I quickly got hooked on Bones when I first started to watch it in the fall of 2005. I still enjoy the new episodes, but I have missed some since the show does get preempted for different things and it has moved around the schedule a bit. I recently picked up Bones - Season 2 which allowed me to catch up on the few episodes that I had missed.
In Bones, FBI agent Seely Booth worked with Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, to solve crimes. Temperance, who is also a successful author, works at the Jeffersonian Institute with some other scientists who also help with the cases that Seely is investigating. Temperance and her team - Jack Hodgins, Zack Addy, and Angela Montenegro - did different tests on human remains, usually bones. Dr. Camille Saroyan, a former coroner, was hired by Dr. Goodman to be in charge of the forensic department. Cam and Temperance didn’t get along well at first, but they eventually found a way to work together. Dr. Goodman was no longer turning up in the lab.
Bones was based at least partially on the life of forensic anthropologist and author Kathy Reichs. She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and also works for the chief medical examiner for North Carolina as well as a scientific laboratory in Quebec. She has assisted in identifying remains around the world, including for the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. The books that Reichs writes feature Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who works in North Carolina and Montreal. The television show only pulled the name of Temperance from the books. The show is set in Washington, D.C. and features different characters from the books. So far, I haven’t read any of the books, but I am interested in reading them. Reichs made a small appearance in the episode Judas on a Pole as a professor on the board that Zack had to defend his thesis to.
A big change for the second season of Bones was the addition of Cam to the staff of the Jeffersonian. She was hired to be in charge of the forensic department of the Jeffersonian, making her Temperance’s boss. Cam tended to look at remains differently as a pathologist, which did cause some conflict between her and Temperance. Cam was also more controlling than Dr. Goodman had been, which also caused some issues between her and her staff. That did add some tension to the lab for a while before the two found a way to work together. Cam was more involved in the investigations than Dr. Goodman ever was. Her being a pathologist opened up more cases for Temperance to get involved in as well since Cam was able to do autopsies.
During the first season, Temperance and the others mainly just had bones to deal with for their part of the investigations. With some of the cases, the bones were several years old. Once Cam joined the staff, it did seem like the Jeffersonian was getting involved in more cases with corpses that were more, well, fleshy. Cam would do autopsies and different tests on the tissues before Temperance and Zack could do any testing with the bones. I thought that some of the remains were really gross and nasty for the second season. I think things were nastier than they had been in the first season. The bodies tended to be in really bad shape when they were discovered, though some were much worse than others. Certain things connected to the bodies were a bit graphic as well, though no where near as bad as what turns up on other shows. There was really only a little bit of minor violence in the episodes. One or two episodes did have more violence in them, but it wasn’t too graphic.
Each episode had a different main investigation for the second season though there were a few subplot type of storylines that turned up in more episodes. Probably the biggest one or those subplot types of stories was the one connected to Temperance’s family and why her parents disappeared so many years before. She did finally start to get some answers, but those answers also raised many other questions for her. She also had to deal with the truth about her father that was rather shocking. That did make for some interesting episodes with the potential to cause her a lot of conflict, including with her co-workers. Things weren’t completely settled with that and did carry into the third season as well. Howard Epps, a serial killer, turned up in a few episodes as well. Other things, mostly connected to the relationships of the characters, carried from episode to episode. The different investigations that Temperance and Seely worked on did provide some mystery to each episode. Some of the episodes were more suspenseful than others.
There were a few episodes in the second season that seemed to feature versions of real cases. The Mother and the Child in the Bay was about a murdered pregnant woman whose husband was the prime suspect. The Girl With the Curl dealt with the death of a ten-year-old beauty queen who I did think resembled JonBenet Ramsey. Another episode, The Headless Witch in the Woods, seemed to be a version of The Blair Witch Project. I did think those were interesting episodes. The Bodies in the Book featured murders connected to Temperance’s new book in a unique way and also ended up having something in common with an older movie as well.
The second season of Bones continued to have the same type of humor that was used in the first season. I did think that the humor worked very well and helped to lighten the mood a bit. Much of the humor came from the interactions between the characters, especially Temperance with just about anyone since she had a rather unique way of relating to people and processing things. I thought it was really funny when Seely sort of flipped out and shot a clown figure on an ice cream truck when he was annoyed by the music. That forced him into seeing a therapist before he could work any more cases. The therapy sessions, as well as the therapist, were entertaining and added more humor. Hodgins and Zack continued to do interesting experiments that didn’t always work out like they had expected.
Romance was in the air throughout the second season of Bones. Seely and the mother of his son hooked up for sex during one episode. It wasn’t that long after he had been snooping into her new boyfriend and she threatened to keep him from seeing their son. They ultimately decided it wasn’t a good idea to sleep together and Seely quickly fell into bed with Cam. The two of them had been involved previously as well and started out saying it was a one time thing but they stayed involved for a while. When Seely was forced into therapy, Temperance had to work with Tim Sullivan, another FBI agent who she actually became involved with. It was nice to see Temperance in a relationship though I didn’t exactly like Sully that much. He was nice enough, but there was just something that I didn’t like about him.
