The final episode of the abbreviated fall season of Bones, "The Crack in the Code," was originally scheduled to air on Thursday, December 15. With the push into the new year, this episode will instead air on Thursday, January 12 at 8pm (Note the earlier time!).

The Bones episode will be used as a lead-in for the new spinoff series, The Finder, which will premiere on the same night at 9pm. The Finder will then continue to run in that time slot until Bones returns later in the spring.

Other than an apparent desire to help The Finder with a boost, FOX gave no reason for the episode's move. So it probably is simply an attempt to score higher ratings for the new show. Going along with this theory, FOX will re-air the pilot episode of The Finder -- originally aired as an episode of Bones season 6 last spring -- in the vacated Bones slot on December 15.

"The Crack in the Code" does not appear to be an episode that any Bones fan would want to miss. The case begins with a cryptic message written in human blood on a national monument in Washington, DC. The Jeffersonian team then finds itself chasing down a "tech-savvy" suspect (guest star Andrew Leeds) in order to solve the crime.

Will they catch him? Since this is a midseason finale episode, there's a good chance the criminal will survive to break the law in a later episode.

On the personal-story front, Booth and Brennan will continue to ready themselves for parenthood. Hopefully, this episode's search for that perfect family home will finally yield some results.

Want something to occupy you until Bones returns? Play BuddyTV's Holiday Trivia for your chance to win great Bones prizes!

The move of the Bones midseason finale echoes a similar move made by FOX with Fringe earlier in this fall season. Although the Fringe fall finale was reported as a major cliffhanger, fans won't get a chance to view the episode until January. Considering that the most recent Fringe episode aired back on November 18, that is a seriously long wait.

At least with Bones, it's only a few weeks.

Want more Bones? Check out our Bones Ultimate Fan Page on Facebook.

Will moving the midseason finale hurt Bones? What do you think will happen in the episode? What is a good way to pass the time until Bones returns? Leave your comments below!

(Image courtesy of FOX)