A Scene From Bones’ Pilot Was Plucked Right From Real Life

The problem with working in a field like forensics is that it becomes easier to forget that a lot of your profession involves dealing with some pretty horrific stuff, specifically the kind that people within earshot might not want to hear about while you and your co-workers are idly chatting. That’s exactly what happens in a scene from the “Bones” pilot when Brennan and her crew are shooting the s**t about their current assignment, grossing out some folks who happen to catch wind of what they’re discussing and awkwardly shuffle away. It’s an amusing moment that, as Hanson revealed during the aforementioned Q&A, was based directly on something similar that happened to Reichs (who shared the story with the show’s producers herself).

That wasn’t the only event from Reichs’ real life that made it into the “Bones” pilot either. The episode also begins with Brennan returning from a trip to Guatemala in which she helped identify victims from the country’s civil warring, much like Reichs did back in 2002 (as detailed on her personal website). Mind you, it appears Reichs wasn’t busted at the airport for carting a human skull around in her travel bag like Brennan is during the episode (nor did she use her martial arts know-how to teach a grabby Homeland Security officer a lesson … so far as we know, anyway). But it’s like I said, life as a forensics specialist in general tends to be a tad less exciting than it is in the “Bones” universe.

All 12 seasons of “Bones” are currently available to stream on Hulu.