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Mr Booth goes to London
It's another glorious day in the neighbourhood and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amilyn 's timeline for Booth post reminded me that I hadn't got started on Season 4 in quite such as timely a fashion as I would have liked. I think I was prevaricating because the first episode was greeted with a certain amount of antagonism on this side of the Pond, because of the cliched view of the UK it presented. This had nothing to do with Booth, but I need to say it. The British aristocracy is not royalty. They are wealthy landowners who may trace their titles back to Norman times (11th century) but they are not relatives of the Queen. These are the exceptions:
Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Philip, married to the Queen. He is Greek. He does not own Edinburgh.
Duke of Kent - Prince Edward, Queen's first cousin, a grandson of George V
Duke of Gloucester - Prince Richard, Queen's cousin and grandson of George V
Duke of Cornwall - Prince Charles, Queen's eldest son
Duke of York - Prince Andrew, Queen's second son
Earl of Wessex - Prince Edward, Queen's youngest son.
Secondly, the police in London tend to be referred to as the Met., short for Metropolitan Police, rather than Scotland Yard. Also, homicide is not the name given to police investigations of murder in this country
Right, after that is out of the way, everything else is just nitpicking.
WEXLER: He'd find it insulting?
BRENNAN: No. He’d love it.
Booth in Season 4 - the birth of a dork
The excuse for Booth and Brennan turning up in London appears to be as guest lecturers at Oxford University and 'Scotland Yard'. Booth must have gone up in the world, being considered an expert investigator worthy of sharing his crime fighting expertise abroad. I wish we'd seen his talk. I very much enjoyed your presentation last night. He’s very active: sound effects, visual aids, all sorts of props.
Anyway, as he says to Pritch and Ian:Bones and I are the best crime-solving team in America.
As usual, Booth loses out on accommodation:
BOOTH: God, you wouldn't believe what my hotel gave me for breakfast. It was like this brown goo and some kind of meat. I think it was a sausage about the size of my finger.
BRENNAN: I had an entire buffet.
BOOTH: Well, you're staying at the Duke of something, all right? I'm at the Beefeater Hotel Motel.
PRITCHARD: Ate at a Beefeater? That's brave.
BOOTH: Yeah, brave is right. (takes a sip of his drink) This is the weakest coffee I've ever had.
BRENNAN: Booth, that's tea.
(He takes the cup and empties it into the river)
BOOTH: God, I hate London! I hate England! I'm glad we had a revolution! Aaah!
BRENNAN: (answering her phone) Brennan.
(Booth continues to rant outside the car while Brennan talks to Cam)
BOOTH: And the weather it changes, it's cloudy...
CAM: The fatty acid composition of the victim's cervical fluid caught my attention,
so I ran some more tests. Turns out Portia Frampton was pregnant.
BRENNAN: Pregnant? How far along?
BOOTH: And coffee! What is so hard about making a cup of black coffee...
CAM: About two months.
BRENNAN: Okay. Thanks, Cam.
BOOTH: Bollocks!
(Booth gets back into the car)
BOOTH: Okay, I feel much better. What'd I miss?
The next driving experience is no less awkward as Booth manages to crash the car while trying to manoeuvre in a parking space.
BRENNAN: Well, you should look over your other shoulder.
BOOTH: Bones, I've been driving since I was 12, okay?
BRENNAN: Would it make you less agitated if I told you that I didn't sleep with Dr. Wexler last night?
BOOTH: Okay, look. I'm not agitated, okay? I'm agitated because of driving this little car, that's all. Look, Wexler is just - I'm not agitated because of you and Dr. Wexler. Wexler's just another guy looking for a one-night stand. That's it. Whoa.
BRENNAN: So?
BOOTH: So, he doesn't take it seriously.
BRENNAN: Seriously? What do you mean? You never laugh during sex? Because I do. Whoa, do you see that lorry?
BOOTH: I see that lorry. It's a truck, okay? We're American, and that is a truck. I laugh during sex. It's just, it's not that kind of serious.
BRENNAN: Well, I think Dr. Wexler is serious about having sex with me. Very interested.
BOOTH: Okay, news bulletin for ya, Bones. There's not a guy in this country who wouldn't want to have sex with you. Probably half the gay men...whoa, easy.
BRENNAN: Are you being nice about me or awful about British men?
BOOTH: Wexler is not special; you are.
Couple of points here. First, from a personal point of view, Booth has clearly been an independent type from an early age. Driving at 12 opens all sorts of possibilities as to why he started so young. Maybe his love of cars started around then and he was at a garage moving cars around to help and learn about engines. Or could be his grandfather teaching him something useful, or giving him a treat. Whatever the case, confidence behind the wheel has never been an issue.
