Watching Bones

At the Banff World Television Festival recently, Hart Hanson gave attenders an earful about the show and what we almost had - from the beginning and if we hadn’t have had the writer’s strike to screw us out of so many episodes this season. What he had to say was pretty enlightening.

I know that we’re all upset about losing one of our favorite squints, and the thought that Zack turned evil is completely wrong, but hey, it’s what we’re stuck with. But, how would you like it if instead of having Zack go off the deep end and only available for occasional guest spots, he ended up completely gone - as in dead and gone? Originally, Zack wasn’t intended to be the Gormagon’s apprentice, but a victim of the serial cannibal. The thing that really sucks about this is that the reason Zack ended up the apprentice is that the strike caused the writers to have to wrap up the season quickly, so instead of saving the storyline to develop better next season, we ended up with a chopped version which didn’t really mesh with the rest of the season, plus we lost Zack. (Although I guess really we were going to lose him anyway…)

Apparently though, regardless of his mental state of being, Eric Millegan’s guest appearance status has been confirmed for season 4, so we can at least count of seeing him again. (Yay!) So far the ideas include visits to the mental hospital and gloves for Zack’s melted fingers.

One of the funny things about all this is that although Zack’s departure from the show has garnered a most definite negative response, the season finale was the highest watched episode of Bones to date, and since then the Fox Bones site has more traffic now, and more response of their forum than ever. I guess it’s no secret that controversy sells!

Just wanted to share this article with you - it’s an interview with Eric Millegan in the Lansing State Journal. He talks with them about the night he got the news that his character was being written off the show and how a good night went from bad to worse. It’s a neat insight into the fateful day for one of our favorite squints and how the news was broken to him.

I am a little confused about the “Gormogon logic” they talked about very briefly in the article - something about killing a few to help the many. Maybe I just need to rewatch some of the older episodes when the Gormogon storyline began… That’s something I’m hoping they pick back up on next season as they hopefully bring Millegan back for a few guest spots - the whole “how” he was convinced to join the Gormogon and what brought him to that point. Guess we can only hope!

Millegan reflects on ‘Bones’

U-M, Interlochen alum went from Broadway to TV

Eric Millegan was getting ready for a fine evening.

The “Bones” co-star and University of Michigan theater grad was courtside with his favorite basketball team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Then:

• He learned he would soon be unemployed.

• He learned he’d been helping a serial killer.

• And the Trail Blazers lost.

“That went from one of my best days to one of my worst,” Millegan said.

He’s had time to get used to it now, but viewers may need a while. The season finale aired Monday, packing a surprise.

There was Zack Addy (Millegan), former child prodigy and current sweet-faced scientist. He had been secretly helping Gormogon, the serial killer.

“When I first found out, I was like, ‘That’s ridiculous!’ ” said Millegan, 33.

Then he agreed it’s possible: Zack takes pride in being ruled by logic; he fell for the Gormogon notion of killing a few people to help the many.

By the end of the hour, Gormogon was dead and Zack was being shipped to a mental institution. He might return, Millegan said, but not as a regular.

So Millegan is back to job-searching. He has more turf to search than most, all the way from Hollywood to Broadway.

Before any of this, he was a sweet-voiced teen who grew up in Oregon, but has some of his best memories from Michigan.

He spent three summers at the Interlochen Arts Camp - “the most amazing time in my life” - and won a scholarship to the University of Michigan’s elite musical-theater program.

Those were good years, he said, especially after he became open about his homosexuality. And after graduating, he became busy in musicals.

On Broadway, he was a disciple in the “Jesus Christ Superstar” revival. Elsewhere, he starred with Estelle Parsons in “Harold and Maude” and starred in the early workshops of “Spring Awakening.”

Then came “Bones” and Millegan was considered a fresh face. “I’d been in the business for 10 years,” he said.

Zack was the assistant to “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel), who had an almost maternal fondness for him. Derided as “squints” by the FBI guys, they were better at lab work than at human contact.

“It’s been such a journey,” Millegan said. “I don’t think any character has changed as much, except for Brennan.”

He savored the three years of steady employment. Shortly after the writers’ strike was settled, before actors were called back to work, he went to that Trail Blazers game.

