Bones was a well of information and detail; forensics, legal, medical — even the personal lives of the main characters. Everything was fair game. Add in all that to twelve years’ worth of episodes and that’s a lot of content for us to keep up with. While we understood the main gist of the show and remembered the major event,s such as recurring serial killers or the progression of Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth’s (David Boreanaz) relationship, there were a few things that may have slipped past our attentive radars. That’s why we’re sharing some of those fun facts here. Without further ado, here are 10 hidden details about the main characters that you never noticed…
Emily Plays Angela
You’re not reading that wrong. As of current, Emily Deschanel plays a character named Angela on Animal Kingdom. This is ironic considering Angela, played by Michaela Conlin, was Emily’s character’s best friend on Bones. Plus, Deschanel and Conlin just so happen to be best friends in real life. It’s funny how these things are oftentimes interconnected. That, or Bones just continues to live on in other ways.
TJ Thyne Back In The Day
Remember Hodgins? The incredibly smart bug expert who marries Angela? Well, that character is played by none other than TJ Thyne. Turns out, Thyne played a character on David Boreanaz’s show Angel, which ran from 1999 to 2004. Towards the end of the series, Thyne played an unnamed lawyer for a few episodes. It’s kind of cool when you think about it; The world of film and television is truly a small one, where everybody seems to cross paths at one time or another. In the world of forensics, this is what we call proof.
Pelant
Sound familiar? Christopher Pelant, played by Andrew Leeds, was a vicious hacker turned serial killer in the series that haunted the team for years. Half of his face became mutilated thanks to a shot fired by Booth into Pelant’s car windshield, making him appear all the more gruesome. He is one of the best-remembered villains of the series. Meanwhile, the actress that plays Christine, Booth and Brennan’s daughter, is paradoxically named Sunnie Pelant. Obviously Sunnie is adorable and a far cry from a serial killer; the shared surname is purely coincidental, yet we still find it peculiar.
Referred By Surname
Have you ever noticed how Angela never calls Hodgins by his first name? Few do. Jack Hodgins is his full name, but few ever refer to him as “Jack.” It’s especially weird in Angela’s case, seeing as she dated and eventually married the man. The two even share a son later on. Most husbands and wives refer to one another by their first names, or at least pet names. Then again, Jack and Angela aren’t the typical husband and wife team. They work together and, well, Angela is a bit unconventional. So, despite this weird occurrence, it’s strangely suiting for Angela to simply refer to her husband by his surname (most of the time).
That’s A Mouthful
Angela’s full real name is elusive until the tenth season, though we were given the answers to pieces of her name over previous seasons. She’s embarrassed by her name, and when we find out what it is, we can certainly understand why. It’s unusual, sure, but you don’t exactly want to be called “Pookie” at the Jeffersonian. That’s not even the end of it. Her full name is “Pookie Noodlin Pearly-Gates Gibbons.” Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Not to mention that it’s something you don’t hear every day. In a way, it kind of suits Angela. However, we understand why she opted “Angela Montenegro.”
Angela’s Famous Father
Speaking of Angela, has anyone taken the time to notice just how famous her father is, let alone who he is? We know he’s eccentric — just look at the beard and sunglasses — and we know he’s a musician. Here’s the awesome part: he’s Billy Gibbons of famous rock ’n’ roll band ZZ Top. That’s right, the guitarist and lead singer who brought you “La Grange” and “Legs” plays Angela’s father. Even cooler, it’s implied in the show that he really is Billy Gibbons (a fictionalized version of course, considering Angela is fictional). No wonder Angela is as cool as she is. To our humor, just about everyone is intimidated by him on the show as well. We love Billy’s inclusion to Bones for many reasons…too many to list here.
Naming Names
All of the kids born to the main characters on Bones have relevant names. Meaning, they’re each named after someone important to their parents, either family or close friends. Booth and Brennan’s daughter is named Christine Angela, for Brennan’s mother and her best friend. Angela and Jack’s son is named Michael Vincent after an intern who was sadly murdered. Sweets and Daisy’s son is named after Booth and Sweets himself, since he was tragically killed before his son was born. It’s obvious how much friends and family mean to the Bones characters, and we love that it was incorporated into the names of their children for good measure.
Diet Coke
According to an interview with Emily Deschanel, she and David Boreanaz shared an ongoing joke. The two had a great working relationship and friendship. So much so that they had an agreement that they could enlighten the other about when they were being too annoying or simply needed to walk away from the other. At some point, it became a recurring joke, that if one was acting badly, they’d receive a Diet Coke. Emily, who doesn’t even drink soda, would realize who the Diet Coke was from right away (according to her, she didn’t do this as much to David as he did to her). It’s fun to know some of what goes on behind the scenes between our favorite characters in real life, so this is a cute tidbit to remember for future conversations with fellow Bones fans.
Family Visits
Emily’s sister Zooey, also an actress, made a guest appearance in a Season 5 episode. The characters made obvious comments about the similarity in looks between the two; however, instead of playing her sister, Zooey played a distant cousin named Margaret. While Brennan initially dislikes her cousin due to Margaret’s constant quoting of Benjamin Franklin, the two are shown to be getting along better at the episode’s end as they celebrate Christmas in Brennan’s apartment. It’s pretty cool these real-life sisters got the chance to play opposite each other, and we enjoyed every minute of it.
The Twist In The Plot
We all know Bones follows the lives of the employees of the Jeffersonian. Specifically, Doctor Temperance Brennan. She busily solves crime by examining the bones until she finds her answers and struggles in her personal life from her family to her relationships. However, despite her busy schedule, she still finds the time to write books about Kathy Reichs, who solves crimes alongside characters that resemble the people Brennan works with. In real life, Kathy Reichs is an anthropologist and author that writes about Temperance Brennan. We’re glad she did, or else we wouldn’t have Bones. Plot twist? We think so.
