Watching Bones

After the episode was over and it was revealed that the introduction of Booth’s little brother wasn’t going to push a wedge in between Booth and Bones, I came to decide that I really liked meeting the younger Booth. He gave us some insight into Booth’s background that helped flesh out who he is a little better. I’m enjoying getting to know some of the characters even more - beyond their relationships with each other that is. And now it looks like we’ll get to find out even more about Booth’s growing-up years as we get to meet Booth’s father and possibly grand-father in upcoming episodes.

According to TV Guide’s William Keck, we will meet Booth’s dad later this season. He is an “ex-military man-turned-barber” and we should probably expect some tension if not some fireworks with the introduction of his character. During sessions with his therapist Dr. Gordon Wyatt (Stephen Fry - yay he’s back!), Booth finally opens up. Have to say I’m surprised to hear that! We learned previously that Booth’s father was an alcoholic and was apparently abusive since Booth would take care of his younger brother Jared. David Boreanaz says “Booth’s father had some issues. We’re going to find out more about how painful it was for me growing up with that man. My grandfather was a much nicer person.”

Booth’s grandfather should also be an interesting addition to the Bones cast - even if he is around for only an episode or so. There’s no official word as of the latest TV Guide info on who will be playing grandpa, but Hart Hanson said that James Garner topped his wish list, which he actually revealed to us in the panel the Bones cast/crew participated in at the Paley Center. Grandpa is a fighter-pilot hero and even saved Booth’s life at one point. Guess we’ll have to wait until his appearance in late April to find out what the story there is…

I’m sure it will be worth the wait!

Getting into the heads of the creators and writers of our favorite shows is always interesting. Seeing how they come up with the story lines and where they take the characters is something that’s just neat. In a recent interview, Hart Hanson talked about coming up with the character’s backgrounds and personal lives. While it’s easy to assume that they’ve got all this stuff planned out, he revealed that although they pretty much had Booth and Bone’s stories in place, the rest of the cast is developing as the show goes, and is a kind of “reverse engineering.”

It’s neat to know that as the show continues, the actors and the relationships they build while playing their characters affects the turns the show takes. So, I guess while I’d love to see some better resolution to the Angela/Hodgins relationship, it’s interesting to see that because of how Hanson and the others involved in working on the show feel that Michaela Conlin has developed her character so well that she has made them rethink where they’re taking Angela. Hart said “In fact, she’s been so much fun to watch that is has had an effect on the storyline; that we think well, wait a minute; maybe we should go here now or instead of slamming back into what we first had in mind.”

So, although I’d love to see Angela and Hodgins work through their issues better - even if they don’t end up back together again (I’m really unsatisfied with how they “resolved” their breakup), maybe watching to see where the character development takes the show could make for an even better resolution in the long run!

Also, as much as we may be upset about the introduction of a little brother-Booth/Bones relationship, it should help build and change the shape of the existing older brother-Booth/Bones relationship. It’s interesting to hear that Hart Hanson has said that while they started out with a plan to do one thing with the Bones/Jared relationship, when the actors got together, there was a different chemistry between them that they didn’t expect. I like the idea that “originally, the idea was that Jared would be weaker, a more of a little brother than he is… but it turns out that Jared can stand there toe to toe with Booth and it just gives us a better story.”

Can’t wait to see where the show goes!

Well, maybe not. At least not in THAT way. Or then again, maybe so…

Bones has just cast Marisa Coughlin (from Lifetime series Side Order of Life) as Payton Perotta, an FBI agent that comes in to take over after Booth has a conflict of interest with a case. Not only will Booth have to deal with being taken off a case, or having to take himself off a case, but he will also have to endure being interrogated by Miss Perotta as well. And, since we all know how he can bristle under Bone’s scrutiny, it should be pretty interesting to see how he holds up under another - woman - agent’s.

No word yet on how long the new FBI agent will stick around, so we probably shouldn’t be rooting for her just yet. But isn’t it about time that Booth got to have a good relationship? After all, isn’t Bones scheduled to hook up with his brother sometime this season? I mean, come on, it’s only fair. And it’s not like they can expect us to believe that Booth has trouble getting a date… And since we’re probably not going to see Booth and Bones together any time soon (since the fear is that would be the kiss of death…) give us something to work with here!

Anyway, we can expect to see Marisa Coughlin sometime mid-season in an episode titled Fire in the Ice, which will also guest-star ice hockey player Luc Robitaille as himself. Hockey fan that he is, I would think David Boreanaz would appreciate this turn of events!

Ian Toynton is definitely sold on the show. Makes sense since he’s a director for several episodes. As such, it’s his responsibility to make sure that the “tone” of the show stays consistent from episode to episode and director to director. In this brief interview he talks about the look of the show and his work with the sets as well as the cast. Toynton says that the show is a great one to work on because it has a little bit of everything - humor, romance, suspense, drama. Not to mention that the cast is great to work with. The relationships between the cast members - on and off the show - make for a good working environment, and the show reflects the delicate balance of the personal, more emotional relationships and the more procedural part of the show that comes from the drama of dealing with a serial killer.

Anyway, don’t take my word for it - see the video interview for yourself!