David Boreanaz

Witnessing the comic chemistry between Bones (8 p.m. on Fox, 10 p.m. on Global) stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel during the fall TV press tour in Los Angeles, you can see why their darkly humorous crime drama has become an under-the-radar cult hit.

"I’ve always picked up Kathy’s books when they come out,’’ Deschanel (the shy, nerdy one) says of the bestselling crime novels by Kathy Reichs on which the series is based. "But my character is very different from the book, so it gets very tricky."

"I read the books,’’ interjects Boreanaz (the loud, in-your-face one), angling for attention.

"No, you don’t!" counters Deschanel, annoyed.

"Yes, I do!" says Boreanaz.

Deschanel: "No, you don’t!"

Boreanaz: "I do, too. I read the books!"

Deschanel (sarcastically): "Oh yeah, that’s right — you read the books all the time!"

At which point, series creator Hart Hanson jumps in like a solicitous parent.

"Does it make me sound too cranky if I say the series is not based on the books?" he offers meekly. "Because the series is not based on the books — Booth (Boreanaz’ character) is not in the books!"

Boreanaz: "I thought I was."

Deschanel (sarcastically): "You read them!"

Boreanaz: "I thought I was the mystery man — isn’t there, like, a mystery man or something?"

Hanson: "There’s a French-Canadian cop."

Boreanaz: Oh, OK — I didn’t even know there were books!"

It’s an amusing moment — in a genuine, not contrived way — that illustrates why Bones has transcended the "butler did it" mandate of blood-splattered corpse-a-thons like CSI and Cold Case to land in the emotionally charged realm of mismatched lover series like Moonlighting (David & Maddie), Cheers (Sam & Diane) and The X-Files (Mulder & Skully).

Except, of course, that the bookworm anthropologist (Deschanel) and the boisterously unschooled FBI agent (Boreanaz) who team up to solve murders aren’t actually involved with each other.

"What romance?" poses Deschanel in response to a question from critics.

"There is no romance!’’ confirms Boreanaz. "There’s no books, no romance, no tension, no conflict! There’s only just the two of us — and we start from there, really, and then all of the sudden it evolves.’’

It’s been a winning formula so far, but as the series sails through its third season with no smooching in sight, viewers are understandably clamouring for, well, progress.

"We want to keep them apart as long as we can without annoying the audience,’’ admits creator Hanson. "And there are certain little steam valves you can use to relieve pressure, and we’ll use every single one.

He pauses thoughtfully: "I hope we’re deft enough to do it, but y’know, it’s Season 3. I think we’d better see something! That’s all I have to say about that."

You can understand his reluctance to, as they say, "jump the shark" on the relationship issue.

Both Moonlighting and Cheers lost their edge — and their ratings — once their characters coupled up and a similar fate seems likely for Bones, a show whose appeal stems from the perceptional gulf between its leads and their dogged efforts to bridge it with affection, respect, but no real success. "He loved The Cure!" a murder suspect tells Deschanel’s interrogating supergeek, who takes everything literally.

"For what?" she pesters unknowingly. "What did he have?"

"Bones," interjects Boreanaz’ hipster. "It’s a band!"

And off they go, two crazy corpsekickers — a she-geek and a culture freak — pushing each other’s boundaries just enough to see what makes each other tick.

In the end, I predict, they’ll probably like what they find.

CHANNEL SURFING

Avril Lavigne brings her boisterous teeny pop attitude to — what the heck? — Dancing With The Stars (9 p.m. on ABC, CTV).(EB)

It’s National Bullying Awareness week, so please stop kicking sand in people’s faces and settle in for He’s A Bully, Charlie Brown (8:30 p.m. on ABC) and victim-friendly episodes of Kim Possible (3 p.m. on FAM), The Proud Family (2:10 p.m. on FAM) and Life With Derek (6:30 p.m. Friday on FAM).