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Baby and Booth Makes Three: Can Bones Still Work As A Family Drama?

Bones is back with a bang—and a baby—after its long hiatus. Nearly four months after viewers last saw Booth, Brennan, and the gang, ‘The Prisoner In the Pipe’ swung people back into the action, while ‘The Bump In the Road’ helped to establish a new normal for the series in the wake of upheaval for the main characters.

Impatient fans were chomping at the bit for the next installment after the break, timed to coincide with Emily Deschanel’s maternity leave. Were they satisfied with the latest episodes, and what do they presage for the future?

The show took a somewhat interesting approach to handling Deschanel’s pregnancy when the creators decided to integrate it into the storyline, rather than attempting to hide it. As Emily got larger in real life, so did Bones on screen; at least, until ‘The Prisoner In the Pipe,’ which was actually filmed after she delivered, forcing her to wear a stunt belly. Likewise, Deschanel is going through the experience of being a new mother while she plays one on television, which creates a strange and intriguing blur between fiction and reality, as well as lending depth to her scenes with Christine.

Viewer reactions to the anticipated birth episode were interesting to watch unfold on Twitter; many observers were particularly fascinated by the debate over where to have the

4 thoughts on “Baby and Booth Makes Three: Can Bones Still Work As A Family Drama?

  1. I think its already failed to completely capture the human experiences. This is most blatant in the complete lack of appearance by Booth’s son Parker. He’s been a focal point in the past for the character, and he wasn’t even mentioned once this season. What does Parker think of being a big brother? The entire time Booth and Brennan were discussing where to live and how big of a house to buy they never had any considerations of a room for Parker or a need to stay close to him. The writers completely swept him under the rug for the main drama they were pursuing, and I expect that to continue with the other children on the show.

  2. To Katie
    You’re wrong, parker has been mentioned in several episodes, like Booth saying that Parker loved the bouncing bears, or Hank (Booth’s grandfather) mentionning him, and most likely, since it was an important matter to Parker in a previous season, Brennan talking about a pool.
    And for your information, Parker will be in the episode airing in 2 weeks, and the fact he is a big brother will be talked about.
    And as why Parker has not appeared this season yet, I guess that you know that Ty Panitz, the actor, was working on other shows and can’t be shooting at two different places at the same time.

  3. I think you missed what Bones always has been: a procedural with a lot of character development. Hart Hanson said from the beginning he was not interested in doing another procedural, but a character driven show.
    And Stephen Nathan recently said (at Paley) that there was no intention of doing Parenthood, that it always will be Booth and Brennan, and the whole team solving crimes.

  4. With all due respect, from reading your article it appears that you do not watch Bones regularly. The last episode was one of the Best episodes of Bones I have seen to date, and I have seen them all on multiple occasions. The final scene of each episode is typically a B&B scene at the Founding Fathers to celebrate the closing of a case. This week, the final scene was adorable — with B&B at home with Christine, Bones holding her after having missed her all day on the first day back at work after her birth. Emily gave a great performance, as always, and the bonding of Booth and Brennan, as well as Emily and David, could not be better. The baby and all it entails has brought a wonderful freshness to the show which, by far, has many seasons yet to go. And the crime-solving was vintage Bones. Based on the quality of the episode, my family, for one, is looking forward to Monday nights with Bones…

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