The Woman in the Car
Encyclopedia
"The Woman in the Car" is the 11th episode of the first season of the television series, Bones
. Originally aired on February 1, 2006 on Fox
network, the episode is written by Noah Hawley
and directed by Dwight H. Little
. The episode features FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth
and Dr. Temperance Brennan
's investigation into a woman whose remains were found inside a car, where a possible kidnapping may have occurred.
As they examine the evidence, the team is interrupted by the arrival of Agent Samantha Pickering from the State Department
, who has been assigned to conduct a security review on the team. By reconstructing the facial features of the victim, forensic artist Angela Montenegro
is able to identify the victim. The victim's name is Paulina Rozalina Semov. She has an eight-year-old son, Donovan, with her husband Carl Decker, who she is currently separated from. Booth suspects Carl to be the kidnapper. However, Booth and Brennan discover that Carl is under a Federal witness protection
program and is scheduled to testify in two days against KBC Systems, a company he believes is responsible for the deaths of 30 soldiers by knowingly sending defective armor to Iraq. The Justice Department
informs them that they have not told Carl about his wife and son lest he decides not to testify.
Booth finds out Carl's secret meetings at a motel were the cause of the separation between Carl and his wife. The meetings were with Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Weeks, assigned to Decker's case against KBC Systems. Weeks tells Booth that Carl disappeared after he was not allowed to talk with his son. Booth and Brennan find Carl at KBC Systems, pointing a gun to the CEO's head, accusing him of the kidnapping. Carl reluctantly surrenders at Brennan and Booth's urging.
Brennan and her assistant, Zack Addy
, determine the victim was burnt post mortem
and the cause of death was electrocution, which Zack later figures out the current used was consistent with the current provided by a generator. Agent Pickering's security review is terminated by her superior when she asks Brennan about a certain piece of classified information. She is then asked to destroy all her notes she has taken of the team. From the ear wax in the ear that Zack had found earlier in the victim's throat, Dr. Jack Hodgins
is able to determine the origins of the kidnapper to be South Africa
n. Booth remarks that companies use South African mercenaries.
The kidnappers threaten Booth by sending him Donovan's finger. From the finger, Brennan is able to ascertain that the boy is alive and her team is able to pinpoint the location the boy is being held, which is an abandoned gas station or mechanic shop. Booth and the SWAT team find the abandoned gas station and save Donovan.
This episode also marks Booth's 48th and 49th kills.
as the lead-in program, which attracted 30.15 million viewers. Although the episode was ranked first among 18 to 49-year-old viewers, it was placed second in total viewers in its Wednesday 9:00 pm ET timeslot with 8.7% household rating and 13% household share behind a repeat episode of ABC
's Lost
.
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
. Originally aired on February 1, 2006 on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network, the episode is written by Noah Hawley
Noah Hawley
Noah Hawley is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, composer, and author. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Noah wrote and produced the television series Bones and also created The Unusuals and My Generation...
and directed by Dwight H. Little
Dwight H. Little
Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
. The episode features FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth
Seeley Booth
FBI Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series, Bones , portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr...
and Dr. Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. , is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series Bones...
's investigation into a woman whose remains were found inside a car, where a possible kidnapping may have occurred.
Summary
Special Agent Seeley Booth enters Dr. Temperance Brennan's office and waits as she awkwardly answers questions about her new book, Bred in the Bone, in a television interview on Wake Up, DC!. After the interview ends, Booth quickly takes her to the crime scene where a car and its driver were found extensively burnt, with signs of a child kidnapping. They retrieve the body to the Jeffersonian Institute where they determine the remains belong to an Eastern European female, who is also a mother.As they examine the evidence, the team is interrupted by the arrival of Agent Samantha Pickering from the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, who has been assigned to conduct a security review on the team. By reconstructing the facial features of the victim, forensic artist Angela Montenegro
Angela Montenegro
Angela Pearly-Gates Montenegro Hodgins is a fictional character in the television series Bones , portrayed by Michaela Conlin...
is able to identify the victim. The victim's name is Paulina Rozalina Semov. She has an eight-year-old son, Donovan, with her husband Carl Decker, who she is currently separated from. Booth suspects Carl to be the kidnapper. However, Booth and Brennan discover that Carl is under a Federal witness protection
Witness protection
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police...
program and is scheduled to testify in two days against KBC Systems, a company he believes is responsible for the deaths of 30 soldiers by knowingly sending defective armor to Iraq. The Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
informs them that they have not told Carl about his wife and son lest he decides not to testify.
Booth finds out Carl's secret meetings at a motel were the cause of the separation between Carl and his wife. The meetings were with Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Weeks, assigned to Decker's case against KBC Systems. Weeks tells Booth that Carl disappeared after he was not allowed to talk with his son. Booth and Brennan find Carl at KBC Systems, pointing a gun to the CEO's head, accusing him of the kidnapping. Carl reluctantly surrenders at Brennan and Booth's urging.
Brennan and her assistant, Zack Addy
Zack Addy
Zachary Uriah 'Zack' Addy, Ph.D is a fictional character in the television series Bones. He is portrayed by Eric Millegan. The character was introduced as Dr...
, determine the victim was burnt post mortem
Post mortem interval
Post-mortem interval is the time that has elapsed since a person has died. If the time in question is not known, a number of medical/scientific techniques are used to determine it. This also can refer to the stage of decompostion the person is in....
and the cause of death was electrocution, which Zack later figures out the current used was consistent with the current provided by a generator. Agent Pickering's security review is terminated by her superior when she asks Brennan about a certain piece of classified information. She is then asked to destroy all her notes she has taken of the team. From the ear wax in the ear that Zack had found earlier in the victim's throat, Dr. Jack Hodgins
Jack Hodgins (Bones)
Dr. Jack Stanley Hodgins IV, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the American television series, Bones. He is portrayed by T. J. Thyne. Jack is introduced to the series primarily as an entomologist/forensic entomologist, but also as a mineralogist/forensic mineralogist, a palynology/forensic...
is able to determine the origins of the kidnapper to be South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n. Booth remarks that companies use South African mercenaries.
The kidnappers threaten Booth by sending him Donovan's finger. From the finger, Brennan is able to ascertain that the boy is alive and her team is able to pinpoint the location the boy is being held, which is an abandoned gas station or mechanic shop. Booth and the SWAT team find the abandoned gas station and save Donovan.
This episode also marks Booth's 48th and 49th kills.
Conception
According to the writer of the episode, Noah Hawley, the main idea of the episode was that the characters get to save a person's life by using their skills whereas in most of the series' episodes, after they find a body, it is followed by an investigation on the victim. Hawley also "wanted to raise [Booth's] stakes in this case and then give him the chance to take some real action - to save a boy's life not just based on his expertise as an investigator, a sniper, but also as a father." The security review conducted on the characters in the episode was used to explore "each person's quirks and create possible scenarios that played against who we think they are. But however far the dismantling of our team went, it was satisfying to show our heroine Bones, remains somehow, untouchable."Response
On its original airdate, "The Woman in the Car" received 12.61 million viewers with American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
as the lead-in program, which attracted 30.15 million viewers. Although the episode was ranked first among 18 to 49-year-old viewers, it was placed second in total viewers in its Wednesday 9:00 pm ET timeslot with 8.7% household rating and 13% household share behind a repeat episode of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
.
External links
- "The Woman in the Car" at Fox.com