Bonekickers

2008 · 1 season · Drama
5.6 Niche

Series finished

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Drama

Bonekickers was a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series. It was written by Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah. It was produced by Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen Ltd and co-produced with Monastic Productions. Archaeologist and Bristol University academic Mark Horton acted as the series' archaeological consultant. Adrian Lester has described the programme as "CSI meets Indiana Jones [...] There's an element of the crime procedural show, there's science, conspiracy theories – and there's a big underlying mystery that goes through the whole six-episode series." Much of the series was filmed in the City of Bath, Somerset, with locations including the University of Bath campus. Additional locations included Brean Down Fort and Kings Weston House, Chavenage House for episodes 5 & 6 and Sheldon Manor. On 21 November 2008 Broadcast magazine revealed the show would not be returning for a second series.

Country of origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Year
2008
Created by
Ashley Pharoah, Matthew Graham
Channel
BBC One

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

Bonekickers was created by Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah, the writers behind Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

Origins

Actor Adrian Lester described the show as 'CSI meets Indiana Jones', combining crime procedural elements, science, conspiracy theories and an overarching mystery across the six-episode series.

Casting

Bristol University archaeologist Mark Horton served as the series' archaeological consultant.

Filming

Much of the series was filmed in the City of Bath, Somerset, including on the University of Bath campus, even though that university does not actually offer Archaeology courses.

Filming

Additional filming locations included Brean Down Fort and Kings Weston House for episode 2, Chavenage House for episodes 5 and 6, and Sheldon Manor.

Reception

The series premiered on 8 July 2008 to broadly negative reviews, with critics like The Guardian's Gareth McLean calling it 'mind-bogglingly dreadful' and The Times' David Chater dismissing it as 'rubbish'.

Reception

Viewership declined steadily from 6.8 million for the first episode to 3.8 million by the fifth, before a slight uptick to 4.3 million for the finale; the BBC announced on 21 November 2008 that the show would not return for a second series.

Reception

A first-episode scene depicting the beheading of a Muslim character by an extremist Christian drew around 100 viewer complaints, prompting the BBC to express regret while still defending its inclusion.

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