"Bones" next Thursday

[Peter McGuire]

I am watching the season premiere of "24" on Fox right now and just saw an preview of next Thursday's Bones.

It seems they exhume JFK's body and determine that there is a second gunman.

If so, will this episode really be shown?

Every now and then we get a phrase or two pro-conspiracy on TV shows, but this is pretty big.

Anyone else see this ad?

[Cliff Varnell]

Anyone else see this ad?

For the entire Viking-Cowboy game. Nice touch, I thought.

There's a change in the zeitgeist...anti-government is IN, baby!

"The government lied about it" is a hot Fox meme.

In fact, I've got a $20 bill to wager sez Reclaiming History will never be produced.

HBO is going to sink 10 episodes on a tale NO ONE buys anymore?

My Andy Jackson sez No way...

Edited January 18, 2010 by Cliff Varnell

[Peter McGuire]

Anyone else see this ad?

For the entire Viking-Cowboy game. Nice touch, I thought.

There's a change in the zeitgeist...anti-government is IN, baby!

"The government lied about it" is a hot Fox meme.

In fact, I've got a $20 bill to wager sez Reclaiming History will never be produced.

HBO is going to sink 10 episodes on a tale NO ONE buys anymore?

My Andy Jackson sez No way...

The episode was a little disappointing since it presumed Oswald was one of the shooters and went into the “could he have fired the shots?" nonsense.

It is beyond me how a scull that is blown out in the back can be one that took shots only from behind.

I am sick of the minutia where the conclusion of conspiracy is obvious. It is way past the time to focus on who killed Kennedy and why.

There is also an interesting psychological aspect of the cover-up that was portrayed in this episode of Bones.

"Booth”, a direct descendent of John Wilkes, an FBI Agent and former government assassin gave us a look into the denial that is part and parcel of this case.

Many, particularly those employed by the government and military simply can not accept what is an obvious conclusion.

The distraught Booth must be consoled by his associates by coming to the conclusion, in the end, that the skeleton that shows signs of gunshots from multiple directions is not JFK , thus saving Booth from the anguish that the government which he defended all his life, while redeeming the Booth name, did not lie to him after all.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Peter McGuire

[Pat Speer]

The episode was a little disappointing since it presumed Oswald was one of the shooters and went into the “could he have fired the shots" nonsense.

It is beyond me how a scull that is blown out in the back can be one that took shots only from behind.

I am sick of the minutia where the conclusion of conspiracy is obvious. It is way past the time to focus on who killed Kennedy and why.

There is also an interesting psychological aspect of the cover-up that was portrayed in this episode of Bones.

"Booth”, a direct descendent of John Wilkes, an FBI Agent and former government assassin gave us a look into the denial that is part and parcel of this case.

Many, particularly those employed by the government and military simply can not accept what is an obvious conclusion.

The distraught Booth must be consoled by his loyal team members by finding out, in the end, that the body which shows signs of gunshots from multiple directions is not JFK after all, thus saving Booth from the anguish that the government which he defended all his life, and at the same time redeeming the Booth name, did not lie to him after all.

I found the Booth angle interesting as well. There are millions of Booths in this country, metaphorically speaking.

[Terry Adams]

At the end of the show, Bones and the Head of the institute agreed that an illness JFK (didn't get the medical jargon) had could cause the disease that showed that the skeleton did not belong to the president. Bones gave the statistics of, I believe, at 1 in 100 chance of anyone with such a condition of having the disease. This showed, IMO, that she felt that she had been working on JFK, whose scull did, in fact, have an entrance hole from the front showing that there was definitely a second shooter. She only did this to appease Booth. The camera went to a television in a store window at the end of the show showing a reporter saying that there would be no exhumation of the president's body out of respect for the family. This was proof positive (again, in my opinion) the agents that held the institution hostage, gave the information of two shooters to their "higher-ups" and this halted any chance of a new autopsy. If Bones had found only one hole in the back of the skull, there would have been an exhumation. Thoughts?

