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Interview: Hart Hanson talks 'Bones'
After taking nearly a month off for post-season baseball, Bones returns to FOX on Wednesday (Nov. 5) with a new episode titled "The Skull in the Sculpture." Series creator and executive producer Hart Hanson got on the phone with a cadre of reporters to talk about what's coming up for the show.
One thing viewers can expect is a continuation of the Zack-of-the-Week at the Jeffersonian. Since Eric Millegan's Zack checked out at the end of last season, Bones' team has been fleshed out with a variety of aspiring Zacks, allowing for memorable guest appearances by actors including Carla Gallo, Joel David Moore, Michael Badalucco and Eugene Byrd.
"It has been really fun for us, notwithstanding everybody’s deep affection for Eric Millegan and Zack," Hanson says. "What it has done for us is we've been able to invent a series of characters that make more stuff happen at the lab. It kind of gives B-stories to the B-story, to get some character and humor out of the lab. We found this group of people; we found actors that have just been delightful. It's been amazing for me how good these people have been at coming in and integrating and being on kind of a revolving door. Initially, I thought, 'Oh, we'll look at four to six people and then pick someone who is great and have them come in.' We have a couple of more ideas now that we'd like to pursue with these grad students. It's no longer a case, at least in my mind, of finding someone to replace 'Zack,' but... figuring out how long we can do this and how long it serves the show."
Hanson acknowledges, though, that the Zack-of-the-Week runs the danger of becoming tired, like with Murphy Brown and her revolving door of secretaries.
"Murphy Brown did it every single week and it was kind of a gag that they pursued. We're actually not interested in having an infinite number," he says. "For example, a couple of times, some very interesting casting ideas have come to me as to whom we might have come in as an intern and no character suggests itself. They each have to be different. It just can't be someone with a quirk each week. I think that would become very tiresome."
Byrd's Clark is set to return during November sweeps and Hanson says he'd love to bring Badalucco's character back. But that doesn't mean that we've seen the last of Millegan and Zack.
"We’re not done with Zack," Hanson promises. "Zack is a fun character. We left a big hanging chad with Sweets, that Sweets knows that Zack didn't do what he is thought to have done. He has a problem, an ethical problem on how to deal with that and we will deal with that. That's an ideal episode in which to have Millegan come back again; Eric Millegan come back and play Zack again. I think it's okay for me to say that I'm looking into Stephen Fry's availability because I think he would be the ideal person to help Sweets figure out how to deal with that. But, Zack is still in our minds. His name is hanging up there on the boards in the writer's room as to what cases he would be useful in, that he could organically fit into."
Amidst the returning faces, upcoming episodes will also offer some new actors, including Brendan Fehr in a one-episode stint as Jared Booth, brother of David Boreanaz's character. Also stirring up trouble will be Nichole Hiltz as Roxie, who shares a romantic past with Michaela Conlin's Angela.
"It was like you get to watch Michaela kiss another really beautiful woman. That's not the worse thing in the world. But, I don't think that's why we did it. You want to jolt a series every once in a while and remind people that anything can happen."
Hanson notes that the wild-child part of Angela's character, central to so much of her early development, has been a bit neglected in recent seasons.
"It worked quite well," Hanson says. "The actress who was playing her ex-girlfriend, perhaps girlfriend again is Nichole Hiltz and she's very funny and very warm. Also, if we do this right, and you'll let us know, it's not played very prurient. It's pretty matter of fact. This is who she is. This is who she was for a while and who she could be again.
With Bones, scheduling is always the big unspoken question. FOX has routinely threatened to move the show to the wasteland of Friday nights, which would be both a sign of respect for the show's reliable audience, but also a potential kiss-of-death. FOX has, once again, tentatively slated new episodes of Bones for Fridays starting in January.
So I asked Hanson where, if he had to guess, he figured Bones would be airing in the new year.
"I will tell you I have no idea. I don't know what their plans are," He says. "I know anything is possible. I think not Friday. I'm pretty confident we won't be on Friday, but I don’t know what they’re going to do with Idol. I don't know what they’re going to do with Dollhouse. Your guess is as good as mine. For a while, I thought Mondays; they'd put us on Mondays. For a while I thought, 'Oh, my God, maybe they'll,' which I would love, 'pair us with House on one of the nights that Idol isn’t on.' But, I don't even know, I don't think anyone does -- well, they do at the network -- when Idol is coming on. That, of course, will change everything."