Then he got a call, asking if he could come in the next day for a meeting.

“I’m like, ‘Hmmm. I’m paranoid and this does not sound good.’ ”

So Millegan insisted on the news then. He learned that his character was leaving.

Some good came, he said, including the quiet moment between Zack and Brennan. “It’s a great scene; the whole episode was really good.”

And some bad came, including a return to unemployment. Also, the Trail Blazers finished with a .500 record and missed the playoffs; sometimes, things just don’t work out.

Still not over the shock of Monday’s bombshell? Yep, me neither. As excited as I was that they were going to be bringing in a new grad student(s), I certainly didn’t want to see it happen at the expense of one of our own. Zach turning out to be the Gormogon’s apprentice really sucks, although the episode was played excellently by the cast.

Apparently, Eric Millegan wasn’t terribly excited about being written off the show, although he doesn’t seem actually upset about it either. He talks about how it was an exciting way to go. One would wonder if they wrote him off because he wanted to pursue other projects, but he assures us that that wasn’t the case. Below is an interview Millegan did with TVGuide. It gives us a better look into how long they’ve known and what they thought about the way his character was ending his time on the show.

TVGuide.com: OK, so I have to say this out loud. Zack is the Gormogon apprentice.
Millegan: Yup.

TVGuide.com: I’m still cringing. How far in advance did you know about it?
Millegan: Two months ago. They met with me and told me and I was like, “What? Zack eats people?” And they told me that I don’t eat people, I kill them — I never reached the eating stage. And I was like, “Oh, My god.” But I was kind of excited because I knew it was going to be an exciting send-off.

TVGuide.com: So you’re leaving the show?
Millegan: Yeah. But they said, “You know, you’re not going to get killed, so we’ll still have the option of bringing you back.” It was shocking, and I just had to follow it and know that this is what’s happening. Zack ends up carted away to a psychiatric facility, but there is the possibility that the others may come visit me.

TVGuide.com: So we might see you next season then?
Millegan: Well, I’m not a series regular anymore, but it’s possible that I’ll be back from time to time. I can’t say much more than that, unfortunately.

TVGuide.com: Was this all written for you because you wanted to leave the show, or are you simply following the fate of your character?
Millegan: Oh, I’m following the fate of my character. It wasn’t my choice — it was a creative decision to shake things up and make a good season finale.

TVGuide.com: So you only found out you were the apprentice after the strike?
Millegan: That’s right. About a couple weeks before we resumed shooting.

TVGuide.com: Were there more Zack storylines that would have been pursued, had there not been a strike?
Millegan: Yes. As you know, at the end of Season 2, I went off to Iraq. They wanted to address it all in Season 3, but because of the strike they never got to it.

TVGuide.com: I was wondering when the show was going to address Zack’s post-traumatic stress. I kept waiting to see how he was going to deal with it.
Millegan: Yeah, I’m sad that we never got to go there.

TVGuide.com: When you first heard about the Gormogon storyline, who did you think the culprit might end up being?
Millegan: You know, I didn’t think about it. People on the board started saying they thought it was Sweets, the psychiatrist. But that didn’t even dawn on me. And it never dawned on me that it might be one of us, either.

TVGuide.com: When did the rest of the cast know that it was going to be you?
Millegan: Not until I knew. After they told me, they told everyone else.

TVGuide.com: Was it hard to keep it a secret form the rest of the world?
Millegan: Yes. But it’s my job to keep it a secret. And one thing that was hard was that Mike Ausiello did an interview with me at TV Guide’s Sexiest Stars party, and he asked if I was leaving the show. I said no, and I didn’t say I was leaving because I wasn’t allowed to. But then everybody on the message boards ran with that, saying, “Nobody’s leaving the show!” And I just thought, “Oh no, people are going to be mad at me when they find out.”

TVGuide.com: The actor who plays the master Gormogon, we haven’t seen him on the show before, right?
Millegan: No.

TVGuide.com: So was it strange playing Zack as a bad guy?
Millegan: He’s not so much a bad guy. He’s more a victim of brainwashing. It’s Zack’s intelligence that got in the way, because Gormogon rationalized [his cause] with him.

