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‘Bones’ – The Mastadon In The Room, some thoughts

By Wayne Hall Sep 25, 2010, 5:01 GMT

09/10/2010 - David Boreanaz - 2010 Stand Up to Cancer Benefit - Arrivals - Sony Pictures Studios - Culver City, CA, USA © Amanda Meredith / PR Photos

"Bones" is a rarity among procedural shows—it provides the perfect balance between character and plot. That’s unusual since many programs swing the pendulum either way, either by focusing too much on character or making the series too plot-heavy.
 
The CSI’s, for instance, tend to make an hour thick with story, but gives very little attention to the individuals solving the case. Many of the programs that have focused too much on character have faded fast.
 
In "Bones," though, the lives of Brennan, the “squints” and Booth capture our attention just as much as the unusual mysteries they have to solve. That’s quite an accomplishment.
 
Here’s this episode’s summary from tv.com: “Seven months after both Bones and Booth left the country at the end of last season, Caroline calls them back to the Jeffersonian to help save Cam's job, as they work with her and the rest of the team to solve a controversial case.”
 
Of course, fans who watched the season finale last year know that the team split up with plans to return a year later at the Reflecting Pool. But fate (and Caroline) have conspired against them, so they return to help Cam face a campaign against her.
 
This is the program’s sixth season, but it’s still full of the fun that makes it a show worth seeking out on what is yet again a busy Thursday TV night.
 
There’s some discussion during this hour about just who is the “lynchpin” around which the group centers. If I can put in my opinion, I think both Brennan and Booth are the lynchpins even though the show is called Bones for Brennan. I think both are needed to make this show function. The others could be replaced, but not these two.
 
Along those lines, I have to say that Dr. Lance Sweets was a character I loathed when he first appeared. I literally used to fast-forward through segments in which he participated because I considered them a waste of time. However, that’s changed pretty dramatically as I have grown to enjoy his contributions and now look forward to his time on screen.

That’s a good example of how this program can grow and change on a viewer. Speaking of Sweets, he went from being a psychoanalyst to playing piano in a bar or restaurant, and is now sporting a hat and goatee. Although Sweets wants to call it quits with last-season beau Daisy, the fire that originally drew them together may make things go another direction.
 
Getting back to Brennan and Booth, the introduction of a new love interest for Booth is a good idea given what happened between the two characters last year. Brennan is attempting to be very logical about it, but the actress seems to have played just a bit of tension when that subject is brought up. I’m not sure that Booth is really telling the truth about this situation, but I hear we’ll find out more soon!
 
It sounds like the rotating interns sub-plot has come to an end, which I’m sorry to hear. I loved the different people who helped out occasionally, and there’s a wonderful bit where we find out what happened to them all. I had to laugh out loud at some of them!
 
I have two concerns regarding this week. First is the Cam plotline. I just felt that Cam, who has been a very strong character in the past, was out of character in this episode. I just didn’t buy that she would go down without putting up some kind of fight and required the “gang” to reunite and save her. She’s always been one who reacts to pressure well, I feel. I know, I know—we needed a good reason for everyone to come back early, so Cam had to serve that purpose. Let’s not see too much more of that in the future, okay?
 
My second concern has to do with the Angela/Jack story. Okay, she’s preggers, and that’s great, but I worry that this will not be all that fascinating of a plotline. I’ve felt for some time that the folks in charge of the show haven’t quite known what to do with these two, and the last resort on TV for the desperate writer is to get the girl pregnant. Let’s not just have Angela deal with cravings and morning sickness just for the “fun” of it. I wish I could suggest something more, but just make it different somehow.
 
The mystery is an involving one, and even though the child originally thought to be the skeleton is ruled out, that storyline gets resolved as well. The tale of the young Asian girl who is wrapped in a blanket that isn’t really one is a gripping one, and it makes a strong launching-off point for the new season.
 
Oh, and there is a Mastadon in the room by the end of the hour. Yes, it was a play on the phrase, “elephant in the room,” but it also had a literal event regarding it. That’s a nice bit of writing, I think.
 
Next week: “The Couple In The Cave,” when Booth's girlfriend drops by from her assignment as a correspondent in Afghanistan, leaving Brennan unsure of her relationship with Booth.