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

[JRS]

I have been watching crime/cop shows a lot recently from DVD, mainly British ones.
I have now been thinking of getting some USA shows of same topic to watch.
I am planning to buy Homicide box..but I am also interested of Bones( there is an seasons 1-5 box on amazon)
I havent seen any episodes, but I am sure some of you here have, so I just wanted to ask:

Is the show any good?
What are the good and bad things of the show?
Is it better than the various CSI shows?

Still one slightly offtopic question, since we are on a cop shows topic: Is CSI:NY better than CSI:Miami?( the latter seems relativly dull and lifeless to me..)

Thank you all on advance

 

[Deckerd]

Bones is good if you like lightweight, amusing forensic stories with two very appealing principals. The Bones character herself is eminently watchable, IMO, because of her almost autistic behaviour, where she is completely unaware of how weird she is. David Boreanaz is a revelation as a character much closer to his own personality than the dour, wooden Angel character. The support cast are very watchable too. It's dialogue driven and the writers keep it fresh. On the downside, as with all these shows, it gets very samey the more you watch it. Also the unrequited love angle gets very tedious very quickly. It should have been left out from the start.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Like ^he said, it's a great "chemistry" show, as in the chemistry of the cast.

Some of the storylines are better than others, as with any show with a limited scope.

 

[Starkers]

Deckerd pretty much sums Bones up from what I remember, I started watching it but kinda fell out with it (which had more to do with losing satellite telly and access to it than anything particular about the show itself) It is one of those shows where the cast makes it.

The original CSI is the only one I've stuck with, gave up on Miami after about 3 episodea and NY after the first season.

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

 

[trekkiebaggio]

Yeah pretty much what Deckard said. The two leads are great too watch and have a really good relationship (although drawing out the 'will they/won't they' aspect is getting rather tiresome). The support cast are good as well, and they all share good chemistry. When they hang out as friends outside the lab it's actually believable.

A couple of bad things are that when it tries arcs they usually don't have a good pay off. It works best as a standalone. Also the product placement is laughable, but that's not a major thing it just takes you out of the show sometimes.

I've only seen a handful of eps of CSI so I can't really comment how Bones compares to them. But the main reason I started watching it was because I was a big fan of David Boreanaz, and I've become a big fan of Emily Deschanel since watching it.

 

[Jax]

Bones strength is the cast chemistry no doubt, its a light fluffy popcorn action/crime show making it easy to watch and enjoy. Bones biggest problem is resolution to any overall arc's because story wise its never been the strongest but overall its well worth a showing.

I watched CSI too season 6 and enjoyed it for the most parts but there is less focus on the characters IMO compared to Bones and is driven by the crimes. The show has a serious tone to it and when it wants, it can deliver a big story as well as the COTY (Crime of the week) standard stuff. CSI biggest problem is being never-ending and for me I like a story with a start, middle and end...CSI is not that type of show.

 

[Forbin]

My wife and I like Bones just fine as light crime-drama character show. I have to say that we've been getting VERY tired of Brennan's behavior lately, though. I know she's supposed to be some kind of savant or something, but some of the things she says, and the way she talks, make us roll our eyes. She's like a cartoon nerd-scientist. She's even more socially inept than Sheldon on Big Bang, and he's supposed to be a cartoony character.

Like when she and Booth are pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend as a ruse. He says something like "this is my girlfriend," and she says "Yes, we're paramours in the romantic social tradition and have intercourse regularly!"

Interestingly, we've read all the Kathy Reichs "Bones" mystery novels, and the tv show is NOTHING like the universe of the novels. I mean NOTHING is the same, except her profession.

 

[RoJoHen]

I love Bones when I catch it randomly on TV, but I don't know that it's the kind of show I could sit down and marathon through. I wish I had started watching it from the beginning, because it's perfect as a "one episode a week" kind of show.