Edited January 22, 2010 by Terry Adams

[Peter McGuire]

At the end of the show, Bones and the Head of the institute agreed that an illness JFK (didn't get the medical jargon) had could cause the disease that showed that the skeleton did not belong to the president. Bones gave the statistics of, I believe, at 1 in 100 chance of anyone with such a condition of having the disease. This showed, IMO, that she felt that she had been working on JFK, whose scull did, in fact, have an entrance hole from the front showing that there was definitely a second shooter. She only did this to appease Booth. The camera went to a television in a store window at the end of the show showing a reporter saying that there would be no exhumation of the president's body out of respect for the family. This was proof positive (again, in my opinion) the agents that held the institution hostage, gave the information of two shooters to their "higher-ups" and this halted any chance of a new autopsy. If Bones had found only one hole in the back of the skull, there would have been an exhumation. Thoughts?

I got a little distracted at the end of the show and missed this part. Thanks.

It seems the writers of the show do understand the case. But the melons on the moving cart scene still make me wonder about their true intentions.

Are they trying to simply cast doubt and confuse the public?

Or was it clear that there were two shooters and the head wound clearly shows a massive exit wound in the back of the head?

[Pat Speer]

I got a little distracted at the end of the show and missed this part. Thanks.

It seems the writers of the show do understand the case. But the melons on the moving cart scene still make me wonder about their true intentions.

Are they trying to simply cast doubt and confuse the public?

Or was it clear that there were two shooters and the head wound clearly shows a massive exit wound in the back of the head?

The program was OK. While not particularly well written, it did try to present a balanced view. It ended up suggesting that 1) not only was there a conspiracy, but 2) the conspiracy is ongoing, in that, if the medical evidence showed one shooter, it would have been made public.

As far as the melon shoot...it was just to add some drama to the program. As soon as the former sniper said "see, it was possible" the skeptic said "But Oswald wasn't a top sniper, not even close" and the others agreed. (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing.) So it wasn't meant to be conclusive either way.

As far as the purpose of the program ... #1 ratings. #2 to arouse interest in those not yet exposed to the issue.

Pretty good for us, overall.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Pat Speer

[Dean Hagerman]

My wife DVRed it for me

I liked it just for the fact it was about the assassination

But I agree with Pat, any popular show that features the assassination is a good thing to get people thinking about it

[Peter McGuire]

"The Proof in the Pudding" Episode Recap from Bones Website

Synopsis

The Jeffersonian team is put on lockdown by a group of government agents, who insists that they determine the cause of death of a top-secret, unidentified corpse. Booth meanwhile breaks into the lab, with the help of his boss, to figure out what exactly is going on with the secret investigation.

Full Recap

Booth and Bones share a pizza, and Booth points out that he can see the face of Michael Jackson in the toppings. Bones says that seeing patterns where none exist is a sign of schizophrenia. Later, Cam discovers a pregnancy test, and asks Bones about it first, but Bones says the test isn't hers. Cam's daughter Michelle was in her office earlier, so Cam worries whether the test is hers.

The team discovers that the Jeffersonian has been placed in lockdown by Agent White, who is from the General Services Administration. White and his team of agents brings in a coffin and asks Bones and her team to find out how the man inside the coffin died. The team aren't allowed to harm the body in any way and the team will be watched during their investigation. Booth is outside, speaking with White and wondering why he can't join the rest of his people in the institute. White points out that he isn't technically a part of the team and he should just head home.

Booth successfully contacts the team via phone. Cam says that the victim was in his late '30s and had spinal degeneration. Bones tells her that they are there to find the cause of death of the body and nothing else. Cam sees that the skull was shattered and then distracts the agents while Bones takes a tiny bone sample without anyone noticing. Booth speaks with Andrew, wondering what he can do. Andrew says he can't help Booth until after the case is over. But Booth is insistent that he has to get inside.

Sweets gives Booth an update on what's happening inside the building. No one trusts White. After pondering the identity of the mystery victim, Hodgins suggests that Angela reconstruct his face. The man must have died in the 1960s, was shot by a bullet which nicked his rib, and Hodgins finds that the sample contains fibers of pink wool. Is this the body of John F. Kennedy?

Booth gets inside the building and shoots at the door get into the lab, and he's taken down by White's agents. White tells Booth he can't leave the building. As Booth calls and speaks to Andrew about the case, White is eavesdropping. Bones informs Booth that Hodgins and Cam think that the body is JFK. Later, Angela and Cam talk about Michelle, and Cam worries that her daughter lied to her about being sexually active because of the pregnancy test. Angela says that the test was hers and that she hasn't said anything to Wendell.

