The What in the Where When and How the Who in The
200 EPISODES TO DIE FOR
In the summer of 2014, a daring group of Bones super fans, or “boneheads” as they’re affectionately known, embarked on a case to re-watch 200 episodes of Bones, tracking over a hundred data points about each episode. What follows are highlights from the investigation that “dug” deep into what’s made this series loved by millions of viewers around the world for over a decade. Note, the data for Season 10 is only through the first 10 episodes, so tune in to Fox on Thursdays at 8/7c to see how the rest of the season stacks up!
THE MEANS OF THE MOTIVES 1 Whether it be for money, revenge, or self-defense, the reason a killer kills has always been important to a successful Bones investigation.
MONEY, GREED, POWER REVENGE, HATE, JEALOUSY
23% ACCIDENTS 35% S5 WINS FOR THE MOST REVENGE, HATE, AND JEALOUSY S3 WINS (14) FOR MURDEROUS 10% 12% COVER-UPS & CONSPIRACIES (37) DEFENSE OF SELF OR 20% COVER-UPS, ANOTHER CONSPIRACIES
*73 Unknown THE DEATHS IN THE DATA 2 This pile of bones is the total body count for the series so far. Deaths were counted if they were referenced during an investigation. For example, each of the bones in the Gormogon skeleton counted as a death, but the numerous peripheral bodies on the body farm episode did not.
MURDERS ACCIDENTS JUSTIFIED HOMICIDES
UNKNOWN MEN WOMEN GENDER 376 200 109 67 TOTAL
68
52 TOTAL KILLERS TOTAL DEATHS 44 43 44 40 34 27 29 25 25 29 22 19 24 21 15 19 17 14
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 THE WHO IN THE WHODUNIT 3 Here’s a look at the demographic portrait of the men and women, young and old, who are now dead and busted.
KIDS/TEENS 20s-30s 40-50 60+
MEN VICTIMS KILLERS MEN
WOMEN WOMEN
11 8
71 79 WHITE WHITE 15
7 WHITE 50 47 WHITE 34 56 11 5 8 3 0 4 0 0 0 BLACK 2 5 1 6 BLACK BLACK 2 1 3 BLACK 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 2 3 LATINO LATINO LATINO 1 1 5 LATINO 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 ASIAN ASIAN 0 ASIAN 0 0 ASIAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 1 3 6 OTHER OTHER OTHER 0 OTHER 0 1 3 0 0 0 1
*Victims: 67 Unknown Genders, 98 Unknown Ages, 81 Unknown/Other Ethnicities *Killers: 18 Unknown Genders, 24 Unknown Ages, 25 Unknown/Other Ethnicities 4 THE WHAT IN THE WHERE WHEN AND HOW A big part of the procedural puzzle is finding out where the victim died, how long ago, and what caused their death, with the majority of bodies found outdoors, stabbed, less than a week ago.
WHERE? WHEN?
OUTDOORS 229 120
61 47 41 20 14 8
INDOORS
1 -3 YEARS 1-4 WEEKS 1-7 DAYS 6-12 MONTHS1-5 MONTHS 135 3-10,000+ YEARS DURING EPISODE
HOW?
83 67 57 28
26
Punctures Gunshot Bludgeoning Poisoning Suffocation
*12 Unknown Locations, 65 Unknown Times, 92 Unknown Causes
10 THINGS BROUGHT BACK TO THE LAB
GIANT CHOCOLATE BAR MERRY-GO-ROUND
SEPTIC TANK
GUITAR
ARCADE
BATHTUB
REFRIGERATOR ALLIGATOR
AIRSTREAM TRAILER
TALL TREE
THE CASE IN THE POINTS
Key discoveries made in the first half of the episode vs. second half of the episode.
Identity Of Victim
228 97
Cause Of Death 148 160
Murder Weapon 85 200
*51 Unknown Time IDs, 62 Unknown Cause Times, 91 Unknown Weapon Times 5 THE RELATIONS FOR THE SHIPPERS The love between Booth & Brennan has been a long time in the making.
BOOTH BRENNAN
= 1 EPISODE INSTANCE
BOOTH VISITS THE LAB BRENNAN INTERROGATES SOMEONE MENTIONS BRENNAN REFERENCES SOCKS/COCKY BELT HER BOOK
S1 S2 18 S3 31 S4 S5 S6 BOOTH DRIVES ALONE S7 BRENNAN DRIVES ALONE S8 S9 21 S10 7
B&B WITH COFFEE/TEA B&B WITH ALCOHOL HEART-TO-HEART HUGS BLOCKED WITH ANGELA S1 S2 S3 17 S4 76 S5 S6 S7 SAVES BRENNAN’S LIFE SAVES BOOTH’S LIFE S8 S9 S10 13 10
B&B HUG EACH OTHER B&B "ARE YOU A COUPLE?"