 

[Pingfah]

My wife and I like Bones just fine as light crime-drama character show. I have to say that we've been getting VERY tired of Brennan's behavior lately, though. I know she's supposed to be some kind of savant or something, but some of the things she says, and the way she talks, make us roll our eyes. She's like a cartoon nerd-scientist. She's even more socially inept than Sheldon on Big Bang, and he's supposed to be a cartoony character.

Like when she and Booth are pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend as a ruse. He says something like "this is my girlfriend," and she says "Yes, we're paramours in the romantic social tradition and have intercourse regularly!"

Interestingly, we've read all the Kathy Reichs "Bones" mystery novels, and the tv show is NOTHING like the universe of the novels. I mean NOTHING is the same, except her profession.

Yeah, i've been reading them too. Very entertaining books, pretty much the only thing they retained besides the basic occupation is her name. But then, the books are semi-autobiographical, and the show is a completely fictional character with the same name.

 

[bigdaddy]

Bones gets worst each season to the point that seasons 5 and 6 being horrible. I suggest watching the first season and then just giving up.

What really annoys me is that Bones the first season was clueless, they then make her an idiot to fit certain storylines.

 

[nevermore]

Bones is entertaining. Homicide is seminal TV.

I would normally recommend Homicide over Bones, but if your standard of excellence is CSI, you would probably like Bones better.

 

[JRS]

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)

Interestingly, we've read all the Kathy Reichs "Bones" mystery novels, and the tv show is NOTHING like the universe of the novels. I mean NOTHING is the same, except her profession

.
I just started reading one of these. Intresting and well written. Odd that the character from the book is not suitable as a TV-show character

I would normally recommend Homicide over Bones, but if your standard of excellence is CSI, you would probably like Bones better.

Glad to hear that is better than CSI
( I would rather use the various Law & Order shows as a comparison for a good American cop show, though I ofcourse know that Bones( and other such shows) are more of an entarteinment than really good dramas. I dont mind that, if its done relativly well)
I will definetly check out Homicide, from the comments and reviews I have read, it seems like a damn good show

 

[Jax]

I suggest watching the first season and then just giving up.

Which would be pointless and a waste of time for someone to do, you watch a new show to get into it over an extended period of time unless you find you dislike it.

Also I find that comment amusing coming from someone who seems to still watch it despite saying it gets worse year after year

 

[IndyJones]

I suggest watching the first season and then just giving up.

Which would be pointless and a waste of time for someone to do, you watch a new show to get into it over an extended period of time unless you find you dislike it.

Also I find that comment amusing coming from someone who seems to still watch it despite saying it gets worse year after year

It's kind of his thing.

 

[Forbin]

What really annoys me is that Bones the first season was clueless, they then make her an idiot to fit certain storylines.

That's a good way to say it. There's a huge difference between clueless and the way she acts now.

 

[bigdaddy]

What really annoys me is that Bones the first season was clueless, they then make her an idiot to fit certain storylines.

That's a good way to say it. There's a huge difference between clueless and the way she acts now.

Yeah which is why I say only buy the first season. Why buy five seasons on a show you might hate?

I watch the show out of boredom. Every once and awhile the show is still good. But as all the characters have grown but Bones who they just make an idiot just to make an eye rolling joke.

 

[Vendikarr]

I have to agree with the majority opinion here. The characters are great, the crime solving not so much. I didn't see the earlier seasons during the network run, but on reruns on TNT.

There isn't much of a re-watch factor with Bones. I would suggest you try it out on TNT. It just started the cycle with season one again.

Or Netflix the first season for a taste. It's not worth owning for a single viewing.

 

[Starbreaker]

Too bad they don't have Netflix over in Europe yet. It's a fun show. Every once in a while there's a great episode. I wouldn't say I like it as much as CSI or Criminal Minds though.

 

[Star Wolf]

On the CSI question, NY is just bad. Miami on the other hand is so bad its in the campy bad territory. If you want a full hour of the lab work stick with Vegas. If you need a few minutes of scientific policing grab the specialist scenes from Law & Order episodes.

 

[Forbin]

Oh, CSI (the original) is still the best. Actual human-seeming characters and actors that act like, um, humans.

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.

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