BONES: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
It has been said that imitation is the best form of flattery, and this becomes alarmingly evident when you look at some of the series on television today. Recently, I had a chance to slag through the first season of “Body of Proof” with Dana Delaney, a poorly-written, haphazard show by ABC Studios. Just as “Grey’s Anatomy” was a painful and less humorous rip-off from “Scrubs,” it’s clear to see the “Body of Proof” is desperately trying to be a new “Bones.”
But it only takes a few minutes of watching “Bones” to realize how far superior it is to “Body of Proof” in every way. With the sixth season of “Bones” on DVD and Blu-ray, the show is clearly in a groove with its audience. At its core, “Bones” is nothing more than another procedural, only taken from the point of view of the murders after the fact. Literally looking at the bones of a victim, Dr. Temperance Brennen (Emily Deschanel) works with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to solve the murder.
By the time a series reaches its sixth season, it really hits a stride, and “Bones” does so. It doesn’t waste any time out of the gate of the season to get everyone back into place, with some characters working overseas and Booth back in the military. But like any good series, things are back to normal within an episode or two. There are some continuing storylines to offset the week-to-week procedurals, like Booth finding a new girlfriend from the war front, but the bulk of the season rests on the interpersonal chemistry of the characters.
“Bones” is a fine show and fun to watch. It strikes a balance between the grim aspect of a murder-of-the-week and the whimsical fun of the characters. Now, if Fox could just find a way to cross over this show with the new hit comedy “New Girl” (starring Emily Deschanel’s little sister Zooey), I’d be fully content.
The season six Blu-ray comes with two extended episodes, a gag reel, audio commentary on select episodes and the featurettes “Breaking Down: The Blackout in the Blizzard” and “The Visual Effects of Bones.” In addition to the in-series back-door pilot of the quite dreadful-looking “The Finder,” the Blu-ray also includes the pilot for the AMC series “The Killing.”