7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) are back for more mystery, murder, and mayhem in the fifth season of Bones. Relying on Brennan’s unparalleled scientific abilities and Booth’s street-wise instincts, the sexy, crime-solving duo and their team face everything from modern-day witches to murdered rock-n-rollers as they scramble for evidence to stop a gruesome serial killer. This spectacular new season brings a wedding, the show’s landmark 100th episode, and decisions Bones and Booth must make that could change their lives forever.
Starring: Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, Tamara TaylorComedy | 100% |
Romance | 78% |
Mystery | 16% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
He's a wise-cracking, time-traveling forensic geologist haunted by the unsolved murder of his future ex-wife and obsessed with early 21st Century pop culture. She's a disgraced runway model turned crack-shot investigative journalist with an inexplicable passion for Lost in Space cosplay and a sweet spot for cherry-rum baklava. Together they're... probably scheduled to grace the airwaves this fall. It's safe to say television procedurals haven't exactly evolved over the years. They've simply become quirkier and more eccentric. Ever since CSI armed its larva-loving science geeks with guns and badges, procedural showrunners have given audiences weirder characters, dreamed up increasingly bizarre storylines and concocted countless ways to temporarily stump their do-or-die do-gooders with the strangest murder scenes imaginable. Be that as it may, when the procedural stars align, even the most offbeat series can be terribly entertaining. Castle creator Andrew W. Marlowe managed to successfully pair a streetwise female homicide detective with a snarky mystery novelist. (Which is fine by me. Nathan Fillion makes everything he touches worth watching.) The Mentalist mastermind Bruno Heller found a way to team a former psychic medium (now a self-professed, semi-reformed conman) with a squad of straight-shooting CBI agents, and I haven't missed an episode in three seasons. And then there's Bones. As much a clever comedy as it is a sleek procedural, Hart Hanson's Fox hit (currently in its sixth season) is admittedly an acquired taste. But to those who acquire it, Bones is a blast.
"I envy your ability to substitute optimism for reality."
The Blu-ray edition of Bones: The Complete Fifth Season picks up where Fox's fourth season release left off. Spread across four BD-50 discs, Booth and Brennan's latest 1080p/AVC-encoded cases rarely show signs of overcrowding and, on the whole, offer series' fans a vibrant, sharp and proficient twenty-two episode presentation. Clinical yet colorful, Bones' high-tech palette is bristling with exacting primaries, smartly saturated skintones, absorbing body-bag blacks and fittingly gruesome splashes of gore. Contrast is consistent as well (barring a few source-born mishaps) and, despite Gordon Lonsdale's stark lab-rat lighting, delineation remains forgiving throughout. In fact, combined with the transfer's penchant for dazzling detail, The Complete Fifth Season comes close to perfection on more than one occasion. Remarkably resolved fine textures reveal every tiny nick, calcium scuff and micro-fracture on the remains Brennan examines, edge definition is distinct and natural (without any egregious ringing to spoil the fun), the series' somewhat noisy disposition isn't intrusive and overall clarity renders the discs' standard DVD counterparts irrelevant. Hints of faint banding, infrequent artifacting and a few easily explained instances of elevated noise pop up here and there, but each brief, fleeting issue is easy to overlook in the grand sixteen-hour scheme of things. All in all, Bones has never looked better.
While Bones' hard-working, well-intentioned DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't amount to anything special, it certainly gets the job done. Dialogue is bright, clear and precisely prioritized, dynamics are decidedly decent and Sean Callery's sinewy series score darts from channel to channel with ease. LFE output is reserved for more intense encounters, but unleashes its weighty wares on cue. Likewise, the rear speakers are typically tasked with little more than ambient support, but get assigned more aggressive duties whenever Booth and Brennan close in on a suspect. Front-heavy? At times. The words "enveloping" and "immersive" didn't exactly come to mind while digging through this fifth season release. Flat? Hardly. Even at their worst, the show's sprightly sonics are in line with those of every other television procedural (which is to say chatty but involving). Be that as it may, Bones' soundfield is still convincing on the whole and directionality, however limited, is accurate. Will newcomers be blown away? Pleased, I'm sure. But blown away? I doubt it. Will series fans be satisfied? Most definitely.
The 4-disc Blu-ray release of Bones: The Complete Fifth Season isn't exactly bursting with special features, but with two audio commentaries and two extended episodes in tow, its supplemental package is better than its Complete Fourth Season predecessor.
Bones shouldn't work. Other shows have tried and failed to strike a balance between the eccentric personalities and quirky sensibilities Hanson's series has mastered in just five seasons. It isn't without it's faults -- I'll be the first to admit that -- but it is addictive, entertaining and, ultimately, tremendous fun. I'd be a fool to ask for much more. Fox's 4-disc Blu-ray release is worthy of your consideration too. With an excellent video transfer, an effective DTS-HD Master Audio track and a decent supplemental package, it's primed to please series junkies and Bones inductees alike.
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