Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie Review

The Last Crusade for the Crystal Skull in the Lost Ark Inside the Temple of Doom—After a Stop at the Pub

Reviewed by Michael Reuben December 16, 2011

No one could have predicted that a series about a cop who time travels back to 1973 would be a TV sensation, so what could the makers of Life on Mars do for an encore? Following an inexorable law of modern entertainment, the first thing producers and writers Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah did was create a sequel to their original hit, called Ashes to Ashes. But even while they were getting that series up and running, Graham and Pharoah were also looking for a complete change of pace. It was Graham who, while watching archaeology documentaries with his children, first conceived of a series about the adventures of modern day archaeologists getting into trouble and having adventures. Pharoah didn't like the idea, but Graham wore him down. The key to the series was that history would play a part, but there would always be a connection to something happening now, in the present. And the heros' exploits wouldn't depend on Indiana Jones-style feats of derring-do. Instead, they'd solve problems with research, knowledge and, when necessary, a dash of British irascibility.

The result was Bonekickers. Pharoah and Graham proceeded to write interesting (if occasionally overcomplicated) scripts for six one-hour shows, and they had enough juice in the industry to attract first-rate talent and production teams. Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice. When Bonekickers premiered on the BBC on July 8, 2008, reaction from both critics and the public was unfavorable (and that's putting it mildly). Viewers found the characters unappealing, the plots hokey and the "science" ridiculous; even an amateur could see that these archaeologists weren't exactly playing by the book. Audience share shrank steadily, and the show only lasted one season. (It's rumored that the BBC would have paid for a second season, but Pharoah and Graham declined.)

All of which is a shame, because Bonekickers is pretty entertaining, if you watch it with the right mindset. No, it isn't true-life archaeology, but when was the last time you saw a cop show that reflected true-life police work or a lawyer show that played out real courtroom drama (which anyone who's ever done jury duty knows is a crashing bore)? Bonekickers transformed the pursuit of ancient artifacts into the kind of pulpy adventure stories where everything always seems to be happening in a rush and characters spout historical information with the same staccato intensity you hear when Star Trek crews rattle off explanations of temporal mechanics and dilithium crystals. And everyone is possessed of a boundless depth of knowledge about everything, which is the benefit of having writers supplying your dialogue, top historians advising the writers and classically trained actors delivering the lines with a conviction honed on Shakespeare. Yes, some episodes become overly convoluted and require multiple viewings to get all the pieces of the plot, but isn't that preferable to TV that's so disposable you're already bored on the first viewing?

At the fictional University of Wessex in the (real) town of Bath in southwest England, the archaeology department is led by Professor Gregory Parton (Hugh Bonneville), who is nicknamed "Dolly", no doubt because of his penchant for uninhibited observation about the breasts of every female he encounters. He's also a great lover of pubs and a walking encyclopedia—"Google with a beer gut", in the words of one colleague.

Drs. Gillian Magwilde (Julie Graham) and Ben Ergha (Adrian Lester) are former students of Dolly, but of radically different temperaments. Ben tends to be detached and reasonable, while Gillian is more likely to plunge recklessly forward. She's also merciless on subordinates, strangers and people in general. Much of what drives Gillian is the legacy of her mother, Karen (Frances Tomelty), whose history is darkly hinted at in the first episode and gradually explored throughout the series. Perhaps the most brilliant archaeologist of her day, Karen Magwilde suffered a breakdown as a result of what many considered a fanciful pursuit that had something to do with the stars and a sword. Gillian, the daughter, says she's not interested in pursuing her mother's work, but one look at her and you know otherwise.

