelter” than the titles suggest.  They were people, living people.  And that’s exactly what the show is about.  Finding dead people and putting a living face to them and figuring out why they died or were killed.  Brilliant!

The writing on this show is impeccable.  Once in a while you think there’s a plot hole or an unresolved story but they know exactly when you’re thinking that and pick up with that story in a later episode.  Bravo, writers!

A word of warning to those buying these on DVD.  The DVD says there are 6 episodes per disc for Season 1, and when you put it in, you only see 4.  This is because the discs are double-sided, and the last 2 are on the other side.  Confession time: this took me very long to realize.  So, if you buy or rent these… turn the discs over.  The story will go in order that way.  Season 2 looks to be one-sided DVDs, like we’re normally used to.

Season 1:
I got off to a rougher start on the first episode, I’ll be honest.  I was like, “Um, David [I call him David sometimes, instead of his character name] is being such a jerk to this woman and I’m not sure why or that I like it.  And there’s corpses.  Ew.”  But I’m not one to give up on a show after just one episode, so I watched another.  And that’s when I fell in love.  Something about it just clicked for me, and I was hooked!  The corpses still kinda gross me out, but it’s like it was with Dexter… the more you see, the less they bother you, because you’re focused on the work the characters are doing.  And let me just say, the Season 1 finale was just… OMG.  Very OMG.  Thank God I had Season 2 waiting for me the second it was over!

Season 2:
I was a little worried going into Season 2.  A lot of the episodes in Season 1 were standalones, and I wanted to see if there was an actual storyline developing, because I know it’s currently on Season 6.  Well, there is a storyline, and that made me a happy camper.  There are still the standalone episodes, but they were bringing in killers from Season 1 and establishing new ones that aren’t wrapped up, so I assume they continue into later seasons.  My favorite episode from Season 2 is the one about Howard Epps.  The title is something like, “The Man in the Cell.”  Holy. crud.  It was amazing.  These people solving crimes are becoming more well-rounded as characters, and I really enjoy that.

Now, can we convince the powers that be to lower the prices of Seasons 3 and 4 so I can buy them already?  Kthanks.

Here’s where I talk about the characters:

- Temperance Brennan. Bones (the nickname given to this character from Booth) is quite an odd bird.  She’s so analytical and smart, and can’t always see things from a non-scientific point of view.  It’s off-putting at first, and then I really warmed up to her.  Good job, people making this show, I think that’s exactly what you were trying to do!  She’s so complicated, yet so simple at the same time.  She can think of a million and one ways to look at something, but you can usually predict how she’s going to react.  And she’s funny!  In the way that she’s a little socially awkward and not trying to be funny but ends up getting a good laugh from me.  I thoroughly enjoy this character.

- Seely Booth. It’s no secret that I love David Boreanaz (wife-cheating at all).  I went into this going, “David’s character is going to be my favorite no matter what.”  And I was right!  (I also love everyone else, but he’s still my favorite.)  Booth is the smart-talking, funky-tie-wearing, hunky FBI agent.  Love. him.  But for as much as he goes against the grain within the FBI, he’s so traditional in his life when it comes to love and beliefs.  Booth is traditional, where Bones will question the logic behind it all, and the way they go back and forth is phenominal.  Plus, he’s sexy.  Did I mention that already?

- Angela Montenegro. Okay, I’m not gonna lie, in the first few episodes, I pretty much hated Angela.  It’s not that she’s an unlikeable character, she just didn’t “click” with me at first.  So I ignored her.  I forget what episode turned it around for me, but at some point suring Season 1, it was like, “Holy crap, Angela’s kind of awesome.”  Oh, maybe it was that episode with the desert!  Or the one with the little girl with cancer!  (If you saw them you know what I’m talking about, if not, don’t mind me.)  Now I like her, and am jealous of her mad art skillz and cool 3D crime machines.  She’s sweet, yet self-assured and honest.  She knows what’s up and doesn’t take crap from people.  I wish I could be more like her sometimes.

- Jack Hodgins. He’s another one that I didn’t really love right off the bat.  I didn’t dislike him, but he was just kind of… there.  I think Amanda texted me one day and was like, “Don’t you just love Hodgins?!” so I decided to start paying more attention to him.  He’s a hoot!  It also helps that they brought him more into the main storylines so he was in the forefront more often.  I won’t give it away, but I LOVE his backstory!  He really evolves from a silly guy into a romantic guy, and that kind of makes me swoon.

- Zack Addy. He. is. just precious.  Zack is the kid who’s always been lightyears ahead of everyone else, and because of that, is awkward around others.  He’s Bones’ graduate student, so he’s part of the team.  He and Hodgins do the zaniest experiments to find out what could have killed someone or what weapon the murderer used.  They’re hysterical together.  The interactions between Zack and Booth are also giggle-worthy.  Sometimes he’s so out of place and lonely because he’s fact-based in thinking, and that just makes me want to give him a hug.

- Camille Saroyan. I was a little put off by her when she just appeared out of nowhere, but I think that was the point.  Temperance Brennan is surprised by her appearance, and we as viewers are as well.  Where Temperance is an expert on bones, Camille is an expert on flesh.  It makes for an interesting point of tension.  Overall, I’ve come to really like Camille, and I think she rounds out the group in the Jeffersonian quite well.

Okay, yeah, I probably left out a few characters but whatever.  These are the main people, and the ones that stuck out in my head.  Do you watch Bones? If you do, please don’t spoil further seasons for me!  But let me know if you love this show as much as I now do!  Furthermore, who has the rest of the seasons on DVD and wants to lend them to me?!  (Amanda just bought Season 3 and sent it to me.  She’s an angel!)

Tags: bones, television

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