Secondly, this is one of the first times that Booth compliments Brennan and that he actively offers advice on her relationships. He has commented after the fact before and she did consult him about going out with the victim's brother in The Headless Witch in the Woods even if she ultimately ignored him. Here she tells Wexler straight away that Booth has warned her about him. Concern for his partner, or clearing the field?
After the butler confesses we have the final scene with Booth once again proposing his fatalistic view on life.
BOOTH: Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just here to help you pick out a guy, you know. Never mind. I'm just here to bring a little luck.
BRENNAN: I don't believe in luck.
(The Tower Bridge starts opening behind them, but neither notice.)
BOOTH: What do you mean, you don't believe in luck? Okay, well, how do you explain when good things happen out of nowhere?
BRENNAN: Define "good things."
BOOTH: You know, good things. Money in the bank. Uh, hey, Doris Day parking, a big piece of-
BRENNAN: What's Doris Day parking?
BOOTH: A big piece of the pie, that's good luck.
BRENNAN: I call that a solipsistic perceptual response to the random nature of the Universe.
BOOTH: Well, tomato, potato. Call it what you want. You know what? It's still luck.
BRENNAN:You are lucky I understand you when you say things that make no sense.
BOOTH: See, you just agreed with me that is was luck. You just agreed, right there, so I'll take that.
BRENNAN: I did not agree!
So, not much to add. We already knew Booth was not a fan of tea although he does find the Black Assam more appealing because it is strong, but the rest of the stuff was mostly hoopla for the benefit of the English setting. The second part was slightly better, in that Booth rediscovered his investigative skills. His gift from the police however, is the most interesting thing in that it is added to his desk paraphernalia when he gets home and it has stayed there ever since.
Booth has been referred to as a knight in FBI issue armour and this second episode feeds into that chivalric view he would like to have of the world.
BOOTH: You know, I’m glad to be heading home, but I think America dropped too much of the uh, English stuff back in 1776. (Booth hands Brennan more bags)BRENNAN: Like what?
BOOTH: You know, like, uh, royalty.
BRENNAN: Meaningless title. No real power.
BOOTH: What, you never wanted to be a princess when you were a kid?
BRENNAN: No.
BOOTH: Even now---a castle, the moats, knights in shining armour. (Brennan shakes her head and looks confused.) You know what? I risk my life for the United States government every day. I wonder if I can get Congress to pass something like…(Booth’s cell rings.) knighthood. “Sir Seeley Booth.” It just sounds right.
He gets his wish at the end.
BOOTH: You know, Wexler was kind of like a Robin Hood kind of a character—steal from the rich.
BRENNAN: I turned down my chance to sleep with Robin Hood?
BOOTH: Sometimes you just take the oddest leap. (Pritchard approaches them, carrying something)
BOOTH: (in an English accent) Hey, Pritch. Cheerio, mate. (He smiles and turns to Brennan, proud of himself)
PRITCHARD: “Hello” is fine. (Picking up a knife) On behalf of her Majesty the Queen of England (she taps Booth on each shoulder) I dub you Sir Seeley Booth (she puts down the knife and places a ribbon over Booth’s neck) Knight of the Realm.
BOOTH: Wow.
BRENNAN: (reading the ribbon) “Official Junior Knight”
BOOTH: Eh? Look at that. Wait a second. That’s from a toy store.
PRITCHARD: It doesn’t mean you’re not Sir Galahad.
BOOTH: Thanks.
This foray was littered with errors, but kept up Booth's reputation as the intellectually challenged end of the partnership. At least his ignorance is based on his own experience of life, confusing VHL disease with NHL; confusing Frankenstein and the monster; thinking a Gentlemen's Club is for pole dancing. He also proves his hard head is still intact taking a head butt in his stride so that the perpetrator is the one who ends up on the ground.
His romantic fantasy as a knight might fall on stony ground with Brennan, but at least she accepts his gentlemanly arm as they head off back to the safety of the good ol' U S of A.
Oh, I'm going to miss the first day of our first game at home on Wednesday if I go to the Quayside. *ponders* Quayside I think. Good food, good wine, good friends. I can go to days 2 and 3 instead. he he
amilyn 's timeline for Booth post reminded me that I hadn't got started on Season 4 in quite such as timely a fashion as I would have liked. I think I was prevaricating because the first episode was greeted with a certain amount of antagonism on this side of the Pond, because of the cliched view of the UK it presented. This had nothing to do with Booth, but I need to say it. The British aristocracy is not royalty. They are wealthy landowners who may trace their titles back to Norman times (11th century) but they are not relatives of the Queen. These are the exceptions:Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Philip, married to the Queen. He is Greek. He does not own Edinburgh.
