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Author Topic: Sherlock  (Read 15852 times)

Junior

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #70 on: January 03, 2016, 01:12:50 AM »
Sounds fun. I think I'm watching it tomorrow.
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1SO

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #71 on: January 03, 2016, 01:36:41 AM »
I'm seeing this on Tuesday!

But, I've never seen the series. How lost will I be?
Very lost, and it will spoil all the key events in the series for you. I would get out of this if you can, or binge the series. (You could skip Season 1 Ep 2, Season 2 Ep 2 and Season 3 Ep 1, but all of the others come into play here.) The episode opens with a 2-3 min recap of events so far, but it goes by fast and there's a lot not included in the recap that's key to understanding the episode.


I'm glad I made it sound good. I've read some of the Spoiler posts online and people are having very strong reactions, both positive and negative. Mrs. 1SO was with it to a point, but when it was over her confidence in the show was shaken more than anything in Season 3. However, she thinks a re-watch might sit better.

Corndog

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #72 on: January 04, 2016, 07:40:05 AM »
Caught up with The Abominable Bride last night. The trickiness of the plot was a turn off for me, but I enjoyed the mystery and the craft of the episode is clearly strong with some very cinematic elements, great dialogue, and of course Freeman and Batch being great. I don't think it's quite as good as some of the other episodes in the series, but I still enjoyed my time with it. More on the average/enjoyable front than anything else for me. Eventually everything comes together, but the maddening time of confusion that leads up to the "reveal" that makes sense of everything can be quite frustrating.
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1SO

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #73 on: January 04, 2016, 09:28:26 AM »
Funny that Sherlock's biggest problem is that it's too clever, though this seems like an element that will give the episode re-watchability, and on a re-watch the mystery, craft and dialogue will remain strong while the story will seem less tricky.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #74 on: February 15, 2016, 11:56:43 PM »
I liked bride, it is better than all the episode twos of the series, but I felt it lacked a proper solving at the end, or maybe a climax. That he technically ends up not solving a case was problematic for me. And many of the small reveals were pretty obvious.
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1SO

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #75 on: January 01, 2017, 08:54:39 PM »
The Six Thatchers S04E01
* * 1/2
I wish that Sherlock never rose to the level of Pop Culture Phenomenon. The first 2 Seasons were pitched perfectly, with scripts that were pretty brilliant in terms of the mystery, the characters and the way the two would feed into each other. After the entertaining but overly-clever diversion The Abominable Bride, Sherlock returns to reality, but it's not the show it once was. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is way off and Sherlock's skill is as supernatural as Cumberbatch's other famous character, Doctor Strange. Too much of the cleverness is reverse engineered or swept under the rug with a smug "I'm Sherlock Holmes," and I'm thinking "No really, how the hell would you know that?!?"

The show still has its charms, mainly the work by Cumberbatch which is too assured for the small screen. I wish they would stop with all the Jame Bond globetrotting and get back to solving a case in London. Steven Moffat will have a hand in the next two episodes, but the end of this one buries the original successful elements under yet another layer of over-plotting and too many character-smashing events. I don't see how the show can ever get its groove back.


p.s. Unrelated to this episode, I did some thinking about my unwavering attitude towards treating each episode like a movies and have decided to remove all but "A Scandal in Belgravia" from my list of Essentials.

smirnoff

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #76 on: January 01, 2017, 09:13:48 PM »
A new episode! Crazy. I look forward to that.

1SO

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #77 on: January 01, 2017, 09:32:35 PM »
Three new episodes this month, and it appears they're all part of one large story.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #78 on: January 04, 2017, 05:55:59 AM »
At first I read this

Three new episodes this month, and it appears they're all part of one large story.

and was ecstatic, but then I read this,

The Six Thatchers S04E01
* * 1/2
I wish that Sherlock never rose to the level of Pop Culture Phenomenon. The first 2 Seasons were pitched perfectly, with scripts that were pretty brilliant in terms of the mystery, the characters and the way the two would feed into each other. After the entertaining but overly-clever diversion The Abominable Bride, Sherlock returns to reality, but it's not the show it once was. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is way off and Sherlock's skill is as supernatural as Cumberbatch's other famous character, Doctor Strange. Too much of the cleverness is reverse engineered or swept under the rug with a smug "I'm Sherlock Holmes," and I'm thinking "No really, how the hell would you know that?!?"

The show still has its charms, mainly the work by Cumberbatch which is too assured for the small screen. I wish they would stop with all the Jame Bond globetrotting and get back to solving a case in London. Steven Moffat will have a hand in the next two episodes, but the end of this one buries the original successful elements under yet another layer of over-plotting and too many character-smashing events. I don't see how the show can ever get its groove back.


p.s. Unrelated to this episode, I did some thinking about my unwavering attitude towards treating each episode like a movies and have decided to remove all but "A Scandal in Belgravia" from my list of Essentials.

and now I am gazing towards depression and alcoholism.

O woe!
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1SO

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Re: Sherlock
« Reply #79 on: January 11, 2017, 12:04:25 PM »
The Lying Detective S04E02
* * * - Good
"In saving my life she conferred a value on it. It is a currency I do not know how to spend."
Much as I love and even envy Mark Gatiss' contribution to the show as actor and writer, he is nowhere near the caliber of the show's other writer, Steven Moffat. Moffat wrote this episode and the difference is obvious in ways both good and bad.

The Good is that Gatiss' is a writer writing a clever character to the best of his abilities. Sherlock's deductions under Gatiss are a stretch of credibility and the character is often clever in a slick manner more suited to comedy. Under Moffat, Sherlock is genuinely clever, with surprising deductions and amazing leaps that Moffat will then show you in detail how they came about.
Sherlock explanation under Gatiss: "I'm Sherlock Holmes."
Sherlock under Moffat: "Let me walk you through it step by step while talking very fast and then be dismissive about the fact that you didn't come to this conclusion yourself."

Because of this, Moffat will often deconstruct a dramatic development until it is borderline incomprehensible. You have 5-6 people all reacting in a very particular manner to make a very specific thing happen, and it's all so dizzying there's no way everyone could've been playing chess on this many boards, but there's also a lot of explanation, meaning the only real mystery is how much is Moffat playing fair with the audience. I love that Moffat has the skill to take apart a story and view it God-like, but if you're resistant to the ride, I certainly don't blame you. It kind of makes you feel stupid sometimes.