Other highlights from Hanson's chat with the press: 
On the obligatory will-they/won't-they nature of the Booth-Bones relationship: "I am not flip about getting Booth and Brennan together. It's another of the things that we discussed at great length. But, the fact is there's a great engine, a great energy that comes from two people who are not together and people want them to be together romantically. When you take that engine away, you'd better have something else there to provide fuel. You can say, to grossly simplify it, I hope, the science versus humanist. But, we have that and in a relationship that is not brought to fruition, we have to have a game. When we make that change, we have to have the next thing between them in place and there's a whole bunch of things we don't want it to be and a couple of things that might work. But, we're just going to be very certain of our decision to do that because it's a dangerous one."
On rumors that something will cause Bones to want Booth to father her child: "It is still in the works... [The question is] What case can we be in that resonates with Brennan suddenly deciding she wants to have a child and that Booth would be the perfect father for it? That has not come up yet. It will before the end of the season. There's one that's horribly obvious, but we don't want to do that. We try not to do that in Bones, which concerns a group based on, a little bit ripped from the headlines, on a group of girls who decide to have children. I think it was Gloucester, MA that that actually happened in, that 16 girls or something. So, we're doing our take on that. That was just a little too on the nose for us. So, it was in there for a bit and it's come out, but it will happen."
On the casting of Brendan Fehr, as Booth's brother: "God, it is so hard to find somebody who is, in fact, a leading man caliber who isn't on a show. We needed somebody that we thought the character of Booth would care about deeply, but had a dark side and bore at least some physical resemblance to him. I said while we were doing it, 'Oh, that's it. I'm not casting any more family members. It's too difficult' and then in came Brendan who I knew from Roswell. He's also a nice Canadian boy, you know. He has grown up nicely. He has some wisdom on his face, some experience on his face and he’s a very good actor. It didn't hurt a bit that he and David had conflict on the ice. They both play hockey in the leagues and they’ve had some conflicts on the ice that comes into their relationship in the show. He just knocked it out."
So Bones will be the same as it always been . Why watch nothing is going to change .
Mike | Nov 4, 2008 3:57:32 PM | #Thanks for the info. I miss Zack and I'm glad that we haven't seen the last of him. It sounds like it is going to be great. I can't wait.
tvgeek | Nov 5, 2008 8:49:48 AM | #I can't always catch Bones...didn't know Sweets had a secret about Zack...does this mean he wasn't a killer? Weird.
My big question has always been, when will they get Zooey Deschanel on the show? Be great to see her show up as Bones's sister she never knew she had, or cousin, whatever. Or just let them do a Karaoke number together. I just want to see them on screen together!
STEVE7701 | Nov 5, 2008 9:34:28 AM | #I believe that Zack admitted he did not kill anyone. He covered for someone else and does not want it know to anyone. He only told it to Sweets because of the confidentiality.
charmaine | Nov 5, 2008 10:21:18 AM | #Bringing in Brendan Fehr is a super idea. But PLEASE just bring back Zack - both character and Actor provided a perfect complement to the ensemble. He really needs to come back!
bobNYC | Nov 5, 2008 11:09:41 AM | #"I think that would become very tiresome"
The Zack-of-the-week gimmick already has...
*ugh*
Not thrilled to read that the trend will be continuing. I also made the Murphy Brown/endless-parade-of-assistants connection after a few weeks.
CT | Nov 5, 2008 1:54:27 PM | #I never really like the Zack Character and hope he does not come back. He was really pretty boring.
Humm | Nov 6, 2008 7:43:09 AM | #Zack didn't do it, though he said he would have if he had been asked, so now he is taking responsibility, and punishment, for something he did not do and only Sweets knows. Which is fine, since I never bought that our Zack could kill anyone, but it just makes me shake my head over the way they're trying to backpedal. I loved Michael Badalucco's jack of all trades character and would love to see him come back again.
