Bones
The Pinocchio in the Planter
TV Flash files “The Pinocchio in the Planter” as hour 126 of 246 in the TV Flash guide — Bones (2005–2017) on Fox, season 6, episode 20, aired 2011-04-28, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E20: listed hour 126 of 246 in the Bones guide, hour 20 of 23 in season 6. It aired 2011-04-28 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Finder” (S06E19). Next is “The Signs in the Silence” (S06E21).

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The team identifies the remains of a successful ad man found in the grounds of a newly built community center playground. Upon inspecting the victim's home and interrogating his former partner and employer, Booth and Brennan discover that the victim burned bridges by adopting an aggressive attitude toward honesty and was a member of a radical honesty support group. Meanwhile, each of the team members attempts to adopt a more honest way of communicating that doesn't always lend itself to good relationships. Angela urges Hodgins to confront the realities of their pregnancy.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Pinocchio in the Planter sit in the Bones guide?
S06E20 is listed hour 126 of 246 — hour 20 of 23 in season 6, season 6 episode 20.
When did Bones S06E20 air?
The Pinocchio in the Planter aired 2011-04-28 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need the Kathy Reichs books?
No. The Fox series is loosely inspired by them: Brennan and Booth, squint science, banter as courtship.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A socially blunt forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent circle the murder table until banter becomes courtship. Bones ran twelve seasons on squint science and Booth-Brennan timing — procedural comfort with sitcom chemistry, Kathy Reichs-adjacent bones, and a will-they that refused to hurry.
Bones is a murder table that learned sitcom timing and then refused to hurry. Hart Hanson's Fox series (2005–2017) ran twelve seasons, 246 episodes, loosely inspired by Kathy Reichs's novels: Emily Deschanel's Temperance Brennan, socially blunt, across from David Boreanaz's Seeley Booth, his transition from Angel to network lead already a craft bet. They circle remains until banter becomes courtship. Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley. Squint science. Procedural comfort. Forensic…
Filed against
- Emily Deschanel as Temperance Brennan
Emily Deschanel made Temperance Brennan the squint-science half of Bones — a socially blunt forensic anthropologist, Booth-Brennan timing, twelve seasons of procedural comfort with sitcom chemistry. Will-they that refused to clock out. TV…
- David Boreanaz as Seeley Booth
David Boreanaz’s Angel made Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Hellmouth a group chat with fangs — brooding romance as metaphor engine, found family, and ship wars the fandom still treats like custody hearings. The spin-off is optional homework.…
- Michaela Conlin as Angela Montenegro
Michaela Conlin’s Angela Montenegro kept Bones from becoming only squint science and a will-they — 2000s forensic anthropology as sitcom chemistry, twelve seasons of Booth-Brennan timing, Kathy Reichs-adjacent bones. TV Flash files her as…
- T.J. Thyne as Jack Hodgins
T.J. Thyne bug-hunted Bones as Jack Hodgins — squint science, a murder table that lasted twelve seasons, procedural comfort with sitcom chemistry, insects as a personality. Booth-Brennan timing around him. TV Flash files him as 2000s…
- Tamara Taylor as Camille Saroyan
Tamara Taylor ran the Jeffersonian as Camille Saroyan on Bones — forensic-hour management, squint science, Booth-Brennan timing around a murder table that lasted twelve seasons. Procedural comfort with sitcom chemistry. TV Flash files her…
- John Francis Daley as Lance Sweets
John Francis Daley’s Sam Weir survived Freaks and Geeks’ freshman year like a documentary of embarrassment — 1990s catalog authenticity, then Bones stretching the kid into a lab’s socially blunt orbit. TV Flash files him as the geek who…