Hello! I hope you are having a great day so far.
I have to admit that this isn’t one of my all time favorite episodes. I, like others, often pine for the ‘olden days’ of better writing or characterization, etc, and I think that is valid. But also, it’s not as if every season one episode was an absolute gem. Of course, some of you may love this episode very much. For me, it’s not one that I usually even remember. Creepy coroner, pirates, and oh yeah, Brennan slaps a guy–that is usually what I remember.
But when I re-watched it for this post, there were moments I laughed at, and I enjoyed it more than I didn’t. But one thing that stuck out to me was that Cullen and Goodman were in this episode. We have talked a little about Dr. Goodman before, but what I’m wondering is this…if you could choose one character from the past (let’s say the first three seasons) to still be on the show (not as a comeback, but that the character remained active), which would it be and why? Cullen, Goodman, Zack, Sully, Oliver, Russ…etc, etc. Thoughts?
Here is your B&B of the day. The “Don’t even think about it dude,” B&B
From The Man with the Bone: Season One
Bones Theory 
January 18, 2012 at 8:00 am
I liked Sully, Oliver, and Russ. Sully definitely brought some fun, Oliver looked creepy but was a harmless Brennan fan, and I just thought that Russ was cute. I also liked that Noel guy because he was weird. I will most definitely be in the minority here, but I wouldn’t be asking for Zack back, probably because I started watching in S5. I liked him, but I’m cool with the way things are. I don’t have to see Goodman, but it would be cool if he popped up here and there. Seeing Cullen would be cool because it would show a little more of Booth’s FBI world.
January 18, 2012 at 8:50 am
I’m with you on Zack. I liked him just fine, but I like the revolving interns waaaaaay more. I think Wendell and Arastoo are probably my favorites, but I really like Dr. Edison, too. Last night I was watching Con Man on DVD and the look on Clark’s face when Brennan walks in dressed up for her date with Jared is priceless. He takes one look at her cleavage and is like, “You have got to be kidding me(!)” Though I did like him more before he got his Kumbaya make-over.
January 18, 2012 at 8:10 am
Ooooh, I don’t know if I can choose between Cullen and Dr. Goodman – they’re both so great in different ways.
But I would like to see this pervy FBI coroner back every once in a while. He was creepy, but funny.
January 18, 2012 at 8:50 am
Yes! Yes! Pervy coroner is awesome.
January 18, 2012 at 8:12 am
I think there is room for Oliver, Noel, Russ…they have a part to play in the larger story. Goodman is played out – plus we have Cam, Sully (and I LOVE Sully) doesn’t have a role anymore, and as much as Zach is a huge part of what made this show great, I don’t think there is room for more than one or two episodes a season.
One prayer to HH, SN and the other writers, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE never again have ridiculous Agent Shaw on this show. Ever. She is an FBI FIELD AGENT. Her insane hero-worship of Booth is unprofessional and embarassing to all women everywhere.
January 18, 2012 at 8:52 am
Awww…I really like Shaw. And I think Sweets has a comparable level of hero worship for Booth, but he’s learned to play it cool in the last couple of years.
January 18, 2012 at 8:59 am
It’s not that I think Agent Shaw is ridiculous or embarrassing, it’s just hard to buy her as a serious, tough FBI field agent. Not because she’s a woman; I was sold on Perotta, and I’d almost rather see her or someone more like her. But if we see Shaw again, I won’t be mad. I just hope she has taken her last lesson of teamwork to heart.
January 18, 2012 at 9:06 am
Yeah, Shaw is young and green and she’s got a lot to learn. But I like her. Then again, it may just be my fondness for the actress that makes me like her so much. She was in When a Man Loves a Woman and Waterworld and Napoleon Dynamite, and I’ve liked her since she was a kid.
Actually, I would say that Daisy’s hero-worship for Brennan far surpasses Shaw’s for Booth. Daisy is one crazy chic. If I were Brennan, I don’t think I’d let her know where I live.
January 18, 2012 at 9:12 am
I like Agent Shaw and I really like the actress who plays her. There’s only so much time in the show but I would like to see her and Brennan interact because I think Shaw would have challenges being accepted in her career choice because she is a woman, challenges I’m sure Brennan probably also faced. I think Shaw and Brennan could be a formidable duo and if Shaw was able to work alongside Brennan and help to keep her safe, well, she would definitely earn the approval she wants from Booth. The only thing that I DO NOT want to see is Shaw having some kind of real crush on Booth because that would be real uncomfortable. Just don’t go there. Shaw respecting his work is one thing, but having those type of feelings is another. I like to think that Shaw would be really honored/psyched to work with Brennan.
January 18, 2012 at 9:42 am
Daisy is a crazy chick and she has the hero-worship thing for Brennan (although that has waned since Moluku) but Daisy doesn’t carry a gun, nor is she responsible for other people’s lives or apprehending criminals. I really like the actress, but hate the character.