RUNNING/CHASING RUNNING/CHASING S1 S2 59 S3 34 S4 S5 S6 S7 ACTS OF AGGRESSION ACTS OF AGGRESSION S8 S9 S10 66 39
B&B DRIVE TOGETHER B&B BANTER ABOUT SEX
SHOOTS GUN S1 SHOOTS GUN S2 S3 29 S4 10 S5 S6 S7 S8 KILLS KILLS S9 S10 12 4 B&B HOLD HANDS B&B KISS
S1 KISSES SOMEONE OTHER KISSES SOMEONE S2 THAN BRENNAN OTHER THAN BOOTH S3 S4 S5 14 S6 13 S7 S8 S9 SAYS I LOVE YOU SAYS I LOVE YOU S10
20 BABIES MADE 21
1x
STATE OF THEIR UNION
BABY BORN WEDDING
FIRST KISS FIRST SLEPT TOGETHER
MOVED IN TOGETHER
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10
HELD HANDS 15 KISS
SHARE DRINKS 10 HUG
5
0
BOOTH SAVES BRENNAN’S LIFE BRENNAN SAVES BOOTH’S LIFE
HODGINS AND S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 ANGELA:
BABY BORN A LOVE FIRST KISS WEDDING BUG BREAK UP FIRST SLEPT HODGINS TOGETHER STORY MOVED IN LOSES HIS TOGETHER FORTUNE
HODGINS KISSES SOMEONE OTHER 1 1 THAN ANGELA
ANGELA KISSES SOMEONE 1 2 3 1 1 OTHER THAN HODGINS
ANGELA SAYS I LOVE YOU 1 3 2 2 1
HODGINS SAYS 1 3 1 1 2 4 2 I LOVE YOU
HODGINS & ANGELA KISS
1 3 6 6 6 4 9 11
BABIES MADE 1
THE REMAINDER OF THE REMAINS 6 In the name of science, here’s highlights from the rest of the data set. You never know what you’ll find out in limbo.
OPENING SCENE B&B GO BRENNAN SAYS: "IDK / SCENE IN ROYAL SCENE IN FOUNDING FEATURES B&B UNDERCOVER WHAT'S THAT MEAN?" DINER FATHERS BAR
69 7 41 107 41
VICTIM KNOWN BRENNAN TRIES TO BUGS SEEN OR SOMEONE MENTIONS SOMEONE MENTIONS BY MAIN CHARACTER TELL A JOKE MENTIONED "PARTICULATES" "KING OF THE LAB"
49 30 106 93 27
SOMEONE SHOWN SOMEONE SHOWN SOMEONE SOMEONE DANCES SOMEONE SCREAMS SHIRTLESS IN BED PROPOSES
28 79 31 39 7
MAIN CHARACTER SERIAL KILLER KILLER WAS FIRST KILLER KNOWN BY ENDING SCENE LIFE IN DANGER EPISODES SUSPECT MAIN CHARACTER FEATURES B&B
69 23 50 48 172
THU 8/7C DEC 11
CONTRIBUTORS
@wellsbones @forensicmama @april30lin @MoxieGirl44 @ohhelloarianna @geraghtyvl @chtyaqi @omelette73 @peppernights @Xtine_78 @beabelli @coinsquolino @missmarina @Jimbo_Jimmy @RobeZ11 @thehornak @evasilev @FoxSpecOps3 @BonesOnFox
SOURCES & DISCLAIMERS
The master data set was gathered by fans and Fox staff from direct viewing and logging of each episode, with BonesWiki, Fox Research, and the Bones production weapons bible used to cross-check totals. For non-case related data, multiple occurrences of the same activity in the same episode were counted only as singular Yes/No hash (so if B&B kissed more than once in the same episode, it was counted as only a Yes for the episode). S3 death data is skewed primarily because of Gormogon’s multiple victims tally referenced in “The Knight On The Grid” episode. S5 had an abnormally high killer count due to the murderous partnership between the two killers in “Harbingers In The Fountain”, as well as the many killer witches in the coven from “The Witch In The Wardrobe”. S7 had a lower than average total episode count due to the writer’s strike. S10 data is only through the first 10 episodes. A good faith effort has been made to ensure data accuracy, but we encourage fans to point out any unforeseen oversights or errors, and continue the data collection efforts!
For a hi-res version and the source data documents, visit: Fox.com/Bones/200Infographic
By Zhenia Vasiliev & Alex Hughes