Is Bones( the TV-series) Any Good? (plus about CSI)

[Ar-Pharazon]

TV shows seem to follow one of two patterns. Slow start, improving & getting good or Great start and tailing off to what people consider not so good.

How many shows started great & stayed that way for any appreciable amount of time?

 

[cardinal biggles]

I started watching Bones on a whim over the summer, and managed to get myself caught up with enough of the show to start watching it last fall when Season 6 started. I enjoy it because it's lighter and the characters have great chemistry; also, the fact that they approach the forensics from a different angle than C.S.I. or NCIS makes it more interesting. But mostly, it's the characters that keep me watching. The only other cop show I watch is Castle, so that may or may not speak volumes about my tastes.

Jax is right about their handling of story arcs — as in really poorly. When you get to (strike-shortened) Season 3, you'll understand what I mean.

 

[Starkers]

Thanks for the comments so far

JRS, what British shows have you been watching if I may ask?

I have been watching Wire In The Blood..and watched the first Prime Suspect last weekend(both are great shows).
Before I have watched Wycliffe, Poirot, Midsummer Murders and Waking the Dead..mostly from TV, though.
I have to say that UK crime shows are generally much better ones than their American counterparts( There are some good ones there, also..not saying that all are bad)

Cool, I'm a bit Waking the Dead fan, Id' recommend Silent Witness as well.

 

[Forbin]

One thing that always bugged me about Bones is that they autopsy the bodies in the middle of that nice big open gallery room. Doesn't it, ya know, stink?

 

[Barbra45]

Bones is one of the few shows that I can watch each ep many times and not get tired of it. I agree that the characters are what makes the show great. Plus I love David since Buffy.

 

[cardinal biggles]

One thing that always bugged me about Bones is that they autopsy the bodies in the middle of that nice big open gallery room. Doesn't it, ya know, stink?

I never thought of that.

I suppose it's a very well-ventilated space. Real-world concerns aside, the big open, well-lit, airy gallery room on Bones is a nice contrast to the cold, cramped, sterile (and sometimes dark) autopsy rooms we see on the other crime shows.

 

[Forbin]

Oh, and, also, that no matter what condition the body is in when they find it, they only seem to be able to determine cause of death after flensing the bones of all flesh and laying them out on a table. Like, just because of the series title, soft tissue can provide no clues!

Yeah, that was an overgeneralization, but it's not too far off.

 

[indranee]

I enjoy Bones but don't take it seriously. They definitely write Booth's character best. Brennan is a mess.

Don't buy it. I rented it from a local dvd/video store to catch up. I never watched the first few seasons while they were on.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I just started watching the first season of Bones online through Netflix. I've gone through about four or five episodes and I am really enjoying it. It's not something I have a huge desire to watch as quickly as I can, but it is the type of show that you are just in the mood for sometimes. I work at home online so I spend a lot of time watching TV as I'm working, and I switch off between watching episodes of Bones and Law and Order: SVU. They are both great crime show, in fact they are the only ones I enjoy, but they have very different tones. I can't compare them to CSI because I have never really liked that show and I don't watch it.

What I really like about Bones is the main character. She is very likeable and eerily similar to myself. Even family members have pointed it out to me. I take it as a compliment!

Oh, my suggestion would be to maybe rent the first DVD or find another way to view the first one or two episodes online (or maybe borrow from a friend). I think that after just one episode you are very likely to know if you will enjoy the show or not.

 

[indranee]

So in what ways are you similar? I am not playing you. I'm curious. Her character traits intrigue me but I think she's spottily written.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Well I've only seen the first season so I am basing it on her character at that point. Basically the social awkwardness, the inability to see the point in going out with friends to stand around in a hot room with loud music and unfortunate-tasting drinks in our hands. The tendency to say "smart things" or overthink a conversation when the other people are just goofing around. The not knowing how to react to emotional situations, such as when she has to talk to a parent about the death of their child, so she just states the blunt truth. I feel like I understand her and that there is actually someone like me on TV. When her friends offer to go out to dinner or get drinks and she just gives them that "why would we do that?" expression, I want to say, "YES!! Someone else gets it."

My sister mentioned to me an episode that I haven't yet seen where she is babysitting some children and she told me that it reminded her very much of me. I tend to treat children as if they were small adults and I am very awkward with the "mothering" type behavior.

 

[MichaelDornFan]

I watched some of the first few seasons. It's okay. It got really, really bad in Season 4 and I never watch it anymore...

 

[WillsBabe]

I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons. I actually sought the opinion of folks here, who recommended the show. Later seasons have begun to grind for me and I no longer watch it. I have grown to really dislike Bones herself.

