TV Review: Bones Episode 1.07

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

From FOX: Condemned man Howard Epps is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in 32 hours for the murder of 17-year-old April Wright. Epps' attorney, Amy Morton, makes a last minute appeal to Booth, the man who arrested Epps, to re-examine the case. Booth believes Epps is guilty, but acknowledges that the case has a few loose ends. He asks Dr. Temperance Brennan and her team of squints to review the evidence and confirm Epps' guilt. But when Brennan finds forensic anomalies in the case, and Booth turns up evidence that another man was with April Wright the night she died, they must race against the clock to stay the execution in the "The Man on Death Row."

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Usually Dr. Temperance Brennan is on the case to find a killer based on the findings she discovers as she examines the victim's bones. This week, she is working against the clock to find out if a man serving on death row, hours away from execution, is in fact the murderer of a teenage girl seven years before. Booth was the FBI agent on the case, and he is the one responsible for sending the man to prison. He asks Bones to look into the case because there are now doubts whether or not the man in jail for the crime actually did the murder. He wants her to confirm they do indeed have the right man.

As with any Bones episode, we have a number of twists and turns that make this show what it is - a smart drama with good characterization and story lines on a weekly development. Brennan jumps straight into the case, knowing she has only a day to find out if the man convicted is indeed guilty. A new suspect also comes to light - the lawyer mentor of the young woman killed. Turns out they were having an affair. Does that fact make him her killer? Booth thinks it is possible, or at the very least worth looking into - especially after Bones finds some interesting forensic evidence that point away from the killer Epps. Bones even has the body of the victim exhumed for further examination.

With the more evidence that comes to light, the more it looks like the man may be in fact innocent, but time is running out, and the judge on the case isn't ready to offer a stay of execution without concrete proof that the man is innocent. This puts a time crunch on Bones and her team, and they definitely have to work fast. All the new evidence they have found points to a field outside of a chemical processing plant. Once the FBI gives them some reluctant assistance, they find which plant, and begin to look for the murder weapon.

However, they find much more than just a tire iron used to kill April Wright. They find a grave with several other bodies, some as old as ten years old. They have been had by the suspect. With the discovery of the new bodies, he will get his stay of execution, but he is also the one guilty. He knew they would find the bodies, and he knew the discovery would give him added life, possibly even long enough that the death penalty will no longer be an option.

A majority of the focus of this episode was on the race against the clock for this case, but we also see Angela dating. She goes out with a man it appears she met via the Internet. When Brennan calls her back in to help her work on the case, she brings her date along, but he isn't too enthused to be there after awhile. Once they return with the exhumed corpse of April Wright, he runs out after calling Bones and her squints all freaks. Poor Angela.

Brennan also has an interesting conversation with Amy Johnson about her and Booth. Bones now says she as absolutely no interest in Booth. Is this possibly a case of the lady doth protest too much? We'll definitely have to wait and see, especially since it now appears Booth might be girlfriendless. That isn't definite, but after the botched trip last episode a break-up is likely.

Another excellent episode of Bones. This show is witty and intelligent, with moments of humor thrown in when appropriate. I'm really enjoying this television show, and I fall in deeper with each new episode that air. We have another new episode next week.