Kat with a K

Get ready for tonight's Bones . . .

by refreshing your memory with my recap of "The Blackout in the Blizzard," over at TheTelevixen.

It's finally getting to be spring in most of North America, but we're back to winter with the most recent episode of Bones! A blizzard means that Booth and Brennan spend most of the episode stuck in an elevator, which clearly isn't symbolic of anything at all...

Bones recap: "The Bikini in the Soup" (at TheTelevixen)

Honestly, I wasn't the biggest fan of Bones's take on Valentine's Day. Read my take here.

Bones recap: "The Daredevil in the Mold" (at TheTelevixen)

Catch up before tonight's new Bones by reading my recap of last week's episode here.

I know Hannah had to go, but I wasn't thrilled with how it happened: I'm afraid it will be hard to make it look like Brennan is anything but a consolation prize at this point, and I wanted Booth to realize that his relationship with Hannah wouldn't work himself rather than being rejected. But the follow-up scene in the bar was amazing, so I can't complain too much.

Bones recap: "The Sin in the Sisterhood" (at TheTelevixen)

Read my recap of last week's polygamy episode of Bones over at TheTelevixen.

From the beginning of the episode, Booth and Brennan clash over whether polygamy is ever understandable, and Brennan points out that Booth can’t take some parts of the Bible literally and not others. Booth is still hearing none of it: “You pick a wife and go with it.” Hmm. After they solve the case, Brennan asks Booth if he believes that Ed Samuel loved his wives equally, and Booth insists that he loved the first one the most. What does this mean?

Bones recap: "The Bullet in the Brain" (at TheTelevixen)

Get ready for tonight's episode of Bones by reading my recap of last week's pivotal episode.

The Mystery of the Week first looks like an epilogue rather than a beginning: Heather Taffet, the Gravedigger, is headed to the courthouse for her final appeal. Sweets is with her, because she requested counseling, and Booth and Caroline Julian are outside with an angry crowd of protesters as the van pulls up to the front of the courthouse - because the parking garage gate is unexpectedly closed. Coincidence? Booth, scanning the crowd for anything out of the ordinary, sees someone filming the scene - and then Taffet gets out of the van and immediately has her head shot off. Silently. And graphically. (Seriously, there are a lot of shots of the headless corpse.) Sweets, who was standing behind her, is splattered with blood, and the crowd runs away - except for the guy with the camera, who just keeps filming.

Bones 6.10: "The Body in the Bag" (at TheTelevixen)

Head over to TheTelevixen.com to read my recap of Thursday's Bones.

Edison also continues the practice of having the intern act as a sort of Greek chorus (or stand-in for the audience) on the subject of Booth, Brennan, and Hannah: he comments that "the potential emotional fallout could be cataclysmic," but that his "money's on Doctor B and Booth."

Bones is back, plus some spinoff news (at TheTelevixen)

Excited for Bones tonight? Click on over for my little preview of what's coming up, plus news on the first casting announcement for the spinoff.

Bones 6.3: "The Maggots in the Meathead"

In the new year, I'll be back to recapping Bones and Castle for TheTelevixen each week, and I'm quite excited about it. I'm also trying to fill in with recaps for the episodes I missed when the fall entirely got away from me. (And really, I must send so much thanks to Melissa at TheTelevixen for her patience and her willingness to give me another chance.) Anyway, if you want to read a recap of "The Maggots in the Meathead," head on over here.

Bones 6.2: "The Couple in the Cave"

My recap of "The Couple in the Cave" is up at TheTelevixen.com. Enjoy!

Bones 6.1: "The Mastodon in the Room"

My very late recap of the Bones season premiere is now up at The Televixen. Enjoy!

How do the Bones folks get back together?

I have a post at TheTelevixen about this very question.

First Look at Bones Season 6!

Over at TheTelevixen, I have the first preview for the new season of Bones along with a few other fun Bones videos. Head on over, Bones fans!

A word on Camille Saroyan

After a conversation with Alyssa last night, I realized that my comments about Cam on Bones may have come across incorrectly yesterday. I didn't mean that I don't like Cam or don't think she's an important character. I love Cam! And more importantly, I think she's a vital part of the team dynamic, both as far as how they actually work to solve their cases within the show and how the cast melds on the show. I didn't mean that I didn't want her around as much. What I was thinking, but didn't really manage to say, was that I want her to continue to be a big part of the show, but don't have anything specific in mind that I want to happen to her the way I do for some of the other characters.

