[COLOR= black]The sixth season was a watershed year for Fox’s Bones, a year that brought a monumental change for its two focal characters and some major changes in the lives of some of the supporting characters as well. To get there, fans were asked to suffer through one of the most uncomfortable and unengaging romantic set-ups in recent memory and witness the death of one of the show’s most appealing supporting players. Still, with the changes coming late in the season, the majority of this year’s episodes followed the tried-and-true format of this breezy procedural: intriguing murder cases solved by a combination of forensic know-how, seriocomic confrontations, and sly detective work.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Bones: The Complete Sixth Season (Blu-ray)[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Directed by Dwight Little et al
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Year: 2010-2011[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Aspect Ratio:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 1004 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish, French[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Region: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]A[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]MSRP: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]$49.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Release Date: October 11, 2011[/COLOR]
Review Date: October 14, 2011
The Season
4/5
Foremost to the success of Bones is the undeniably endearing chemistry between its two leading actors: David Boreanaz as crack FBI agent Seeley Booth and Emily Deschanel as genius forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. The give and take between these two marvelous actors make even the weakest cases the team investigates a delight: he a take-no-prisoners ex-sniper with an aversion to cold logic and scientific doggerel and she somewhat lacking in social skills but with a brilliant mind and a childlike innocence in the face of sometimes unspeakable horror. She works at the Jeffersonian Institution in Washington, D.C., under the thumb of institute boss Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor). Under her are particulates expert Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and artist, IT guru, facial reconstructionist, and best friend Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin). Assisting on cases and also part of Booth and Brennan’s psychological team is young Dr. Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley) whose role in interrogation of suspects has grown exponentially over the past couple of seasons. The show continues with its round-robin carousel of six interns, all with unmistakable (and sometimes endearing, sometimes irritating) quirks. Repeating as the most appealing of the six who rotate throughout season six and the two who make the most frequent appearances are Ryan Cartwright (four episodes this season) as Vincent Nigel-Murray, knowledgeable possessor of all-things trivial (which he shares freely much to the irritation of the entire lab), and the all-American, down-to-earth Wendell Bray (Michael Grant Terry in seven episodes this season) whose normalcy in the midst of the lab’s overwhelming eccentricity is always a breath of fresh air for the show. Also part of the group are the sweet-natured Islamic Arastoo Vaziri (Pej Vahdat) and Joel David Moore’s comically nihilistic Colin Fisher. The least entertaining continue to be Eugene Byrd as Clark Edison (who this season reverses his aversion to gossipy insider information but remains the most off-putting of the interns) and Carla Gallo as the clueless, eternally chattering Daisy Wick (who continues to have a bumpy romantic relationship with Dr. Sweets).
Six season is a more serious overall season for the show what with a dangerous sniper (Arnold Vosloo) on the loose for a three-episode story arc that continues throughout the season after he offs Heather Taffet/The Gravedigger (Deirdre Lovejoy). There are back-to-back poignant episodes late in the season as the team must deal with a deaf mute who’s stabbed a man to death and then the team must cope with the loss of one of its own. But the biggest news of the season involves Booth’s love life. The introduction of news reporter Hannah Burley (Katheryn Winnick) early in the season is not only a roadblock to the eventual coupling of Booth and Brennan but a monumental bit of miscasting on the part of the show’s producers. No only is Katheryn Winnick a mediocre actress at best with a droning speaking voice and no chemistry at all with David Boreanaz, but fans had to witness Brennan week after week have her heart broken by their “happy” coupling. And with Angela’s pregnancy giving a level of bliss to that couple (though she and Hodgins must cope with some devastating news about their impending child) and Cam finding a boy friend of her own late in the season, Brennan’s continual disappointment and frustration were more a downer than perhaps the producers realized. The final two episodes of the season set the show off on a different emotional course for season seven, and one expects a potentially different vibe on the show come November when it returns to the air.
Here are the twenty-three episodes which are contained on four discs in this season six set. Names in parentheses refer to participants in that episode’s audio commentary.
1 – The Mastodon in the Room
2 – The Couple in the Cave
3 – The Maggots in the Meathead
4 – The Body and the Bounty
5 – The Bones That Weren’t
6 – The Shallow in the Deep
7 – The Babe in the Bar
8 – The Twisted Bones in the Melted Truck
9 – The Doctor in the Photo (Hart Hanson, Stephen Nathan, Ian Toynton)
10 – The Body in the Bag
11 – The Bullet in the Brain
12 – The Sin in the Sisterhood
13 – The Daredevil in the Mold
14 – The Bikini in the Soup
15 – The Killer in the Crosshairs
16 – The Blackout in the Blizzard (David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel)
17 – The Feet on the Beach
18 – The Truth in the Myth
19 – The Finder (backdoor pilot for Bones’ midseason replacement)
20 – The Pinocchio in the Planter
21 – The Signs in the Silence
22 – The Hole in the Heart
23 – The Change in the Game
Video Quality
4.5/5
The program is presented in its television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p transfers using the AVC codec. The show has a warm look to much of the cinematography, and the transfer capture it beautifully in sharp, colorful detail with very natural flesh tones. There are occasional soft scenes, there is minor aliasing in a couple of episodes, and black levels aren’t always at their potentially deepest, but overall the series looks marvelous in these very appealing high definition transfers. Each episode has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix uses music as the primary inhabitant of the front and rear surround channels, and yet it’s placed so masterfully that it seems to almost hover over the proceedings constantly and makes for a very ingratiating experience. There are occasional ambient sounds of voices in the lab and some whooshing sound effects with vehicles as they speed to crime scenes along with some explosions which offer some work for the subwoofer apart from the music.
