Worst Bones Nightmare

That David will start playing Booth like Bradley Whitford plays whoever the heck he plays in The Good Guys. There was a little bit reminiscent of it in the hubba-hubba exchange with Caroline over Hannah's picture as well as the strange way he slammed[?] the door open while Sweets was watching video.

For the record, I usually like Bradley Whitford. He plays the best menschy cosmopolitan ev-va but he has nothing but contempt for the good ole boy character he currently plays and it shows through. There is nothing good-natured or sympathetic about the character in his portrayal. It makes me so uncomfortable I cannot even watch. I made it through only 1-1/2 episodes and have never looked back.

So please, David, don't do it. I know from interviews where you talk about Booth being a blue collar kind of guy that you don't really identify with him but so far you've been mostly respectful and done really well acting the part. Please, please don't follow Bradley's lead even if that is how Hart lets Booth be written.

I've always said I would watch anything you are in at least once because it has always been interesting to see your take on a character, especially unsympathetic ones. Please don't make me change my mind

So please, David, don't do it. I know from interviews where you talk about Booth being a blue collar kind of guy that you don't really identify with him but so far you've been mostly respectful and done really well acting the part. Please, please don't follow Bradley's lead even if that is how Hart lets Booth be written.

That's interesting. I didn't know he has said that. It explains a lot.

lancelot wrote:

So please, David, don't do it. I know from interviews where you talk about Booth being a blue collar kind of guy that you don't really identify with him but so far you've been mostly respectful and done really well acting the part. Please, please don't follow Bradley's lead even if that is how Hart lets Booth be written.

That's interesting. I didn't know he has said that. It explains a lot.

Please don't infer from this that David is anything other than respectful of the character. It is just that he switches to speaking of Booth in the third person when he mentions the blue collar aspect. Not that surprising really. David is a preppie, right?

I googled White Collar/Blue Collar and this is what came up:
[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

In my opinion Seeley Booth is not a "blue collar worker".

No, I don't take any disrespect in it but I don't see Booth as blue collar either. I think that might be why I feel a disconnect with some of the choices DB makes in playing him.

lancelot wrote:No, I don't take any disrespect in it but I don't see Booth as blue collar either. I think that might be why I feel a disconnect with some of the choices DB makes in playing him.

Until I heard David say that, I never even thought or cared about what color Booth's collar was. Still don't but when the scenes I mentioned reminded me of Bradley Whitford's radical take on his character, I panicked. I don't want to see Booth like that.

Well here's the thing. Booth was raised blue collar, which not only means working class, but also carries with it connotations of being grounded, down to earth, having simpler tastes, etc. Think of it this way, Blue Collar is Budweiser Beer, White Collar is Pinot Noir.

Now no one is going to confuse Booth with a wine drinker by nature, he's a beer and scotch (and occasionally tequila) man. We see elements of his blue collar nature through out the show, his dedication to service, his old fashioned values, his outlook on wealth (or more accurately the wealthy), and his ability to identify with working class individuals. Blue Collar folks tend to be earthier, more grounded, more conservative, and more concerned with the day to day things in life. That's Booth to a "T". That doesn't mean he's not an intelligent, well spoken, and well educated person. He's got to have a master's degree to hold his job, but yeah, I do see Booth as blue collar.


RM

BTW, the king was raised blue collar and even though he's white collar now, he still sees himself as blue collar most of the time.

Ok, you're right. In that respect he is 'blue collar" but as you suggest I was thinking about education etc. I think Booth should be an educated man and he doesn't always come off that way.

THX1138 wrote:Well here's the thing. Booth was raised blue collar, which not only means working class, but also carries with it connotations of being grounded, down to earth, having simpler tastes, etc. Think of it this way, Blue Collar is Budweiser Beer, White Collar is Pinot Noir.

Now no one is going to confuse Booth with a wine drinker by nature, he's a beer and scotch (and occasionally tequila) man. We see elements of his blue collar nature through out the show, his dedication to service, his old fashioned values, his outlook on wealth (or more accurately the wealthy), and his ability to identify with working class individuals. Blue Collar folks tend to be earthier, more grounded, more conservative, and more concerned with the day to day things in life. That's Booth to a "T". That doesn't mean he's not an intelligent, well spoken, and well educated person. He's got to have a master's degree to hold his job, but yeah, I do see Booth as blue collar.
RM

BTW, the king was raised blue collar and even though he's white collar now, he still sees himself as blue collar most of the time.

Great description and exactly how David should continue to play Booth.

lancelot wrote:Ok, you're right. In that respect he is 'blue collar" but as you suggest I was thinking about education etc. I think Booth should be an educated man and he doesn't always come off that way.

Sometimes downplaying the smarts and education makes sense as a plot ploy but I agree that sometimes there is a disconnect there. On the other hand, there was one early episode where Booth answers Brennan then goes into a riff on adverbs versus adjectives ending in -ly. It was something unexpected and I enjoyed it but then I am a language major. It was great as a revelation of Booth's educational level but I would not want to see/hear that sort of 'proof' regularly. That would be too patronizing of the character -- something that happens too often anyway.

I think they portrayed him more intelligently in the early seasons. I agree what you described could be really condescending and I don't see him doing that a lot. However, I think there was a hint that Booth down plays his intelligence so that he has the upper hand when people underestimate him in the early season. I thought that was a brilliant character trait. Especially for an investigator. It's not really there in later seasons. The other characters seem to take over the "knowledgeable" roles.