Bones enjoying stride

     FOX's Bones, now in it's sixth season, has solidified its formula and now is luxuriating in its success. Is that a good thing? Bones has always been one of the best case-of-the-week crime shows, owing to an amazing cast of characters. Lately, owing to a long-growing formation of tight social bonds and relationship developments, the show is able to spend just as much time on the personal stories as the case, which I view as a boon. Yet, the cases stay interesting and fun, and actually add to the personal drama, rather than detract from it.

     For example, this week David Alan Grier guest starred as Bunson Jude the Science Dude, and his assistance to Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel) was as comical as it was helpful. Last week, Brennan and Booth (David Boreanaz) investigated a murder at the Jersey Shore. Brennan was fascinated by the culture, which she had been studying in the "documentary series" Jersey Shore. She got to explain creeping and GTL to Booth. Great plots, very entertaining, and showcasing the main characters as well as the murder.

     But why wasn't Bones able to score any big casting gets? An attempt to get some of the Jersey Shore cast members to appear in the episode fell through, and did they even approach Bill Nye the Science Guy about guesting this week? Those types of things are, indeed, stunt casting. But for a long running, semi-popular, well-made show such as Bones, shouldn't they have been achievable gets? Maybe the people behind the show didn't want that, thinking it veered too much into cheese. Yet, they did the plots anyway, with imitations of the real thing, so why not go all out?

     That aside, the series has never been better. Temperance Brennan has lightened up so much that she's almost a normal person. This is due to not only her growing feelings for her partner, but also the real friendships she has forged in the workplace. Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) has gotten markedly happier since he found love, even when he wasn't with her. Angela (Michaela Conlin) has allowed herself to be tied down and start a family. And Sweets (John Francis Daley) and Cam (Tamara Taylor) have been fully accepted into the group that was already established before the arrived.

     And that's not all. Somewhere along the way, the Bones cast has expanded greatly, with a whole host of new characters considered part of the little Jeffersonian family. The rotating cast of interns has been an absolute joy. I miss those that are gone each week, and get excited to see who will come back next. Ms. Julian (Patricia Belcher) has been an important presence in half the season so far. Booth's new love interest, Hannah (Katheryn Winnick), is already making friends with and inviting Cam, Brennan, and Angela over to hang out. One big, happy group.

     That is what worries me; everyone is so happy, gets along so well. Don't get me wrong. Despite the love I had for the clashing between the characters early on, I am pleased to see the maturation. Now, though, the series gets to the point where it may be in danger of floundering. I have no complaints about the plot of sending everyone away at the end of last year, nor the solid premiere that brought them all back together. It punted the point of needing another shakeup down the field a bit. But only a bit. I predict that the next major twist will be when Brennan makes a play for Booth, and the inevitable breakup of Booth and Hannah. I'm not sure that's enough to fill a whole season, though.

     Don't get me wrong. I'm not pessimistic. I love Bones. I'm curious to see where the show will go from here. Just a word of caution to the people that make it: even though the current comfort is a delight, don't get too comfortable.

     Bones airs Thursday nights at 8pm on FOX.


For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Article first published as TV Review: Bones Enjoying Stride on Blogcritics.

South Park goes after New Jersey and 9/11

     Ah, South Park, how I've missed thee.  I know we only get about episodes twice a year, with months in between, but it's never enough.  South Park is already two episodes deep into the fall run, and I've already been vastly amused.  I thought the show had certainly run out of groups to make fun of and go after, but with NASCAR fans last week, and the denizens of New Jersey last night, they found more material.  I don't understand NASCAR myself, or why people watch any organized sport for that matter, and while I'm sure that is not just watched by poor, stupid people, you have to admit that a lot of the fans are certainly that.  But having viewed more Jersey Shore episodes that I care to admit (I did it because I'm a television reviewer!  But I refuse to embarass myself by reviewing it), South Park did a great job of capturing the cast of that show, at least.  And the women of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, I suspect, though I have not watched even a minute of that show.

     The ways in which South Park worked the reality shows into the episode were funny and clever.  I didn't much enjoy the interrogation of "The Situation", but when 'a Snooki', a hideous, troll-like creature got loose in The Sizzler, I laughed quite a bit.  While Snooki herself isn't ugly, per se, I loved how they took the funniest parts of her and morphed it into something more.  Even better, the creature constantly ate pickles.  I hope she can take a joke.  I also enjoyed the play off of the camera interview, a staple in both reality tv and sitcoms nowadays.  When the camera changed angles and the viewers were treated to a whole living room full of people staring quizzically at a character who had just been doing the camera interview, I cracked up.

     In the South Park world, New Jersey had taken over most of the country, and the Jersey shore had extended down to Texas.  Colorado was next, and the town was being threatened with the rename 'West Jersey'.  Only Sheila Broflovski (voiced by Mona Marshall) saw the danger coming when the first people from Jersey moved in.  Finding out that Sheila is from New Jersey just felt right, and made so much sense for her character, when relating it to the stereotypes played up in this episode.  Kyle (voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone), her son, began to develop symptoms of New Jersians, because apparently it's a genetic disease.  He tried to control it, but prompting from Eric Cartman (voiced by the series' other co-creator, Trey Parker) made it erupt.  In the end, Kyle realized that he had to embrace his heritage to help defeat the coming New Jersey army.

     Perhaps the most offensive part of the episode, though, had nothing to do with New Jersey people at all.  Faced with a looming invasion, and unable to find help, Randy Marsh (Parker) sent a tape to Osama Bin Laden, asking for his assistance.  The Al Qaeda leader sent planes, which crashed onto the unarmed New Jersey hoarde, killing them by the score in fiery deaths.  It's been a little over nine years since the September 11th attack, but is that long enough before you poke fun at it so blatantly?  I was more shocked than tickled by that twist.  And I felt it highly unfair that Bin Laden, after offering aide to Americans in need, was murdered in the final seconds.  Even for South Park, which specializes in offensiveness, it was uncomfortable.

     South Park airs Wednesday nights at 10pm on Comedy Central.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Where did all the good Saturday Night Live go?

     With the close of the latest season of NBC's Saturday Night Live, one question hangs over our heads: why does SNL currently suck?  It still includes most of the same cast that made it such a hit during the 2008 election.  Kristen Wiig is still a comic genius.  Andy Samberg still makes Digital Shorts, though the laughs come less often.  Will Forte is taking his MacGruber sketch to the big screen very soon.  Bobby Moynihan can still deliver with his impersonation of Snooki from Jersey Shore.  Seth Meyers remains the head writer, and the Weekend Update segments are as funny as ever.  But the rest of the show largely falls flat on it's face.

     To get an answer, perhaps we should ask why any season of Saturday Night Live has sucked.  On the air for thirty-five years, the series run in hit and miss cycles, and we are currently in the middle of a low point, made all the more obvious by just high they got in fall 2008.  Even Betty White, bringing a host of alumni with her, delivered only mediocre stuff.  Don't hate on me for saying it.  I was enthralled with the beloved actress and her posse as anyone, but had the season been where it should have been, that episode would not have seemed as good as it did.  At best, it was good, not great.

      Perhaps in an effort to salvage something, uber-host Alec Baldwin was brought in for the season finale this weekend, tying Steve Martin's record of 15 hosting episodes.  Sadly, he, too, left something to be desired.  Let me say that again.  Alec Baldwin had a bad episode.  That just doesn't happen.  So why, with all the golden ingredients, is SNL not doing better?

     I can come up with no satisfying explanation.  I remember how good the show is when it hits it's peaks, and so I'll just do what any of us can do.  Keep watching, hoping it gets there again soon.