ELEMENTARY - News, Reviews, and Discussion

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Allyn Gibson, Jan 13, 2013.

  1. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Good. Growing up, I loathed football and other sports preempting shows.
     
  2. Aragorn

    Aragorn Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well if nothing else, having Elementary premiere on Oct. 30 means five less rerun weeks during season 3.
     
  3. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Elementary returned last night with "Enough Nemesis to Go Around."

    Eight months after Holmes left New York to work for MI-6, Watson has a really swank apartment, a detective agency, and consults with the NYPD. The case that is truly vexing her is that of Elena March, a widowed socialite who may also be the capo of a drug cartel. When the star witness against March and her police escort are shot dead in a moving elevator that didn't stop and had no other passengers, Watson is faced with a locked room mystery. But that's not the only mystery -- she's being trailed by a young woman with bangs, and Holmes has moved back into his brownstone...

    In this episode, Elementary heads into uncharted waters. This one is basically "The Watson Show," as Holmes, though an important presence, is a secondary character. He's not working the case, and his involvement, such as it is, is unwelcomed by Watson. That makes for an interesting dynamic in the episode -- Watson is really good at this locked room case, but she's not Holmes-good, and while he gives her the important clue (how it was done), he's also mature enough to let her finish the case.

    The interpersonals in this were interesting. I've long likened Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes to the post-Reichenbach Holmes (a little more human, a little less manic), but being human doesn't mean he doesn't act like an asshole at times. He has a wonderfully human speech about midway through the episode about his selfishness and his failures, and a scene with Gregson shows that the two men may respect one another and need one another but they don't necessarily like one another.

    And then we have Kitty Winter, Holmes' new protege (though she would say "partner"). We don't know a lot about her -- she tailed Watson for a month (but was only noticed in the last week), she knows how to singlestick fight. The final scene indicates that she's searching for something, and I imagine we'll discover that as the season progresses. My one fervent hope is that Kitty isn't there to be fridged and, thus, bring Holmes and Watson back together.

    It occurs to me that the episode is about people running from bad situations. Holmes ran from New York City eight months earlier to escape a situation that he couldn't emotionally handle. Watson ran from Holmes because she wanted to establish herself and her independence. And Kitty is running from something and now she's running to something.

    I don't know what the dynamic for the series going forward will be. Holmes and Watson as rivals? As wary allies? I could envision a series where we don't need one of the two leads in every episode.
     
  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It's certainly a novel twist on the premise to have Watson as an independent, even rival detective. I love it that the show is willing to take the characters to a new place like that. It may not last, but it's hard to see things going back to the status quo ante. Even if Sherlock and Joan do team up again, it'll have to be as equal partners rather than detective and protegee.

    Kitty's a little underwhelming so far. Not sure what to make of her.

    The locked-elevator mystery was very clever. And not entirely implausible, I think. We know that the magnetic field from an MRI can cause metal objects to fly around dangerously, so I suppose it's possible that a powerful enough magnet could pull bullets into a body from behind. I wouldn't be surprised if they exaggerated the effect for dramatic purposes, though. Anyway, I love it that Sherlock couldn't resist the allure of a classic locked-room mystery. (I wonder what the previous seven -- or was it six? -- were.)
     
  5. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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  6. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    I still like this one better than Sherlock, mainly for Joan Watson, and I'm looking forward to more of her independent detective work.
     
  7. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Sherlock's bastard daughter.

    Just a question of if he just found young kitty, or if she's been stewing around in his background for the last twenty years.
     
  8. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Oh, I hadn't realized Kitty Winter was based on a canonical character. I really need to reread the Holmes stories sometime.
     
  9. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The Elementary writers pointed out the Canonical name connection on Twitter last night during the show. I had assumed, honestly, that they were simply using the name and then going off in their own direction. But, yes, it would be fascinating if she had a connection to the Canon character.
     
  10. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    The story does have elements which can make use of things happening in Elementary. The Baron can be head of the French cartel from last season. You could have human trafficking rather than just the marriage and mistress angle of the story. Even bringing back Mycroft in this or next season as an endgame of taking down the Baron should they make a connection to that story line. It will be interesting to see what they do with characters.
     
  11. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Ophelia Lovibond is an interesting name.
     
  12. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    That it is, and her IMDB page shows she's been a pretty busy actress.
     
  13. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Oh.

    She was a lot more gentile on Mr Pooppr's Penguins.
     
  14. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Gentile? As opposed to being Jewish?
     
  15. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  16. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It sounds like the name of a Bond girl.
     
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^It sounds like the ultimate Bond girl name. As I've said before, somewhere Ian Fleming's ghost is kicking himself for not thinking of it.
     
  18. Bisz

    Bisz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Being a fan of Holmes and all of the various screen (large and small) adaptations of the show I've been looking forward to catching Elementary sometime to see if it also struck my fancy. I watched two episodes on a flight to San Diego, and I'm sad to say that I did not enjoy the show. I think the episodes were from the tail end of the second season, dealing with Mycroft and his corrupt handler. I didn't really like any of the characters, nor the story itself. Oh well, here is hoping to a third Downey movie, and the upcoming Sherlock special and series. :)
     
  19. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Those were probably the worst 2 episodes to approach the series from. Try again with something from the first season.
     
  20. Bisz

    Bisz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'll see if I can catch something from S1 somewhere along the way, but my watching and reading ques are so backed up its probably going to be a while.