Dream Stream: Bones, Family Guy, and Queen of the South
Searching for a few nuggets of TV gold? Here are this week's picks from our 'old favourites locker', available for you to stream.
Bones
Seasons 1-12 – Disney+
David Boreanaz is here, and this time he’s no angel.
Created by Hart Hanson, Bones is an American crime drama series that first hit our screens back in 2005. The series is very loosely based on the life and novels of Kathy Reichs, a forensic anthropologist, who also served as one of the show’s producers. The premise of Bones is an alliance between forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz).
Brennan is the central character and team leader of the fictional Jeffersonian Institute Medico-Legal Lab, a federal institution that collaborates with the FBI. Set in Washington DC, the show revolves around solving Federal legal cases by examining the human remains of possible murder victims.
Dr Brennan and her team provide scientific expertise and Booth provides FBI criminal investigation technique. In addition to the prospective murder cases featured in each episode, the series explores the backgrounds and relationships of its characters, particularly the romantic tension between Brennan and Booth.
An important ongoing dynamic between Brennan and Booth is their disagreement about science and faith. Brennan argues for science, evidence, and atheism. Booth argues for intuition, faith, and God.
The series is known for its dark comedic undertones, featuring human bodies in advanced state of decay, which serve to lighten the gravity of the show’s intense subject matter.
Engaging throughout, Bones is a great treat for those who love a detective drama, and fans of CSI are sure to find delight in every minute.
Family Guy
Seasons 1-21 – Disney+
It seems today, that all you see, is violence in movies and sex on TV...
It’s indisputably one of the catchiest intros in the history of telly, and it’s available to hear at your leisure with 21 seasons worth of episodes available for streaming. Disney+, we salute you.
Created by the genius that is Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that first premiered back in 1999.
The series centres on the Griffins, a somewhat eccentric family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children, Meg, Chris and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian.
Set in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, this show follows the hilarious daily trials of the Griffins, as well as the laugh-out-loud exploits of other members of the Quahog community including Peter’s friends Quagmire, Joe and Cleveland, newscaster Tom Tucker and Mayor Adam West (voiced incidentally by the Batman alumnus himself).
Exhibiting a lot of surreal and dark humour in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture, Family Guy may not be for everyone. But those who gel with the comedy it offers are inevitably hooked.
Featuring the fantastic voice work of Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Alex Borstein and MacFarlane himself, Family Guy is the ultimate in grown-up animation and the perfect chill out choice for anyone just looking for a giggle at the end of a long day.
Queen of the South
Seasons 1-5 – Netflix
A queen of a different kind...
Developed by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller, Queen of the South is an American crime drama series that premiered back in 2016.
An adaptation of the telenovela La Reina del Sur – which is itself an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte – the series centres around Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), a poor Mexican woman who becomes wealthy by building a vast drug empire.
Mendoza lives in the barrio of Culiacán in Sinaloa, Mexico. She falls in love with a member of a drug cartel, and tries to rise above her life’s impoverished condition.
After she is told her boyfriend has been murdered, she is forced to flee. She crosses the border to the United States where she teams up with a person from her past in order to take down the leader of the drug ring that is after her.
Mendoza ends up starting her own drug distributing organization and becomes very wealthy, which presents her with more problems, of a different kind.
A superb story told with a fantastic performance from Braga, Queen of the South is compelling from the first instalment.
Perfect for lovers of crime drama, this one is a sure fire hit for fans of Breaking Bad, Narcos and Better Call Saul.
