Bonekickers

It had it's moments and I think they were all in the trailer. Hubby fell asleep through it and normally I would save it on Sky+ for him.

I didn't.

The cgi was dire, the acting was dire (even the rather yummy Adrian Lester couldn't save it) - oh and what was with the re-dubbing of Paul Nicholls??? I will give it a second chance next week but I am not holding my breath!!!

A lot of things I love are a little far fetched but usually have at least one toe in the waters of believability. This fell flat, the characters were all over the top, the lines in places were cringe worthy to say the least, and the storyline, possibly not the best choice for the first episode.

Bonekickers is easily the worst BBC programme of 2008. That much is obvious: absurd, illogical, incomprehensible story lines; huge plot-holes and plot twists that make no sense; awful, cringe-worthy dialogue; downright wrong archaeology.

Yet, somehow I am compelled to watch it, week after week. Like a drug, it keeps me coming back for another hit, despite knowing how harmful it is to my braincells.

Quite simply, Bonekickers is the most hilarious show in ages. Utterly, insanely preposterous, once you stop taking it seriously it's incredibly funny. Treat each dreadful line of dialogue and each implausible coincidence as a joke -- or better still, a drinking game -- and you'll soon realise how fun this show can be.

Okay, I'm a professional and not an academic, but even so. I've managed to avoid this series up until now, but last night featured the Roman Baths Museum and I had to watch it for the background. Pity the actors got in the way..... Not going to comment on the archaeology side (yeah I know it's fiction) but the whole thing was just nuts. And not in a good way either. I could have assembled a better plot from an Ikea flat-pack and the dialogue sounded like they'd shredded the script and picked up random lines off the floor. And the big surprise at the end? - anyone not get it before the programme was half over? And in answer to cake-26, I know of a few black archaeologists and worked with people from various ethnicities when doing work with the public, so the presence of Adrian Lester and Gugu Mbatha-Raw is valid but they are so under-drawn as characters as to be 2-dimensional. Hugh Bonneville played his part as if he was half-cut and I really wished I was too.

Bonekickers is a poor man's Indiana Jones, but with less action and a lot less believable (and that's saying something if you seen Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls). The programme is about the fictional University of Bath archaeology department (the department not the university), and somehow this team find amazing discoveries and come across major conspiracies. The problems with the show are numerous. Firstly the programme takes itself too seriously and make out that it is a gripping thriller: it's not. The show is not well written, full of plot holes, bad dialogue and stereotypes. Whilst the West Country does have a rich history involving things from Stonehedge, King Alfred, the Rome Baths and the English Civil War, it is unbelievable that its involved with American conspiracy and having items like the true cross. What surprises me about the show is that Adrian Lester is in it, and he is a very good actor. He has been in Primary Colors, the Day After Tomorrow and Hustle. Some people have criticised the acting in the programme: I personally think that it is okay, nothing special. The show is not the worst one ever made, but there is a lot better around. The only good think about the show is it is made in the West Country which is under-representated in television, but it needed a stronger vehicle.

I keep reading bad comments about Bonekickers and I really feel I must write a positive one.

To start with, i think it is important to say that I'm a professional archaeologist, with well over fifteen years experience. I have been lucky enough to work in several countries and on a variety of different periods sites.

First at all , YES! Bonekickers may have gathered some inspiration from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, maybe something (not a lot though) from the Indiana Jones series, and most likely a bit from Time Team. But in addition to this,BoneKickers is a mystery series. It just happens that the main characters are not police, journalists or detectives (or a retired lady that write about murderers), BUT a team of archaeologists that get themselves involved in a series of historical (fiction) mysteries…

And when you accept the reality, that is PURE entertainment, then you can enjoy it. At the end of the day, the series is not trying to be Indiana Jones, or Dan Brown's code, but just something different, that plays with uncommon mysteries.

So what if it is not unique, fresh, new, etc etc etc? It's really funny and when they actually show some archaeology, it is actually really well done.

In its own way, it is quite fresh (does anyone remember the last time that we saw a team of archaeologists on TV other than TimeTeam?).

I really hope BBC decides to push for a second series, I know a lot of us will be really happy with it!

Well done this time BBC!!!