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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by David Gurney

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a hotshot anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels on the side. The character is based on real-life anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs; the character's name comes from Reich's novels. In each episode, the FBI turns to Bones and her team at the Jeffersonian to help analyze skeletal fragments of unidentified corpses.

Is It Any Good?

3

BONES tries hard to combine dark comedy and depends too heavily on the world of criminal investigation, which takes the suspense out of hunting for a killer. The show, with a slightly different formula, is an obvious attempt at recreating the success of CSI. Unfortunately, its formula just doesn't work. The series' premiere features a character that refers to skeletal remains as "crispy critters," a laugh-out-loud stalker, and a peer scientist who flashes her undergarments at an airport to get information on the case. These "comedic" situations accompanied by the transparent sexual tension between Bones and Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) hamper any kind of suspense buildup.

Due to the subject matter, it is not appropriate for children, or anyone who is squeamish about skeletons and bones.

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