BBC drama
Bonekickers is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University.[1] It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series.
It was written by Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah.[2] It was produced by Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen Ltd and co-produced with Monastic Productions. Archaeologist and Bristol University academic Mark Horton acted as the series' archaeological consultant.[3] Adrian Lester has described the programme as "CSI meets Indiana Jones [...] There's an element of the crime procedural show, there's science, conspiracy theories—and there's a big underlying mystery that goes through the whole six-episode series."[4]
Much of the series was filmed in the City of Bath, Somerset, with locations including the University of Bath campus (which does not offer Archaeology courses).[1] Additional locations included Brean Down Fort and Kings Weston House (both for episode 2), Chavenage House for episodes 5 & 6 and Sheldon Manor.
On 21 November 2008 Broadcast magazine revealed the show would not be returning for a second series.[5]
Reception
Ratings
According to unofficial figures, the first episode of the series was watched by 6.8 million viewers, achieving a 31% audience share.[6] This fell to 5.2 million viewers with a 24.3% share in the second week,[7] and 4.6 million with a 21% share in the third.[8] And week four fell again to 4.2 million, a 20% share. Week five dropped to 3.8 million. The final episode saw a slight increase in viewers to 4.3 million.[9]
First night reviews
The series debuted to broadly negative reviews. The Guardian's Gareth McLean described the show as "mind-bogglingly dreadful", with "lame characters delivering abysmal lines",[10] David Chater of The Times thought it "rubbish",[11] and The Independent's Thomas Sutcliffe found it laughable and full of absurdities, while also observing that "Professor Magwilde's approach to archaeology is unconventional. She likes to squat at the edge of the trench and mutter urgently, 'Come on! Give up your secrets!'"[12] In BBC Two's Newsnight Review, the author Kate Mosse asserted it would be "great for teenagers", while the academic and critic Sarah Churchwell said the "execution [was] appalling" and that it was "beyond silly"; John Mullan likewise criticised the show's absurdities, saying that "Hokum has to have its own logic".[13] The New Statesman described it as "dramatic goo".[14] Some reviews were slightly more positive - Patricia Wynn Davies of The Telegraph wrote that while lacking in subtlety, the episode had an "action-packed conclusion",[15] and Lucy Mangan in the Guardian criticised the episode as "arrant nonsense" and "a clattering bag of madness" and found its characters too "shouty", but praised Paul Rhys and overall concluded that the episode was "utterly bonkers but curiously satisfying" and that, as for the series, "keeping the faith for a few more weeks might well pay off".[16]
Academic reception
In line with the broadly negative reviews, the reception amongst the academic community was mixed, with different complaints around technical accuracy. Mark Horton, the academic advisor to the script, answered criticisms on the BRITARCH e-mail list.[17]
Viewer complaints
A scene in the first episode which depicted a Muslim's beheading by an extremist Christian drew 100 complaints. The BBC expressed "regret" that some viewers had found the scene "inappropriate",but defended the decision to show it.[18]