What I Want This Season: Bones

This is one in a series of posts about what I'd like to happen this upcoming season on various returning shows. You can assume that there will be spoilers through last season, but I won't include any spoilers I might or might not have read about the upcoming season. These posts are just about what I WANT.

The team went their separate ways for a year in the season finale, so obviously I want them to all get back together quickly, and I think I'd like a minimum of drama in that process. On this show, I like the relationship arcs but I don't particularly care about the case arcs. I'd be fine with victim-of-the-week while the relationships evolve and progress.

Booth and Brennan: After Booth made himself so vulnerable last season, I'd sort of like him to get a break for a little while. Brennan needs to process everything and work past some of her issues, and ultimately I'd like it to get to a point at which she decides to pursue him and not vice versa.

Angela and Hodgins: I'm glad they're finally married, and I hope they can continue to have interesting plotlines without any "Will they break up?" drama. Specifically, they both have some trust and secrecy issues to work through, and I'd like to see Angela come to terms with Hodgins's wealth and his attitudes toward it.

Sweets and Daisy: Meh. I love Sweets, and Daisy is okay but I'm not particularly invested in this relationship either way. I want Sweets to have interesting things to do but I don't really care whether Daisy's involved.

Cam: I like her but don't necessarily care whether she has huge plotlines or not. I do like the motherhood stuff, so more of that would be fine.

Interns of the week: I like them all, so I hope they continue to rotate.

The Most Incredibly Exciting Week Ever

Okay, that may be overstating things a little, but seriously, folks, there's a lot of exciting pop culture stuff going on in the next week or so. Here's a rundown of the things that interest me. (Notes: All times are Eastern. Here's an explanation of "upfronts".)

Thursday, May 13
8 p.m.: The Vampire Diaries season finale (The episode description promises death and destruction. Damon says he wants to eat cotton candy and steal Stefan's girl. Yes, please!)
10 p.m.: Private Practice season finale (Okay, I'm not actually that excited about this, but apparently a main character will die, so there's that.)

Friday, May 14
Robin Hood and Letters to Juliet come out. No, I'm not expecting cinematic greatness from either, but as I am a fan of Matthew MacFadyen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and laughably bad historical movies, in the former case, and Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal, silly Taylor Swift songs, and Italy, in the latter case, I am looking forward to both of these.

Monday, May 17
9 p.m.: Gossip Girl season finale (Blair responds to Chuck's ultimatum and, as usual, Jenny does something that makes us want to kill her. Necessary preparations: watch An Affair to Remember; buy scotch.)
10 p.m.: Castle season finale (I'm rather hoping this will see the end of Anders Demming getting between Castle and Beckett, but we'll see. It's too early in the series for Castle and Beckett to get together, anyway.)
Muse's new single, "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)," is released. (On a Monday? Yeah, I don't know.)
NBC and FOX Upfronts

Tuesday, May 18
9 p.m.: Neil Patrick Harris guest stars on Glee. Joss Whedon directs. (I don't need to explain why this is exciting, do I? Didn't think so.)
11 p.m.: Bradley Whitford on Chelsea Lately
The Demon's Covenant, the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon trilogy, is released.
The third album of songs from Glee comes out.
ABC Upfronts

Wednesday, May 19
8 p.m.: The Good Guys preview episode (If you're unclear on my feelings about this, um, head over here.)
Google I/O 2010 begins.
CBS Upfronts

Thursday, May 20
8 p.m.: Bones season finale (They're saying it's going to be shocking and polarizing, again. So I'm a little worried. But at least no alternate realities this time!)
9 p.m.: Grey's Anatomy season finale
10 p.m.: The Mentalist season finale
Google I/O 2010 ends, so we'll hopefully have an Android-as-hotspot announcement by then.
CW Upfronts

The Hottest Characters on TV Right Now

I'm sure you've all noticed that I enjoy making lists. The other night while I was doing dishes or something, I started absentmindedly creating a list of the top five most attractive characters currently on TV. I was somewhat astonished that I got stuck at four. I can come up with these four who stand out, and then the next tier has 15 or so guys and I simply cannot decide who to elevate. Of course, if I were to wait a week or so, this problem would go the other way, because The Good Guys would be out and I'd probably want to include both of the male characters from that. But anyway! Here are my top four, at the moment, and than an incomplete list of honorable mentions. (Caveats: the order among the four changes based on my mood. As usual, I am judging by looks, personality, and whatever else, not just looks.) And hey, how about a quote from each? Because if there's anything I like almost as much as lists, it's quotes.

1. Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder)
"It's Founder's Day. I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl."

