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Once again, here's why...
'Bones' and 'Rizzoli & Isles' are the same show
(read my original, longer blog post on the topic here):
*Booth (L) and Rizzoli (R) both investigate homicides. And they're both way more about the action than about the hard science. Plus they both have partners who are all about the science. And who aren't as good at reading social cues as they are. Oh, and they both know their way around a gun.
*Dr. Maura Isles (L) and Dr. Temperance Brennan (R) are both attractive women who use their medical/forensic backgrounds to investigate homicides. They are both socially awkward and tend to take things way too literally. And they are both shown working with a particular homicide investigator (see above).*Oh, plus Brennan was a foster child and her biological father is an ex-con/murderer, while Isles was adopted as a child and her biological father's a mobster/hitman.
*And they all go by their last names most of the time.
*Their relationships with each other are the heart of the show. Audiences want Booth and Brennan to end up together. And many viewers see an attraction between Rizzoli and Isles as well. In fact in the episode "I Kissed a Girl" the producers played with this idea, pleasing many fans by having Rizzoli and Isles mimic a lesbian relationship.
* Both shows are watchable largely because of the strong relationships between their main characters. While producers insist that Rizzoli and Isles are both heterosexual it doesn't deny the fact that if they didn't have quipping banter the show wouldn't be as enjoyable. Same goes for 'Bones'.
*Oh, and let's not get distracted by the fact that the cases are a bit too similar. In the first season of 'Rizzoli & Isles' and 'Bones' our main characters were dealing with a masochistic serial killer who loved to torment the professionals (and who focused in particular on Isles and Brennan).
*The same woman, Janet Tamaro, is involved in both shows. She's an executive producer for 'Rizzoli & Isles', was a supervising producer on 'Bones', and has written episodes for both shows.
*Finally, they are both based on best-selling crime novels. And both of them borrow little from these books, choosing instead to infuse far more comedy than is on the written page.
If you love 'Bones' you'll probably like 'Rizzoli & Isles', while the show is clearly still in its infancy, and could definitely be made stronger (more interesting mysteries!) it echoes the first season of 'Bones'. And we all know how well that show turned out...