Duke of Kent - Prince Edward, Queen's first cousin, a grandson of George V
Duke of Gloucester - Prince Richard, Queen's cousin and grandson of George V
Duke of Cornwall - Prince Charles, Queen's eldest son
Duke of York - Prince Andrew, Queen's second son
Earl of Wessex - Prince Edward, Queen's youngest son.
Secondly, the police in London tend to be referred to as the Met., short for Metropolitan Police, rather than Scotland Yard. Also, homicide is not the name given to police investigations of murder in this country
Right, after that is out of the way, everything else is just nitpicking.
A BOOTH FOR ALL SEASONS
Aaaaw jet-lag and he's had his hair cut.
WEXLER: Mustard. Keen as mustard. Excellent effort at the colloquialism, though. Very impressive. Does your cowboy want to tag along?
BRENNAN: Oh, please, don’t call him that.WEXLER: He'd find it insulting?
BRENNAN: No. He’d love it.
The excuse for Booth and Brennan turning up in London appears to be as guest lecturers at Oxford University and 'Scotland Yard'. Booth must have gone up in the world, being considered an expert investigator worthy of sharing his crime fighting expertise abroad. I wish we'd seen his talk. I very much enjoyed your presentation last night. He’s very active: sound effects, visual aids, all sorts of props.
Anyway, as he says to Pritch and Ian:Bones and I are the best crime-solving team in America.
As usual, Booth loses out on accommodation:
BOOTH: God, you wouldn't believe what my hotel gave me for breakfast. It was like this brown goo and some kind of meat. I think it was a sausage about the size of my finger.
BRENNAN: I had an entire buffet.
BOOTH: Well, you're staying at the Duke of something, all right? I'm at the Beefeater Hotel Motel.
PRITCHARD: Ate at a Beefeater? That's brave.
BOOTH: Yeah, brave is right. (takes a sip of his drink) This is the weakest coffee I've ever had.
BRENNAN: Booth, that's tea.
(He takes the cup and empties it into the river)
Similarly, transport does not live up to his expectations as he has ended up with hiring an Austin mini, the hire firm having misunderstood his pronunciation of Aston. Before he has his meltdown in the middle of the street we see that Booth has assumed the right to drive as usual, though clearly not on the left. His earlier expressed view that he would have helped keep America British rather than break the law, has been modified by his experience of the home country:
BRENNAN: (answering her phone) Brennan.
(Booth continues to rant outside the car while Brennan talks to Cam)
BOOTH: And the weather it changes, it's cloudy...
CAM: The fatty acid composition of the victim's cervical fluid caught my attention,
so I ran some more tests. Turns out Portia Frampton was pregnant.
BRENNAN: Pregnant? How far along?
BOOTH: And coffee! What is so hard about making a cup of black coffee...
CAM: About two months.
BRENNAN: Okay. Thanks, Cam.
BOOTH: Bollocks!
(Booth gets back into the car)
BOOTH: Okay, I feel much better. What'd I miss?
The next driving experience is no less awkward as Booth manages to crash the car while trying to manoeuvre in a parking space.
BRENNAN: Well, you should look over your other shoulder.
BOOTH: Bones, I've been driving since I was 12, okay?
BRENNAN: Would it make you less agitated if I told you that I didn't sleep with Dr. Wexler last night?
BOOTH: Okay, look. I'm not agitated, okay? I'm agitated because of driving this little car, that's all. Look, Wexler is just - I'm not agitated because of you and Dr. Wexler. Wexler's just another guy looking for a one-night stand. That's it. Whoa.
BRENNAN: So?
BOOTH: So, he doesn't take it seriously.
BRENNAN: Seriously? What do you mean? You never laugh during sex? Because I do. Whoa, do you see that lorry?
BOOTH: I see that lorry. It's a truck, okay? We're American, and that is a truck. I laugh during sex. It's just, it's not that kind of serious.
BRENNAN: Well, I think Dr. Wexler is serious about having sex with me. Very interested.
BOOTH: Okay, news bulletin for ya, Bones. There's not a guy in this country who wouldn't want to have sex with you. Probably half the gay men...whoa, easy.
BRENNAN: Are you being nice about me or awful about British men?
