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Evidence of things Latvian

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Within the pages of Kathy Reichs' first novel can be found evidence of a Latvian connection.

August 05, 2005

If there’s a Latvian connection to be found, we’ll milk it. In that spirit, consider the new television crime show “Bones,” scheduled to debut Sept. 18 in the United States on the FOX network.

“Bones” is based on the murder mysteries of Kathy Reichs. The Chicago-born Reichs is professor emerita of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and works as a forensic anthropologist for the State of North Carolina and the Province of Québec, Canada.

In her books, the main character has been forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who also will be the lead role in “Bones.”

The Latvian connection? Actually, there are two.

Reichs is of Latvian ancestry, as evidenced by the dedication in her first novel, Déjà Dead, published in 1997. Writes Reichs: “For Karl and Marta Reichs, the two kindest and most generous people I know. Paldies par jūsu mīlestību, Vecāmamma un Paps.”

Acting the role of Brennan in “Bones” will be Emily Deschanel, who is no stranger to Latvian herself.

Some readers may recall Deschanel in the brief role of Annie Frank in the television drama “Providence.” Annie was the sister of Owen Frank (played by George Newbern), who was the fiancé of lead character Dr. Sydney Hansen (played by the Greek-American actress Melina Kanakaredes). In episode 87, “Cloak and Dagger,” Syd met Owen’s sister and parents. It turned out that Owen’s parents were CIA agents, which for some reason explained why Owen and his sister spoke Latvian when they didn’t want anyone to understand what they were saying. The episode first aired Oct. 18, 2002, during the show’s fifth and final season.

“Providence” co-producer Artūrs Rūsis (most recently seen in the National Theatre of Latvia in the role of Andrejs in the musical “Eslingena”) confirmed for Latvians Online that he served as the dialogue coach for Deschanel and Newbern. He taught them a few simple lines of Latvian that they spoke to each other during a lunch scene in the show.

Now, if only the writers of “Bones” could find a reason for Deschanel to use Latvian dialogue. Then we could milk this even more.

— Andris Straumanis