Rounding out the team is a new intern, Vivian Davis or "just Viv", as she immediately announces upon arriving (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who recently starred in Undercovers). Young, eager to please and, of course, beautiful (this is TV, after all), Viv is something of a wild card. The men immediately warm to her, but Gillian is unusually suspicious, for any number of reasons. She suspects anyone who joins her department of wanting to pry into her mother's work (with good cause; mysterious messages and phone calls recur throughout the series). And she doesn't like the way Ben immediately begins squiring the younger Viv around town, even though Ben's and Gillian's relationship ended years ago—did I neglect to mention they'd been a couple? (This is TV, after all.)

Every series needs a stock antagonist, and Bonekickers supplies one in the person of Daniel Mastiff (Michael Maloney), the new chairman of the archaeology department. A showman more concerned with fundraising than actual science (imagine that! a university official who worries about funding the place! tsk, tsk), Daniel is forever nagging the members of the team to focus on something that'll inspire donors. His own contribution is a small cut from the profits of his reissued bestseller, Sex Rites of the Ancients ("soon to be a Channel 5 series").

Episode 1, "Army of God", begins with the discovery of bones at a construction site near a hospice. Testing and examination reveal something that contradicts all known history: a pitched battle between a group of Knights Templar (the order described by Dolly as "the SAS" or what we Yanks would call the "special forces" of the Catholic Church) and a band of Saracen (i.e., Muslim) soldiers on English soil—a location the Saracens never reached. Things get even more interesting when evidence suggests the Knights Templar may have been transporting the cross on which Jesus was crucified; a chunk of wood found at the dig site has all the correct properties, and a nurse from the hospice who visits the site and gets a sliver in her finger suddenly is possessed of miraculous healing abilities. Religious zealots descend on the site with a variety of agendas.

In episode 2, "Warriors", the remains of what appear to be chained slaves are found on the coast near Bristol from a time when England had outlawed the slave trade. A national scandal threatens, fed by a visiting archaeologist from Ghana, Dr. Peter Adabankah (Leon Herbert), who wants to take the remains "home" to Africa. The team's inquiries reveal a trail of falsified and forged records going back hundreds of years designed to hide—what? It seems to have something to do with U.S. Senator Joy (Eamonn Walker), the first African-American candidate with a serious shot at the White House, who considers this find important enough to leave America at a crucial time in his campaign. (The series' creators insist that the character isn't based on Barack Obama, and indeed his background and the campaign issues more closely recall John Kerry and the Swift Boat veterans. Bonekickers was hardly the first TV series to imagine a serious African-American presidential candidate. 24, anyone?)

In episode 3, "The Eternal Fire", an earthquake exposes Roman caverns previously unavailable to examination beneath the city of Bath. Despite being warned off by city engineers, Ben and Gillian can't resist exploring, and they discover a heretofore unknown chapter in both Roman and Celtic history, and a new explanation for what caused Rome to burn while Nero fiddled.

Episode 4, "The Cradle of Civilisation", begins in Iraq, where a group of international journalists are ambushed at a coalition checkpoint. Fleeing the gunfire, an American, Jimmy Paul (Matt Rippy), falls into a cavern that has been newly opened by explosions and mortar fire, where he finds several relics from the ancient kingdom of Babylon. He smuggles them back to England, where he attempts to sell them to an antiquities dealer, Max Garris (David Ryall). At the same time, an Iraqi delegation is visiting England in an attempt to present the "new face" of Iraq's future. It includes an archaeologist, Kahmil (Silas Carson), who once studied with Ben and Gillian, and enlists their help in retrieving the artifacts removed by Jimmy Paul. One of them, a tablet carved with elaborate symbols, seems to be particularly potent. Everyone who tries to hold onto it winds up dead. (Writer-producer Graham has said that "The Cradle of Civilisation" is one of the series' most important episodes, because it deals with truly contemporary issues, including the black market in stolen relics from Iraq.)

Episode 5, "The Lines of War", takes the team to France, when an English tank from World War I is found buried in the ground near Verdun. Inside are the remains of six bodies, some of which may be German. Before long, archaeologists and diplomats from three countries are encamped around the site debating over who has what rights. And someone seems to be trying to prevent Dolly's team from solving the riddle of what happened, as mysterious fires break out, research is stolen, and other strange incidents occur. The team eventually deciphers the clues, which point to a previously unknown effort to bring the Great War to an early end.

