News concerning season 8 of Bones continues to leak out as the premiere draws nearer, including a brand new promo and a facelift for the opening credits. As you can see and hear from the clip above, it's not just the images that have changed in the season 8 credits, but the music has been tweaked as well. The new song will be unveiled with the season premiere.

Remixing – or even outright replacing – theme songs is nothing new in the TV industry, nor for Bones. Back in its fourth season, Bones swapped a synthesizer-heavy piece during the end credits for Peter Himmelman's softer, more emotional string piece. USA Network's detective show Psych is known for constantly remixing its opening song to fit with the mood or theme of special episodes; owing largely to the fact that show runner Steve Franks has the rights to it.

Of course there are many examples of theme song changes that have flopped with audiences upon their debuts; Felicity, Ed, and Monk, to name a few. That should not be the case for Bones. The opening credit changes are minimal and were mixed by Crystal Method, the same group who wrote the original song. A few beats have been removed from the beginning, and it grows more repetitive toward the end, but overall it's still recognizable to long-time viewers. Those long-time viewers, however, are oft-times the ones most likely to cling to the familiar, so it's anyone's guess how this change will be received in the long run.

Executive Producer Stephen Nathan, at least, seems pleased with the end result, stating, “It retains what we love, but is a fresh and current new take on what we expect.”

"A fresh and current new take" can also be applied to the latest promo, too. Check it out:

Where the first promo appeals to the dramatic nature of the show, this one aims straight for the viewer's heart. We discover that Brennan (Emil Deschanel) has been separated from Booth (David Boreanaz) for three months. The strain on his part, as well as Angela's (Michaela Conlin), is clearly showing. This is a group that, over time, has evolved from six individuals into a family unit - a family that will stop at nothing to clear Brennan's name so that she can come home.

While different in approach, both this promo and the first should do well in luring back the Bones fan base. The show's major strength has always been its characters and their growing loyalty for one another. Each member of the team in each of these promos can be seen doing their part to solve the case, and Brennan's, "Because you love me," soundbite is a testament of how far these characters have come in eight years.

The fans know, however, that this writing staff is also capable of taking these well-crafted characters and marrying them perfectly with the mystery and forensic aspects of the show. Episodes such as "The Killer in the Concrete," "Aliens in a Spaceship," and "The Proof in the Pudding" highlight how masterful Hart Hanson and his writing staff can be when they put their characters in the position of having to solve a case in order to save one of their own. Let's hope "The Future in the Past" will not only join those ranks, but set the bar high for the rest of season 8 as well.

___

Bones premieres Monday, September 17 at 8/7c on Fox.