As for Sweets .... I'm sorry but I just have NOT warmed up to him. And I am very unhappy about Jack and Angie's relationship being on the rocks, I want that fixed. The whole idea of Angie having/having had a girlfriend sounds right for the character, but it's one more 'quirk' in a character set that has quite enough of them already.
Have to admit, since it's been on opposite Pushing Daisies, I haven't been watching anyway ....
ceallaig | Nov 6, 2008 11:08:54 AM | #i would love to have stephen fry come back on the show! it'd be really great to have stephen fry help sweets with his zack problem. that would be ideal...zack coming back and stephen guest starrin on that same episode. i wouldn't miss that for the world....
Jen | Nov 6, 2008 11:45:12 PM | #It may be "a jolt" or exciting to your show-that full kiss between two women but it is repulsive to me. Guess I can cross "Bones" off my list now-too bad thought I had found a good show. I won't have to worry about "what will happen next" cause it won't at my house
Alice | Nov 7, 2008 5:32:13 PM | #I just caught up on Bones at the recommendation from a friend and it is now easily my favorite show on air. ED and DB have such amazing chemistry! I liked Zach but he wasn't my favorite character by any means. Fehr is a brilliant casting move. I cannot wait to see the interaction between Booth, Booth-lite, and Bren! Awesome show...and don't really care what night it's on. Don't most peeps TIVO anyway?
jatefan | Nov 11, 2008 6:51:34 AM | #Bones is a must-watch show for me. I love Temperance, she's one of the most fascinating female characters on television. And David Boreanaz is really, really, really ridiculously good-looking.
Siansonea | Nov 12, 2008 9:27:55 AM | #I love Bone's. I guess I don't care what night it's on. But I hope it's not on when American Idol is. They always skip weeks then to show the finally and junk. Hey, I like sweets. He's a goober sure, but we all know a goober we love.
rocka | Nov 19, 2008 9:49:01 AM | #Last week's Bones was sooo bad we finally turned it off! Booth, who often represents the Christian thought on the show, backed away when confronted by Michaela's character about her being a lesbian, and was there anything wrong with that. My husband and I were very disappointed in his response and the continuing centering on that subject during the part of the show we watched.
Myrtle | Nov 24, 2008 6:42:06 PM | #Bones is my favorite show of all time! I love the characters and their relationships. The obvious one between Bones and Booth, but i also love Angela and Hodgins! i am so mad they are not together anymore. I really hope they get back together..i think its stupid that Angela is now with Roxie it just totally changes everything. And i also hope Zach comes back eventually because i don't like all these new interns becasue no one even compares to Zach. Season 4 has been pretty good and I look forword to new episodes. I hope they continue with this show becasue I am totally obsessed with it<3
al | Nov 27, 2008 6:42:32 AM | #I <3 Bones
I was sad to see zack go...especially now because he did not do it..he wouldn't kill anyone....will sweets tell?
I <3'd Angela and hodgins...why does she have to be with that stupid Roxie....i hope she comes to her senses and goes back with hodgins!
i was sorry to zac go he was able to make you laugh in some awful situation also he was good for dr brennan character no one will be the same now i have to deal with the angela/hodgins "stuff'it was just great to see the chemistry between them it is getting to the point where i don't enjoy watching it as much cause i am waiting for them to do something ridiculous to the main character
joe | Dec 30, 2008 4:30:51 PM | #they are doing to bones what they did to the story line of 'angel" making it hard to believe anything
jay | Dec 30, 2008 4:32:29 PM | #Why can't Hart Hanson just admit that he was WRONG WRONG WRONG to get rid of Zack's character the way he did? It messed up the whole chemistry of the show, and the fact that they keep bringing him back, but he doesn't want to do it "too much" shows that he knows he was wrong too. He calls that "Zack replacement of the week" thing fun? It was just stupid. Find some convoluted way to just bring him back already - and then move on from there.
tamfun2003 | Jan 1, 2009 12:55:23 PM | #BRING ZACK BACK FOR GOOD! Not just as a filler when you cant think of a better story line. Seriously announce 2 weeks ahead of time Zack will make an appearance watch the ratings double then tell me you dont want those ratings every week....
Robyn | Feb 9, 2009 3:16:52 AM | #
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