Sherlock Holmes: masterpiece theater

[Drunk Monk]

Not sure what the title was but it was an exercise in the obvious with painfully cloying camera work.

I don't have high hopes for Elementary. I've never really been a fan of Liu. She hasn't quite made the actors-who-dm-would-like-to-punch-in-the-face list yet, but this might just do it.

Masterpiece switches over to Zen next. That's an amusing show too, not quite as entertaining as Sherlock, but far better than The Apprentice.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, it wasn't totally bad, but not particularly good either. I'm not inclined to watch more of it. I do like the lead Jonny Lee Miller - he was great in Trainspotting and Eli Stone (another 'where the heck is that in SF?' show), but he's no match for Benedict. And I must confess that Lucy is acceptable in this role, surprisingly so. It quickly descends into another deductive detective & hottie police procedural like Castle or Mentalist (another 'where the heck is that in SF?' show), both of which owe a tremendous debt to the original Sherlock. And in a very recursive manner, Elementary owes a debt to those shows, both of which amuse me now and again (although Castle lost it when they hooked up at the beginning this season - totally kills the sexual tension). That being said, the gay sexual tension in Sherlock is much funnier and more interesting than any of these three US shows.

There's a horrible logic flaw in Elementary's pilot SPOILER If that doc was prescribing drugs to the perp, there would have been a record at the pharmacy that would have been simple to trace END SPOILER. I did like the nod to the original work with the beekeeper bit. Those nods make those of us who actually read the originals feel special.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Maybe I'm just on Holmes overload. It was a lot of been there done that. although the Kinky sex was different. I do like Lucy as Watson, but when did Watson ever come across a clue the Sherlock had overlooked? And the comparison to Castle is apt, although the show runners have vowed there will be no romance between the two. And who would have thought to hire Aidan Quinn to play the detective?

All that being said, I'm willing to give the show another shot. It does have good production values. The script was passable. I'm hoping when Moriarty appears on the scene the show will become more dynamic.

All that being said, still would prefer more Cumberbatch. But the busyness of the two leads of the British series might preclude more Sherlock in the near future.

[Drunk Monk]

Right next to Downton Abbey. I'd be glued to my TV Sunday nights if I could receive PBS consistently. But I can't so I have to stream it elsewhere.

[Drunk Monk]

How did Sherlock survive the season 2 cliffhanger exactly? :?

Luved the beginning of season 3's first episode. The crime solving didn't always make that much sense but the chemistry between Bilbo and Smaug is hilarious and well worth the viewing.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

After the show there was a making of doc about the episode. What I took away from it besides intense boredom was the feeling they didn't know how to solve the puzzle, but they didn't care they were moving on. Everyone keep up. It was fun to see that Mycroft is also one of the producers for the show.

And on that note, how cheated did you feel on how they disarmed the bomb?

[Drunk Monk]

That was really funny, a great twist on the classic bomb disarming scene, plus it got to showcase the Bilbo/Smaug bromance, which is really the centerpiece of this series.

I watched some of that doc and came away with the same feeling. I'd be mad if I wasn't so amused by it all.

[Drunk Monk]

The show has become absolutely absurd in it's plot twists, leaps of logic and insane story arcs, but it's so damn funny. The comic timing is so precise, so spot on. And I love the mind palace stuff - very psychedelic. Did you catch the MIA track at the club during the drunken pub crawl in Season 3 Ep 2? Good stuff, very entertaining.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Time to flashback to the 19th century, because everyone has been clamoring for that. Although when I heard the news, I was kind of intrigued to see what they would do. Although some people not familiar with the actually puzzled by why the producers would go back in time to the Victorian era. How could they do Sherlock without cel phones!

Not a great episode in my opinion. It was fun to see Sherlock using all the tropes we know. Much like Mr. Holmes, there was a lot of talk about Holmes in popular culture and how Watson presented the tales. I did love the opening sequence and how the murder was explained to Sherlock with the parlor and the murder scene intersecting.

After that it was too much meta. There was a lot of clever story telling with a very bland story. Maybe they were rushing to get this episode done so Martin and Cumberbatch could get back to their successful movie careers.

Moriarty still the best thing about the about the series. The more I see of Cumberbatch, the more I think he is just a one note actor and we've been seeing the same stuff for the last decade now.

[Drunk Monk]

---

Sherlock was amusing.  Greg had a nice review of it earlier that was lost in the great forum crash of 2016.  I agreed with it for the most part (at least what I can remember of it, which isn't much) although I think I wound up liking it a lot more than Greg.  I have a much higher tolerance for 'dumb'.  Heck I luv Kung Fu flicks and Bollywood, where dumb lives.    

So true about Moriarty.  Cumberbach should just resign himself to playing Sherlock because it's his greatest calling.  Well, that and photobombing on the red carpet.  I have yet to see Imitation Game so perhaps I should withhold judgement.  Then again, I have no issue with one note actors.  Heck I luv Kung Fu flicks and Bollywood, where one note actors live. 

[Drunk Monk]

This show continues to deliver its rollercoaster mini movie episodes. 

The end of this new season episode had me in tears. Despite the trite resolution of last seasons cliffhanger yet another great twist that completely surprised me. Still hooked.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Yup. Sadness.

[lady_cranefly]

I was underwhelmed. More puzzled than overcome. There was some weird shit in that episode.

I mean, my god, Mary's death scene, for starters. What the hell was that? Way overblown. And if John had been in it any less they'd have to start saying Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Watson.

Something's going on here.

[Drunk Monk]

There was some weird shit in that episode.

As opposed to the episodes that have no weird shit? That's why I watch it. I like weird shit.

I like Mary but she's the biggest deviation from the source, although not her death if memory serves. Her super spy skills made for some great twists but were a tad over the top. Plus she and Watson have split for realz, and their genuine chemistry was what made that relationship work.

[cranefly]

Sightings at the Cranefly Observatory:

Though being lung-shot, she never had a drop of blood on her lips all the while she delivered her long and tortured final speech.

Then again, this is England, and if anyone can pull this off, it's the British: stiff upper lip, feelin' a bit better now, don't need me limbs to fight you, you whinny.

(In a Japanese remake, that scene would be utterly ensanguinated.)

Another observation:  All men sport gigantic hairs of their lady-friends on their clothing that can be seen from twenty feet away.  Er, I mean, three meters away.  We're in Britain.

All in all, a very slick production.  A lot of work in post.  Impressive in most ways.  My brain feels overtaxed at the end.