Thursday, September 04, 2008

'Bones' In the U.K.

I expected to laugh my a$$ off at the season premiere of Bones, but I did not expect to be laughing so hard that I missed more of the funny because I was still laughing at the last several funnies. In fact, I had my DVR working overtime last night as I was constantly pausing to laugh, rewinding to catch the zinger that I had missed while laughing at the other, and then playing the episode. This little process repeated itself over and over again during the first of the two hours. And then, things slowed down and took a more serious tone for the last hour of the premiere. While I missed the non-stop laughs, the more somber feel did allow my poor abs to take a break. There were two times during the night, however, where I had tears of laughter rolling down my face. The first was when Booth was driving that ridiculously small rental car and he couldn't grasp the no right on red concept, which sent the little car right into head on traffic and sent Booth into a breakdown where he proclaimed, among other things, that he was glad the U.S. had a revolution with England. The second time I lost it came when Booth was trying to ease the rental back into "the flow of traffic." I'm not sure what's funnier during these types of scenes -- Booth's rising stress/agitation level, Brennan's rational/level-headedness, or the combination of the two. I think it's choice #3, which just happens to be this fun little show's bread and butter.

Amid all of this laughter, there was a lot of other stuff going on during this episode. Angela was briefly reunited with her ex-husband, they got divorced, and in the night's most shocking turn, she and Hodgins broke up! Noooooooooo!! First Zac is Gormogon and now this! Why must they shake-up the squints?! I liked them as they were. I'm so bummed about Angela and Hodgins, but I'm holding out hope that these two crazy kids can work out their trust issues and get back together.

Meanwhile, Brennan was busy thwarting the affections of her British cohort. The Oxford professor had quite the salacious resume and he was hoping to add Brennan as a reference much to Booth's chagrin. He wasn't successful. Bones lied to herself and everyone else said that she turned him down because Booth told her that she was worth more than a shag in the hay, but we all know that deep down inside, she said no because of her feelings for Booth (and on some level, she knew how much it would hurt him). In fact, the subtext of the entire outing was centered around whether or not these two should be more than just partners. They shared several intimate conversations and Booth, in a successful ploy to deter his partner from sleeping with England's very own Romeo, told her that she's "special" (aww!). The writers are such teases on this show, but I wouldn't want it any other way. They have managed to string this "Will they/Won't they" relationship along so successfully that I wish other shows would take notes. As far as the question of should they or shouldn't they cross the pond again in the future -- this outing certainly left me wanting more Booth and Bones on the loose in London. What a smashing good way to start off the season!

Photos are copyright Fox Broadcasting Co. If you missed last night's shagadellic season premiere ("Yanks in the U.K."), check it out for free at Hulu.com.

2 comments:

LillyKat said...

It's official: I am now a Bones fan!

I tuned into this premiere (even though I am SO behind on what's going on as I've only seen a handful of the old eps on TNT, with the last one being when Hodgins and Angela first started dating - LOL!).

Oh. My. God.

How can you even concentrate when one is laughing so hard? The writing is just so sharp - and quick! The back and forth between Booth and Brennan ... amazing. Granted I am new, so this is striking me as so fresh at the moment, but I think it rivals anything The Closer folks do at the moment!

Booth and his Cowboy American routine was hysterical. I loved how he just seemed so dense (or didn't care).

I definitely don't want Hodgins and Angela to break-up - especially since I just watched how they first came together. They are TOO cute. This has to be a ploy by the writers, yes? ;o)

Will definitely be watching this season!

Anonymous said...

Yay! LK's a Bones fan finally! :-)

Great episode.

I did find it a little hard to take the Brits seriously when they all seemed to have posh accents, even though they wouldn't. I guess that's how Americans think we all talk.

The Hodgins/Angela breakup made little sense to me. How is Hodgins reacting to the ex turning up not trusting Angela? It felt like an excuse to create some tension and a 'will they, won't they' environment. I did like the cyclists blocking the road moment, even though it was very contrived. Hodgins in the garbage truck probably wasn't so bad for him, he'd love all the slime :-)

Shame we lost Clark, his distance from the rest was an interesting counterpoint. The 'no I'll drive him to the airport' moment was very funny. Of course, they're a 'squint' short now, which no doubt they'll be correcting with someone new in upcoming episodes.

I realise that lots of episodes of Bones have included references to sex, but this 2 parter seemed particularly full of them. No Bone left unturned :-)

On a technical note 'right on red' would, if it existed in the UK, which it doesn't, be 'left on red'. Turning right would mean you'd be turning across oncoming traffic. The pulling out into traffic scene (in the Mini) was confusing. I couldn't tell if he was trying to park the car, and was struggling to drive it, or was pulling out.

Did anyone else notice the Austin/Aston joke?


RichE (in the UK).