"Bones" Aliens in a Spaceship (2006)

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Director:

Craig Ross Jr.

Writers:

Hart Hanson (creator)
Kathy Reichs (inspiration)

TV Series:

"Bones" (2005)

Original Air Date:

15 November 2006 (Season 2, Episode 9)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

When Hodgins and Brennan are buried alive, it's a race against time and a kidnapper who doesn't negotiate.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Ultimatum | Buried Alive | FBI | Forensic

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10

8:00 PM

TNT

Aliens in a Spaceship

#2.9

Cast

Emily Deschanel	...	Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan
David Boreanaz	...	Special Agent Seeley Booth
Michaela Conlin	...	Angela Montenegro
Eric Millegan	...	Zack Addy
Tamara Taylor	...	Dr. Camille Saroyan
T.J. Thyne	...	Dr. Jack Hodgins (as TJ Thyne)
Benito Martinez	...	Thomas Vega
Julie Ann Emery	...	Janine O'Connell
Charles Mesure	...	Pete Sanders
James McDonnell	...	James Kent
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Kurland
Rich McDonald	...	Pennsylvania Cop

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Continuity: When Brennan is comparing the Gravedigger to God, we first see the car from the outside and the windows are up. The next shot is from the inside and the windows are down, but there's no wind (you'd be able to see it in her hair).

Quotes:

Special Agent Seeley Booth: The Grave Digger is not God, Bones, because God does not make mistakes.
Angela Montenegro: Mmm I don't know. Putting testicles on the outside didn't seem like such a good idea.

Soundtrack:

Never Know

Buried alive

Though the theme of this episode, which involves the main characters being buried alive has become pretty common ( mainly since Tarantino's Kill Bill movies and his two CSI episodes,) here it is well executed and fits into the series really well.

Temperance and Booth discover two corpses left by the mysterious "Gravedigger", a villain that buries his victims alive asking for ransom within a time limit. He also abducts Temperance and buries her alive along with Hodges. While the most obvious couple of characters buried alive in a car would be Temperance and Booth the episode works because it takes advantage of their confessions to each other throwing light to both Booth/Brennan and Hodges/Angela's relationships (especially to the latter which has been on the spotlight throughout the season)…The episode, in general, throws some more light into it's "secondary" characters and the ways they are connected making them appear more than just a few "squints" (to quote Agent Booth's characterization).

We also see, for the first time, the spiritual side of Temperance and what she thinks about God. Her skepticism serves the episode well in terms of dialog and gives depth to her character.

Trapping the main characters into a car deep underground doesn't lead the series out of the fields of science. As Temperance and Hodgins are trapped inside the car they try to find ways to survive, including how to cope with Hodgin's wounds (he was hit by "Gravedigger's" car) and how to communicate with the outside world etc. Thus though with time the agony elevates, the series does not enter the field of "scare tactics" and maintains its focus. As for the ending it showcases the slow changes in Temperance's psyche and brings her a bit closer to Agent Booth. A crime novelist that follows "Gravedigger's" path is also shown here (played by "shield's" Benito Martinez) but his character is not analyzed thoroughly (but that's way to much to expect from a 40 minutes episode and the ending definitely leaves space for him to appear in the future?).

In all one of the best episodes of the second, much improved series, which demonstrates its true quality in characters and script writing. Another proof why a good forensic show can be effective and satisfying in many levels.