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Pilot (Bones)
Encyclopedia
"Pilot" is the first episode of the television series Bones
, which premiered on the FOX network
on September 13, 2005. It is written by series creator Hart Hanson
and directed by Greg Yaitanes
. It introduces the two main characters of the series, Dr. Temperance Brennan
(played by Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth
(played by David Boreanaz
), and their partnership in solving cases involving unidentified human remains.
, where she was identifying victims of genocide
, renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan is accosted at the airport by an agent from Homeland Security
for carrying a human skull in her bag. Upon the arrival of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, Brennan is released, which she finds odd and realizes that it was his plot to get her to help him on an FBI case. She refuses to help until Booth promises her full participation in the case.
At the crime scene, Brennan and Booth find decomposed human remains with only the bones remaining. Brennan and her assistant, Zack Addy
(Eric Millegan
), determine the victim is a woman 18 to 22 years old and was a tennis player. Back at the Jeffersonian Institute, Brennan argues with her boss, Dr. Daniel Goodman, for assigning her to work with other federal agencies without consulting her.
Inside the Medico-Legal Lab of the Jeffersonian Institute, Brennan examines the victim's remains while her colleagues inquire about the resemblances between themselves and the characters in her new book, Bred in the Bone. Dr. Jack Hodgins
(T. J. Thyne
), an entomologist
, finds that the victim has been in the pond for more than two summers. Hodgins has also found small bone fragments in the silt
, which he guesses are rana temporaria or, simply, frog bones. Angela Montenegro
(Michaela Conlin
), a forensic artist, uses a computer program she has developed, called the Angelator, to make a three-dimensional holographic reconstruction of the reassembled skull. The victim is revealed to be Cleo Louise Eller, a missing senate intern who was rumored to have had an affair with Senator Bethlehem.
Brennan wants to confront the Senator but Booth argues that he is not the only suspect. The Senator's aide, Ken Thompson, was Cleo's boyfriend. There is also Cleo's stalker, Oliver Laurier. Booth tells Brennan that they have a major case and that FBI Deputy Director Cullen is going to want to set up a special unit to investigate. To do everything by the book he wants her to stay at her lab; but Brennan coerces Booth into agreeing to let her come with him into the field.
Based on the particulates embedded in Cleo's skull, Hodgins determines that Cleo's skull may have been smashed by a sledgehammer on a cement floor with diatomaceous earth
. By the distinctive damage done to her finger pads and the way the body was hidden, the team determines that the murderer had put a lot of effort into hiding the body. Hodgins also reveals that Cleo was taking medicine for her depression, while Brennan realizes that the small bones found with Cleo's body are not frog bones but fetal ear bones, indicating Cleo Eller was pregnant.
Hodgins, a devout conspiracy theorist, convinces Brennan that they may never find the truth because Senator Bethlehem will impede the investigation. Without telling Booth, Brennan recklessly confronts the Senator. Consequently, Deputy Director Cullen removes Booth from the case, but Brennan refuses to give up. With the help of her fellow scientists, she uncovers evidence that Cleo Eller's boyfriend Ken Thompson, had killed Cleo because he feared the scandal Cleo's pregnancy would cause and affect his career.
, "I don't know what that means".
In the pilot, Brennan reveals she is ignorant of The X-Files
when Booth remarks, "We're Scully and Mulder."
, filming of the pilot and subsequent episodes primarily took place in Los Angeles, California
. Footage of Washington, D.C. was shot by the second unit with body double
s. The first scene featuring the characters Angela Montenegro and Dr. Temperance Brennan inside Washington Dulles International Airport
was actually shot at Los Angeles Convention Center
, while the opening shot
of a plane landing was taken from footage filmed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
.
Series creator and writer Hart Hanson describes the murder victim at the center of the episode as a "Chandra-Levy-type
congressional intern". The story alludes to the power of politicians and allowed Hanson to establish the character of Dr. Temperance Brennan, who is driven to find the truth despite the barriers presented by politics.
premiered in 2001. Bones finished first among the 18 to 49 years old demographic and in total viewers in its Tuesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot.
Based on the episode, New York
described the show as "the best drama of the new network season" and a "sexed-up variation of all the CSIs". Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly
writes that although Bones has a "pretty standard Crossing Jordan/CSI-style framework", its main attraction is the chemistry between the two lead characters; "that old Sam-and-Diane
, Maddie-and-David
, Mulder-and-Scully
opposites-attract stuff never feels standard when it's done right." Similarly, USA Today
comments that compared to other crime shows, the show "is built on a more traditional and solid foundation: the strength of its characters" and "what sets Tuesday's Bones premiere apart from the procedural pack are stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, as the season's most appealing new crime fighters."