TVGuide.com: Do you think by the end of the episode, Zack really understood how he’d been used by the Gormogon master?
Millegan: Yeah, I think it really hit him hard. And actually, there was a moment that was cut out of the episode of Zack saying he’s sorry right after he explains how to catch Gormogon. Just an “I’m sorry.” I saw the cut, and realized they’d cut that out and was like, “No! Zack has to say he’s sorry!”

TVGuide.com: What have you’ve enjoyed most about working on this show?
Millegan: Working with the people. David [Boreanaz], Emily [Deschanel], T.J.[Thyne], Michaela[Conlin] and Tamara [Taylor] have been just wonderful to work with, and we really bonded very closely. Emily and I are even going to be singing “I Got You Babe” together at an AIDS benefit in August. So I’m still going to be bonded to them.

TVGuide.com: I think fans are going to feel like there’s an important chunk of the family missing.
Millegan: I hope so. I hope people miss me.

We’ve heard the rumors, we’ve watched anxiously for some kind of clues about the ending, but tomorrow night we finally get to see what brilliance the writers have come up with for the season finale of Bones. Below, Zap2it has an interview with the cast and crew of Bones to give us a little (very little) insight into what we can expect to see. Oh, yeah, just in case you don’t want to know:

No, really, the article is great, but it’s doesn’t’ reveal anything terribly earth-shattering. Filled mostly with a lot of vaugeries and illusions to things we’ve heard elsewhere, the interview basically just whets our appetites for tomorrow night. Oh, and Hart Hanson works hard to steer us onto the wrong path and gets himself a little confused in the process, but that’s something you’ll just have to see for yourself. Read on below to see for yourself…

It’s April on the set of Bones. The beautifully dressed stage that represents the Jeffersonian is bathed in a murky haze and smells of manufactured smoke and Chinese food. The Gormogon killer has struck again.

[This story contains some spoilers and some speculation. Be warned!]

To be fair, craft services deserves the credit for the Chinese aromas. The Gormogon is only responsible for the odor of sulfur, which is pumping from long tubes onto the set, setting the stage for the show’s third season finale, which will air on Monday, May 19.

A bomb has gone off at the Jeffersonian, but I probably shouldn’t tell you who its victim was. I probably shouldn’t mention which regular member of the cast is wearing tattered gloves and having his or her hands slathered with KY-Jelly to simulate what looks to be a potentially crippling injury. I probably shouldn’t tell you what’s happened to David Boreanaz’s Booth in the aftermath of the bullet he took to the chest in last week’s episode, except to say that Boreanaz is the only major cast member I didn’t talk to for this story.

Any context for the explosion and the events of the finale might, in fact, might be damning.

As Bones creator Hart Hanson puts it, “We can’t have you getting the context. Because if you knew what happened at the beginning, it would be a disaster and if you knew what happened at the end it would be a disaster.”

The most important thing that can be revealed about the finale is that not only will the Gormogon return, but the killer’s reign of terror will come to an end after a season of steady investigation.

“He worked slowly into this,” reflects T.J. Thyne of the killer, whose appearances have been woven into the third season. “He’s been around a while at this point.”

“I’m glad he’s back, though,” adds Tamara Taylor. “It’s just such a creepy, creepy storyline.”

“Creepy” is, in fact, the first word that comes to several of the stars’ lips when attempting to describe the killer, known for his appetite for flesh-eating and skeleton sculptures.

“It’s pretty creepy, when you think about it,” agrees Emily Deschanel, whose Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan somewhat gives the show its name. “Maybe because I got buried alive by The Gravedigger, I’m more terrified of the Gravedigger? But now it’s hitting close to home with the Gormogon thing. It’s creepy, the secret society thing, killing all these people off, and just secret societies in general. And then you have people eating not just one person, but they’ve invited people to dinner, quote-unquote.”

In the process of catching Gormogon, the Jeffersonian team will inevitably have to reveal his (or her) identity, a process that’s stymied fans of the show throughout the season.

“There really haven’t been that many clues and I don’t think anyone could have guessed,” Taylor, who plays Dr. Cam Saroyan on the FOX drama, admits.

Thyne, known to fans as Dr. Jack Hodgins, insists, “I had a few hunches.”

He doesn’t offer to share.

Don’t expect Hanson to offer any hints either. Quite the opposite.

