I’ve never watched House, but from what I gather, its main claim to fame is that the title character is a jerk. Apparently that’s enough to keep viewers coming back for more; go figure. Fox is never one to let a potential trend go untapped, of course, so they’re trying it again with Bones, a show about a forensic anthropologist who works for the FBI. And writes novels on the side. And is a jerk.
The Formula:
Bones = House + C.S.I.
When the show focuses on showing Temperance Brennan’s (Emily Deschanel) jerkiness and lack of social skills — the way that she picks fights with friends as well as foes, the way that she doesn’t understand anyone’s pop culture references or slang — it’s actually kind of fun. So is the back and forth between Brennan and FBI agent Seely Booth (David Boreanz, sans fangs), as they squabble and prod each other into doing favors for one another.
The big problem with Bones is that the writers and producers don’t seem to trust the actors to convey any of the characters’ qualities, and they don’t trust the audience to pick up on them, and so the script ends up being as ham-handed and overly obvious as possible. Rather than just letting Deschanel and Boreanz develop some chemistry as they go along, they get stuck with their faces an inch apart in an effort to artificially generate some sexual tension. And in every other scene, someone helpfully tries to convince Temperance to open up and “give something of herself,” just in case we weren’t clear from the first minute of the show that she’s overly guarded and distancing. It’s the age-old problem of telling instead of showing, and I’m pretty sure I can find something to watch that will respect my intelligence a little more than that.