7:51PM: Even after all these years, the cast of BONES — including David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, John Francis Daley, Executive Producer Stephen Nathan and Creator Hart Hanson — seem genuinely enthusiastic to be celebrating their series at PaleyFest 2012.
7:52PM: Moderator Michael Ausiello kicks off the panel by congratulating Deschanel on the birth of her real-life bundle of joy Henry. “I love it, I don’t get a lot of sleep, but I love it,” says Deschanel, before spiralling into a highly entertaining story that some might consider ‘Too Much Information’ involving the actress revealing the differences between giving birth in real-life versus on the show (Think: Uncomfortable screaming!)
7:55PM: Spoiler Alert! Not only does Brennan give birth in a very unconventional Brennan-esque environment, Booth plays an incredibly integral role in the delivery. Cue hilarious back-and-forth between the cast as Deschanel recounts getting peed on by the baby they were using to film the scene, “I remember thinking that I’ve been peed on by two different babies on the same day,” says Deschanel referring to her baby on TV and real-life baby Henry. Jokes Hanson, “Henry’s her baby, not her husband!” Chimes in T.J. Thyne with the first of what would turn out to be many hilarious, albeit slightly inappropriate one-liners, “Her husband is R. Kelly!”
7:57PM: A big joke on the set between the Squinterns is that they’re never doing well career wise. Jokes Hanson, referring to last season’s shocking death of Ryan Cartwright’s character Vincent Nigel-Murray that served as the impetus for Booth and Brennan to finally sleep together, “You get killed off the show if you get a series.” (Note: Cartwright can currently be seen in the hit Syfy series ALPHAS).
8:00PM: “Religion, money, house,” these are just some of the obstacles EP Stephen Nathan mentions in terms of challenges that lie ahead for BONES’ newest family. “But we don’t want to give the impression we’re doing PARENTHOOD here. Somebody is still going to be dead and the gang from the Jeffersonian will try to figure out who did it. But this baby informs their lives and they’ll have to deal with these issues of having a baby while solving these murders.” Adds Hanson, “I don’t understand the magic of chemistry, but from unrequited but unrealized love to this new no-longer-severable-bond, the chemistry has changed in a really interesting way.”
8:02PM: Spoiler Alert! Michaela Conlin admits to being incredibly touched upon discovering Brennan’s baby’s middle name.
8:03PM: Despite moderator Michael Ausiello’s best efforts, Hart Hanson is remaining mum on the subject of Angela’s real name. “That would be such a great visit from Billy Gibbons [Yes, that ZZ Top musician who plays Angela’s Dad]. We make a story out of those things, it’s a hilarious name though and Billy will probably tell Hodgins first!” Cue audible groan from Thyne who upon hearing this news bemoans, “Oh No! Is he going to tattoo it on my ass?!”
8:05PM: Both Hanson and Nathan are big fans of Sweets (John Francis Daley) joining Booth in the field. “Yeah, that works, and on a show like ours you find out what works and go with it,” says Hanson. “Booth and Sweets are just really amusing. In fact, you may notice that there’s more of Sweets in the interrogation room heading into season 8 and 9.”
8:10PM: In discussing the additional four stand-alone episodes of BONES the show is shooting following the 14th episode which will serve as the season’s traditional finale, Nathan lets it slip that the season ender — complete with a big creepy villain — will change things in a fairly substantial way. Jokes Boreanaz, “Just stay tuned to your Twitter and I shall update you!”
8:14PM: On the subject of whether or not Booth and Brennan will officially walk down the aisle before the show ends, Hanson responds in his typical cagey fashion, “If they ever get married, we’ll see a wedding.” Adds Boreanaz following another hilarious back-and-forth between himself and Deschanel on the subject of a wedding between their two characters, “I would like Sweets to marry us.”
8:16PM: Hanson promises that the significance of the number 447 — which loyal BONES fans may have noticed has been sprinkled throughout its seven season run — will be revealed in the show’s last episode. “The cast doesn’t even know,” admits Hanson, ” But what I can say is that the number 447 will appear in episode 12 this season. It’s something very dedicated fanatical fans have noticed and I’m amazed by that.”
8:18PM: “We got really jealous of COMMUNITY and wanted to do a meta show,” says Hanson of an upcoming episode that will see Booth and Brennan investigate the death of a body on the set of a movie that is being adapted from one of Brennan’s books. “Longtime fans will just be delighted with what they see.” Adds Nathan, “It’s as if you got incredibly drunk and watched BONES, everything is ridiculous and over the top.”
8:20PM: Rumor Patrol: Hanson seems really into the idea of a BONES movie. To wit Deschanel replies, “We probably won’t get to play ourselves!”
8:28PM: And the awkward moment of night goes to David Boreanaz, who in reaction to a question about whether or not the show plans to delve more into Sweets dark childhood, laughs uncontrollably. Evidently, it has slipped the actor’s mind that Sweets was abused as a child, which for the record Hanson and Nathan promise they plan on revisiting next season.
8:32PM: According to Nathan and Hanson, storylines the show would like to touch on before it ends its run include: Hodgin’s brother, Angela’s mom and Booth’s mother. For his part, Boreanaz seems incredibly interested in seeing Booth as an old man.
8:33PM: The audience Q&A portion of the panel kicks off with the unofficial president of the Eric Millegan [Zack] fan club asking whether or not we’ll ever see the actor back. “The pickle with Zack is that there’s a group of people that want to see him and then a much larger group that don’t remember him,” admits Hanson. “To do the story we have to juggle whether or not to pick that scab and find a story that works for us as well as Eric’s schedule.”
8:38PM: As we scooped months ago, Booth’s son Parker will be returning to the show. Says Hanson, “His reaction to his half sister is actually pretty interesting and not what you’d expect.”
8:41PM: When asked what shows they’d like to have starred on, outside of BONES of course… Boreanaz says CHEERS or MASH, John Francis Daley — who has watched the series four times all the way through — says THE WIFE, Conlin says AB FAB while Thyne earns brownie points with the big boss man by revealing that he got to do his, THE FINDER! And speaking of which, Boreanaz, who directed THE FINDER’s first episode in what Hanson calls “the Friday night death slot” jokes that star Geoff Stults has a bit of a crush on Michaela Conlin, “Stults is kinda stalking Michaela… I’m just saying… I sat long nights directing [THE FINDER] and I know things. It may be a little Van Halen-esque.”
8:43PM: “I know we’re supposed to be more upset but I think Monday is very good for us,” admits Hanson when asked about the show’s upcoming move to Monday nights. “We’re a good match with HOUSE and I think we’ll do very well.”
8:45PM: Final Spoiler Alert! The producers promise we will see Max (Brennan’s father) again, but weren’t nearly as confident on brother Russ (Loren Dean). At least not this season. 
New episodes of BONES return Monday April 2 at 8PM on FOX (Global TV in Canada) and stars David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, Tamara Taylor and John Francis Daley. Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv
Photo Credits: PaleyFest