The romance that I enjoyed the most in the season was the one between Angela and Hodgins. They didn’t exactly look like a likely couple on the surface, but they were perfect together. They were exchanging glances and things for a while before they actually went on a date. Even after that, it took a while for things to get going because Angela was worried that dating would screw up their working relationship. I was glad once they did get together. Only small bits of their romance were shared as it developed, so it wasn’t like it took over the series. I actually wouldn’t have minded if their relationship had been featured more. They are really good together and their relationship helped make their characters stronger.
Once again, science played a huge part in the second season of Bones. Temperance, Zack, Hodgins, and Cam ran many different types of tests on the remains for each investigation they were working on. They all shared results with each other or Seely that sometimes did involve some scientific terms that didn’t always make the most sense. Whenever Seely was around, he would ask for explanations that he could understand, which also served to inform the audience about those things. I did think the scientific stuff was interesting. The Angelator turned up throughout the season again to help illustrate how injuries occurred. I don’t think it was used as often as it had been in the first season though.
Even though every episode dealt with some sort of crime for Temperance and Seely to investigate, the characters themselves were more important. All of the regular characters received more development, which helped to make them stronger, interesting characters. They all had some issues they were dealing with. I thought that made them all more realistic since none of them were perfect even though they didn’t seem to have flaws at times. In the third season, there was a rather surprising development with one character. Anyone who saw the last episode of season three will know what I am referring to. I did think there were a few things connected to that character shown in the second season that seemed to hint that the character had the potential for some issues. I’m not saying that the writers had it planned out this far in advance, but I think certain things connected to that character that were shown in the second season make what happened more believable.
Cam probably wasn’t as developed as the others since she was a new character for the season. I wasn’t overly fond of her when she first turned up, especially with the way she was dealing with everyone. She came across as a bit arrogant, especially when she was thinking of firing Temperance basically for having different opinions on how to proceed with an investigation. Cam became more likable as the season progressed. Tamara Taylor handled the part well.
Temperance started to change a bit and did more away from work, including starting a relationship. She was struggling to deal with the things she learned about her parents. She and Seely continued to work together well, though they did have a few differences that came out during a few of the episodes. Temperance’s feelings about religion caused them some trouble when they were working on one particular case. They always managed to work through everything. A bit more about Seely was also shared throughout the season. It did seem clear that they had strong feelings for each other though they never attempted to start a more personal relationship. David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel continued to do well with the parts.
Zack went from being Temperance’s student assistant to finally finishing his doctorate in forensic anthropology and getting a full time position at the Jeffersonian. He also had a bit of a make over so he would look more professional and credible when called to testify during trials. He continued to have some issues dealing with people in social situations. He seemed to connect the most with Hodgins. Eric Millegan was good as Zack. Most of what happened with Hodgins in the second season was connected to his growing relationship with Angela. He was certain they would be happy together and was willing to wait until she was more certain. Hodgins still had a lot of conspiracy theories that he shared at different times. Angela continued to be a kind, caring, compassionate women. She kept trying to get Temperance to have more of a life outside of work. Angela was still bothered by some of the cases, but she no longer doubted that what she did was valuable. T.J. Thyne and Michaela Conlin were wonderful in the parts. I really like their characters and would have liked it if they had more to do.
Main Cast
David Boreanaz - Seely Booth Michaela Conlin - Angela Emily Deschanel - Temperance Brennan Eric Millegan - Zack Addy Tamara Taylor - Camilla Saroyan T.J. Thyne - Jack Hodgins
DVD Stuff
Bones - Season 2 has all 21 episodes on six discs. I was very glad to see that this set contained single sided discs instead of the double-sided discs that were used for the first season. The set has three thin cases that hold two of the discs each. There are short episode summaries on the back of each case. The extras for the set include commentaries for a few of the episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes from a few episodes and two short featurettes. The first, The Memories in the Season, featured the cast talking about some of the developments in the second season. Visceral Effects: The Digital Illusions of Bones showed how the special effects used in different episodes were created. I thought both of the featurettes were interesting.
Episode List
The Titan on the Tracks The Mother and Child in the Bay The Boy in the Shroud The Blonde in the Game The Truth in the Lye The Girl in Suite 2103 The Girl with the Curl The Woman in the Sand Aliens in a Spaceship The Headless Witch in the Woods Judas on a Pole The Man in the Cell The Girl in the Gator The Man in the Mansion The Bodies in the Book The Boneless Bride in the River The Priest in the Churchyard The Killer in the Concrete Spaceman in a Crater The Blowing Bones in the Old Stone House Stargazer in a Puddle
Bones currently airs on FOX on Monday nights at 8:00 P.M. eastern standard time. The show has had a few different time slots and I’m not sure if it will be moved again in the fall. It has been preempted for the World Seris and American Idol during the first three seasons. Episodes from the first two seasons air on TNT at 10:00 P.M. eastern standard time on Tuesdays. The newest episodes can also be viewed online at Fox’s website.
Bones - Season 2 is a great DVD set for fans of the show. Bones is a very entertaining show that is worth watching and the DVD sets would be a good introduction to people who haven’t seen the show yet.
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