yoyo0020 Reviews

Bones (2005–2017)

Very Good

[10/10 · 22 August 2007]

This show reminds me of Homicide, but with mostly forensic scientists instead of mostly cops. Like in Homicide, the crimes are important, yes, but there's always a (usually) satisfying subplot involving the character's relationships to one another, their lives, or their feelings towards their jobs. The characters are likable and believable, without becoming caricatures, and the writing is generally decent. There's dark humor in the show as well, but it doesn't overpower the dramatic center of it. The two main characters are Det. Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. While Brennan doesn't actually work for the FBI, she and her "squint squad" (why are they called this? they squint at things, according to Booth) help out the FBI when they come across someone's body, and need to find out how they died, where they died, and who they are. The squad contains Angela, Brennan's best friend (and polar opposite), an artist who reconstructs people's faces using their skulls. The other two members of the squad are Jack Hodgins, a conspiracy theorist who works mostly with insects and dirt, and Brennan's naive genius grad-student assistant, Zack.

As previously stated, the show deals not just with the crimes that these characters solve, but with how they relate to and deal with one another on a regular basis. The descriptions I've written of the characters don't do them justice, because unlike many writers on television shows, the writers on 'Bones' take the time to develop all of them.

All in all, one of the better TV shows out there today, and definitely one of the best dramas.

Stuck in the Suburbs (2004 TV Movie)

It could have been good...

[3/10 · 9 August 2007]

...if only Disney had stayed away from it. See, I think that this movie has some potential. Well, the main character's situation does, at least. Take out the whole Jordan Cahill thing, and you've got the beginnings of a decent movie! Of course, you also lose more than half of the film, but, oh well. Not that much of a loss.

So, here it goes: you take a typical, preppy, suburban teenage girl (Danielle Panabaker, who's actually a decent actress) whose best friends screech a lot, mostly over a "pop sensation" (I'm assuming it's a direct quote from the movie; movie's like this almost always involve that particular phrase) named Jordan Cahill. Except, of course, TPSTG wants more out of life. Enter Brenda Song's character, a sophisticated individual who is just what TPSTG needs (honestly, I don't care what the character's real name is, I like the acronym better). The two new friends go to see Jordan Cahill (one to drool, one to make fun of the droolers), and they come out of it with his cell phone. Hijinks ensue, and everything turns out alright in the end.

If only Disney, or any major film studio for that matter, didn't have such a low opinion of 8 to 14 year olds. Or maybe if 8 to 14 year olds expected a little more out of the movies targeted at them. It's sugar-coated crap like this that make me more than a little unsure who to be more disgusted with (a little film called 'High School Musical' comes to mind...)