January 18, 2012 at 8:20 am
That is a tricky question…because its hard to imagine anyone else within the team we have now. The team is firing on all cylinders these days, it seems, and its hard to imagine others fitting in at this time. They were good while they were with us, but its ok that they have moved on now. Goodman and Cullen I hardly miss. Perhaps because we saw very little of them and I didn’t get attached. Sully was good for his arc, but again, I don’t miss him. Russ, too, comes on when the plot calls for him, so he is not intregal to the story otherwise. Now that Brennan has solved the mystery of her parents, and made peace with Russ, there is not much use for him unfortunately. All the characters you mentioned had their purpose, and they served that purpose well, but in our current situation, I don’t really see how they’d fit in to the storylines, either personal or professional ones. Booth doesn’t need Sully, he has his own squintern, plus he’s made friends with the squints, so he has other guy friends now. Cam in effect took the place of Goodman/Cullen, there’s that. And again, we have Max for guest spots, Brennan has made peace with her family, so we don’t need Russ (though I like him!), and the revolving squinterns not only took Zach’s slot, but give us a more varied set of plot points with all their differences.
As Booth, Brennan, and the squinterns gelled into a more tightly run unit, and they really became close, we’ve seen some of the external figures fall away. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, and now that they are such a unit, the bringing in of outside figures, Hacker, Hannah, etc…just doesn’t sit right anymore. I think that might be part of the issue people had with them. It seems odd for Brennan or Booth to form attachments outside of their group at this stage. It’s all about the team, the center, the lynchpin, however you want to phrase it. But at this point in the show, I don’t think I’d bring any one of those back, unless its just for a guest spot. I’m really liking where we are now! 🙂
January 18, 2012 at 8:27 am
Also, wouldn’t Zach have had to move on eventually once he had finished his doctorate work, or whatever it was? I remember on House, they had to dump most of the original cast because they were there 3 years temporarily and then had to get jobs and move on. Wouldn’t Zach have had to take his degrees and expertise and become his own “Dr. Brennan” somewhere else? So even if they hadn’t done their “strike season freakout”, I think Zach’s time was limited as well.
January 18, 2012 at 8:28 am
He was officially hired by Cam after getting his doctorate – so he would have been able to stay. (After the angela make-over)
January 18, 2012 at 8:29 am
except for the whole I-joined-a-serial-killer thing
January 18, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Clark has a doctorate too, but they still let him work at the Jeffersonian in rotation with the other squinterns. Maybe he just does that on the side and teaches at a university offscreen for his day job. 😉
January 18, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Thanks guys, I must have just made that up in my mind about Zach…trying to come up with a better way to write him off the show than they did 🙂
January 18, 2012 at 8:27 am
I liked this episode for the creepy coroner and the interaction between Cullen and the crew. Really, I like it when characters drop in and out. Certainly, I would like to have a bit better closure on the Zach story– I’d love to see Brennan, now as a mother and more maternal, find some way of springing Zach or proving him innocent. He can then ride out into the sunset or help seal the fate of the latest big bad guy, Pellant. But I don’t know that there is really much of a place for him.
It would be nice to see what happened with Goodman, but I don’t need him back. I would like to see the bosses at the FBI react to the present situation with Brennan and Booth– Cullen was so much fun because he really didn’t like Brennan and he could boss Booth around. Hacker just does not seem much of a threat to anyone except his next date. I would like to see Russ show up and maybe Brennan/Booth use Oliver to help them. There just are quite a lot more stories to tell and if they could work out schedules and get Russ back for a little bit, that would be nice.
January 18, 2012 at 8:32 am
Cullen. In a heartbeat. I like the maturity he brought to the FBI side of the show. He demanded respect and he got it because he deserved it. His character made it feel like he ran a tight ship with rules and consequences for breaking those rules. When he left, I think the show lost that feeling. It feels a lot more relaxed now. Like anything goes and Booth doesn’t have anyone to answer to. It’s rarely implied that he does any more. And Hacker is just a joke. I didn’t like him and hope we don’t see him ever again. And I could care less about the pseudo relationship with Brennan because we all knew that wouldn’t last and he wasn’t a threat at all…that’s not what bothered me…his entire character and every scene he was in were just…a joke. Bring back Cullen and the serious FBI days!!
January 18, 2012 at 9:31 am
Gordon Wyatt, Agent Perotta and Cullen.
I don’t mind Agent Shaw, I just wish they would bring back Agent Perotta. She was witty, confident and a good agent.
January 18, 2012 at 9:47 am
Of course good old Gordon Wyatt. We are on the same page with Perotta – I think the main word here is confident. She definitely held her own working with Brennan when Brennan was far from friendly. In tPitP when Brennan basically said they asked for Perotta because she’d worked with them before and it would have been risky getting someone else, a possibly better agent, I loved response: “Well, let’s not get mushy about it.”
January 18, 2012 at 9:55 am
Perotta did seem to take their eccentricities in stride. She respected their abilities and didn’t take their stand-off-ish-ness personally. She had a sense of humor about the whole thing. And as much as I am a B & B shipper, she and Booth had good chemistry (waaaaaay better than between Booth and She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named). I love the interrogation scene from Fire in the Ice when they basically just give it up after Booth intimidates Sweets and she asks him is he works out. So cute. Booth is so adorably confident and cocky in that scene.
