The TV series Bones is a detective drama buddy cop show where a socially awkward scientist helps a confident FBI agent solve murders.

The first few series of the show are brilliant, with Brennan (the scientist) is shown as a genius who is also good at physical fighting, taking a man down not long into the first episode. Brennan has a total disregard for what is legal as long as what she does is right. Her partner Agent Booth is the overconfident FBI guy who looks down on science, calls the scientists squints and mostly relies on his gut. I find both characters relatable in different ways and the rest of the main cast is well done too. Brennan’s outgoing friend, a conspiracy theorist who loves slime and bugs and a student who is more intelligent than anyone, the bonds that all the characters share is done with really good acting and writing which develops as the series go on.

Like any cop show there’s always a crime and a bit of personal drama that are the main focus of each episode. Obviously it’s hard to keep up producing new and interesting ideas so the show does get a bit boring after a few series. In one or two episodes they do a role switch where it’ll be a dream sequence or something and suddenly we’re watching how criminals can use similar thought processes to do things but I didn’t like these episodes as it just didn’t sit well with me.

Once it gets boring there’s more focus from the viewer on the serial killer episodes. A few times every series a murder will happen that links to an overarching plot with a more developed villain that usually ends up threatening the team as well as the public. The amount of effort and time put into these means the whole plot around these killers – both criminal plot and personal character plot – end up being the main reason to watch the show and it’s great that it never got to go stale.

Overall, Bones is one of those American TV comedy dramas that could stand the test of time and still be worth watching in fifty years.