On the other hand, Media Life Magazine says that while Bones has "an amazingly clever notion, brilliant even", its "execution doesn't match the conception" and "fails to evolve into a gripping series. In fact, it quickly becomes so derivative of so much else on television - especially, strangely, X-Files - that one might even call it bone-headed." In the opinion of Variety
's Brian Lowry, the pilot lacked originality. He writes: "'Bones' aspires to achieve a mix of 'House
' and 'X-Files
' chic (there's even a reference to Scully and Mulder), but for the most part its playful banter feels forced and the way-cool visual flourishes overly familiar. What's left, then, is another crime procedural with a not-especially-fresh twist, which, admittedly, has proved a surprisingly durable skeleton over which to drape new dramas."
's album The Invitation.
The song played when Dr. Brennan is re-constructing the skull is "Collide" by Howie Day
.
The song played in the senator's house is "Teardrop" by Massive Attack
.
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
, which premiered on the FOX network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on September 13, 2005. It is written by series creator Hart Hanson
Hart Hanson
Hart Hanson is an American television writer and producer. Hanson's family moved to Canada when he was a child. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a MFA from the University of British Columbia, where he taught briefly...
and directed by Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes is an American television and film director.-Directing career:*Damages **"Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker" **"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" *Lost...
. It introduces the two main characters of the series, Dr. Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. , is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones...
(played by Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth
Seeley Booth
FBI Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series, Bones , portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr...
(played by David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
), and their partnership in solving cases involving unidentified human remains.
Summary
Returning to Washington, D.C., after two months in GuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, where she was identifying victims of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan is accosted at the airport by an agent from Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
for carrying a human skull in her bag. Upon the arrival of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, Brennan is released, which she finds odd and realizes that it was his plot to get her to help him on an FBI case. She refuses to help until Booth promises her full participation in the case.
At the crime scene, Brennan and Booth find decomposed human remains with only the bones remaining. Brennan and her assistant, Zack Addy
Zack Addy
Zachary Uriah 'Zack' Addy, Ph.D is a fictional character in the television series Bones. He is portrayed by Eric Millegan. The character was introduced as Dr...
(Eric Millegan
Eric Millegan
Eric Millegan is an American actor, primarily known for his work on the Fox series Bones in which he played Dr. Zack Addy. Millegan is openly gay, and was out before being cast as Zack Addy in Bones.-Biography:...
), determine the victim is a woman 18 to 22 years old and was a tennis player. Back at the Jeffersonian Institute, Brennan argues with her boss, Dr. Daniel Goodman, for assigning her to work with other federal agencies without consulting her.
Inside the Medico-Legal Lab of the Jeffersonian Institute, Brennan examines the victim's remains while her colleagues inquire about the resemblances between themselves and the characters in her new book, Bred in the Bone. Dr. Jack Hodgins
Jack Hodgins (Bones)
Dr. Jack Stanley Hodgins IV, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the American television series, Bones. He is portrayed by T. J. Thyne. Jack is introduced to the series primarily as an entomologist/forensic entomologist, but also as a mineralogist/forensic mineralogist, a palynology/forensic...
(T. J. Thyne
T. J. Thyne
Thomas Joseph "T.J." Thyne is an American film and television actor. He was born in Boston to John J. Thyne II and Catherine Thyne, and has five siblings, John, Tone, Hazel, Katie and Shelly. He is best known for his work on Bones as Dr. Jack Hodgins, an entomologist.-Background:T.J...
), an entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, finds that the victim has been in the pond for more than two summers. Hodgins has also found small bone fragments in the silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
, which he guesses are rana temporaria or, simply, frog bones. Angela Montenegro
Angela Montenegro
Angela Pearly-Gates Montenegro Hodgins is a fictional character in the television series Bones , portrayed by Michaela Conlin...
(Michaela Conlin
Michaela Conlin
Michaela Conlin is an American stage and television actress best known for her work on the Fox TV series Bones, as Angela Montenegro.-Early life:...
), a forensic artist, uses a computer program she has developed, called the Angelator, to make a three-dimensional holographic reconstruction of the reassembled skull. The victim is revealed to be Cleo Louise Eller, a missing senate intern who was rumored to have had an affair with Senator Bethlehem.
Brennan wants to confront the Senator but Booth argues that he is not the only suspect. The Senator's aide, Ken Thompson, was Cleo's boyfriend. There is also Cleo's stalker, Oliver Laurier. Booth tells Brennan that they have a major case and that FBI Deputy Director Cullen is going to want to set up a special unit to investigate. To do everything by the book he wants her to stay at her lab; but Brennan coerces Booth into agreeing to let her come with him into the field.
