published on August 10, 2024 in Informative Details

Bones is not a great show. I watched it for 12 years anyway.

The way I started watching “Bones” is the way I have continued to consume the show over the past dozen years: while doing something else.

After flipping through channels, trying to find background noise to finish a high school essay, I stumbled on Fox’s then-new crime procedural. Though it was meant as a distraction, I became engrossed and decided to keep watching the episode. And the next week’s. And the next.

I am now 28 years old, and although much has changed in my life over the past decade-plus, “Bones” has remained steadfast. The 246th and final episode aired Tuesday night, where we learned that (spoiler alert!) everything ended as happily as it possibly could’ve. A massive explosion at the Jeffersonian was no match for its employees: All injuries and uncertain paths were neatly tied up by the end of the episode.

Despite my loyal viewership, I know that “Bones” is no “Cheers,” “M.A.S.H.” or “Friends,” going down in the annals of television history. It is a show about a ragtag group of work colleagues who solve murders by looking at corpses, deal with personal problems and still somehow find a way to write academic papers and invent new technology in a tight 42 minutes.

Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel), a genius forensic anthropologist, deals exclusively in logic. Her work counterpart is the blue-collar-at-heart FBI special agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), who always trusts his instincts. We are made aware of this opposites-attract dynamic over and over again. “The rational side of me needs to know that is true. Empirically. But statistically that’s impossible,” Brennan says in one episode. “Trust the gut, baby. Always trust the gut,” Booth says in another. (The show never dealt in subtleties.)

The other main characters — Jack Hodgins, Angela Montenegro, Cam Saroyan, James Aubrey and the dearly departed Zack Addy (institutionalized after helping a cannibalistic serial killer, natch) and Lance Sweets (shot and killed) — helped make up the emotional core, lending humor to material that could often be formulaic and trite.

When it premiered, Post TV critic Tom Shales called the Fox show “one more unnecessary series [added] to TV’s overpopulation of dramas about forensic criminology.” But it’s that exact issue — a lack of originality or surprises — that, perhaps counterintuitively, has kept viewers coming back for years. It’s the anti-prestige drama, a show that engenders no recaps or convoluted conspiracy theories. You can miss an episode and not be worried about being spoiled at work the next day. It is the perfect treadmill show: something to be watched while performing other tasks. Other procedurals such as “Law & Order” or “CSI” could also fill that space, but “Bones” had an air of levity that made it stand out. As gross and upsetting as some murders and backstories could be, a lighthearted comment or mock-disgusted reaction was never too far behind. The recyclable murder plotlines were secondary to the characters we came to know. Were Bones and Booth ever going to get together? Or Hodgins and Angela? Could Zack really be a killer?

But departing from formulaic crime-solving can be a double-edged sword. To spice it up a little after Zack’s departure in Season 4, the show employed a rotating cast of interns. While some became important characters in their own right, the large majority added little to the plot, and tended to function merely as a handy deus ex machina for Booth or Brennan’s personal issues.

The show regularly sandwiched in gimmicky and jarring cameos. A recent episode featured David Faustino, who played Bud Bundy on “Married … With Children,” as … David Faustino. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons played Angela’s dad; Cyndi Lauper portrayed a psychic named Avalon Harmonia; Betty White played an intern; Penny Marshall appeared as herself; and even “Family Guy’s” Stewie Griffin appeared in animated form. But don’t worry: Booth only saw Stewie because he was suffering from an undiagnosed brain tumor. Duh.

Tumors weren’t the only tragedy to befall the “Bones” team, who may have been the unluckiest group of people in the world. Characters suffered stalkings, kidnappings, explosions, thefts, car accidents and paralysis. They were shot at and they shot others. Three different characters were buried alive.

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“Bones” struggled to find a steady audience, which wasn’t helped by Fox’s constant time-slot moving. The show aired at a variety of times on different weekdays throughout its run. Crossovers with the network’s other shows such as “Family Guy” or “Sleepy Hollow” never proved helpful to either series. (Remember “The Finder”? Neither do we.) And of all the product placement on TV, “Bones” had the most egregious examples. Other shows may feature a car, but “Bones” will feature the car’s features. Prominently.

The show dealt with issues that meet any long-running series; a constant need for new material tends to result in a rehashing of old. After six seasons, Bones and Booth stopped their fevered will-they-won’t-they and just did, resulting in children and marriage. Angela constantly talked about returning to the art world, but never actually left the Jeffersonian. We were supposed to care about Cam and Arastoo’s wedding, but after multiple interoffice romances, we just didn’t.

And despite its longevity, the series received only two Emmy nominations: one for visual effects and one for art direction. Say what you will about the show, but its dead-body game was on point. A body melted in a tub? Sure. A man accidentally cut into bits by a hay baler? Of course.

So, when I’ve mentioned that I still watch this adult version of “Scooby Doo,” most people’s question is: Why?

The answer is simple.

“Bones” was always there. (Literally. It’s on TNT as I type.) It was a steady, innocuous presence. It was totally random that I happened upon this show 12 years ago, but much like a meet-cute in a romantic comedy, the love subtly grew. “SVU” may shake you to your core, and “Criminal Minds” may have a great group dynamic, but “Bones” and its plentiful romantic subplots and too-easily-solved homicides were mine. What else will I watch while cleaning my apartment? Which techno theme song will I get stuck in my head now? It was not the best show on TV, but it was just what I needed. I make no bones about it.

Correction: An earlier version of this post said the series finale aired Wednesday night. It was Tuesday. The article has been updated.

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