Friday, May 25, 2012
More Elementary
CBS released a new, longer trailer for Elementary. We get more banter between Holmes and Watson this time, as well as more views of their strange wardrobe.
Hysteria interview
Here's a nice interview with the director of the romantic comedy Hysteria. I don't want to read it too closely for fear of movie spoilers, but it looks like it will be fun and smart. I just wish it would open here sooner! It would have been great to see it this Memorial Day, but nope. Not yet.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Hounds and the Fall
I watched The Reichenbach Fall yesterday, mostly to say goodbye to this show, because I'm not staying with it for season 3. I hate both Moffat & Gatiss now, and the writing is just too bad to tolerate. Given how they resolved the cliffhanger this year, I am not confident that they won't cop-out next year with their solution of the fake death. So I won't let them string me along anymore.
I also watched the Hounds episode last week, but was vastly unimpressed. I mean, it wasn't intense hate like I had for the Belgravia episode, but the Hounds ep was worse than the Blind Banker. Where did I get the idea that Gatiss was a good writer? His previous reputation as a Doctor Who writer? His loving appreciation for Private Life of Sherlock Holmes? Well, he might be a good scifi writer and Sherlockian, but he's a shit mystery writer. I disliked his Great Game episode last year too, but I thought it was due to my hate for Jim Moriarty, and the bomb plot; but now it's clear that Gatiss sucks even when Jim is kept to a minimum. Clearly he also subscribes to the school of "it doesn't matter if the plot makes sense; it just has to look good." Hounds was as bad as a season 4 episode of Castle, and trust me, that's ridiculously bad.
I also watched the Hounds episode last week, but was vastly unimpressed. I mean, it wasn't intense hate like I had for the Belgravia episode, but the Hounds ep was worse than the Blind Banker. Where did I get the idea that Gatiss was a good writer? His previous reputation as a Doctor Who writer? His loving appreciation for Private Life of Sherlock Holmes? Well, he might be a good scifi writer and Sherlockian, but he's a shit mystery writer. I disliked his Great Game episode last year too, but I thought it was due to my hate for Jim Moriarty, and the bomb plot; but now it's clear that Gatiss sucks even when Jim is kept to a minimum. Clearly he also subscribes to the school of "it doesn't matter if the plot makes sense; it just has to look good." Hounds was as bad as a season 4 episode of Castle, and trust me, that's ridiculously bad.
House finale
I went out for early voting today, for the May primaries. I still did not feel like I got enough info about the different candidates, but I did the best I could based on local endorsements. At least redistricting gave us a new Democratic seat.
I wanted to see Hysteria this weekend, but I found out that it's not coming here until June, so I've been watching TV shows on Netflix to pass the time. I'm going through season 1 of Murder, She Wrote now, and I wish current TV shows were still made like this. I want traditional whodunits, not serial killers and CSI gore. I want mystery plots that make sense, instead of being all random flash and style. (I've been so fed up with the declining quality of Castle mysteries that I've quit the show.) An episode should not end with viewers confused as to what happened, or doubting the plausibility of the story.
Anyway, tonight was the House finale. I stopped watching the show many seasons ago, but came back for the end since I heard about Wilson's cancer. He's the one guy I still cared about on the show, and I'm glad he didn't die onscreen. I found House's brooding and talking to past characters in his head boring, but at least the bastard finally decided to make a sacrifice for his friend Wilson. Going to the extreme of faking his death and being unable to ever resume his old life, suggests a very deep love indeed. The two of them riding off into the sunset together is ambiguous enough that we can imagine them living slashily ever after if we want. It may be bromantic crumbs, but it's a lot better than many shows lately that don't want to support sexual ambiguity. (I was very upset about Person of Interest introducing Grace out of nowhere, destroying past continuity for gay panic.) Some viewers said the fake death was reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes's death in "Final Problem". Well, sort of, but with Watson joining him on his hiatus, with no marriage in the way, but a real impending death to shorten their happiness. It was sentimental and schmaltzy, like the ending to E. M. Forster's Maurice. But sometimes we like our sentimental fairy tales.
I wanted to see Hysteria this weekend, but I found out that it's not coming here until June, so I've been watching TV shows on Netflix to pass the time. I'm going through season 1 of Murder, She Wrote now, and I wish current TV shows were still made like this. I want traditional whodunits, not serial killers and CSI gore. I want mystery plots that make sense, instead of being all random flash and style. (I've been so fed up with the declining quality of Castle mysteries that I've quit the show.) An episode should not end with viewers confused as to what happened, or doubting the plausibility of the story.
Anyway, tonight was the House finale. I stopped watching the show many seasons ago, but came back for the end since I heard about Wilson's cancer. He's the one guy I still cared about on the show, and I'm glad he didn't die onscreen. I found House's brooding and talking to past characters in his head boring, but at least the bastard finally decided to make a sacrifice for his friend Wilson. Going to the extreme of faking his death and being unable to ever resume his old life, suggests a very deep love indeed. The two of them riding off into the sunset together is ambiguous enough that we can imagine them living slashily ever after if we want. It may be bromantic crumbs, but it's a lot better than many shows lately that don't want to support sexual ambiguity. (I was very upset about Person of Interest introducing Grace out of nowhere, destroying past continuity for gay panic.) Some viewers said the fake death was reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes's death in "Final Problem". Well, sort of, but with Watson joining him on his hiatus, with no marriage in the way, but a real impending death to shorten their happiness. It was sentimental and schmaltzy, like the ending to E. M. Forster's Maurice. But sometimes we like our sentimental fairy tales.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Elementary trailer
Yay! CBS posted a preview for Elementary on Youtube. We don't see a lot of Captain Gregson in this one. Instead there's some other local NY cop having friction with Holmes on the case. I'm puzzled by the mentions of Holmes's father. Is he in America, or just able to arrange things from Britain? I also find "sober companion" to be a weird job title for Joan Watson. They can't just call her his NA sponsor or something? Even if he wouldn't join a group like Narcotics Anonymous, surely there's some other general term for a person who helps an addict transition out of rehab?
But I love the scene where Holmes apologizes to Watson for crashing her car, and says she's a good investigator. I'm glad that she seems not to be a doormat to him, asking to be let in on the full investigation. I have yet to see her do any ass-kicking, though. Hopefully it will be in the full pilot and the full series.
But I love the scene where Holmes apologizes to Watson for crashing her car, and says she's a good investigator. I'm glad that she seems not to be a doormat to him, asking to be let in on the full investigation. I have yet to see her do any ass-kicking, though. Hopefully it will be in the full pilot and the full series.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Prelude - 5000 Downloads
My Holmes ebook has reached 5,000 downloads now, after about 2 years and 5 months. Nice milestone, though sadly I have not finished a sequel to Prelude yet.
The stats on Feedbooks say that 26% of downloads are from the US, 10% from China, and the rest scattered around the world. Interesting that it's so popular even in non-English speaking countries.
The stats on Feedbooks say that 26% of downloads are from the US, 10% from China, and the rest scattered around the world. Interesting that it's so popular even in non-English speaking countries.
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