“I’m not telling you who it is, but it’s shocking,” Hanson offers. “It’s shocking and it’s not not someone you have never seen before. No. Yes it is. It is someone you’ve not… No. No. It’s not not someone you’ve seen before.”

Did Hanson just confuse himself? Or is the Gormogon indeed somebody we’ve met before this season?

Another person not prone to giving away excessive information is John Francis Daley, whose baby-faced shrink Dr. Lance Sweets also first appeared earlier this season, which more than a few viewers suspect isn’t a total coincidence.

“I can’t really get into it, but everyone gets to go to a pretty dark place by the end of the season,” Daley says.

Michaela Conlin, whose Angela Montenegro has spent much of the season trying to track down her first husband to open the door for new nuptials with Hodgins, says that there are certain advantages to the murky places the finale gets to go.

“This episode in particular, it’s a very intense episode,” Conlin says. “When I read it, I nearly fell off my chair. I think it’s incredibly surprising for many reasons and shocking from start to finish. The great thing about these episodes is that we’re all working together in the show. A lot of times the show will be split between David and Emily and maybe T.J. and me, but this episode is a lot of us working as a team and those are always… they promote a lot giggling on the show.”

Perhaps the combination of giggling and intensity is why Thyne says, “It’s been a rollercoaster, this episode. Emotionally, it’s been a crazy rollercoaster for the actors as well as the characters. There’s a lot happening.”

And where will the episode find our heroes when it ends?

“Devastated in the beginning,” Taylor says. “Devastated at the end.”

I realize the episode has already aired, but I always enjoy seeing the actors talk about their work and give us some behind-the-scenes info. It’s just kind of neat to see how they work together to give us the finished product that we see every Monday night.

Here’s a quick interview from Emily Deschanel about the episode The Wannabe in the Weeds. She talks about having nightmares that made her a little “jittery” about singing. She also mentions that she and David Boreanaz are Idol fans. Brandon Rogers also talks briefly about having met Deschanel and Boreanaz previously.

And here’s a quick video interview with Emily and then Emily and David together. I love their chemistry - the fact that they work hard on the show is benefited so much from the fact that they’re also friends. They talk about David giving Emily pointers and “notes” about the singing she does in the episode. Guess his previous karaoke experience came in handy here…

Check out the interview that Men’s Fitness did with TJ Thyne. It’s a neat look into who this guy is. I’ve always thought that TJ seemed like a really neat, down-to-earth kind of guy, and this interview really supports that impression. In the interview, he talks about how he started in the business, his love for film, TV, and stage, his relationships with co-workers and fans alike, and of course, his fitness routine.

He also talked about how Hollywood has moved a lot of production to Louisiana due to the tax breaks of bringing business into the area left devastated by Katrina, which I thought was neat. (He was there working on the film “The Pardon” in which he was Father Richard. The film is about Toni Jo Henry, the only woman ever to be electrocuted by the State of Louisiana. Sounds cheerful.)

TJ also has a few other films coming out soon. He’s finished work on the films The Human Contract and The Last Full Measure. Read on for the whole interview. (more…)

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!

We all know that David Boreanaz was a blogger for the NHL last year. Well, he’s back again this year and is starting off his season with a great interview (from April 11th) with NHL Live that shows his complete love of the game, and the Flyers. He’s even sporting his Flyers shirt. How festive - wonder if he’s got crazy Flyers socks to go with it? Oh, and he’s even uploaded some shots of his tour of the NHL Headquarters and his opportunity to get some tips from a pro on his blog. He also uploaded this shot of his interview with NHL:

They talk briefly about the show at the very end of the second video, but other than that it’s all sports talk - which, of course, is exactly what you’d expect on a sports radio show… Check them out below.

Emily Deschanel and Hart Hanson

The videos were great to see the cast and writers in their element, interacting with fans and each other, but Kristin from E! was able to chat them up before their panel at the Paley Center. They answer some pretty good fan questions about the end of Season 3 and a little bit about Season 4. And, as always, they leave us drooling and wanting more. Just another sign of a great show!

They discuss the episode that was pulled last year (that will air this year), the Gormagon, Angela’s husband and the potential for another wedding, the repercussions of Bones and Booth’s kiss, and the potential for more kissing. They also talk briefly about shooting an episode or few overseas in London and the storyline for Booth’s family - with the possibility of working in more story for his son.

