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Covert Affairs starring Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham & Kari Matchett. Image via screenrant.com

Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is a talented and beautiful CIA trainee who outperforms others at pretty much anything. And she speaks 6 languages so Langley can’t wait to get her on the field.

The reason she wanted to be CIA was because she no longer wanted to suffer from deception. A while back, the love of her life – Ben (Eion Bailey) walked out on her, with a note that said “truth is complicated”.

Annie does her best to adjust to CIA protocol as well as her cold yet confident boss Joan (Kari Matchett), who is married to the Arthur Campbell (Peter Callagher), who happens to be their boss. While Joan and Arthur try to solve their marital problems, they also strategize on how to make the best use of Annie, without truly revealing the truth. Annie’s ex Ben was right. The truth is complicated and he just might be a big part of everything.

Blind and brilliant tech guy Auggie (Christopher Gorham) becomes Annie’s best friend and ally, as well as the series’ main sense of humor.

Of course Annie is expected to hide her real job from her sister Danielle (Anne Dudek). Danielle is happily married with two kids and Annie is staying at their guest house. Living close to them makes keeping secrets harder and stressful.

Each episode covers a new case as well as some foreshadowing on “the complicated truth”. We get action, deception, role play, a little drama and more action, with some comedic relief attached.

Covert Affairs is a fun action/drama with a decent cast. It looks like Kari Matchett decided her supporting role in Leverage as Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton)’s ex-wife didn’t cover enough espionage or screen time so here she is in one of the leading roles.

Peter Callagher (The O.C., Sex Lies and Videotape, While You Were Sleeping) is getting older and more charismatic, certainly looking his powerful position. And isn’t it fun to see Anne Dudek in such a domestic role after she was the bitch of a doctor on House and beat the crap out of Josh Radnor’s Ted Mosby on an episode of How I Met Your Mother?

Sure, my favorite CIA agent ever will be Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow of Alias. Covert Affairs started at a fun but medium pace. So far, it lacks the excitement level of the first Alias seasons, but it is very entertaining and promising. Since I no longer have Alias, I might as well have another spy show with a female lead.

Certainly recommended for Alias fans, lovers of the spy genre and definitely anyone who loves to see the female lead a girl kick ass.

7.7 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

Piper Perabo was nominated for Golden Globe this year for her role as Annie. She lost out to Katey Sagal, who won for her role in the series Sons of Anarchy. I don’t know about you, but for me Katey Sagal will always remind me of her hilarious role of 11 years as Peggy Bundy on Married with Children.

Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier plays the beautiful and charismatic reporter who might give CIA a hard time. She also plays The Morrigan, head of the local dark Fae government in Lost Girl.

Bones starring David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel

I started watching Bones pretty much when it first started – I only recently got to writing about it. I have an on-off relationship with this show. When I watch it, I can’t get enough of it but come on, there are many good distractions out there Castle, The Mentalist, House, Fringe…

So since we got the Bones tardiness apology out of the way:

Plot & Characters

Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a brilliant forensic anthropologist working with the (fictional) Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. She is also a published author and an occasional partner for the F.B.I, when the crime scenes feature not bodies in flesh but rather just bones. Her partner at the F.B.I is Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), who often calls her Bones – despite her objections.

Bones and Booth get on reasonably well, despite their character clashes, different points of view and social behavior. Bones is too involved in her science, lacks all diplomacy and political correctness, often to the point of being insensitively blunt. Booth calls Bones and her team “squints”, who are more at home at labs than crime scenes, although Bones manages to get more involved in the field and Booth at the lab.

Despite his military background, Booth has an emotional side and a soft spot for Brennan. Romantic & sexual implications are made for these two characters from the first episodes, although it is not quite acted on for a long while. Six seasons into the show, they never officially got together minus a couple of kissing scenes.

Other characters – both in their interaction with each other & with Booth- are quite fun:

Temperance’s best friend is Angela (Michaela Conlin) – who is a great computer programmer and who has developed the program that can give their bones “faces”, making identification easier. She is comfortable at the lab and with the computers. She is also much more social than Brennan, however the crime scene does give her a “yuck” factor.

Zack (Eric Millegan) is a rookie and the youngest member- despite being a genius, he has a lot to learn both when it comes to bones and women.

Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) has 3 advanced degrees, is a big help in cracking the cases and he is also famous for conspiracy theories.

So like many crime shows, we get a crime scene. There is a set of bones and Bones and her teams’ assistance is needed. Then we get sheer brilliance, detective work on bones, detective work with people and the victim and the killer(s) are identified.

Of course relationships and characters evolve through each episode and season. The show started in 2005 and is currently in its 6^th season.

Verdict

It is a great show, but it is not exactly for the very faint of heart. Hell, I am used to some gore and blood and dead bodies, being a regular fan of crime and vampire shows. But I am still not immune to

seeing so many bones. But the storylines, character interactions and fun banter make the show well worth watching.

8.4 on IMDB.

Fun Quotes:

Season 1, Episode 3

Zach: (to Booth quietly) Sometime when you’re not busy, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about sexual positions.

Booth: If you even try I will take out my gun and shoot you between the eyes.

Season 1, Episode 4

(On Bones’ boss sending her on a field trip with Booth)

Bones: Why is Booth the one who decides if we are going to Washington State? He gets the gun and the authority. He’s the one that people like.

Dr. Gibson: Firstly, he didn’t decide that you go to Washington state. He made a request. I’m the one who decides where you do and do not go.

Bones: And secondly?

Dr. Gibson: Secondly, It’s time to live a little Temperance. Connect with other people.

Bones: Are you suggesting that I take this opportunity to have sex with Booth on a field trip?

Dr. Gibson: Good God, where’s Dr. Freud when you need him?

Fun Notes:

Getting a lead role on a TV show is tricky. And there is always a risk of cancellation. If an actor is lucky enough to land the leading role in a show that lasts, then he faces the challenge of being branded that character or never finding another gig getting so popular. Well, David Boreanaz doesn’t have this problem so far. He played the vampire Angel/Angelus for 8 seasons in a row (3 for Buffy, 5 for his spin-off Angel). Angel ended in 2004 and Bones started in 2005. We hope Boreanaz always is this lucky. We like watching him.

Actress Zooey Deschanel, who you might remember from Yes Man and 500 Days of Summer, is the real life sister of Emily Deschanel.

Emily Deschanel and Michaela Conlin are good friends both on and off screen.

Anne Dudek appears as Booth’s girlfriend in two episodes. She gets a lot of girlfriend/ex-girlfriend roles to the main characters in popular shows, including House and How I Met Your Mother.