Kate Linnea Welsh: Sherlock

Live+7: Sherlock, "The Reichenbach Fall (EP203)" - This episode was well-done, and it had a few moments and scenes that I loved, but it left me realizing that I'm just not as into this show as I want to be, or as everyone else in the universe seems to be. I think it's a little too self-conscious and gimmicky for my taste - especially my taste in mysteries. I think Moffat's dedication to showing how smart he is takes away from the traditional mystery aspects, and this episode, particularly, just came across as overwrought. I'll watch the next season, of course, but I like it rather than love it.

Catching Up: Lost Girl, "Food for Thought (EP106)" - This was a fun one, and I liked the way Kenzi's involvement in the fae-of-the-week story solidified her friendship with Dyson. They have a great dynamic.

The Killing, "El Diablo (EP103)" - Still loving it. I'm sort of still waiting to turn on it the way everyone else has, but right now I feel like I could happily watch Holder sulk around smoking fake weed and Linden looking disapproving but resigned forever. How much can I watch before I become obsessed with knitting oversized sweaters?

Magic City, "Feeding Frenzy (EP102)" - I was wondering why I haven't heard anyone talking about this show, then realized that the fact that I loved the pilot but hadn't watched any more meant I was really part of the problem. So I'm catching up! I loved this almost as much as the pilot, and especially liked the bat mitzah plotline and the continued Cuba stuff.

On the list... Lost Girl

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Why I Want to Give Elementary a Chance

Yesterday CBS released the first footage of its new Sherlock Holmes adaptation, Elementary. If you haven't seen it yet, here you go:

A lot of the discussion around this has revolved around people either saying that there's no reason for this to exist because BBC's Sherlock already exists, or saying that they'll refuse to watch it on principle because of their loyalty to Sherlock. And really, everyone should do what makes them happy, but . . . I don't get it. "This sounds a lot like this other thing I like, so I don't watch it. Wouldn't want to encourage people to make things I'd like!" is not a coherent position to me. It's not like someone's asking you to pick one. You can watch both! I've seen people outright stating that their loyalty to Sherlock (aside: It's a TV show! It wants your eyeballs! It doesn't care about your loyalty!) means that they hope Elementary fails. What would that achieve, exactly? If Elementary failed, the takeaway would be "Guess audiences don't want that show" and maybe "Audiences don't want mysteries/British detectives/whatever." It would not be . . . well, I don't even know what the goal is here! What do you want CBS to say if you achieve your boycott, "Let's just acknowledge that the BBC is better and give up"? I love mystery shows, so I am in favor of mystery shows succeeding so that we get more mystery shows! It's as simple as that.

All this outrage would make more sense if Sherlock were the first Holmes adaptation ever, but it really really isn't. (It's not even my favorite adaptation, when it comes down to it.) And the complaints that Sherlock is pure and good while Elementary is just trying to make money are nonsensical - all TV shows exist to make money. Holmes purists, of course, shouldn't like any update. So that brings us to the possibility that Elementary is getting so much hate so early because Watson will be a woman. But frankly? I'm thrilled about that. It's not like there are no bromances on TV. More awesome roles for women! More women of color! More potential for interracial romance! (Note: If you're whining that a potential Sherlock/Joan romance is just so uncanonical but your Tumblr is full of Sherlock/John gifs . . . really? Saying any Holmes/Watson romance is uncanonical is a perfectly reasonable position. But Sherlock/John is not canonical.) Sarah Rees Brennan explains a lot of my reasons for being excited about a female Watson here.

And really, I don't know if I will like Elementary. Maybe it will be awful. But I'm not willing to count it out because it's similar to something else I like, because that makes no sense. (Possibly more than one something: Parts of CBS's official description sounded an awful lot like Castle.) So for now, I will be hopeful. Lucy Liu is awesome! Jonny Lee Miller is hot, and keeping his accent! I am in favor of attractive people in awesome coats being angsty while solving mysteries! So you've got me for now, Elementary. Now please be good.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

What I Watched: Bones & HIMYM Finales & More

Live-ish: Bones, "The Past in the Present (EP713)" - WOW. I didn't have any particular expectations going into this finale, and I was blown away. The tension throughout the episode was marvelous, and almost all the characters had wonderful, heart-breaking moments. I did find myself hoping that they were going to pull a Roger Ackroyd and have Brennan actually be the killer after all, but I suppose that's unlikely. Regardless, I can't wait to see where they take things next season, and what the dynamic is like with Booth and Brennan in different places rather than directly working together (though I expect that won't last long).

