Great Article from USA Today!

Good television is built on 'Bones' of solid series

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
All is not Lost.

Don't get me wrong: I'm second to none in my admiration for ABC's gorgeous, cult-inspiring puzzle and can't wait to watch, revel and ponder my way through its spring return. But as wonderful as it may be to have a show that inspires devotion and requires rapt attention, TV as a whole cannot live on a diet of intensity alone.

As loath as we may be to admit it, no one has the time or energy for an entire slate of series that require unblinking focus every hour every week. What's needed is a well-measured mix — a sprinkling of shows like Lost supported by a host of good, solid and smart weekly diversions.

The overall success of a broadcast lineup always depends on "worker bees": shows that reward constant viewing without imposing undue punishment for the occasional miss.

Shows, for example, like Fox's returning Bones, an entertaining blend of crime and romantic comedy that sits comfortably near the top of TV's second tier.

In tonight's spring return, the writing remains admirably clever without calling undue attention to itself, and the cast is unfailingly appealing and adept, with Emily Deschanel (Bones) and David Boreanaz (Booth) turning in star performances that deserve more notice than they get.

Tonight, Bones and Booth investigate the murder of a motorcycle racer whose body is found in a boiling mud pit. Murder and mud don't faze them — it's the idea of being dragged into a double date with their young therapist (John Francis Daly) that has them spooked.

As usual on Bones, much of the fun comes from the banter among the main characters, which often centers on the clash between the way "squints" and normal people see the world.

But wisely, the writers always seem to remember that funny banter, sexual tension and personal interactions are not enough to maintain a mystery/comedy.

As valuable as those assets are, they need to be attached to an interesting weekly case, or you end up with a show that's all frosting and no cake — something the folks at CW's Reaper, for example, really need to learn.

And so once again tonight, Bones offers a well-constructed mystery, one where the solution is masked by multiple viable suspects. This in a genre that often can't be bothered to come up with even one.

Does that make Bones a "great show" or a "TV classic," phrases we throw around far too casually these days? No, at least not yet. Lost is a great series; Bones is just a very good one.

And that's good enough.

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