The TV show Bones is one of my favorites. It has strong, fun characters that carry each episode regardless of the strength of the story. The show is based off the books by author Kathy Reichs that chronicle the tales of forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, a very smart recovering alcoholic. The TV version of Temperance is not an alcoholic however, but her FBI partner Seeley Boothe is portrayed as having a gambling problem and has a brother that is a recovering alcoholic. I read two of the books by Reichs while in Japan last year, but this is one of the rare cases where I actually like the video portrayal of a story better. Most entertaining are the Spock-like blunt comments that the nerdishly aloof character Temperance often makes in the TV version, she is sort of socially inept and doesn’t understand the need for white lies to cover awkward social situations.
Thanks to the magic of Hulu, at least for a few weeks I can offer the latest Bones episode. Note in the final scene, that Temperance gives a toast and then speaks openly about the Boothe’s brother being an alcoholic. While I’m sure this was meant to be another oblivious faux pas by the logical scientist, I wish that most people just did just the same. I find that most people go too far in trying to avoid the subject often embarrassing themselves trying not to mention the fact that someone is in recovery. There should be no stigma, only pride for facing adversity and discovering recovery.