How I Met Your Mother, "The Magician's Code: Part 1 & 2 (EP723-724)" - This was another finale that made me really excited for next season. I'll have a post about it up in an hour or so.

Live+7: Sherlock, "The Hounds of Baskerville (EP202)" - I didn't like this episode quite as much as the last one, but it was still a lot of fun, and Sherlock's self-awareness and comments about how he doesn't have friends - by which he meant he just had one friend - were heart-breaking. I will now start saying "I need to go to my mind palace" at every opportunity.

Catching up: Gossip Girl, "Salon of the Dead (EP520)" & "Despicable B (EP521)" - I've been fairly spoiled on the rest of the season, so catching up at this point is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. That said, I continued to enjoy the Dan/Blair stuff in these episodes (while it lasts...), but I'm worried about Rufus and Lily and wish the whole inheritance mess was just gone. Though I wouldn't necessarily mind keeping Lola, I guess.

How I Met Your Mother, "Good Crazy (EP722)" - This was a cute episode that served as a nice bridge to the finale, with everyone going a little crazy in the face of major changes. I especially liked the bits with Ted and Robin, and Ted's realization that a friendship like that is worth keeping even if it means dealing with some pain.

On the list: Gossip Girl, Lost Girl

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Morning Coffee (5/9/12)

It's . . . Wednesday? Yeah. This week may actually kill me.

Ugh. North Carolina.

Pulitzer entries != Pulitzer nominations, Jonah Goldberg.

Sherlock personality quiz! I'm Sherlock, apparently. Huh.

Alex and Maia Shibutani attend a state dinner, remain adorable.

Lena Dunham Responds to Why HBO’s ‘Girls’ Is So White. That's . . . a pretty good response, really.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

What I Watched: Castle Finale, Sherlock, & More

Live-ish: OH MY GOSH, THE CASTLE FINALE. That was . . . that was pretty close to a perfect hour of TV. I think "Always (EP423)" was the most satisfying finale I've seen since maybe the first season of The Vampire Diaries. I'll have my full recap up tomorrow, and I want to think about it more (and watch it again) before making any pronouncements, but I generally thought Marlowe and company did a really impressive job of giving fans exactly what they wanted while keeping the whole thing organic and in character. And I'm really excited to see where they go next season, on several fronts.

"The Suit on the Set (EP712)" was a fun episode of Bones, though I'm not sure I have that much to say about it. The movie trailer was hilarious and made me want to see a Heat Wave trailer. I enjoyed the continuing negotiations involved in Booth and Brennan becoming a family, though I missed seeing Christine. And the actual case was . . . fine, I think? Obviously it didn't make a big impact. I don't tend to be a fan of "field trip" episodes, but this one was pretty well done and not too disruptive.

Live+7: So yeah, speaking of field trip episodes, I wasn't wild about "Revelation (EP110)," the season finale of GCB. The show usually has a strong sense of place, so I wasn't thrilled with that being abandoned in favor of wacky desert hijinks. There were some good character moments, though, and I kind of like the idea of Amanda and John together, though I REALLY wish ABC hadn't outright spoiled that last moment in the promos.

I also finally watched Sherlock's "A Scandal in Belgravia (EP201)," which aired in the U.S. on Sunday. I'm not quite as gaga over this series as a lot of people are, but I do enjoy it quite a lot, and I thought this episode was especially strong. I liked what they did with The Woman - I'd been wondering how they would play that character - and the tension between her, Sherlock, and John was fascinating on every side. Talk about chemistry. And the holiday scenes, and scenes with Mycroft in general, did a good job of illustrating what Sherlock is like on a day-to-day functional basis.

Catching up: I got way behind on Grimm, so I've been catching up over breakfast, and yesterday's episode was "The Three Bad Wolves (EP106)." I'm really enjoying the development of the bromance, of course, and I like the way alliances between the supernatural characters shift, rather than everything being neatly two-sided.

On the list: Gossip Girl, Lost Girl