 

[Deckerd]

I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons. I actually sought the opinion of folks here, who recommended the show. Later seasons have begun to grind for me and I no longer watch it. I have grown to really dislike Bones herself.

It's because they didn't have the courage to go down the implied autism/Asperger's route but ever so gradually turned her into a clown as time went by. This isn't unique by any measure, you understand. Very few shows make it past 3 or 4 seasons with their quality unimpaired.

 

[JRS]

CSI: Miami is pathetic. We watched a couple and had to stop before our brains leaked out our noses.

I agree with that review of the show 100 percent
The characters seem so dull that one feels like stepping trough the TV-screen and slapping the people to the face a bit, to wake them up

We also watch CSI:NY, but it took a season or two for them to stop acting like robots reading technical jargon from cue cards. Those characters had zero personality for along time. It's finally pretty good the last couple of years, and Sela Ward electrified the cast.

Im glad to hear that they do develope personalities.
I am planning to take a risk and buy the 1st season of NY..and just give it ago. I like Gary Sinise and he is a fine actor, far superior to Caruso.

The only other cop show I watch is Castle, so that may or may not speak volumes about my tastes.

This show has peeked my curiosity, also.
It seems to be more lighthearted in its overall mood,would give some nice balance to the other much darker cop shows. Ive read that the dialogue is very smart, snappy and well written.
And I ofcourse know Nathan Fillion from Firefly..plus I saw Stana Katic on the third Librarian movie, she was pretty good in it.

Oh, my suggestion would be to maybe rent the first DVD or find another way to view the first one or two episodes online (or maybe borrow from a friend). I think that after just one episode you are very likely to know if you will enjoy the show or not.

Good advice.
I think I will maybe buy the first season and give it a go(since the big box seems to be out of stock anyway..typical)
I might aswell buy the first two seasons of Law and Order:CI with it..

 

[Forbin]

^First season CSI:NY is hard to take. Like I said, a buncha stiffs reciting cliche jargon. A season or two later is when they started developing personalities. Danny and Adam seem to be the most human, and Sela Ward came in full of life.

 

[DevilEyes]

Thanks for the comments so far

JRS, what British shows have you been watching if I may ask?

I have been watching Wire In The Blood..and watched the first Prime Suspect last weekend(both are great shows).
Before I have watched Wycliffe, Poirot, Midsummer Murders and Waking the Dead..mostly from TV, though.
I have to say that UK crime shows are generally much better ones than their American counterparts( There are some good ones there, also..not saying that all are bad)

I agree. Have you see Cracker (the awesome UK version with Robbie Coltrane of course, not the short-lived US remake)? It's as good as Prime Suspect. It had a really great cast, out of the bigger names there was also Christopher Eccleston, and you get to see Robert Carlyle in an early guest starring role, a really memorable one.

Other UK crime shows I'd recommend are The Vice (with Ken Stott - it was great until he left in the last season), Trial & Retribution (I think that one is still going), Silent Witness (comparable to CSI and Bones in the sense that it's about a pathologist, though it's much darker), A Touch of Frost (with David Jason in a serious role - though with some humor thrown in as the quirky lead character).

As for US shows, definitely watch Homicide: Life on the Street! It's one of the greatest TV dramas ever. But it's not like CSI at all, it's very realistic. It had a few crossovers with Law and Order, but it's not formulaic as that show, and it's shot in a moving camera documentary style, similar to NYPD Blue (both shows started around the same time), and like that show, it's not just about the cases but equally about the cops and their lives, but it's much deeper and darker and better than NYPD Blue. A lot of people also recommend The Wire, which is from some of the same creative team - I haven't seen it yet, but it's supposed to be a classic.

 

[Pingfah]

^ Agreed on Cracker, that is one of the best British detective dramas of the last 20 years.

 

[Deckerd]

The Wire is very good indeed but it's a completely different animal from most of the shows being mentioned here.

 

[indranee]

Well I've only seen the first season so I am basing it on her character at that point. Basically the social awkwardness, the inability to see the point in going out with friends to stand around in a hot room with loud music and unfortunate-tasting drinks in our hands. The tendency to say "smart things" or overthink a conversation when the other people are just goofing around. The not knowing how to react to emotional situations, such as when she has to talk to a parent about the death of their child, so she just states the blunt truth. I feel like I understand her and that there is actually someone like me on TV. When her friends offer to go out to dinner or get drinks and she just gives them that "why would we do that?" expression, I want to say, "YES!! Someone else gets it."

My sister mentioned to me an episode that I haven't yet seen where she is babysitting some children and she told me that it reminded her very much of me. I tend to treat children as if they were small adults and I am very awkward with the "mothering" type behavior.

Wow, you and I are eerily similar!

But I'd never thought of Brennan.... hmm. Interesting.