Angela tells Hodgins about her pregnancy, and she confesses that it's completely the wrong time for this and that Wendell was not the man she really wanted to father her child. But the baby gives them a link that connects them for the rest of their lives. Hodgins wants her to keep the baby.

Angela has reconstructed the face, and it is indeed JFK. White is livid but the team tries to downplay the victim's resemblance to the former president. Booth wants Angela to reconstruct the assassination. The team watches the computer animation, and Hodgins thinks that Oswald couldn't have been the only shooter. Booth says he could recreate the fatal shot if he had a replica of the rifle Oswald used. Hodgins informs Sweets and Booth of a secret passage in a closet. They slip inside to sneak past the agents. Sweets thinks that this situation might be a test for the team.

Hodgins asks White to leave, but White ends up punching him, which distracts White enough to not notice Booth and Sweets returning with the rifle. The bullet wound on the body is consistent with the caliber to Oswald's weapon. Bones requests that Booth be able to shoot a cantaloupe with his issued weapon to test out a theory they had. White agrees, but when the test occurs, Booth brings out the rifle and fires within the allotted time. The gun could be the weapon.

White threatens Booth after that stunt, saying that he won't have a job after this is all over. Bones has found two bullet wound entries on the body, so there may have been two shooters. Booth believes that this isn't JFK's body, and doesn't like to think that the government lied to cover up a conspiracy. Booth takes a call from Andrew, who says that congress is looking into trying to push a mandate to exhume JFK's body. He then asks Booth whether he is being held against his will. Booth says yes.

Hodgins speaks to Angela about the baby, telling her again that she should keep it. Wendell's not ready for that kind of responsibility because he's only a grad student and too young, but Hodgins says that he's more than ready. He still loves her and wants to help her. Meanwhile, Bones and Cam finds out that there is calcification on the left radius of the body. Sweets and Cam discuss Booth's reaction to the body, and Sweets thinks that Booth is fooling himself if he believes that the government doesn't have secrets it wants to keep from the public.

White tells the team that they're done, but Bones wants to do one more test. Cam says that the team wants to be completely sure of their findings.

Cam has retested the pregnancy test and tells Angela that she isn't pregnant. The test gave a false positive. Meanwhile, as White readies to take the body back, Booth suddenly puts White in handcuffs and goes after the rest of the agents. Bones takes more samples from the body to test. Andrew comes into the lab with a team, but finds out that Booth didn't really need rescuing.

The bone samples are dropped in pudding to see if they sink. If the bones sink, which they do, then the victim had osteomyelitis. JFK did not have that bone disorder.

Later the team has breakfast together, and Booth thinks that they were being testing because of his brain surgery. Angela thinks they all failed their tests, while Bones is insistent that they weren't working JFK. Angela tells Hodgins that she isn't pregnant, but she appreciates what he offered and will remember it. Bones finds out from Cam that JFK suffered from scarlet fever when he was a boy, which may have caused the osteomyelitis they saw in the sample. Booth is pleased that they weren't really looking at JFK's body, and the news reports that the remains of JFK won't be exhumed.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Peter McGuire

[Michael Hogan]

According to his profile, "Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo and Nocturne."

In reviewing the Bones episode, Whittington writes:

"....while a modern forensic examination of President Kennedy's remains would be interesting, there would be little purpose for doing so. Vincent Bugliosi has already effectively debunked all of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories in Four Days in November. Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist, acted alone. This has not stopped the conspiracy theory industry and no doubt if a modern exam were to confirm Bugliosi, the conspiracy nuts would not be persuaded anyway."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2...ding.html?cat=2

Maybe Whittington needs to talk to Bill Kelly

[William Kelly]

According to his profile, "Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo and Nocturne."

In reviewing the Bones episode, Whittington writes:

"....while a modern forensic examination of President Kennedy's remains would be interesting, there would be little purpose for doing so. Vincent Bugliosi has already effectively debunked all of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories in Four Days in November. Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist, acted alone. This has not stopped the conspiracy theory industry and no doubt if a modern exam were to confirm Bugliosi, the conspiracy nuts would not be persuaded anyway."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2...ding.html?cat=2

Maybe Whittington needs to talk to Bill Kelly

Hi Michael,

I don't think I want to talk to this guy.