Special Features
3.5/5
There are two audio commentaries. Creator Hart Henson, producer Stephen Nathan, and director Ian Toynton contribute the first one. Hanson does most of the talking, but very little of interest gets said. At this point, we know they love their actors, and that the crew does masterful jobs each week within the limited frame of their shooting schedule, but apart from a few directorial comments from Toynton, very little is discussed about the making of the episode. The conversation between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel is chatty and marvelously funny and supportive. Boreanaz directed the episode they’re commenting on, so there is more behind-the-scenes talk as he discusses individual shots and things which he feels worked or didn’t work.
There are two extended episodes (episodes #13 and #14) which may be chosen prior to the screening of the episode from the episode menu. Each adds about 1 ½ minutes to the running time of the broadcast episode.
“Breaking Down: ‘The Blackout in the Blizzard’” is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the season’s trickiest-to-film episodes (Booth and Brennan spend most of it trapped in an elevator) and features all of the central actors along with producer Stephen Nathan discussing their preference for these “bottle episodes” (shows where the cast in contained in one location). This runs 8 ¼ minutes in 1080p.
The season six gag reel runs 4 ½ minutes in 1080p.
“The Visual Effects of Bones” introduces us to Christian Cardona who heads up the visual effects department for the show. He discusses various episodes during the season which presented the most challenging effects for his department to produce. This 1080p featurette runs 11 ¾ minutes.
The pilot episode for The Killing is offered for viewing in 1080p and runs 45 ½ minutes.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Bones, one of network television’s premiere procedurals that mixes smart mystery plots with a brash, slick, and sexy team of investigators set on discovering the truth amid some of the most grisly murders imaginable, continues with a most effective season six despite a few bumps and bruises (and pregnancies) along the way. The Blu-ray release is certainly the way to see the series on home video, and there are a few interesting bonus features thrown into the mix. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
[COLOR= black]Bones: The Complete Sixth Season (Blu-ray)[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Directed by Dwight Little et al
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Year: 2010-2011[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Aspect Ratio:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 1004 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish, French[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Region: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]A[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]MSRP: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]$49.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Release Date: October 11, 2011[/COLOR]
Review Date: October 14, 2011
The Season
4/5
Foremost to the success of Bones is the undeniably endearing chemistry between its two leading actors: David Boreanaz as crack FBI agent Seeley Booth and Emily Deschanel as genius forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. The give and take between these two marvelous actors make even the weakest cases the team investigates a delight: he a take-no-prisoners ex-sniper with an aversion to cold logic and scientific doggerel and she somewhat lacking in social skills but with a brilliant mind and a childlike innocence in the face of sometimes unspeakable horror. She works at the Jeffersonian Institution in Washington, D.C., under the thumb of institute boss Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor). Under her are particulates expert Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and artist, IT guru, facial reconstructionist, and best friend Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin). Assisting on cases and also part of Booth and Brennan’s psychological team is young Dr. Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley) whose role in interrogation of suspects has grown exponentially over the past couple of seasons. The show continues with its round-robin carousel of six interns, all with unmistakable (and sometimes endearing, sometimes irritating) quirks. Repeating as the most appealing of the six who rotate throughout season six and the two who make the most frequent appearances are Ryan Cartwright (four episodes this season) as Vincent Nigel-Murray, knowledgeable possessor of all-things trivial (which he shares freely much to the irritation of the entire lab), and the all-American, down-to-earth Wendell Bray (Michael Grant Terry in seven episodes this season) whose normalcy in the midst of the lab’s overwhelming eccentricity is always a breath of fresh air for the show. Also part of the group are the sweet-natured Islamic Arastoo Vaziri (Pej Vahdat) and Joel David Moore’s comically nihilistic Colin Fisher. The least entertaining continue to be Eugene Byrd as Clark Edison (who this season reverses his aversion to gossipy insider information but remains the most off-putting of the interns) and Carla Gallo as the clueless, eternally chattering Daisy Wick (who continues to have a bumpy romantic relationship with Dr. Sweets).
