ETA: I’m watching the Screen Actors Guild awards and Chandra Wilson’s acceptance speech cracked me up: “it’s about those 10 people over there and the one in rehab.”
ETA again: Hugh Laurie just won, gave his speech, said the word ‘zenith’ in the sexiest tone ever, and I drooled on my keyboard and a little bit on myself.
My love of procedurals and crime dramas should come as no surprise, given my early reading preferences.
First there was Encyclopedia Brown. I wanted to start my own detective agency and solve neighborhood crimes out of my garage for a quarter.
Then came The Happy Hollisters and The Bobbsey Twins, followed closely by Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys.
Next was Mary Higgins Clark, and then my used-to-be-favorite, Patricia Cornwell. (I still love her first six Scarpetta novels, but the later ones, and the most recent ones, have gotten weird.)
I watched Law and Order once Sam Waterston took over from that other guy, and I was thrilled when CSI came on the scene seven years ago.
CSI’s rampant success, of course, ushered in Without a Trace; CSI: Miami and CSI: NY; Cold Case; Close to Home; and Criminal Minds. There were the two Law and Order spin-offs, Criminal Intent and SVU; there was NCIS…at one point, I’ve watched most of them. (I never took to the CSI spin-offs, and Criminal Minds is too gruesome for me).
So I’m not sure why I didn’t like the FOX drama Bones the first time I saw it. I think it may have been because I was still harboring some bitterness towards David Boreanaz for his childish and disrespectful remarks regarding Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the dramas that jump-started his career.
But the exhuberance for the show demonstrated by Brooke over on her LJ has finally worn me down, and on Thursday, the Season 1 DVDs arrived on my doorstep. (Well, in my mailbox, if you want to get technical.)
I watched the first 14 episodes Friday and yesterday.
And Brooke, I have to say, I see the motivation for your obsession.
It is really, really good. I’d say it’s a hipper, sexier verson of CSI, and it’s a procedural, yes, but it’s infused by a lot more character development and personal backstory than the average procedural offers up.
David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel are dripping with chemistry, and the supporting cast is excellent. I especially adore Michaela Conlin’s Angela.
I have to commend the writers, because the characters could very well be two-dimensional. You’ve got the politically-minded, conspiracy-theory-spouting Hodgins; Zack, the geeky young genius with absolutely no personal skills; the wordly, flirtatious, social butterfly in Angela; etc, etc.
My point is that any one of them could very well be predictable and cliched and annoying, except that the writing, and of course, the actors portraying these characters, are excellent.
Anyway, I highly recommend this show, and it’s a good time to catch up — Amazon.com has the DVDs on sale for $19.99.
I’m not sure what in the world I’m going to do when I’m done with the remaining eight episodes…I suppose I’ll have to go download them all, because I’m not sure I can wait till August or September for the Season 2 DVDs. Anyone know a good torrent site?