This mysterious husband of Angela’s is sounding more and more interesting… and I’m curious if we’ll see more of Azura Skye who played Miss Plimset, the investigator who found the guy in Florida to begin with. She’s an odd character. (She also has background in the Buffyverse - as well as House, CSI, and Smallville, just to name a few.)

Anna in Oklahoma City: “Player Under Pressure,” the episode that was pulled last season, is scheduled to air this month. Did you end up shooting new footage to replace the Angela-Hodgins engagement scenes, or is the original episode going to air?

Conlin (Angela Montenegro): “We did shoot new footage. They were restricted by some of our haircuts and who had facial hair and who didn’t, so Tamara [Taylor] (Dr. Camille Saroyan) and I had some scenes together, and then so did T.J. [Thyne] (Dr. Jack Hodgins) and I.”

Michaela Conlin and Eric Millegan

Nicole in Seattle: Will there be another Angela-Hodgins wedding this year?

Conlin: “Well, I will say that I know the ex-husband is arriving—I believe it’s happening in the last two episodes of this season. And I’m hoping to sit in on the casting sessions. There are gonna be chemistry tests.”

(more…)

Well, I missed the Buffy panel at the Paley Center, and now I’ve missed the Bones panel. Oh, the disappointment… Makes me jealous of those lucky few who did get to attend - but huge thanks to those who were generous enough to share the experience with us! (maxie & pentacular to be more specific.)

Here David Boreanaz attempts to kiss Emily Deschanel

(more…)

Congrats to Lynn at B5’s Bones blog for getting the chance to take part in a conference call interview with David Boreanaz! Wow, how cool would that be? She was one of a few people to interview him, but the first four questions are hers. Check out the full interview below:

Q: I want to talk to you about your creation of the character. How much of Booth is your doing, and how much of it were you given?

David Boreanaz: Well, I was given the pilot. I read the pilot and I created everything that you’re seeing on screen. As far as that character is concerned what you’re seeing physically. It can’t happen without the words, obviously, but as far as the physicalities, the belt buckle, all that stuff that you see is stuff that I brought to that character.

Q: So what kind of research did you do to find out about FBI agents and their personalities and qualifications?

David: (He laughed) Everything they told me about the FBI I threw out the door, in a lot of ways. I respected it; I went through the idea of it. I took the approach of they guy working for the military and went to the FBI rather than a guy who came right out of Harvard and he’s a penny loafer wearing pencil-pusher guy. That’s a guy that’s afraid to get his feet wet. For me, it was more interesting from the angle of the military guy who was a blue-collar guy. From there, everything exploded. I highly, highly respect what they do and when it comes to using any kind of firearm or entries into buildings I don’t mess around with that. I do it as cleanly and as professionally as I can, the way they would do it. I work with a great guy, Mike Rosso (sp?) on the show, who is with the LAPD who is fantastic, so for me, that is very authentic to a “T.� But the other stuff is character stuff.

Q: Which has been your favorite Bones episode to work on so far?

David: You know, I really enjoy anything I do with Emily, obviously. As far as one complete episode is concerned, I liked the Halloween episode. That was a lot of fun. I got to play a nerd. (laughs) I also liked the season opener of season two, that was a lot of fun. I loved the pilot. You have to go back to the pilot, that’s when it’s fresh and new. The possibilities are endless. (chuckles) It’s always hard to answer those kinds of questions.

Q: Will Booth sing with the American Idol stars?

David: (laughing) You’re going to have to wait to find out. I may dance with the American Idol stars.
(more…)

I always get a kick out of seeing my favorite actors/actresses in shows or movies (or commercials or cartoons-as voices) other than the shows that I love to see them in regularly. One of a few actors that seems to pop up in the oddest places is none other than Bone’s Jack Hodgins/TJ Thyne. He’s played opposite David Boreanaz in Angel and Michaela Conlin in MDs before he took the role to work with both of them in Bones. His resume is packed with other guest spots: 24, The O.C., My Wife and Kids, CSI:NY, Charmed, Nip/Tuck, Cold Case, Walker, Texas Ranger, and even Friends are just a few of the shows on his list.