Six season is a more serious overall season for the show what with a dangerous sniper (Arnold Vosloo) on the loose for a three-episode story arc that continues throughout the season after he offs Heather Taffet/The Gravedigger (Deirdre Lovejoy). There are back-to-back poignant episodes late in the season as the team must deal with a deaf mute who’s stabbed a man to death and then the team must cope with the loss of one of its own. But the biggest news of the season involves Booth’s love life. The introduction of news reporter Hannah Burley (Katheryn Winnick) early in the season is not only a roadblock to the eventual coupling of Booth and Brennan but a monumental bit of miscasting on the part of the show’s producers. No only is Katheryn Winnick a mediocre actress at best with a droning speaking voice and no chemistry at all with David Boreanaz, but fans had to witness Brennan week after week have her heart broken by their “happy” coupling. And with Angela’s pregnancy giving a level of bliss to that couple (though she and Hodgins must cope with some devastating news about their impending child) and Cam finding a boy friend of her own late in the season, Brennan’s continual disappointment and frustration were more a downer than perhaps the producers realized. The final two episodes of the season set the show off on a different emotional course for season seven, and one expects a potentially different vibe on the show come November when it returns to the air.
Here are the twenty-three episodes which are contained on four discs in this season six set. Names in parentheses refer to participants in that episode’s audio commentary.
1 – The Mastodon in the Room
2 – The Couple in the Cave
3 – The Maggots in the Meathead
4 – The Body and the Bounty
5 – The Bones That Weren’t
6 – The Shallow in the Deep
7 – The Babe in the Bar
8 – The Twisted Bones in the Melted Truck
9 – The Doctor in the Photo (Hart Hanson, Stephen Nathan, Ian Toynton)
10 – The Body in the Bag
11 – The Bullet in the Brain
12 – The Sin in the Sisterhood
13 – The Daredevil in the Mold
14 – The Bikini in the Soup
15 – The Killer in the Crosshairs
16 – The Blackout in the Blizzard (David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel)
17 – The Feet on the Beach
18 – The Truth in the Myth
19 – The Finder (backdoor pilot for Bones’ midseason replacement)
20 – The Pinocchio in the Planter
21 – The Signs in the Silence
22 – The Hole in the Heart
23 – The Change in the Game
Video Quality
4.5/5
The program is presented in its television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p transfers using the AVC codec. The show has a warm look to much of the cinematography, and the transfer capture it beautifully in sharp, colorful detail with very natural flesh tones. There are occasional soft scenes, there is minor aliasing in a couple of episodes, and black levels aren’t always at their potentially deepest, but overall the series looks marvelous in these very appealing high definition transfers. Each episode has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix uses music as the primary inhabitant of the front and rear surround channels, and yet it’s placed so masterfully that it seems to almost hover over the proceedings constantly and makes for a very ingratiating experience. There are occasional ambient sounds of voices in the lab and some whooshing sound effects with vehicles as they speed to crime scenes along with some explosions which offer some work for the subwoofer apart from the music.
Special Features
3.5/5
There are two audio commentaries. Creator Hart Henson, producer Stephen Nathan, and director Ian Toynton contribute the first one. Hanson does most of the talking, but very little of interest gets said. At this point, we know they love their actors, and that the crew does masterful jobs each week within the limited frame of their shooting schedule, but apart from a few directorial comments from Toynton, very little is discussed about the making of the episode. The conversation between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel is chatty and marvelously funny and supportive. Boreanaz directed the episode they’re commenting on, so there is more behind-the-scenes talk as he discusses individual shots and things which he feels worked or didn’t work.
There are two extended episodes (episodes #13 and #14) which may be chosen prior to the screening of the episode from the episode menu. Each adds about 1 ½ minutes to the running time of the broadcast episode.
“Breaking Down: ‘The Blackout in the Blizzard’” is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the season’s trickiest-to-film episodes (Booth and Brennan spend most of it trapped in an elevator) and features all of the central actors along with producer Stephen Nathan discussing their preference for these “bottle episodes” (shows where the cast in contained in one location). This runs 8 ¼ minutes in 1080p.
The season six gag reel runs 4 ½ minutes in 1080p.
“The Visual Effects of Bones” introduces us to Christian Cardona who heads up the visual effects department for the show. He discusses various episodes during the season which presented the most challenging effects for his department to produce. This 1080p featurette runs 11 ¾ minutes.
The pilot episode for The Killing is offered for viewing in 1080p and runs 45 ½ minutes.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Bones, one of network television’s premiere procedurals that mixes smart mystery plots with a brash, slick, and sexy team of investigators set on discovering the truth amid some of the most grisly murders imaginable, continues with a most effective season six despite a few bumps and bruises (and pregnancies) along the way. The Blu-ray release is certainly the way to see the series on home video, and there are a few interesting bonus features thrown into the mix. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
