So… Bones.

The season premiere of Bones last night was… okay. I don’t know why TV shows find it necessary to bring you an episode filmed in another country - usually that’s a sign that the sharks are circling and the lead characters are about to jump them. Granted, seeing jolly olde England was nice for me, having lived there and experienced difficulty driving on the left myself, but I’m not sure why it was necessary.

(Spoilers will abound here, so if you DVR’d it to watch this weekend, stop reading right here.)

Quick recap: Bones and Booth are lecturing at Oxford Uni and Scotland Yard where they meet their doppelgangers (a wise, tough female cop partnered with a genius forensic professor) - can you say “contrivance?” I knew you could. But the actors make it work. I’m also pretty sure the British copper was the Suzie they keep killing on “Torchwood,” but that’s neither here nor there.

An heiress is murdered and B&B are asked to help solve the crime. With the help of the squints, they make quick work of the case while Bones flirts with the professor who’s a bit of a lad. Meanwhile, back at the lab, Angela’s mysterious and gorgeous husband shows up to claim her. Awkward moments abound, and eventually he sees that Angela is meant for Hodgins. But as Cam takes him to the airport, his flight is delayed so naturally they tumble into bed together. Cue more awkwardness.

Sweets is back, along with the hapless grad student who replaced Zack who still doesn’t fit in with the squints, and long story short, Angela and Hodgins break up anyway. They aren’t sure why, the audience isn’t sure why, and it just seemed stupid. I hope there’s a reason for it other than Hart Hanson’s weird desire to always “shock” us. Dude, some of us are still pissed about Zack. Now is not the time to play silly buggers with our feelings about your show. (See how I throw cute little British-isms in? It’s an homage you see.)

Back in the UK, Bones’ flirtation with Dr. HunkyPlayboy ends abruptly when he’s murdered in his flat. Booth and Bones stay on to help solve the crime.

What I liked about the premiere:

• David Boreanaz just gets better with age. Man, he could stand still and read the phone book to me and I would be entertained.
• The easy relationship between Booth and Bones is fun. They’re like an old married couple already - considerate, teasy… You can just tell they’re comfortable with each other and both actors portray this relationship amazingly well.
• So help me, I loved Sweets this episode. I’m starting to accept his position among the squints though it requires quite the suspension of belief to do so. His assessment of the situation between Cam, Angela’s ex, and Hodgins/Angela was endearing and sweet.

What I didn’t like:

• Booth’s constant, jock-like bitching about the ways of the English. But I’ll admit there were some funny moments that explained it - I think it was Cam who said Booth was not adaptable to Bones as Booth attempted to parallel park his Mini. That made me laugh. But maybe it’s just me who can’t wrap my head around the fact that some people think it’s ok to show up in another country and basically do nothing but insult their culture at every opportunity.
• The character of Booth hasn’t evolved very well. In fact, I’d say he’s devolved. In Season One, Booth was a good guy, a stand-up guy, with a dark but proud past. He had problems (gambling, dealing with having been a sniper etc.) and displayed moments of compassion and gentleness that made me adore him. Season three and four Booth seems like the high school jock who never got past his glory days. He’s more buffoonish and one-dimensional these days. I really miss Season One Booth.
• The two murder cases were standard fare. Not interesting at all. Never got a chance to care. It’s like the cases are just background noise anymore while they bring the soap opera drama and comedic moments up front. That’s fine, I’m ok with Bones not being a strict forensics show - I mean, there’s a reason I’ve never watched a single episode of the CSIs. But for all their talk about being more about the characters, I see very little character development going on.

Maybe I’m still rather bitter about the handling of Zack. Maybe that coloured my opinion of the premiere. It was just okay. Not outstanding at all. It’s nice to have them back, but I’m going to stop holding my breath for the stuff I loved from the beginning of the series because it looks like that’s gone for good. Which is a shame.