Betty White Guest Starred In Bones' Least Watched Episode
Betty White was TV royalty. All she had to do was pop in, and viewers would sit up, aware they were in the presence of greatness whether they'd ever watched a minute of "The Golden Girls" or absorbed it purely through cultural osmosis. White's legacy goes far beyond playing lovable simpleton Rose on Susan Harris' legendary sitcom (though the character could be hella savage when the occasion called for it), but she spent much of her third act putting her razor-sharp comedic sensibilities to work in a never-ending string of small screen roles. Sitcoms, obviously, were her specialty; "Ally McBeal," "The Ellen Show," "That '70s Show," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Ugly Betty," "30 Rock," and "Community" all brought in White for an episode or more, as did the animated likes of "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," and "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy."
So, of course, she also showed up on "Bones" at one point.
Hart Hanson's affable procedural was the perfect playground for White to crack wise while at the same time quietly flexing her dramatic muscles (something she had often done on "The Golden Girls," perhaps to the degree of being under-appreciated). She made her first of two appearances in season 11, episode 4, "The Carpals in the Coy-Wolves," as Dr. Beth Mayer, a superstar in the forensic anthropology community and the rare person capable of bringing out Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan's (Emily Deschanel) insecurities about her own professional accomplishments. White would reprise the role in season 12, episode 10, "The Radioactive Panthers in the Party," which also has the dubious distinction of being the least-watched in the show's history with only 2.52 million viewers tuning in.
Betty White brought the laughs (and wisdom) to Bones
Ratings for "Bones" were down across the board by the time "The Radioactive Panthers in the Party" aired, but were still rock-solid when season 11 kicked off in late 2015 (much to the annoyance of the Fox executives who'd spent years actively trying to throttle the series — save for one). "The Carpals in the Coy-Wolves" sees Bones and the team at the Jeffersonian Institute recruiting Dr. Mayer to consult on a case involving a dead body in a forest, much of which has been snacked on by "coy-wolves" or coyote-wolf hybrids (which are a real thing). Unlike Bones, however, Mayer is just as pop culture savvy as she is observant, putting our hero on her back foot for a change. Mayer also sees right through Bones and her tiff with her other half, Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), when Bones decides to kill off the FBI character inspired by him in her next book as a subconscious attempt at restoring some zazz to their relationship.
When Mayer came back for "The Radioactive Panthers in the Party," the show was in the midst of putting a bow on things, so her return was mostly about "Bones" giving a final sendoff to one of its all-time best guest stars. Once again, the episode had Mayer dispensing some words of wisdom to the series' namesake, this time when it comes to sustaining a spark for her livelihood rather than in her personal life. White herself might as well have been breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to Deschanel, who took a well-earned break after the show ended. As for White, she retained a passion for her work right until her passing in 2021, just a few weeks short of turning 100. May her memory be a blessing indeed.