BOOTH: Wexler is not special; you are.
Couple of points here. First, from a personal point of view, Booth has clearly been an independent type from an early age. Driving at 12 opens all sorts of possibilities as to why he started so young. Maybe his love of cars started around then and he was at a garage moving cars around to help and learn about engines. Or could be his grandfather teaching him something useful, or giving him a treat. Whatever the case, confidence behind the wheel has never been an issue.
Secondly, this is one of the first times that Booth compliments Brennan and that he actively offers advice on her relationships. He has commented after the fact before and she did consult him about going out with the victim's brother in The Headless Witch in the Woods even if she ultimately ignored him. Here she tells Wexler straight away that Booth has warned her about him. Concern for his partner, or clearing the field?
After the butler confesses we have the final scene with Booth once again proposing his fatalistic view on life.
BOOTH: Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just here to help you pick out a guy, you know. Never mind. I'm just here to bring a little luck.
BRENNAN: I don't believe in luck.
(The Tower Bridge starts opening behind them, but neither notice.)
BOOTH: What do you mean, you don't believe in luck? Okay, well, how do you explain when good things happen out of nowhere?
BRENNAN: Define "good things."
BOOTH: You know, good things. Money in the bank. Uh, hey, Doris Day parking, a big piece of-
BRENNAN: What's Doris Day parking?
BOOTH: A big piece of the pie, that's good luck.
BRENNAN: I call that a solipsistic perceptual response to the random nature of the Universe.
BOOTH: Well, tomato, potato. Call it what you want. You know what? It's still luck.
BRENNAN:You are lucky I understand you when you say things that make no sense.
BOOTH: See, you just agreed with me that is was luck. You just agreed, right there, so I'll take that.
BRENNAN: I did not agree!
So, not much to add. We already knew Booth was not a fan of tea although he does find the Black Assam more appealing because it is strong, but the rest of the stuff was mostly hoopla for the benefit of the English setting. The second part was slightly better, in that Booth rediscovered his investigative skills. His gift from the police however, is the most interesting thing in that it is added to his desk paraphernalia when he gets home and it has stayed there ever since.
Booth has been referred to as a knight in FBI issue armour and this second episode feeds into that chivalric view he would like to have of the world.
BOOTH: You know, I’m glad to be heading home, but I think America dropped too much of the uh, English stuff back in 1776. (Booth hands Brennan more bags)
BOOTH: You know, like, uh, royalty.
BRENNAN: Meaningless title. No real power.
BOOTH: What, you never wanted to be a princess when you were a kid?
BRENNAN: No.
BOOTH: Even now---a castle, the moats, knights in shining armour. (Brennan shakes her head and looks confused.) You know what? I risk my life for the United States government every day. I wonder if I can get Congress to pass something like…(Booth’s cell rings.) knighthood. “Sir Seeley Booth.” It just sounds right.
He gets his wish at the end.
BOOTH: You know, Wexler was kind of like a Robin Hood kind of a character—steal from the rich.
BRENNAN: I turned down my chance to sleep with Robin Hood?
BOOTH: Sometimes you just take the oddest leap. (Pritchard approaches them, carrying something)
BOOTH: (in an English accent) Hey, Pritch. Cheerio, mate. (He smiles and turns to Brennan, proud of himself)
PRITCHARD: “Hello” is fine. (Picking up a knife) On behalf of her Majesty the Queen of England (she taps Booth on each shoulder) I dub you Sir Seeley Booth (she puts down the knife and places a ribbon over Booth’s neck) Knight of the Realm.
BOOTH: Wow.
BRENNAN: (reading the ribbon) “Official Junior Knight”
BOOTH: Eh? Look at that. Wait a second. That’s from a toy store.
PRITCHARD: It doesn’t mean you’re not Sir Galahad.
BOOTH: Thanks.
This foray was littered with errors, but kept up Booth's reputation as the intellectually challenged end of the partnership. At least his ignorance is based on his own experience of life, confusing VHL disease with NHL; confusing Frankenstein and the monster; thinking a Gentlemen's Club is for pole dancing. He also proves his hard head is still intact taking a head butt in his stride so that the perpetrator is the one who ends up on the ground.
His romantic fantasy as a knight might fall on stony ground with Brennan, but at least she accepts his gentlemanly arm as they head off back to the safety of the good ol' U S of A.
Oh, I'm going to miss the first day of our first game at home on Wednesday if I go to the Quayside. *ponders* Quayside I think. Good food, good wine, good friends. I can go to days 2 and 3 instead. he he