The TV Addict did an interview with Thyne in November that touched on his appearance in so many different roles. In addition to noting that he was “one of the nicest people around,” it was a really good interview. The question was asked if it was hard for him to play the same character for so long after having been so many different characters. Thyne said,

It’s actually really trippy for me because to be completely honest, I’ve always resisted the whole ’series regular’ thing. Over the years I’ve tested for so many shows and when I got to the studio test, I’d pull myself out thinking — I can’t spend 6 years on a show playing the same character, I can’t do it!

(more…)

Working as a storyboard artist, forensics scientist and biomedical illustrator, Donna Cline has her hands full making sure the Bones cast and crew get their information straight. With a Master’s in Biomedical Illustration and undergrad in History of Art and Fine Arts at Berkeley, Cline also has a second Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is working on a Doctoral study in clinical psychology. She’s also been working in film and TV for almost 20 years, so she definietly knows her stuff.

As well as the work she does for film, she also woks as a forensic artist (Angela’s job on the show) for police agencies. Cline says that most of her work usually is for suspect composite drawing because “that’s more common than facial reconstructions simply because of frequency and the budgetary constraints of governmental agencies.”

Cline says that although she mostly stuck with feature films, she once received a call to work on The X-Files. She worked as the storyboard artist for that show for their last three seasons until she was recruited to work on Judging Amy. From there she came on board with Bones. The rest is history.

Anyway, here’s a quick interview with her that gives you a little insight into her role in the production of Bones.

Also, there’s a good interview with her on Mania TV that you should check out. It’s worth your while!

Recently, Mark Ulyseas in Bali got the opportunity to interview Kathy Reichs, the author of the Temperance Brennan series that sparked the Fox show Bones. This woman must be brilliant. (Did you know that she’s one of only 50 orensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology? Now that’s a field of work that is understaffed!) I couldn’t imagine how neat it would be to hang out with her for a little while to learn from her, although I must admit that it sounds like her work is a little depressing. In the interview, she talks about working on exhuming a mass grave. She remembers that while working there, “this mother came up to me and held my hand. Her children and grandchildren were in the mass graves. It was moving.”

She also talked about how a lot of her books are based on things that she has seen and dealt with in real life. Her latest book, Bones to Ashes is one such story. Reichs explained that “the plot is based on a true story of a child’s skeleton found on the border of Brunswick and Quebec. I worked on that case. However, the parents or family members were never located. It still remains a mystery.”

Kathy has a new book due out August 26th, 2008 called Devil Bones which will incorporate Voodoo, Black Magic and Witchcraft into the storyline. Sounds like another winner! (But considering that all of her books have found themselves on the New York Bestsellers list, that should come as no surprise…)

As usual, the Bones cast is being tight-lipped about the possible relationship between Booth and Bones, but David Boreanaz does reveal a little of what to look for, or rather, what not to look for this season.

In an interview posted on BuddyTV, David talks about his goal as producer as well as one of the main characters on Bones. He says that fans of the show can look for more info on Booth’s brother (am I forgetting something here – or is the article misprinted? Should it say Bones’s brother?). He also notes that we can forget ever delving into Booth’s past too much, because he doesn’t intent to give us much info on his stint as a sniper.

“The one thing I don’t really want to do is dive into his painful experience being a sniper and all that procedural stuff,� he said. Too bad, because it was obvious in past episodes how much his past has affected him. But I can understand the decision; with the show’s concentration on relationships over the “procedural stuff� as David put it.

Regardless of the lack of back-story on Booth, this season is proving to be interesting enough without it. Booth and Bones therapy sessions, hosted by a barely-out-of-high school therapist, are proving to be very insightful as well as humorous.

David says, “These two have to go to therapy in order to deal with their everyday working lives, which I think is very funny, and that’s never been seen on television, which I think is unique.� True, most people go to therapy because of a problem in their personal lives, so this is a little out of the ordinary. Yet somehow, “Sweet’s� age and lack of presence makes their sessions seem like some kind of joke instead of anything remotely like counseling. But maybe I’m being unfair. After all, I am comparing him to Gordon Garrett, Booth’s previous therapist. (And why couldn’t he have done the couples therapy?)