2. Marshall Mann from In Plain Sight (Frederick Weller)
"Here's to the best friend I've ever had, could ever hope to have, a girl for whom no man will ever be good enough, I hope you know that... I love you and I wish for you nothing but a lifetime of happiness."

3. Seeley Booth from Bones (David Boreanaz)
"I'm the gambler. I believe in giving this a chance. Look, I want to give this a shot."

4. Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl (Ed Westwick)
"You and I are magnetic. You can feel it. Our pull is as undeniable as ever. I love you. Saying it was hard, but I did. And I've never looked back."

Interestingly, two of those (Marshall and Booth) are in law enforcement of some sort, and the other two are . . . very much not. One could even call them criminals. If one wished.

Honorable mention: Robert McCallister and Justin Walker from Brothers and Sisters, Rick Castle from Castle, Will Schuester from Glee, Will Gardner from The Good Wife, Derek Shepherd and Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy, Raylan Givens from Justified, Patrick Jane and Wayne Rigsby from The Mentalist, Adam Braverman from Parenthood, Pete Wilder and Sam Bennett from Private Practice.

The 100th Episode of Bones (Spoilers Ahoy!)

(I know a bunch of you were a week or two behind on Bones, so I hope waiting a week and a half is sufficient to avoid ruining things. You've been warned.)

There are so many things to say about this episode that I'm not even going to try to be comprehensive. Also, Alyssa said a lot of what I was thinking here, so make sure you read that. Overall, I thought the episode was excellent, almost perfect, and I was surprised that I was surprised, if that makes sense. I read a lot of spoilers - love them (and more on that in its own post soon) - and this episode got a lot of advance press. And yet, there were some things that happened that honestly astonished me. It's rare that that actually happens with TV (and yes, I realize it's my own fault for reading spoilers, but yes, I like it that way), so I'm very impressed with the execution.

It's also rare that episodes heralded as "game-changing" actually are. This one was. By flashing back to a year before the show started and having such major things happen in the characters' personal and professional lives, the entire framework of the show was called into question. The history assumed by the viewer was rewritten. And the kiss and conversation at the end of the episode, in the present day, also shaped the entire future of the show. It was quite the double whammy. (And I really need to stop for a moment to praise the excellent acting and wide ranges displayed by all the actors, but especially David Boreanaz and Emily Deschenel. There was more here than the show usually demands of them, and they rose to the challenge. This would have been a very easy episode to overact, but they didn't. Boreanaz was also directing, which makes it all the more impressive.)

It was somewhat surprising that they tried to rewrite the past and the future in one episode, but the really surprising thing was that it worked. Usually, when a beloved show decides to go back in time and change the past, fans are left feeling cheated and even betrayed. I haven't heard from anyone who felt that way about Bones (although I'm sure there's someone out there who will hurry to correct me on this). On the technical side of things, it helped that they were careful not to contradict anything that had been actually established about the past. They only contradicted what viewers assumed had happened. In that article about Agatha Christie I linked yesterday, Christine Kenneally wrote that "Christie's greatest talent, or at least the one for which her readers most adore her, lay in knowing exactly what her reader would think and feel, and in subtly exploiting that." This is what the Bones folk did as well.

And on an emotional level, this rewriting of history worked because it just made sense. I spent most of the episode saying (typing) things along the lines of "I can't believe this is happening," but by the end of the episode, it seemed impossible that it could have happened any other way. It's hard to make something simultaneously shocking and inevitable. What happened changed what we had assumed about the characters and their relationships, but ultimately, it changed them in a way that made them both more real and more like themselves. And going forward, of course, the challenge for Bones will be to resist ignoring these changes, and instead to move forward in a way that stays faithful to the new reality they have so masterfully established.

Freaking out over Bones? (No spoilers here.)

OMG! Bones! No, I won't spoil it for you, but honestly - when a TV show hypes a "game-changing" episode, I generally don't expect it to be actually game-changing. This one was.

Dying for some scoop on what's going to happen? (These links may contain spoilers. I'm not even going to post the titles of the articles, for those of you who haven't watched yet.) Try here, or here. I'll add more later if I find more.

Watch this now. This means you.

Well, this means you if you are a fan of Bones or Glee or Smurfs or Joss Whedon or Neil Patrick Harris or Aerosmith. If you aren't a fan of any of those things, well, your life must be a little drab. I'm sorry. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be an embedding option, so you should head over to the Ausiello Files and watch the newest episode of ATV.

So, Bones fans...

What do we think of the new season so far? Excited for tonight's episode? My reviews so far at The Mystery Shelf: Yanks in the UK and "The Man in the Outhouse". Come on over and discuss!