In the sixth and final episode, "Follow the Gleam", previous hints relating to Karen Magwilde's quest are brought together in an ornate and satisfying finale. Let's just say that Gillian's mother was obsessed with the legends of King Arthur, and so are a lot of other people, some of them dangerous.

Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As with Brideshead Revisited, Acorn Media has provided a product superior to what is advertised on the label. Bonekickers arrives in a 1080p (not 1080i), AVC-encoded presentation that provides excellent depth, detail and color reproduction. Like most contemporary British television, Bonekickers was shot on hi-def video, but the image was heavily manipulated in post-production. (See the "Colour Grading" featurette on Episode 3 for further detail.) The digital tweaking was required to create the distinctive appearances for the period flashbacks (which sometimes represent a cross between real history and what the archaeological team imaginatively reconstructs from their finds) and the present. In general, the flashbacks use a desaturated palette, while the present day sequences use a natural palette, depending on available light.

As a result of either the digital work or the location shooting under time constraints (or both), some shots show more video noise than one typically sees in productions originated on hi-def, but it's never excessive or intrusive. Black levels remain solid, which is crucial in a series that routinely sends its characters into dark spaces. Compression artifacts were non-existent.

Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio is PCM 2.0 and the mix is basic and serviceable. Dialogue is clear and foley is well-reproduced. When played through a surround decoder such as DPL IIx, the track provides a modest sense of immersion but little in the way of surround effects. The aggressive, swashbuckling score, with appropriate variations and additions for each new period and culture, is by Ben Bartlett.

Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Except for a short introductory segment, the special features are organized by episode and have been keyed to play at specific sections. Select "Digging Deeper Mode", and the cross of the Knights Templar will appear at the lower right-hand corner of the screen when a feature is available; pressing "enter" takes you to the applicable featurette; and at the end you are returned to the episode. I dislike such implementations, because I prefer to watch episodes without interruption. Fortunately, all the featurettes are separately available from a "Behind the Scenes" menu. The titles are self-explanatory.

All features are in standard definition at 1.78:1 and enhanced for 16:9.

• The Show Idea (3:06): Creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah discuss the initial concept for Bonekickers, which was Graham's, and how Graham wore down Pharoah's skepticism that anyone could make an effective TV drama about archaeology.


• Episode 1: Army of God
• The Script (2:47)
• Visual Effects (4:11)
• The Shoot (4:57)
• The Edit (3:20)
• Production Design (3:03)
• The Edit - Live Cut (5:46)


• Episode 2: Warriors
• The Script (4:30)
• The Shoot (2:20)
• The Audio Mix (6:25)


• Episode 3: The Eternal Fire
• The Script (4:32)
• The Shoot (4:39)
• The Audio Mix (6:52)
• The Colour Grade (2:20)


• Episode 4: The Cradle of Civilisation
• The Script (3:41)
• The Shoot (1:40)
• The Costume (4:31)
• Foley (3:33)
• Visual Effects (6:08)


• Episode 5: The Lines of War
• The Script (2:12)
• The Shoot (5:02)
• The Music (7:16)


• Episode 6: Follow the Gleam
• The Script (4:17)
• The Shoot (7:37)
• The Music (5:36)


• Additional Trailers: At startup, disc 1 plays trailers for Acorn Media, Murdock Mysteries and Murder on the Orient Express (in HD). These can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

Bonekickers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bonekickers may not have taken Britain by storm, but it's fast-paced entertainment with more substance to it than a lot of what appears on typical broadcast TV, U.S. or U.K. You wouldn't use it to teach a course in archaeology any more than you'd use Raiders of the Lost Ark, but there are documentaries for that. The Blu-ray presentation is top quality, and the series is recommended.