Yes! There's hope for Hodgins!! - Bones (2005) Discussion

The science, like the writing, on this show is trash.

reply

Given that you were wrong on your other rants, I'm sure you are wrong on this. Of course, you have zero documentation. Scientifically, muscle memory is a very real thing.

Given the only science you ever studied is how to whine...

[Blue]But I'm much better now.[/blue

reply

[–] richie_breed 8 years ago

Sure. People after months of being paralysed manage to walk again (which is where this is going). Cool. Same way that people who get jailed just walk back into their FBI jobs. Cool. Same way that people who die skateboarding can suddenly talk to Cyndi Lauper. Cool. Like how when two FBI representatives can walk through a prison riot without getting shanked and then go to a manger and give birth to a kid. Cool. Like how when a super villain can hack into an alarm clock and every traffic camera in the world. Cool. Like how an artist can do a facial reconstruction on a 200 year old body with no head. Cool.

You see where I'm going with this, SarahGullible?

reply

[–] SarahCynical 8 years ago

Boland, you know squat about the human body. Nerves can recover from injuries up to 18 months later.

Once more, the little boy whines about watching a show he hates and wastes his time ranting about a show he hates because he doesn't have the nads to stand up to a friend.

But I'm much better now.

reply

[–] richie_breed 8 years ago

I'm not Boland. Seriously, we can disagree about everything else but I have to insist on this one. I have one account on here.

reply

[–] jamesboland 8 years ago

I have one account here as well, fool. YOu are exhibiting traits of an insecure sociopath.

Stop telling people who they are or aren't.

Stop cyberbullying people anonymously. Stop disrupting threads with non sequiturs. Stop bringing up Hollywood deviants and other inappropriate subject matter.

Get help or buzz off, Sarah.PFLAG for DummiesShe was in the loop long enough to eliminate at least one more problem.

reply

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] amaryllis-48085 8 years ago

A percentage of people in wheelchairs for months, or years, do learn how to walk again. There are even walking quadriplegics. Look up Patrick Rummerfield. He's hardly the only one.

reply

[–] kriket308 8 years ago

As a paraplegic viewer, I couldn't disagree with you more. But, I can't say I didn't see a made-for-t.v. cure coming. Of course they would...

reply

[–] !!!deleted!!! (7307272) 8 years ago

I guess it was too much to hope for that a paraplegic character could be shown realistically instead of another miracle cure.

I swear if someone starts down the road of "you just need to stay positive" I'll lose it completely.

Being confined to a wheelchair is bad, but it's not the end of the world once you adapt. Why can't they just have Jack actually reflect the real world for those of us so affected?

reply

[–] readerf61 8 years ago

It really does encourage the prejudice that having any sort of lack of ability is negative thing. People without sight or hearing or the ability to walk still have intelligence and a particular insight that neuro typical people lack. Overcoming the pity or scorn from the rest of the world just makes people stronger; solidifies their own belief in themselves and their abilities. Most do not wallow in their disabilities if given a chance to excel.

Hodgins has always been one of my favorite characters because he has taken everything life has handed him and just rolled with it: Angie saying no, and then not being *able* to marry him because of a previous marriage (oops), loosing his friend and fellow king of the lab, loosing his fortune--all of these he just shrugged and carried on doing his best. He has the perfect attitude and mind set to show the world that being in a wheelchair is an inconvenience, but not the end of one's life.

I would much rather they focus on the realities of being w/c bound: the lack of access to many places despite laws, the difficulty in getting through crowds, the people that come us and, without asking, push his chair briskly, the way people talk down to someone in a w/c as if their brains were affected somehow....all of this would be realistic and could be handled with humor and respect.

Just my $2.45, adjusted up for inflation.

reply

[–] CrystalMaize 8 years ago

I would much rather they focus on the realities of being w/c bound: the lack of access to many places despite laws, the difficulty in getting through crowds, the people that come us and, without asking, push his chair briskly, the way people talk down to someone in a w/c as if their brains were affected somehow....all of this would be realistic and could be handled with humor and respect.

For them to go that route, Hodgins would have to be the central point of the show. It doesn't work well in a show like this where Hodgins is a side character and the main character has had injury after injury with no lasting impact. Even in the last episode Booth was shown to have temporary issues with his eyes. They could've shown him not being able to perform his duties, something a lot of people need to learn to adjust to as they age. But the essence of the episode embodied the idea that ANY lack of ability should be perceived as a negative thing. Not having perfect vision is not the end of one's life. FBI agents can work with corrected vision.

He has the perfect attitude and mind set to show the world that being in a wheelchair is an inconvenience, but not the end of one's life.

I agree with you about Hodgins. But I disagree that a show like this should be about messages. I think they do a piss poor job when they focus on social causes.

reply

[–] readerf61 8 years ago

CM: It would not be necessary to have a "Hodgins centered" episode. The things I discuss could (and do) happen during an ordinary day. Someone who doesn't know Hodgins talks down to him, slowly and loudly--and I've seen this happen--at work or a coffee shop or anywhere. Just a little vignette within a larger story.

