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Bones
S5.E9
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
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IMDbPro

The Gamer in the Grease

  • Episode aired Dec 3, 2009
  • TV-14
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
David Boreanaz in Bones (2005)
CrimeDramaMystery

Mailman Steve Rifton's corpse is found in frying fat, hence extremely decayed over two weeks. He was reported missing for three months. The highly intelligent man's passion was the computer ... Read allMailman Steve Rifton's corpse is found in frying fat, hence extremely decayed over two weeks. He was reported missing for three months. The highly intelligent man's passion was the computer game Punky Pong. He recently lost the world record, which was bitterly contested. Both mot... Read allMailman Steve Rifton's corpse is found in frying fat, hence extremely decayed over two weeks. He was reported missing for three months. The highly intelligent man's passion was the computer game Punky Pong. He recently lost the world record, which was bitterly contested. Both motive and means require several theories based on forensic findings until things start fitti... Read all

  • Director
    • Kate Woods
  • Writers
    • Hart Hanson
    • Kathy Reichs
    • Dean Lopata
  • Stars
    • Emily Deschanel
    • David Boreanaz
    • Michaela Conlin
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kate Woods
    • Writers
      • Hart Hanson
      • Kathy Reichs
      • Dean Lopata
    • Stars
      • Emily Deschanel
      • David Boreanaz
      • Michaela Conlin
    • 9User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos11

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    Top cast20

    Edit
    Emily Deschanel
    Emily Deschanel
    • Temperance Brennan
    David Boreanaz
    David Boreanaz
    • Seeley Booth
    Michaela Conlin
    Michaela Conlin
    • Angela Montenegro
    Tamara Taylor
    Tamara Taylor
    • Camille Saroyan
    T.J. Thyne
    T.J. Thyne
    • Jack Hodgins
    • (as TJ Thyne)
    John Francis Daley
    John Francis Daley
    • Lance Sweets
    Joel David Moore
    Joel David Moore
    • Colin Fisher
    Kaylee DeFer
    Kaylee DeFer
    • Tory Payne
    Sam Golzari
    Sam Golzari
    • Chris Ballinger
    Jessalyn Wanlim
    Jessalyn Wanlim
    • Dierdre Ryan
    Evan Arnold
    Evan Arnold
    • Keith Seeger
    Laura Heisler
    Laura Heisler
    • Jill Rifton
    Oren Skoog
    Oren Skoog
    • Billy Gabel
    Mickey Jones
    Mickey Jones
    • Willie
    Nick Nordella
    Nick Nordella
    • Junior
    Steven Christopher Parker
    Steven Christopher Parker
    • Barry
    Jordan Orr
    Jordan Orr
    • Doug Seeger
    • (as Jordan Del Spina)
    Giovanni V. Giusti
    • Skateboarder Avatar Fan
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Kate Woods
    • Writers
      • Hart Hanson
      • Kathy Reichs
      • Dean Lopata
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    7.51K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9svandyksvd

    An interesting piece for gaming history, 9 years later.

    This episode had me in tears due to the fairly recent condemnation of world record holder Billy Mitchell, the "King of Kong" (King of Con more like it...), and the typical hyped movie aspect that's common to find with great movies such as the shown Avatar, Star Wars (the oldies), and many pixar/disney movies.

    Simply bravo to the writers and producers
    10jchory-2

    Ha

    I think it is very funny that Joel Moore, who stars as Colin Fisher in Bones, and in the this episode wins the tickets to Avatar, is in Avatar. He plays Norm Spellman. Obviously Avatar isn't out in theaters yet, but when it is I wonder in "Spellman" will be a similar character to Fisher. I kind of hope he is.

    I just think it was clever, and wondered if anyone else picked up on it. I haven't finished this episode yet, but it looks pretty good. Also thought it was funny that Temperance wouldn't look at the body until all the flesh had fallen off.

    Anyway, Avatar looks like a great movie.
    8ctomvelu1

    Want to see my tattoos?

    B&B investigate the murder of a letter carrier whose remains are found in a large tub of used cooking grease. Turns out the mailman was also a champion video game player of an old-school title called "Punky Pong." Could the video game thing have anything do to do with his slaying? While this is going on, Hodgins, Sweets and the hippie intern whose name always eludes me are planning to see AVATAR together, and must hold their place in line. Complications ensue, among them being a sweet young thing who latches on to Sweets while he's holding the place in the AVATAR line, and she insists on having sex with him. Conveniently, the boys have set up a pup tent in the line. But Sweets is conflicted, even though the girl has some swell tattoos across her breasts. Back the ranch, the boss is mystified by the boys' abrupt comings and goings. A funny episode indeed.
    7Hitchcoc

    Booth Learns About Video Games

    This starts out with a man found in a grease depository. It is filled with all the dumpings from a restaurant and is being siphoned for biofuel, I guess. Or just being disposed of. That has nothing to do with anything other than a place to hide a body. This leads us to the world of video game competition. Booth and Brennan argue about sports. Booth says for it to be a sport it has to occasionally produce injuries. Anyway the whole thing centers around a guy who declared himself world champion of some throwback game and the jealousy that ensued. He is the victim. I won't spoil anything. The subplot involves the three men from the lab taking turns holding a spot in the ticket line for Avatar. It leads to an encounter with a hot to trot girl who is very impressed with their credentials. On a totally different note, I never thought Avatar was that big a deal. It's an enjoyable movie but hardly the second coming.
    carijuneowens

    Brennan was a bit sloppy in this episode....

    For as methodical, logical and evidence driven Dr. Brennan is, she made some major assumptions in this episode. I can accept evidence of De Quervane's Tenosinovitis(?) markers on the bones but she assumed the victim was in too much pain to have played the record-setting game. The only one who could have told her what his pain level was was a pile of bones on her table. She assumed he didn't have the range of motion to have played the game. Since tendons are soft tissue (out of her area of expertise) she couldn't have known by examining the bones. Also, range of motion decreases as the condition worsens, so she also assumed the length of time he suffered from it. And last, she assumed he didn't have the surgery and subsequent physical therapy to restore range of motion, Yes, she could have spoken to his doctor but that's doubtful because the doctor would have cited HIPAA laws to keep the information confidential. For a character that's as evidence driven as Dr. Brennan, she drew conclusions that had little to no evidence backing them.

    As a side note, I know this because I suffer from De Quervane's.

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The video game "Punky Pong" is based on the first arcade game called "Pong" with some elements of the famous game "Donkey Kong". The character of Billy Gabel is an exaggerated version of the original world record holder, Billy Mitchell. The plot also alludes to the documentary "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)", documenting one man's attempt at the world record.
    • Goofs
      The scene in the game, where player character stabs the opponent is called 'kill screen' by Angela. It is actually a game ending sequence. 'Kill screen' is a technical term referring to the screen that is rendered in a way making the game impossible to beat, usually due to an error or an overlook by the programmers.
    • Quotes

      Colin Fisher: All friendships are fleeting and ends in abandonment. So why not spend a few hours with you guys until it falls apart.

    • Connections
      Edited from Avatar (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      The World Is...
      Written by Matthew Ryan

      Performed by Matthew Ryan

    Top picks

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 3, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 6, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Josephson Entertainment
      • Far Field Productions
      • 20th Century Fox Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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