Oh, good. I hope that doesn't force the producers to rush anything, though. Hey, if they start at the top of the season, maybe that'll give them a chance to get picked up for the back nine, if that's still a thing that happens.
Spoilers WATSON: New Sherlock Holmes-based series on CBS
- Thread starter Christopher
- Start date
Oh, good. I hope that doesn't force the producers to rush anything, though. Hey, if they start at the top of the season, maybe that'll give them a chance to get picked up for the back nine, if that's still a thing that happens.
Unsurprising news: Sherlock Holmes will turn up alive in season 2 of Watson. According to Variety, he'll be played by Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe). All the regulars from season 1 will be returning, and there's no news of any other new regulars.
I'm familiar with Carlyle from Universe, but I wouldn't have thought of him as a potential Holmes -- in part because he's Scottish, but then again, so was Arthur Conan Doyle. He's also older than I would've expected, at 64, two years older than Sherlock and Daughter's David Thewlis. But then, Morris Chestnut is 56 despite looking maybe 15 years younger, so I guess it's appropriate.
I'm familiar with Carlyle from Universe, but I wouldn't have thought of him as a potential Holmes -- in part because he's Scottish, but then again, so was Arthur Conan Doyle. He's also older than I would've expected, at 64, two years older than Sherlock and Daughter's David Thewlis. But then, Morris Chestnut is 56 despite looking maybe 15 years younger, so I guess it's appropriate.
I first became aware of him through The Full Monty way back in the day, then in The World is Not Enough and 28 Weeks Later.
Three different movies that show his range as an actor.
The opening sequence in 28 Weeks Later is worth the price of admission.
Interesting casting. Carlyle isn't necessarily who I would have thought up to play Holmes, but now that I think the matter over, I can sort of see it. He's certainly a good actor, so I have no objections to him in the role.
Yeah well, Moriarty killing Holmes? That never works out.
Yup. Sherlock really puts the "back" in "Reichenbach."
Plot descriptions for the season premieres of CBS shows:
tvline.com
For Watson:
“A Son in the Oven” – Watson and the fellows spring back into action when Mary’s mother accidentally poisons herself while suffering from a rare form of dementia that is progressing with impossible speed. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes resurfaces after being presumed dead; Robert Carlyle guest-stars as Sherlock Holmes and Tika Sumpter returns as Laila.
CBS Premiere Spoilers: Fresh Scoop on 18 New and Returning Shows! NCIS, Fire Country, Boston Blue and More
Get scoop on returning CBS favorites Elsbeth, FBI, Fire Country, Georgie & Mandy, Ghosts, Matlock, NCIS, The Neighborhood, Tracker and Watson.
tvline.com
“A Son in the Oven” – Watson and the fellows spring back into action when Mary’s mother accidentally poisons herself while suffering from a rare form of dementia that is progressing with impossible speed. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes resurfaces after being presumed dead; Robert Carlyle guest-stars as Sherlock Holmes and Tika Sumpter returns as Laila.
A reminder that season 2 of Watson premieres this Monday, October 13 at 10 PM Eastern.
A decent season premiere, but it was pretty contrived having Mary's mother be the patient to suffer a mysterious ailment that only Watson's team can figure out. I wonder about the medical ethics of that, prioritizing a family member of the hospital chief over other patients who might need the clinic's specialized skills.
It was pretty easy to predict that the son Elizabeth kept talking about would turn out not to be confabulation but the answer to the whole thing. It annoys me when writers have the characters overlook an obvious possibility in order to drag out the mystery until it finally hits them long after it occurred to me as a viewer. Although I was kind of clued in by remembering that Khary Payton's name was in the guest star credits and noticing that he hadn't shown up yet.
The big reveal at the end went pretty much as I expected, just a brief cliffhanger surprise in the final moments. So it's too early to say much of anything about it.
I tried to watch this live over the air last night, but for some reason my antenna had trouble getting a clear signal and the feed kept dropping out, so I gave up and watched on Paramount+ this morning. I miss analog broadcast TV, where a weak signal would just make the picture and sound less clear rather than cutting them off entirely.
It was pretty easy to predict that the son Elizabeth kept talking about would turn out not to be confabulation but the answer to the whole thing. It annoys me when writers have the characters overlook an obvious possibility in order to drag out the mystery until it finally hits them long after it occurred to me as a viewer. Although I was kind of clued in by remembering that Khary Payton's name was in the guest star credits and noticing that he hadn't shown up yet.
The big reveal at the end went pretty much as I expected, just a brief cliffhanger surprise in the final moments. So it's too early to say much of anything about it.
I tried to watch this live over the air last night, but for some reason my antenna had trouble getting a clear signal and the feed kept dropping out, so I gave up and watched on Paramount+ this morning. I miss analog broadcast TV, where a weak signal would just make the picture and sound less clear rather than cutting them off entirely.
Well, Sherlock Holmes's return episode was not what I expected -- his and Watson's reunion was a frame sequence for a medical crisis-of-the-week plot told in flashback (and taking place between the main plot and final scene of last week's episode), rather than being the main focus of the episode. Or so it seemed at first; the frame did manage to be a pretty nice two-hander between Watson and Holmes, a long conversation establishing their relationship and Holmes's personality.