January 18, 2012 at 11:51 am
I agree that Perotta and Booth had good chemistry – I’d much rather have seen her return in S6 than the introduction of Hannah.
One moment I particularly loved was in Fire in the Ice when the players were talking about the ice-groupie – they made a comment about her having sex in the back seat, apologised to Perotta for being indiscreet in front of her and she responded with ‘oh that’s ok, I’m partial to a back seat myself’ which I just thought was a hilariously unexpected and dryly amusing come back. Also, check out Booth’s face – haha – his curiosity is peaked for sure.
January 18, 2012 at 12:01 pm
I’m glad they didn’t bring Perotta back to be Booth’s love interest, because I can see that relationship actually working. She’s sharp, pretty, blonde AND she and Booth actually had a bit of chemistry going (and her hair was all hers).
Since Booth was sincerely trying to move on, it was good that he picked the wrong person, otherwise he might have found a workable way to happiness without my Brennan.
And that’s just not allowed.
January 18, 2012 at 4:03 pm
MJ good point
January 18, 2012 at 10:17 am
Gordon Wyatt!! He’s the only one I really miss. Honestly he’s my favorite character aside from Booth and Brennan. I didn’t really care when others left the show. I liked Zach a lot, and would have liked for him to stay, but at the same time I’m fine without him. Never really liked Cullen,Goodman or Russ. Sully was okay(aside from dating Brennan, blech!!) but there’s no need for him back.
I wish that if Booth has to work with another FBI agent from time to time it was Perotta rather than Shaw. Perotta stood her ground,was professional and didn’t mind that they don’t really enjoy working with anyone else. Shaw was ok the first time, but the 2nd time she was just creepy and I couldn’t take her seriously as an FBI agent.
Now that I actually think about it, I really like the cast as they are. The only one I would ditch is Daisy. But again, Gordon Gordon needs to come back!!! He makes me laugh so much!
January 18, 2012 at 10:33 am
Oh my goodness! I laugh so hard every time she asks that guy if he’s ready this time and then slaps him again. And giddy Hodgins is always adorable. But mostly the slapping part. 🙂
January 18, 2012 at 10:51 am
Gordon Gordon — think how much B&B needed him in early s6. I’d love to see his reaction to B&B&B.
The rest of them, no strong feelings one way or the other, although Cullen over Hacker any day.
January 18, 2012 at 11:05 am
Always Gordon Gordon, but I always enjoyed Russ, too and would like to see him again (more than Max, actually.) And Stoner Noel would be good for a laugh a couple times a season. Hey, I hear B&B might need a nanny…. ;P
January 18, 2012 at 11:26 am
You read MJ’s mind! She suggested that to me in a PM earlier today.
January 18, 2012 at 11:49 am
I saw it on Twitter first, though. Can’t remember from who, though.
January 18, 2012 at 11:50 am
Well, hell. I really (really really) wish we could edit after we post. Sometimes my fingers type faster than my brain can think.
Though. (Just thought I’d throw in one more to make it an even three.)
January 18, 2012 at 12:01 pm
LOL! It was me and you and NM, I think.
January 18, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Definitely Gordon Gordon, then maybe Cullen. I don’t really miss Zack at this point of the show, but last week I did. The King of the Loony Bin would have been perfect to help Hodgins and Angela crack the code.
January 18, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I was thinking myself that Zack would probably have an intellect that would rival Pelant.
January 19, 2012 at 7:00 am
I was thinking about Zach when Brennan said she’d never met anyone smarter than her. I thought back to Man in the Mud when Zach worked out what the missing letters were on the pen found with the body, and Hodgins was like, ‘are you doing that in your head?!’
Things like that made me think there was a chance that Zach was smarter than Brennan in some ways because we don’t often see her show her intellect outside the realm of forensic anthropology, whereas Zach was shown to be a genius in many fields – maths, science, engineering etc.
January 18, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Zack. I really liked Brennan & his connection. Brennan’s soft spot for him was endearing & I also thought there could have been some good playoff between him and Sweets. Agent Perotta was fun as well. I much prefer her over Agent Shaw.
Oh if they never bring Max back again that would make me happy!
January 18, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Wh….what? No Max? Ever?
Never?
I need a hug.
January 18, 2012 at 9:36 pm
While watching S1 again, I realize that I do miss Cullen and his no-nonsense authority figure that kept Booth grounded. But, by the time I get into S3/S4 or so, I forget he was even there and it doesn’t really bother me.
I laugh when Booth uses Noel and I was very surprised when we saw him in S6.
Hands down, it is GGW that I miss the most. Although, I like when Max comes back too.
January 19, 2012 at 7:30 am
I like Noel, he’s funny. On a unrelated note, I’ve noticed the actor who played him has popped up in quite a few of DB’s shows and films – they’ve worked together on 4 or 5 projects I think. Has made me wonder in the past whether they’re friends or something IRL and DB has gotten him auditions. Don’t know if it works like that though.
January 19, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Gordon Gordon FTW