Based on the particulates embedded in Cleo's skull, Hodgins determines that Cleo's skull may have been smashed by a sledgehammer on a cement floor with diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to...
. By the distinctive damage done to her finger pads and the way the body was hidden, the team determines that the murderer had put a lot of effort into hiding the body. Hodgins also reveals that Cleo was taking medicine for her depression, while Brennan realizes that the small bones found with Cleo's body are not frog bones but fetal ear bones, indicating Cleo Eller was pregnant.
Hodgins, a devout conspiracy theorist, convinces Brennan that they may never find the truth because Senator Bethlehem will impede the investigation. Without telling Booth, Brennan recklessly confronts the Senator. Consequently, Deputy Director Cullen removes Booth from the case, but Brennan refuses to give up. With the help of her fellow scientists, she uncovers evidence that Cleo Eller's boyfriend Ken Thompson, had killed Cleo because he feared the scandal Cleo's pregnancy would cause and affect his career.
Cultural references
Almost every episode of Season 1 contains a popular culture reference to which the character Dr. Temperance Brennan replies with her catch phraseCatch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
, "I don't know what that means".
In the pilot, Brennan reveals she is ignorant of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
when Booth remarks, "We're Scully and Mulder."
Production details
Despite the fact that the series is set in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, filming of the pilot and subsequent episodes primarily took place in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Footage of Washington, D.C. was shot by the second unit with body double
Body double
A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined,...
s. The first scene featuring the characters Angela Montenegro and Dr. Temperance Brennan inside Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
was actually shot at Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles Convention Center
The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in the southwest portion of downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show and Anime Expo, and is best known to video games fans as host to E3...
, while the opening shot
Shot (film)
In film, a shot is a continuous strip of motion picture film, created of a series of frames, that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Shots are generally filmed with a single camera and can be of any duration. A shot in production, defined by the beginning and end of a capturing process, is...
of a plane landing was taken from footage filmed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
.
Series creator and writer Hart Hanson describes the murder victim at the center of the episode as a "Chandra-Levy-type
Chandra Levy
Chandra Ann Levy was an American intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park in May 2002...
congressional intern". The story alludes to the power of politicians and allowed Hanson to establish the character of Dr. Temperance Brennan, who is driven to find the truth despite the barriers presented by politics.
Response
The pilot episode of Bones attracted an average of 10.8 million viewers with 6.7% household share and 11% household rating. It was the highest number of viewers Fox has received for a primetime Tuesday-night drama series premiere since 2424 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
premiered in 2001. Bones finished first among the 18 to 49 years old demographic and in total viewers in its Tuesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot.
Based on the episode, New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
described the show as "the best drama of the new network season" and a "sexed-up variation of all the CSIs". Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writes that although Bones has a "pretty standard Crossing Jordan/CSI-style framework", its main attraction is the chemistry between the two lead characters; "that old Sam-and-Diane
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, Maddie-and-David
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
, Mulder-and-Scully
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
opposites-attract stuff never feels standard when it's done right." Similarly, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
comments that compared to other crime shows, the show "is built on a more traditional and solid foundation: the strength of its characters" and "what sets Tuesday's Bones premiere apart from the procedural pack are stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, as the season's most appealing new crime fighters."
On the other hand, Media Life Magazine says that while Bones has "an amazingly clever notion, brilliant even", its "execution doesn't match the conception" and "fails to evolve into a gripping series. In fact, it quickly becomes so derivative of so much else on television - especially, strangely, X-Files - that one might even call it bone-headed." In the opinion of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
's Brian Lowry, the pilot lacked originality. He writes: "'Bones' aspires to achieve a mix of 'House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
' and 'X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
' chic (there's even a reference to Scully and Mulder), but for the most part its playful banter feels forced and the way-cool visual flourishes overly familiar. What's left, then, is another crime procedural with a not-especially-fresh twist, which, admittedly, has proved a surprisingly durable skeleton over which to drape new dramas."
Music
The song played during the funeral scene is "Gone", from Thirteen SensesThirteen Senses
Thirteen Senses are a post-britpop band from Penzance, Cornwall. The group released the album The Invitation on 27 September 2004, along with several singles: "Thru the Glass", "Do No Wrong", "Into the Fire" and "The Salt Wound Routine", of which the first three have reached the UK Top 40...
's album The Invitation.
The song played when Dr. Brennan is re-constructing the skull is "Collide" by Howie Day
Howie Day
Howard Kern "Howie" Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself...
.
The song played in the senator's house is "Teardrop" by Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
.
External links
- "Pilot" at Fox.com