Robert Carlyle is fairly interesting as Holmes. Like David Thewlis in Sherlock and Daughter, he's an older version of the character than usual, talking about being in later life and preparing for a "third-act surprise." (Indeed, Carlyle is two years older than Thewlis.) This version appears to lean into his more flamboyant and theatrical attributes, and the impish wit that Ronald Howard's Holmes in the 1950s TV series tended to play up. I'm not entirely sure the writers have captured Holmes's voice, but I got a thrill at the end when he said his new mission is to take on the oligarchs who've stolen the world. That sounds interesting, and a daring statement for a show to make in these times, though it's also pretty clearly a way to justify keeping Holmes a recurring (and secret) presence so the show can still center on Watson and his team.
A nice surprise to see Tzi Ma as Sasha's long-lost uncle. I really liked him in the CW Kung Fu, so I hope this is a recurring role.
Robert Carlyle is fairly interesting as Holmes. Like David Thewlis in Sherlock and Daughter, he's an older version of the character than usual, talking about being in later life and preparing for a "third-act surprise." (Indeed, Carlyle is two years older than Thewlis.) This version appears to lean into his more flamboyant and theatrical attributes, and the impish wit that Ronald Howard's Holmes in the 1950s TV series tended to play up. I'm not entirely sure the writers have captured Holmes's voice, but I got a thrill at the end when he said his new mission is to take on the oligarchs who've stolen the world. That sounds interesting, and a daring statement for a show to make in these times, though it's also pretty clearly a way to justify keeping Holmes a recurring (and secret) presence so the show can still center on Watson and his team.
A nice surprise to see Tzi Ma as Sasha's long-lost uncle. I really liked him in the CW Kung Fu, so I hope this is a recurring role.
A pretty good episode this week. The case-of-the-week was a bit gimmicky -- it's kind of coincidental for someone with a nearly-unique genetic disorder to just happen to get treated at the same hospital where our geneticist protagonist works -- but the dialogue was well-written and there was some good character interplay. It was cute that when they bleeped the patient's profanities, they covered her mouth with (if I'm not mistaken) a little image of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Except, how could she have lupus? The last time we had a medical-mystery drama inspired by Sherlock Holmes, they constantly assured us it's never lupus. (Except the one time it was.)
Speaking of Mycroft's kid brother, I'm surprised we didn't see him this week. I figured he'd be a recurring role, but I kind of thought they'd do at least a bit more followup right away. Although now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I thought that.
Except, how could she have lupus? The last time we had a medical-mystery drama inspired by Sherlock Holmes, they constantly assured us it's never lupus. (Except the one time it was.)
Speaking of Mycroft's kid brother, I'm surprised we didn't see him this week. I figured he'd be a recurring role, but I kind of thought they'd do at least a bit more followup right away. Although now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I thought that.
IIRC, Sherlock's next confirmed appearance is in the fifth episode, airing November 10.
I'd been wondering how this version of Holmes and Watson could've become close friends when there seemed to be a considerable age gap between them, but astonishingly, Wikipedia says Morris Chestnut is 56, only 8 years younger than Robert Carlyle (and only a year younger than me). Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean the characters are the same ages as the actors.
There's a tendency to perceive Holmes and Watson as older men, informed largely by the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce film series, but they were in their 20s in A Study in Scarlet, and probably in their 30s-40s in most of the canon. Here, though, it seems their friendship began when they were both fairly mature, though I'm unclear on just how long they were friends before Watson left Mary to move to England and support Holmes.
There's a tendency to perceive Holmes and Watson as older men, informed largely by the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce film series, but they were in their 20s in A Study in Scarlet, and probably in their 30s-40s in most of the canon. Here, though, it seems their friendship began when they were both fairly mature, though I'm unclear on just how long they were friends before Watson left Mary to move to England and support Holmes.
I've been operating under the belief that Watson is of similar age to Morris Chestnut, though maybe earlier in his fifties. IIRC, this version of Watson retired from the military after putting in his twenty years of service. Between that and attending Medical School and gaining enough experience to become an expert doctor, being in his fifties would fit as a suitable age. Although a possible wrinkle is that they have stated in onscreen dialogue that Mary is 42 (or rather, it's stated she was born in 1983) and I don't get the impression there's meant to be any kind of real age gap between the two of them.
It doesn't seem unusual to me for a couple to have an age gap of 10-20 years between them. It used to be quite normal and expected for husbands to be significantly older than their wives, and the reverse is not unknown. (Although my own parents were only months apart in age.) For what it's worth, Tika Sumpter, who plays Watson's current love interest, is 45.
Besides, if people in their 50s these days can be muscular hunks who gratuitously take their shirts off on TV with Captain Kirk-like regularity, does a difference of a decade or two really mean anything anymore? 60 is the new 40.
I wasn't critiquing them, just pointing out that they created the perception of Holmes and Watson as older men. Rathbone is one of my favorite Holmes portrayers, and a lot of the films are enjoyable, though I do think it's more than fair to critique them for creating the false perception of Watson as a doddering buffoon rather than a stalwart ally, a gentleman lacking Holmes's brilliance but of sufficient intelligence to be both a practicing physician and a successful author. The 1950s American television series with Ronald Howard and Howard Marion Crawford mostly avoided the buffoonish image of Watson and portrayed him pretty faithfully, but aside from that, the idea of Watson as a buffoon dominated in popular culture until the Jeremy Brett series came along. And it never made sense, because Sherlock Holmes would never tolerate the company of a fool, let alone see him as an indispensable friend.
Yep, while Watson isn't Holmes, he is bright enough for Holmes to like him, and be disappointed. "You see but you do not observe."
He's a versatile actor, villain and hero (Cracker, Hamush MacBeth, Bond, and more).
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