Bones

The pilot begins as Dr. Temperance (or Bones) is returning to America from working in Guatemala. Right away, we see Bones as a strong and wily character, noting the fact that someone was following her almost immediately, and that she beat them to the ground when they attempted to attack her. However, the follower was a National Security agent, so Bones was held in police custody for her actions.

A body is brought from the water, and Bones investigates it. She is immediately able to deduce certain facts, such as the 'delicate features,' the fact that the person played tennis, and their age. Also, she notices that the body has been weighed down, meaning someone had the intention of submerging it in the lake.

Bones' workers, while analyzing the bones (during which they find rings from a gold chain and what appears to be frog bones), mock the existence of themselves in her book, Bred in the Bone. Bones completely denies the fact that they are the characters, claiming they are purely fictitious. However, each of her workers can identify themselves in the book, although none seem to mind at all; it's more of a jovial matter.

Bones stays up all night at her desk piecing together what looks to be hundreds of tiny skull fragments which were dredged from the lake. She remains there all night, completes the skull and falls asleep at her desk. Seeley Booth confronts his boss, asking for Bones to be enlisted as an active agent, as she will only work under the conditions of having full access to the case (because in the past, she has had some bad experiences). His boss accepts the proposal.

The scene changes and we see Bones asleep in her house, awoken by what she believes is an intruder. She takes a baseball bat from under her bed and proceeds to attack the intruder, who is carrying a television. After the attack (which involves smashing the TV instead of the person), Bones identifies the intruder as Peter, her ex-boyfriend.

The bones and skull from the victim are reconstructed using a holographic image. Using utilities on the custom-built application, the investigators are able to add skin tones and skin densities. Bones is able to identify the body (or the holographic representation) as Cleo Louise Eller - a girl who went missing after apparently having an affair with a senator (this is unconfirmed, however, states Seeley, who worked on the actual case of the disappearance). Seeley thinks the stalker, Oliver Laurier, is behind the murder.

Bones and Seeley inform the parents on the confirmed death of their daughter. Bones however seems to have an inability to be compassionate and attempts to give the parents direct scientific facts. She begins to answer 'Yes' when asked if their daughter suffered. Seeley ducks out of this though, giving the family some closure. We find out that the rings found around Cleo's neck were a bronze star won by her father during the war.

Seeley and Bones begin to heatedly discuss the fact that Bones was being too scientific, during which Seeley declares that Bones never releases anything personal about herself. Now in the lab, everyone is assessing the bones once more. We learn the victim was stabbed. Bones works out that the "frog bones" are actually fetal ear bones, meaning that Cleo was pregnant.

Bones confronts the senator and his assistant, proceeding to attack the aide after he tries to take back chewing gum Bones removed from the dustbin for a sample of the senator's DNA. This attack and confrontation leads to Bones being taken off the case, and because he vouched for her, Seeley is taken off of consideration for heading the new unit, and the position is given to the aptly named Agent First.

Even though he is off the case in the morning, Seeley determines that the senator is hiding something as he was extremely against Bones having his DNA sample. Bones and Seeley confront Oliver, the stalker, who is very antsy and sweaty, as though nervous. He denies the claim Bones confronts him with, that he murdered Cleo. He says that Ken and the senator framed him for being a stalker, when in actual fact he is, or was, Cleo' good friend.

We find out that Cleo's fingertips and skin pads were removed, and that her head was smashed in with a sledgehammer-type weapon. We also find out both of Bones' parents vanished when she was 15, and this loss is a very sensitive topic for her.

Seeley is scared to implicate and search the senator's home for traces of blood in the concrete floor in his basement, due to the fact that he is a senator. But after a chat with Bones, he appears to be angered into doing it. Seeley gets a warrant to search the senator's house because all the facts point to him as the murderer, and not, he states, because he was afraid of him.

The scene cuts and we see squad cars and police searching the senator's abode. Seeley is disappointed and angry at Bones for accusing the senator when they don't find enough evidence. They find a hammer, but not blood in the concrete. Bones suddenly realizes that the special type of earth that they are looking for blood in is also used for tropical fish, and Oliver previously told her and Seeley that Ken, the senator's aide, kept and cared for a lot of tropical fish.

Bones races over to Ken's house and sees him attempting to destroy evidence. She breaks into his house and confronts him. Ken has new linoleum, with concrete underneath, and he pours gasoline over the floor to set it alight and burn the evidence. She shoots Ken, subduing him until the police arrive. Time passes and we see Bones and the rest of the investigators at the funeral of Cleo Eller.