Long before the TV series Bones was a twinkle in Hart Hanson's eye, Temperance Brennan existed between the covers of a series of novels by Kathy Reichs. Since 1997, Reichs' original version of the forensic anthropologist has solved murders in South Carolina and Quebec, gathering a large following of readers along the way.
Then along came Hollywood, and Temperance Brennan is now an entirely different character who graces our TV screens every week. What are the differences, though? Would a devoted fan of the TV show find the books entertaining, or are the books and the series too dissimilar to appeal to the same audience? Would a devoted Reichs fan find the TV show fun, or be offended by the re-imaging of the books' world and characters?
Novelist Kathy Reichs is Pleased with Show
The answer is undoubtedly a bit of both. Kathy Reichs, however, has stated she's pleased with the show, and in fact holds a producer credit and consults with the writers on a regular basis. She even appeared briefly in the Season Two episode "Judas on a Pole." When discussing her take on the relationship between the Temperance Brennan of the TV show and the Temperance Brennan of her novels, she says the TV Tempe is simply in a different stage of life.
For those who've both watched the show and read the books, though, this explanation doesn't go far enough to explain the vast differences between the different incarnations of Temperance Brennan. Reichs' Brennan is middle-aged, with an adult daughter, an almost-ex husband, and a long-term drinking problem. Hanson's Brennan is much younger, with no children and very few social skills. Her past is informed by the disappearance of her parents when she was a teenager, followed by her time in foster care. Book-Tempe splits her time between Charlotte, North Carolina and Quebec. TV-Tempe works exclusively for the fictional Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, DC. Truthfully, other than the name and profession, there's no resemblance between these two characters. The rest of the characters from the TV show don't even exist in the books, although a case could be made for Seeley Booth's being an altered version of the book's love interest Andrew Ryan.
Bones is "Inspired by"... not "Based on"...
Of course, this is where the "inspired by" tag on the show's credits comes in handy. Bones isn't "based on" Reichs' books--instead it's "inspired by" both her books and her real-life experiences. In the case of Bones, this works to the show's advantage. Hart Hanson and his staff, including David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, who carry producers' credits as well as acting in the show, are free to follow whatever path they choose. By taking this approach, Hanson was able to create his own milieu, one which fits the demands of an hour-long TV drama perhaps better than a more exact adaptation of the books would have.
As an adaptation of the Temperance Brennan series, Bones isn't a very faithful one, so if that's what you're looking for, the show probably won't make you happy. But as a TV show, it's brought a different feel to the procedural genre, emphasizing characters over crime story and infusing the whole with a healthy dose of humor. It's also brought in an increasingly large number of viewers, and with Fox having officially renewed it for a fifth and sixth season, will continue to provide weekly entertainment. At the same time, Reichs continues to produce her Temperance Brennan novels, so whichever flavor of the character you prefer, you can look forward to more.
