The Doctor in the Photo
- Episode aired Dec 9, 2010
- TV-14
- 1h
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
The Jeffersonian team finds a body in a tree and Dr. Brennan discovers that the victim is practically a clone of herself.The Jeffersonian team finds a body in a tree and Dr. Brennan discovers that the victim is practically a clone of herself.The Jeffersonian team finds a body in a tree and Dr. Brennan discovers that the victim is practically a clone of herself.
T.J. Thyne
- Jack Hodgins
- (as TJ Thyne)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHannah has the same the Third Army sticker on her laptop that the shop owner in Twisted Bones in the Melted Truck, s6 e8, tattooed on his arm.
- GoofsWashington DC does not have raised reflectors on streets (these would interfere with snow removal and maintenance activities).
- Quotes
Special Agent Seeley Booth: Well, Dr. Brennan just wonders how someone of that importance could disappear.
Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan: So - so quietly?
Dr. Adit Gadh: "I will show you fear in a hand full of dust." T.S. Elliot. We don't actually fear death. We fear that - no one will notice our absense. That we will disappear without a trace.
- SoundtracksHappiness
Performed by Oh Darling
Featured review
Bones's character is fleshed out, with mixed results.
I liked the attempt in this off-beat episode to go deeper into the character of Bones, with good thesping by Emily Deschanel providing the required stretch. Unfortunately, it falls short of classic status by cheating the audience in several ways.
The gimmick is to have Deschanel essentially play a dual role: the latest victim vaguely resembles her and she gradually becomes irrational (WAY out of character), identifying with the stiff in very self-destructive fashion. This permits the writers to cleverly comment on Bones' personality as developed over six seasons, and even delve explicitly into the series' basic premise, namely the unresolved sexual tension between Bones and co-star David Boreanz's character.
This all earns a big E for effort, but along the way too many corners are cut. We're presented with a photo of (I assume, correct me if I'm wrong) Deschanel as the victim, yet only she recognizes it as herself; the rest of the cast is bewildered at her "that's me!" reaction. A similar cheat is having the oft-played tape recordings (a phony gimmick) of the femme surgeon-victim spoken with Deschanel's voice and exact intonation.
Of course, we're supposed to assume that all this is taking place in Bones's head, though the episode is otherwise depicted realistically. At one point sleep deprivation is floated as a possible reason for her weird behavior. But I found it very difficult to sustain my natural willingness to believe the unbelievable (even with "Fringe" coming up next on the tube - a show which flaunts this!) given the episode's moving Bones so far (and so quickly) from her long-established personality.
No, this was not the fashionable "jump the shark" turning point in the series. But as intriguing as it was to watch, it represented a missed opportunity to actually delve into the depths of an all-too one-dimensional character (as usually presented week after week), falling back on gimmickry. Not surprising, because the most popular TV shows and movies of the last few years are all about gimmicks, not substance, and the fans eat it up.
The gimmick is to have Deschanel essentially play a dual role: the latest victim vaguely resembles her and she gradually becomes irrational (WAY out of character), identifying with the stiff in very self-destructive fashion. This permits the writers to cleverly comment on Bones' personality as developed over six seasons, and even delve explicitly into the series' basic premise, namely the unresolved sexual tension between Bones and co-star David Boreanz's character.
This all earns a big E for effort, but along the way too many corners are cut. We're presented with a photo of (I assume, correct me if I'm wrong) Deschanel as the victim, yet only she recognizes it as herself; the rest of the cast is bewildered at her "that's me!" reaction. A similar cheat is having the oft-played tape recordings (a phony gimmick) of the femme surgeon-victim spoken with Deschanel's voice and exact intonation.
Of course, we're supposed to assume that all this is taking place in Bones's head, though the episode is otherwise depicted realistically. At one point sleep deprivation is floated as a possible reason for her weird behavior. But I found it very difficult to sustain my natural willingness to believe the unbelievable (even with "Fringe" coming up next on the tube - a show which flaunts this!) given the episode's moving Bones so far (and so quickly) from her long-established personality.
No, this was not the fashionable "jump the shark" turning point in the series. But as intriguing as it was to watch, it represented a missed opportunity to actually delve into the depths of an all-too one-dimensional character (as usually presented week after week), falling back on gimmickry. Not surprising, because the most popular TV shows and movies of the last few years are all about gimmicks, not substance, and the fans eat it up.
helpful•1638
- lor_
- Dec 10, 2010
Details
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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