I read a book that had a character in a w/c, and after a lot of phone conversations, he finally came face to face with the other character who exclaimed, "You're in a wheelchair!" To which the guy in the w/c looked down, slapped the arms or the chair, looked up and said, "My goodness! I am!!" As though surprised by the fact. Point made. Very small scene.

I don't see how this would be a social "cause." It is just a truth. But if we can show people getting comfortable with a situation like this on tv, we can find ways to be more comfortable with all the people in our lives.

reply

[–] CrystalMaize 8 years ago

Its not that I disagree with what you are saying in principle. Of course its true that people have injuries that they may be left with for life and its a struggle for other people to treat them with empathy or compassion. Normalizing the condition on TV may help foster more acceptance.

But I can't see that it would foster more acceptance in the context of THIS story because Hodgins is not the primary character and here the primary characters are basically written with plot armor. Someone with brain tumor would likely have been left with some deficits. Booth and Brennan have injured frequently but neither have had lasting impact. So the story leaves realism behind on many occasions in order to favor certain characters. They would never be able to leave Booth in a wheelchair because he's the "hero". For Booth, even a minor eye issue where he doesn't have perfect vision has to be resolved with no lasting impact. He can't be given even a slight deficit even if it would ring far more true to life. If they were to leave Hodgins paralyzed we'd know they only did that because Hodgins' physical abilities are more expendable to the show. Which is the opposite foundation for garnering greater understanding and acceptance in the viewers.

I think Hodgins can still have similar moments as you've described, recover and educate others on how different people treated him while he was in that wheelchair. But keeping him in a wheelchair just because that's what happens to many in reality would just feel like that was for the sake of it because without the storylines being more Hodgins centric its not going to add more to the plot. It would be like like Booth's gambling which only comes out once in a while without requiring any real revamping of his life.

reply

[–] readerf61 8 years ago

Aahhhh, the light dawns. It's not that it wouldn't happen that way in reality, just that it wouldn't happen in the Bones'verse. Do I get it now?

What you say in context of the show makes a lot of sense. Don't know what I was thinking!

Thanks for clarifying for me.

reply

[–] CrystalMaize 8 years ago

Aahhhh, the light dawns. It's not that it wouldn't happen that way in reality, just that it wouldn't happen in the Bones'verse. Do I get it now?

Yes. This is exactly what I was trying to say. If you look at Ironsides, that was a plot where keeping the main character paralyzed made sense. That reflected the reality of how much people have to revamp their life after something likes this. It fosters understanding and compassion. But on Bones, Hodgins just doesn't get enough screen space or is that important to the central plot that the show would be revamped to accommodate for his disability.

reply

[–] Questionality 8 years ago

They've already done that to some extent. He can't go out in the field anymore. He couldn't get to the platform until they installed a lift. They fought him on going down the shaft.

erutangis

reply

[–] therealshapeshifter 8 years ago

As a paraplegic viewer, I couldn't disagree with you more. But, I can't say I didn't see a made-for-t.v. cure coming. Of course they would...

While I am not in a wheel chair, I can't help expressing my annoyance/outrage at public places (the library where I work, the lab waiting room at my hospital) that are not designed to accomodate wheel chairs and other disabilities--especially when they were built or renovated after the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. </end rant #1>
So I think they really missed the boat on a show that has just another season left if Hodgins does recover use of his legs. I would rather have him deal with the disappointment of him having to at least retain a significant disability that he needs to accept.
I accept that some viewers do not want to see Hodgins end the series disabled, but it seems it is the right direction for the show to go given their many "after school special" type messages.

reply

[–] falconefans 8 years ago

I haven't been watching Bones for a while but did watch the finale last night. How did Hodgins end up in a wheelchair?

Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans.
No she doesnt.

reply

[–] adrian-suniga 8 years ago

He was at a crime scene that had a detated bomb and Aubrey helped shield him and basically saved his life. He went to the hospital and was "cleared" but the med he was taking basically irradiated his spine in some way so he became suddenly paralyzed.

He was told that his chances of walking about is slim to none.
But last episode, his leg began to bump things. (Based on his therapy).

reply

[–] Questionality 8 years ago

NOthing irradiated his spine. He had a small bleed, but because he was taking aspirin, it became a big bleed, a hematoma. Which is like a giant blood blister on his spine. It cause compression of the cord and he became paralyzed.

erutangis

reply

[–] amaryllis-48085 8 years ago

Hodgins paralysis makes no sense to me. He didn't even become paralyzed until a couple of weeks after the explosion (assuming Aubrey couldn't have had such serious surgery and been out of the hospital in a few days). Hodgins' spinal cord clearly wasn't severed, or he wouldn't have been able to walk out of the hospital. And even if he suffered swelling in the weeks after the injury, the paralysis would have been a result of compression on the spinal column. So reducing swelling should get him some or all function back.

Hodgins can't really be bug boy from a chair. I really don't like this plot twist. Plus I've never heard of someone being permanently paralyzed like this.

reply