Bones is arguably one of the most successful network TV series of the 2000s. In terms of sheer numbers, that’s hard to argue with. The series ran for a truly impressive 12 seasons on Fox and spawned a whopping 246 episodes. That’s downright unthinkable in the streaming world we live in today, unless we’re talking about reality TV. Each of these episodes has a catchy title, such as the Season 2 episode “Aliens in a Spaceship,” which remains a fan favorite. But the titles weren’t just designed to be catchy or hint at the plot. As it turns out, they were designed to help the writers keep things clear.

In Bones: The Official Companion, executive producers Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan discussed episode titles, citing “Spaceman in a Crater” as an example. The book explains that each episode title of Bones primarily refers to both the victim and the condition in which the body was found. Hanson and Nathan also explained that choosing literal titles helped them clearly understand the episodes in each season. As Hanson explained…

“Stephen has a huge, huge brain, as you can see from his huge head. But ‘The Corpses in the Book’? I get that. That’s the episode where the bodies appear… in the book.”

Hanson says that for over a decade, Bones averaged more than 20 episodes per season. That presented many challenges, including cutting more than half of a season to accommodate Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy. It’s a lot to take in, and trying to remember what happens in each episode on the fly would be difficult. The evocative titles made that much easier.

In “Spaceman in a Crater,” for example, Brennan and Booth investigate a scene in which (you guessed it!) a dead man was found in a crater. The flattened body appears to have fallen from a great height without a parachute, and analysis suggests the body was in space. They eventually discover that it was an astronaut whose fall was no accident, and a complicated crime mystery comes to light. Coincidentally, this episode also gave Emily Deschanel her most gross-out moment in Bones history.

Of the episode titles in the book, Nathan said, “It’s a bit like the Hardy Boys, but it’s mostly a tutoring program for us two guys who are still trying to figure out where to get lunch.” For those who may not be familiar with the reference, The Hardy Boys was a series of novels based on characters by American writer Edward Stratemeyer that centered on young amateur detectives solving mysteries. The novels had titles like “The House on the Cliff” or “The Secret of the Caves.” Hulu adapted The Hardy Boys into a television series that ran for three seasons starting in 2020.

In any case, it’s easy to see how this naming convention would serve a show like Bones well from a narrative perspective. It feels like a throwback and fits the procedural nature of the series. Plus, it had a pragmatic purpose, quite conveniently.

“Bones” is now streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.