Ask Matt: November 28

Question: I just wanted to let you know that I completely agree with your feelings on Bones. I have loved the show since the beginning, and while I was nervous about the pregnancy angle, I find myself enjoying this season much more than I had been lately. I think it adds a new dimension to these characters both individually and with how they relate to each other. I think it opens up many more storylines and I'm excited to see where it goes, hopefully on to an eighth season. — Megan

Matt Roush: Given how well Bones is performing this season, I can't imagine it not returning for at least another year or more. Wanted to lead with this letter, given that we're just coming off a long Thanksgiving weekend. Because we're also heading into what sounds like a winter of discontent. Read on.

Question: I have been a big fan and follower of your column. I may not always agree with you, but your response to a fan's question really bothered me. In regards to Bones, I have to say that this is not about the "pregnancy" or the shipper aspect of the show. My primary concern is with the character of Brennan. You stated in your response about Brennan being too weird to be in a normal relationship but that she has a steep learning curve. This is what has annoyed me about the show this past year and why I now watch something else. Brennan is now clueless and used more as comic relief than anything else. Each episode Brennan has to learn a lesson. She is portrayed as "heartless" in some instances, insensitive almost always, and seems to have no connection with anyone. This was not the case when the show started. Yes, she has issues but she did have relationships. Her scenes with the professor in the first season and her relationship with Sully both show that she connected emotionally with people. She has empathized with children over the seasons and developed a bond with the baby in that one episode. Last season in the episode with the deaf girl, it was true Brennan.

However, Brennan now has to learn every week and change to be worthy of love from Booth, and apparently everyone else. Even this past episode, Brennan kept referring to Baby Michael as Angela's son when she was talking to Booth. Brennan always uses names, even with all of the suspects and victims so why would she not use a name when talking about her best friend's son. She is now being written as this robotic scientist who has to be told how to be human. I watched this show because Brennan was a strong, independent, intelligent, sometimes flawed woman. However, now she is almost cringeworthy at times. I no longer enjoy watching this Temperance Brennan because she has regressed even further beyond what she was when the show started. Critics just think that fans are unhappy with the show because they missed out on the romance. Many of the original fans are just as upset about the characterization of Brennan. Not every woman watches the show to gush over David Boreanaz or watch for the shipper scenes. Having them together is great. But to do this only by sacrificing the essence of Brennan is depressing. Hart Hanson will blame it on the "Moonlighting Curse." For me the downfall of the show is making the lead actress fit more in with The Big Bang Theory or even Michael Scott from The Office. This show has really turned into more of a comedy, and the lead is usual the biggest "joke" of the episodes now.

To be really fair, they need to balance the show. Booth has many issues and could stand to change some of his views. Yes, there is more story to tell. It just seems like that story is about Brennan "coming around" to Booth's normal view of life. From the way the show is written now, what would he even see in her? So I guess you too have been entertained and won over by the producers. If you read the boards, you will learn that the "dumbing" down of Brennan has cost this show some original viewers. I guess this is what their market research indicates is what viewers like. It is just not the Temperance Brennan that was so respected in earlier seasons and the character that Emily Deschanel speaks about in her interviews. I don't think this is the character she worked so hard to develop. I don't think this is the message she was sending to young girls. Unfortunately, I can't sit back and laugh at this new Brennan. I can switch to The Office for that. Actually, the women on Grey's Anatomy are now much stronger female characters. As soap opera as it is, they at least stay true to who they are. — Elaine

Matt Roush: You make some interesting and fair points, but for the record, I was responding to a question specifically about the relationship aspect of the show. My opinion on Bones is general has nothing to do with being "won over by the producers" and certainly nothing to do with what's being written in the echo chamber of message boards. And as for the character of Brennan, it's entirely possible my memory of the show from its earliest days way back in 2005 is cloudy, but there have always been anomalies and inconsistencies with the character, including her introduction as a best-selling author who seemed to have absolutely no clue about anything in the popular culture and an anthropologist who seemed as detached from ordinary human behavior and interaction as (to borrow one of your analogies) Big Bang's Sheldon Cooper. She has grown on me over the years, and while it's hardly surprising that some fans have drifted away from the show for any number of reasons — only NCIS seems to be able to hold onto its massive base year after year — I don't see all that much erosion, especially considering its challenging time period. The wisdom of the pregnancy storyline is open for debate, of course, but how they're handling it doesn't bother me.

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