The only guy I am going to talk to is the DA who can make a Grand Jury happen.

He's the only guy I have to convince, and since I only have to convince one person,

I'm not going to let idiots like Whittington to set up speed bumps for me.

I'm glad people are talking about it though,

BK

[Nathaniel Heidenheimer]

FIction can be a means of fuzzifying on purpose. Just as most academic historians are reaching a consensus that there was a conspiracy (one will notice that Bugs book was not published by a University Press) Fox comes out with JFK stuff again. Remember the X-files. Remember that it was during the years 92-98 when "Conspiracy Theory" took on a new meaning , as in --middle class don't go near it with a ten foot pole or you wont be able to stay respectable middle class. This contrasted with the 60' -1980 period in which JFK Assassination stories regularly made the NYT.

I have mentioned this several times before but it bears repeating: the Rockefeller Comish in 1975 found that E. Howard Hunt had been paid by CIA to write espionage novels WITH A REAL INTELLIGENCE FUNCTION: SOME SORT OF SCRAMBLING WAS GOING ON.

Now we get more Fox fiction: what will the effect be on young academics who think of examining JFKs Cold War policies that might in some way touch on the Assassination? Is this latest Fox blurring genre lines another moating action? Look I am not certain its good or bad, but it can definitely be used towards negative ends as well, IMO.

[Pat Speer]

FIction can be a means of fuzzifying on purpose. Just as most academic historians are reaching a consensus that there was a conspiracy (one will notice that Bugs book was not published by a University Press) Fox comes out with JFK stuff again. Remember the X-files. Remember that it was during the years 92-98 when "Conspiracy Theory" took on a new meaning , as in --middle class don't go near it with a ten foot pole or you wont be able to stay respectable middle class. This contrasted with the 60' -1980 period in which JFK Assassination stories regularly made the NYT.

I have mentioned this several times before but it bears repeating: the Rockefeller Comish in 1975 found that E. Howard Hunt had been paid by CIA to write espionage novels WITH A REAL INTELLIGENCE FUNCTION: SOME SORT OF SCRAMBLING WAS GOING ON.

Now we get more Fox fiction: what will the effect be on young academics who think of examining JFKs Cold War policies that might in some way touch on the Assassination? Is this latest Fox blurring genre lines another moating action? Look I am not certain its good or bad, but it can definitely be used towards negative ends as well, IMO.

Nathaniel. Hunt's fiction books were written under CIA authority with the intention they would improve the reputation of the CIA, a la Ian Fleming's books about James Bond. They never sold enough to have such an effect. Intriguingly, former CIA agent William F. Buckley--a long-time friend of Hunt's--also wrote a series of spy novels.

As a result, I've always wondered if maybe, just maybe, Buckley's books weren't also written by Hunt. Has anyone--perhaps Gore Vidal--ever compared their style?

[J. Raymond Carroll]

I've always wondered if maybe, just maybe, Buckley's books weren't also written by Hunt. Has anyone--perhaps Gore Vidal--ever compared their style?

As I recall, Vidal despised Hunt's writing because Hunt had no style. On the other hand, while he might have argued with the substance of Buckley's writings, I am certain he would admit that style was something Buckley had in spades.

BTW thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Normally my kids alert me to anything JFK on TV, but somehow this one slipped below the radar.

It is hard to find time to read every thread, and I just opened this thread today. Memo to Pat: Did you perchance miss THIS ONE? http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...=15256&st=0

[Peter McGuire]

FIction can be a means of fuzzifying on purpose. Just as most academic historians are reaching a consensus that there was a conspiracy (one will notice that Bugs book was not published by a University Press) Fox comes out with JFK stuff again.

Nathaniel; I think you are on the wrong track here.

Although I do not agree with their assertion that Oswald was one of the shooters, the writers of this episode have a pretty good grasp of what actually happened. There is a lot of clarity in this work, and in the end, they determined by examination of the bones, that JFK was indeed hit with more than one bullet.

Most of us here agree that that was the case and have determined this without access to JFK's bones.

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, Booth's denial is the main point here. His denial represents, as Pat suggested, perhaps millions of people who can not come to grips with the truth in this case - - even if it right before their eyes.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Peter McGuire