Bones: The Final Chapter (Season 12) - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

Bones: The Final Chapter (Season 12)

Movie:
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Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Last year people were ramping up for season 11 to be the final season of the long running crime drama Bones, and I was FULLY prepared for them to wrap it up. As if the powers that be were thinking the same thing, they negotiated for one final “wrap up” season of only 12 episodes (down from the standard 22 the show has had for almost 11 years), it allows for Hart Hanson and crew to buckle down and tie up some loose ends. Coming from a fan who has seen the show since the first few episodes aired, it really came as a shock to myself that it had been 12 years already. That sense of age creeps up on you really fast when you have vivid memories of where and what you were doing in the early seasons when the finality of watching for over a DECADE straight sinks in. The show has had some highs, and some definite lows, but has still maintained a steady fanbase over the years. Season 12 isn’t really THAT much different than past seasons if you think about it. Bones (Emily Deschanel) is still at the Jeffersonian, Booth (David Boreanz) is back at the FBI, and murders of the week are still the focus of the show. These final 12 episodes just allow us to have some nostalgic loose ends tied up, and see some old faces get sent off with fanfare so we can all wipe the corner of our eyes and say farewell.

As I said, not much has changed since last season. With Bones back the Jeffersonian in full tilt she’s just chugging along with crimes and Booth is no longer training as a freelancer, but back in the saddle full time as an FBI agent once more. However, there are some nice little nods to previous characters, as the opening episode brings us full circle to the beginning when our old friend (and murderer) Zach Addy (Eric Millegen) kidnaps Bones. This little blast from the past is played out FANTASTICALLY, up until the end of the episode where it’s obvious they are trying to retcon the past villainizing of Zack when he left the show. Something that feels way too revisionist and happy considering how we left Zack last (which is too bad, I know I whined and moaned the most when Zack was written off the show as a villain when the actor left, but too much revisionism undoes much of the good his character change had for allowing Bones growth). Then after that we fall back into the same old patterns of “villain of the week” punctuated by a new serial killer (or kind of an older one from last season if you take things literally).

What stands out are the mini serialized events, such as Jack dealing with his being a cripple, and little character moments such as Daisy being sent off to work for the NFL. It’s basically allowing for the characters to get sent out with style rather than just letting them finish the show without any closure for well-loved characters. What’s fun is the older interns coming back through the rotation once more, and few of the “newer” characters like agent Aubrey getting a more in depth look with his criminal father coming back into the show for a brief stint. We get some sadness with news of Bone’s father being ill, and then the show wraps up with a sendoff episode which allows us to look back over all the changes that Bones and Booth have gone through together to get where they are now.

I’ve felt that the series has waned just a little bit ever since season 9. The 9th year was always GOOD, but never great, and Bones had come to a standstill in terms of her growth as a character. After the marriage, she changed a bit drastically, and that feels awkward if you’ve been looking back over the show as a whole (which I’ve been doing as the review for the whole 12 season boxset is coming out shortly). Especially as she has turned more personable and cheerful. The same can be said for everyone else too. Angela is a staple of the show along with Booth and Cam, but they are relegated to copying the same thing they’ve done for the last few seasons. Mainly just BE there. With the last season and introduction of Agent Aubrey and the DRASTIC chain of events that Jack Hodgins had to undergo (a brilliant move by the way. It gave him a much-needed personality kick in the pants and added some conflicted that was edgy enough to keep the show interesting).

That being said, I still find a lot of good in Bones. It’s a show that doesn’t rely TOO much on character interactions, but really strives on being simple and episodic. Each week is something new and allows the viewers to just sit back and watch a 42 minute episode (post commercials of course) and unwind for the day. At the end of the day, it’s a fun show that relies on good characters and nice gimmick (in this case using LITERAL bone evidence to solve forensic crimes) to keep the audience engaged.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Like the last few seasons Bones: The Final Chapter was unfortunately not released on Blu-ray (even though the 5 seasons before it were lucky enough to get a Blu-ray release), but the resulting 1.78:1 encoded 480p transfer looks simply amazing for a 480p DVD. Filmed digitally it looks about as bright and clean as a show can with considering the digital cameras use. The show shows a lot of outdoor scenes as well as brightly lit lab areas, so the series tends to look nice and “shiny” for the most part. Colors pop off the screen and saturate the outdoor landscapes well. The contrasts are nice and balanced throughout with some excellent skin tones. Artifacting is kept to a minimum, and the brightly lit outdoor shots look resplendent. There’s some darkness in the show, with Angela’s lab showing some crush here and there, but it’s a great sendoff for the series as it mirrors the excellent encoding work Fox has done so far.







Audio:

I’ve said it before, and I will repeat myself for the umpteenth time. If you’ve seen one season of Bones, you’ve seen them all when it comes to the technical specs. Following in its predecessor’s footsteps, Bones: The Final Chapter delivers a very capable sounding 5.1 Dolby digital track that mirrors the shows video encode for quality. Dialog is very front centric, and the show’s dynamic range is usually the widest in the opening theme for the series. LFE is tight and clean (again, mostly in the show’s opening) and adds significant amounts of weighty elements as the sleuths uncover crimes. Surrounds are impressively active, and fit right in with a plethora of other CSI style crime dramas on the market.
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Extras:

• Back to the Lab: A Bones Retyrospective
• Gag reel

Final Score: ​

I’m kind of sad to see such a long running show come to an end, but I’m also kind of relieved at the same time. Bones had been on for such a long time, and no matter how much you love a show it’s better to end on a high note than allow it to drag itself into the point of no return quality wise. Like Castle I felt that it pushed itself JUUUUUUUUUUST past it’s prime, but not enough to where you were begging for the series to “just end it already”! The DVD looks and sounds very much on par with how the last several years have looked and sounded on DVD (otherwise known as very capable), but I was sad that there were only 2 extras, and only one of them was very meaty. Recommended as a fun watch for the fans.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: David Boreanz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin
Created by: Hart Hanson
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: NR
Runtime: 525 Minutes
DVD Release Date: June 12th, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch