Stars: David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley, Michael Grant Terry
Writer: Stephen Nathan
Director: Ian Toynton
Network: Fox, Thursdays @ 9 PM
Airdate: November 3, 2011

Season 7 has a nice sturdy ring to it. Relatively few TV shows last this long. BONES enters this hallowed territory with the charm of its banter and character dynamics very much intact. The mystery of the week winds up feeling more peripheral than usual, but that’s not why most viewers tune in to BONES in the first place.

Pleasingly little has changed in the dynamics between Brennan (Emily Deschanel), now five months pregnant, and Booth (David Boreanaz), even though they are now openly a couple. Booth still doesn’t get it when Brennan veers away from social norms and Brennan still uses logic and obscure knowledge, sometimes usefully, sometimes in a vacuum. There is tension between the pair over whether they will move in together and, if so, whether it will be Brennan’s home (as she desires) or a new place (Booth’s wish).

Meanwhile, there’s a murder to solve. A paintball player literally stumbles over the shallow grave of a recently-buried woman, who turns out to have suffered from amnesia and six-months-ago beatings before she was murdered. There are plenty of suspects, but the culprit turns out to be a psychiatrist with a gambling problem.

Despite Brennan’s hormones kicking in and causing her to tear up at the crime scene, the characters don’t have a lot of emotional/empathetic investment in this case. Booth does suss out some motivations due to his now-conquered gambling addiction, but even more than usual, the heart of “Memories” is with its characters.

Besides the enjoyable back and forth between Booth and Brennan, we also get some fun parental stuff with Hodgins (T.J. Thyne), Angela (Michaela Conlin) and their young son. Squintern Wendell (Michael Grant Terry) tries not to annoy lab boss Cam (Tamara Taylor), and Terry and Conlin inject a nice, subtle undercurrent of affection and regret between Wendell and ex-girlfriend Angela. Sweets (John Francis Daley) is given an investigative function this time around, so his nosing into the Brennan/Booth situation doesn’t read as unprofessional, just intrusive.

One could quibble with a certain lack of logic in the supposedly ultra-rational Brennan’s viewpoint. Once she stops using some really obscure historical points to justify her wish to remain in her current dwelling and agrees that she and Booth should get a new home together, Booth then asserts that the purchase should be what he (who makes less money) can afford, not what Brennan can afford. But if they are a family, as both conclude, shouldn’t his money and her money be their money? Maybe this issue will be raised in future episodes.

In any event, “The Memories in the Shallow Grave” isn’t too deep (sorry) as episodes go, but it’s fun and retains the essential voice of BONES.

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 Click on Link: Fox says it would like to see BONES continue past Season 7

Click on Link: TEN THINGS WE WANT TO SEE IN SEASON 7 OF BONES

Click on link: AX’s review of BONES – Season 6 finale – “The Change in the Game”

CLICK HERE for Part 1 of AX’s EXCLUSIVE HART HANSON Interview

CLICK HERE for Part 2 of AX’s EXCLUSIVE HART HANSON INTERVIEW

CLICK HERE to find out the status of BONES – Season 7 Renewal

CLICK HERE to find out more info on the forthcoming ANGEL AND FAITH comic books

CLICK HERE for ASSIGNMENT X’s EXCLUSIVE DAVID BOREANAZ INTERVIEW

CLICK HERE for ASSIGNMENT X’s Exclusive EMILY DESCHANEL interview

CLICK HERE for AX’s Review of BONES – “The Blackout in the Blizzard”

CLICK HERE for AX’s EXCLUSIVE interview with BONES star MICHAELA CONLIN

CLICK HERE for AX’s review of BONES – “The Killer in the Crosshairs”

CLICK HERE for AX’s exclusive interview with JOHN FRANCIS DALEY

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: TV Review: BONES – Season 7 premiere – The Memories in the Shallow Grace

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