What we missed out on: 17th Precinct

Apparently the US telly industry makes a shedload of pilots that don't get shown. Here's one of them: http://io9.com/5872010/watch-ron-moores-fantasy-cop-show-17th-precinct-and-see-what-we-missed-out-on (the full pilot episode, though not final polish). I just watched the whole thing and was intrigued, impressed and want to see more. Unfortunately, there is not and never will be more.

Premise: "the show about cops who use magic discs instead of guns, spells instead of forensics, and plants instead of electricity".

I really do wonder, sometimes, what it is these people use to make their decisions, as it doesn't appear that they're using their brains.

In other telly: Bones

I've been watching Bones. I think I've seen all of S2, most of S6 and some of S3 and 7 (don't ask me how Living are showing this). Thanks to the excellent primer I had (thanks, Rynogeny!) I can generally understand what's going on. And I like it. Considering I tend to really dislike shows that seem incapable of writing romance without turning people into ridiculous caricatures of what could have / had previously been multi-dimensional characters, I was pleased that this didn't go there. I mean, it goes there with romance, but not with turning women (in particular) into simpering appendages pining after random male 'hero' character who saves them from turning into old, unmarried, pitiable, pathetic excuses for human beings.

Good writing, then, thank FSM. It actually has the same kind of impact on me that NCIS does, where the characters are what keep me coming back and the plots are almost entirely incidental. Favourite episode so far is the one where Brennan and Hodgins are stuck in a car buried underground, and while that's about the only plot I can remember in any detail, it's also one that really had me hooked from the start. Most annoying character is Brennan's dad. I love that Brennan is a complete scientist and says what she thinks, and wish there were many more characters like her on telly and in film. I would be quite happy if there was no romance at all in this, but as it doesn't piss me off I'm not bothered.

I'm now quite intrigued to see how it all started. S1 doesn't appear to be coming on any time soon, but it'll get here eventually. I'm sure I saw at least a couple of early episodes, which didn't draw me in, but I expect I'll have a lot more patience for them now.