TV show Bones and Catholicism

[gmarie21]

Does anyone watch Bones? If so, have you noticed how Catholicism seems to be entering almost every episode? Also, do you feel the show is leading up to Bones having a conversion? Agent Booth is definitely a sinner, but he seems to feel ashamed of his sins and is really trying to convince Bones about the beauty of faith. I would love to read other’s opinions of this show and its growing “faith” story lines thrown into each episode.

 

[child_of_God85]

I’ve always meant to check out this show. When does it come on?

 

[gmarie21]

Wednesdays at 7Central/8 Eastern on Fox. The reruns should be running through the holidays and it will start back up with new episodes at the end of January. It is one of my favorites (along with Lost) and I guess I was hoping to find other Catholics who watch the show since it’s one of the few that doesn’t seem to criticize Catholicism.

 

[Moxie]

Does anyone watch Bones? If so, have you noticed how Catholicism seems to be entering almost every episode? Also, do you feel the show is leading up to Bones having a conversion? Agent Booth is definitely a sinner, but he seems to feel ashamed of his sins and is really trying to convince Bones about the beauty of faith. I would love to read other’s opinions of this show and its growing “faith” story lines thrown into each episode.

I really like that they’ve been bringing this up more and more lately. I think they mean it as proof that though the two are very different, it reflects on how close they are that she can respect his beliefs even if she thinks they’re silly. And how much she’s growing as a person to not just dismiss it out of hand, and is taking his faith somewhat seriously in thinking about it and comparing it to other myths and ways of thought. I don’t think, in any way/shape/form, that they’re intending for her to start believing what he believes. I think the whole thing is meant to show her about faith in all its forms (not just religious faith), and his religion is just the easiest way to open the door on that.

I really liked how they brought it up in this week’s episode. Not so much blatantly, but I don’t think the priest being who he was was an accident. There’s a whole subtext there that I can’t articulate, but I love.

At any rate, it’s a show worth checking out, Catholic issues aside. Can I say how much I loved the look on Booth’s face when she compared Jesus to zombies? Just, ‘wtf is wrong with you?’ Priceless.

 

[gmarie21]

I also enjoyed the “gravedigger” episode where we got to see Dr. Hodgins even mention faith to her. It’s usually Booth talking about faith, but the fact that Dr. Hodgins (who is my favorite character on that show) did was awesome in my opinion (“What you have is faith. That’s faith baby!” or something along those lines). And I agree with you, the last episode with the father desguised as a father was very symbolic (I should have picked up on that, but stupid me who gets too into the characters and slowly catches up on the mystery). At least they didn’t completely butcher what is required for absolution, and the fact that Booth knew what was required was great. While his life is chaotic and sometimes sinful, he seems to be an upstanding sinner if that makes any sense.

I’m glad I’m not the only one on these boards who watches this show.

 

[Sir_Knight]

I rarely watch TV (last time I regularily watched shows in prime time, Seinfeld was still on the air) and never heard of it but after reading this, I might check it out. What’s the show about?

 

[gmarie21]

I rarely watch TV (last time I regularily watched shows in prime time, Seinfeld was still on the air) and never heard of it but after reading this, I might check it out. What’s the show about?

It’s actually based on an author (I don’t know her name). Anyway, they solve crimes by examining the bones of the victims (the victims don’t have any flesh due to various forms of death). There are two characters who are very, very science only/ lack of social skills (one being Bones, the main female character). There are other scientists who are more “with it”. There is also an FBI agent (Agent Booth) who is assigned to work with the team of scientists to solve the crimes and arrest the criminals. Booth and Bones partner up at the crime scenes as well as when they catch the bad guys.

The story lines among the characters are what makes the show extremely enjoyable to me. They’re not all about sex, they’re not out to get revenge on one another, they’re a family and a well oiled machine. The characters genuinely care for one another and look out for each other. They’re not all self-absorbed and Booth and Bones sometimes literally put themselves in danger to protect the other. When they bring in the faith dialogue, that just increases my enjoyment of the show.

So many shows seem to disregard faith as being silly. While Bones (an anthropologist) doesn’t have faith (b/c she just doesn’t get it since she was a foster child a lot of her life - which there is a running story line about her parents in the show), she respects the fact that others do. The team around her have faith in people and faith in God and they slowly try to point out to her when she is showing signs of faith (which she dismisses as her being rational for various reasons). Also, because she is socially challenged, Booth tends to correct her when she makes rude comments (b/c she doesn’t realize they’re rude), especially when it pertains to faith and God.

 

[axolotl]

It’s actually based on an author (I don’t know her name). Anyway, they solve crimes by examining the bones of the victims (the victims don’t have any flesh due to various forms of death).

The name of the author is Kathy Reichs. The Tempe Brennan in the books is a lapsed Catholic. Still part of the ‘tribe’. There are some errors in the book, such as the Little Flower having the apparitions in Lourdes.

Just avoid Cross Bones. It’s annoying.

Oh, and the remains she deals in are burned, putrefied, mummified, and skeletized.

I enjoy the show. And the books.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

Does anyone watch Bones? If so, have you noticed how Catholicism seems to be entering almost every episode? Also, do you feel the show is leading up to Bones having a conversion? Agent Booth is definitely a sinner, but he seems to feel ashamed of his sins and is really trying to convince Bones about the beauty of faith. I would love to read other’s opinions of this show and its growing “faith” story lines thrown into each episode.

Re: the bolded…Let’s see if the subject of abortion comes up. If Bones was headed toward conversion, we might see an about face if abortion were to be apart of the storyline.

I remember seeing some episodes where faith was given credence. Bones questioned it but faith was not mocked nor misrepresented. I found the treatment of faith on Bones to be unusual for television.

BTW, David Boreanaz was also raised Catholic.

 

[Moxie]

Yeah, the books and the show are completely different animals. I enjoy the show more, though as a native Montrealer I was completely in love with the first novel. I’m not sure if I’ll read more. It’s not hard to separate Tempe from Bones, because, well. Bones is a thirty year old single woman with no family who lives in Washington DC and works with the FBI. Tempe is a recovering alcoholic 40-something mother of one with friends and a sister and an (ex?) husband who splits her time between Montreal and a university in one of the Carolinas.

Bones is just more… hmm. Enjoyable to me. Though it torked me that they made the family not Catholic in the show, it totally ruined one of my fic ideas. grump

Erm, anyway. >.>