In life, Shakespeare insisted that some are born great, others achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. But when it comes to television, shows fall into one of the first two categories. And since the debut of The Sopranos on HBO in 1999, the possibilities of greatness for TV dramas have narrowed even further. There are the ingenious, frequently violent, regularly profane shows that make splashy, acclaimed entrances on premium cable channels. Then, struggling to compete critically, is everything else.
Because of that division, it's been a particular pleasure to watch Bones—for several years an enjoyable but occasionally uneven FOX procedural—strive for greatness and sometimes achieve it. It's a welcome reminder that no channel has a premium on excellence, that great entertainment isn't defined by a level of sex, violence, or moral ambiguity, and that setup is less important than execution when it comes to plumbing the human heart.
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In the realm of hour-long dramas, premium cable sprinted ahead of its network competitors with shows that were more violent, more intensely sexual, and more reliant on antiheroes. An event like the rape of Dr. Melfi on The Sopranos, dialogue like the hilarious and profane conversations on The Wire, a character like the family-man serial killer on Dexter, or a concept like the sad sack cursed with an enormous penis in Hung would never make it on network TV, no matter how late the show aired—particularly in an era of super-charged Federal Communications Commission fines. By venturing out from the shallows and into the Mariana Trenches of emotion, shows like those have conveyed the sense that they are exploring a wider range of the human condition than the networks are capable of.I could be off on the thesis, but I do think the show has hit some interesting strides. And it does bother me that there's a critical bias towards shows on premium cable as automatically better than the ones on the networks. Anyway, be curious to hear your thoughts.
*I am an idiot who forgets to link to thinks. Thanks, Omphale, for the reminder!