Bones: The Complete Seventh Season [Blu-ray]

Followers of the popular Fox crime drama Bones agree that season seven was not one of the most memorable. There was a big constraint built into the larger story arc about FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and the forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) in that Deschanel decided to become pregnant in spite of the show's production schedule. The creative team made the bold move to get the characters together romantically and work the pregnancy into the world of their false reality. This situation has happened to long-running TV series before with mixed results. But with Bones, the dramatic, amorous turn seems to be a hit with viewers and has worked out well in keeping the writers on their toes. From its beginning, the sexual tension between Booth and Bones was always a pleasant tease. Now in season seven, they've embraced their love, bought a house together, and are eagerly awaiting the birth of their child. Due to real-world medical logistics, the season is truncated to 13 episodes (don't be alarmed; four extra episodes will be part of season eight to round things out). Apart from the newest wrinkle, the format hasn't changed. The grisly murder mysteries and their procedural backbones are still pleasantly highlighted by the same lightheartedness between the crime-fighting duo and their motley supporting pals in the laboratory and administrative offices. That's kind of where the less-than-stellar stories hit a dip, simply because of the sheer repetitiveness of the narratives and accompanying banter. But Bones is certainly a long way from being dead. The episode "The Crack in the Code" was the last one produced before Deschanel's maternity leave, and it introduces a new supervillain after a horrifically encrypted code is found in the remains of a body left dramatically draped over an exhibit at a museum in Washington, DC. Christopher Pelant (Andrew Leeds) is a psychotic genius and convicted computer hacker who seems to have a perfect alibi while he also seems to be the obvious perpetrator. Pelant is a fascinating character and perfect foil for the Bones crew to grapple with. He reappears in the sort-of cliffhanger final episode, "The Past in the Present," as a brilliant fiend who could be the downfall of the entire Bones team, especially Booth. (He returns in the season-eight premiere and will almost certainly be back as the latest and greatest criminal mind Bones and Booth have ever faced down.) Other standout episodes are "The Prisoner in the Pipe," about a criminal who appears to have escaped prison after his murder, and "The Twist in the Twister," about the suspicious demise of a storm chaser. The most fun comes in "The Suit on the Set," which takes place in Hollywood, where a movie crew is filming an adaptation of Bones's new book about her work at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute Forensic Sciences Department, an interesting self-referential concept. When Booth and Bones are visiting the set, the fake corpse turns out to be real, so they are enlisted to solve the mystery for real. Fans will all have their favorite supporting character among the geeky, goofy, or lovable group back at the institute, notably forensic artist Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin), entomologist and conspiracy theorist Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne), or the boss and chief pathologist Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor). The thing that has differentiated Bones from shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, or the CSI franchise is the heart it brings to the ensemble and their many-faceted personal lives, which often intersect. Combined with the gruesome shock value, jargony procedural qualities, brainy dialogue, touching love stories, and mysterious murders, Bones continues to be a lively affair about people you genuinely want to spend time with. Even though season seven may be regarded as a bit bumpy, the series shows no signs of losing its appeal, whether or not Bones and Booth wind up happily ever after. Extras on the four-disc set are sparse, with the obligatory gag reel, a few deleted scenes, a commentary track on "The Past in the Present," and a making-of featurette about "The Suit on the Set," with a fake red-carpet gathering for the fake movie's fake premiere. --Ted Fry

Experience People's Choice® Awards nominee Bones in a whole new way with never-before-seen footage not available anywhere else! While she tackles some of her most gruesome homicide cases yet, Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) also faces the delicate demands of motherhood, and a deepening relationship with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz). The thrills escalate this season when a pastor's wife goes missing, shipping clerks go postal, and the squints go Hollywood. But the biggest shocker of all comes when clues left by a deranged cyber genius tag Brennan as a murder suspect. Here are all 13 Season 7 episodes with plot twists, mystery, romance and humor to die for!