ELEMENTARY - News, Reviews, and Discussion
- Thread starter Allyn Gibson
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But Sherlock Holmes is definitely not the real Sherlock Holmes.
None of them are. Except maybe Dr. Joseph Bell.
"Once You've Ruled Out God" left me with some mixed feelings.
This was an episode where I was more interested in the B-plot -- Joan wrestling with her feelings after her biological father's death -- than the A-plot. I'd say the best scene was the one in which Sherlock goes through his deductions to Joan about the letter and what that told him about her schizophrenic father's state of mind; Sherlock is blunt and doesn't care about social niceties, but he also cares deeply and passionately for the people he lets into his life.
The A-plot didn't grab me at all. Partly, I think it was the narrative momentum -- we careened from the bizarre murder to government contracts to Neo-Nazi wargamers to dirty bombs to international jewel thieves with every commercial break -- and I kept thinking about how it was playing out like a Law & Order plot. (I once made a joke that the typical Law & Order episode would begin with a hit-and-run on a hot dog stand in the teaser and end with Jack McCoy prosecuting a white slavery ring based out of Bangkok.) I half-thought the final reveal was egging the pudding a little too far.
This was an episode where I was more interested in the B-plot -- Joan wrestling with her feelings after her biological father's death -- than the A-plot. I'd say the best scene was the one in which Sherlock goes through his deductions to Joan about the letter and what that told him about her schizophrenic father's state of mind; Sherlock is blunt and doesn't care about social niceties, but he also cares deeply and passionately for the people he lets into his life.
The A-plot didn't grab me at all. Partly, I think it was the narrative momentum -- we careened from the bizarre murder to government contracts to Neo-Nazi wargamers to dirty bombs to international jewel thieves with every commercial break -- and I kept thinking about how it was playing out like a Law & Order plot. (I once made a joke that the typical Law & Order episode would begin with a hit-and-run on a hot dog stand in the teaser and end with Jack McCoy prosecuting a white slavery ring based out of Bangkok.) I half-thought the final reveal was egging the pudding a little too far.
This one started out cool -- a neat plausible almost-no-longer-science-fiction idea from Robert Hewitt Wolfe -- and I liked how it acknowledged the reality that the news media and the government are still in denial about, namely that the real terrorist threat in this country these days is from white supremacists and radical Christian sects, with Muslims more likely to be the targets than the perpetrators.
But it kind of ended up meandering all over the place. First it was a science mystery about a lightning gun, then it was a terrorist bomb scare, then it turned out to be a knockoff of Die Hard. A pretty major anticlimax there.
Definitely. I particularly liked Sherlock's speech to Joan about her father's letter being the last piece of evidence that she was too good a detective to ignore. Wolfe did an excellent job of writing Sherlock's emotional support for Joan in a way that was still entirely in character for the Great Detective.
Castle did that a lot too. That show specialized in meandering mysteries that bounced from one suspect and motive to another every several minutes (and the guilty party usually turned out to be the first person they'd interviewed, about whom we'd entirely forgotten by the end). I think a better mystery structure is one that keeps several possible theories of the crime in the air simultaneously, so that the audience has to try to deduce which one is correct, rather than the modern-TV convention of advancing and discarding them one after the other, which is kind of a cheat.
But I did think it was interesting that they solved the murder 15 minutes in and then moved on to other stuff, although there was a second murder later on. It was a promising break from formula, but it ended up just falling into another formula.
But it kind of ended up meandering all over the place. First it was a science mystery about a lightning gun, then it was a terrorist bomb scare, then it turned out to be a knockoff of Die Hard. A pretty major anticlimax there.
Definitely. I particularly liked Sherlock's speech to Joan about her father's letter being the last piece of evidence that she was too good a detective to ignore. Wolfe did an excellent job of writing Sherlock's emotional support for Joan in a way that was still entirely in character for the Great Detective.
Castle did that a lot too. That show specialized in meandering mysteries that bounced from one suspect and motive to another every several minutes (and the guilty party usually turned out to be the first person they'd interviewed, about whom we'd entirely forgotten by the end). I think a better mystery structure is one that keeps several possible theories of the crime in the air simultaneously, so that the audience has to try to deduce which one is correct, rather than the modern-TV convention of advancing and discarding them one after the other, which is kind of a cheat.
But I did think it was interesting that they solved the murder 15 minutes in and then moved on to other stuff, although there was a second murder later on. It was a promising break from formula, but it ended up just falling into another formula.
Elementary has been renewed for a seventh season. 
http://deadline.com/2018/05/elementary-renewed-season-7-cbs-1202381658/
http://deadline.com/2018/05/elementary-renewed-season-7-cbs-1202381658/
I'm not surprised. I am surprised it was announced after only two episodes of season six have been shown. But, CBS owns the show and the international money pays for it, so as long as everyone's game it's a no-brainer.
I admit that I am surprised it has been renewed because CBS saved season six for a summer run. That's usually a death knell for a TV show. I didn't know about its international popularity, though. So put me in the surprised but happy category.
I couldn't watch this week's episode last night because a tornado warning (not for my immediate area) interrupted most of the first half. Fortunately, On Demand was quick on the draw and I just watched it this morning. For once, I was actually able to solve much of the case in advance, figuring out that the patient was framed because of something to do with the sensitive business deals he was involved with, but I didn't figure out the full motive or the culprit.
I had a hard time believing Sherlock and Joan would be so reckless as to see an emotionally distraught man run out onto a balcony and not realize they needed to keep a close eye on him. That was a pretty implausible plot contrivance. At least, I wish they'd been distracted by something other than a personal conversation, like someone else coming in and confronting them.
I wonder if one or more characters are in for a change of scenery soon. That plot point with the great apartment that Joan's sister had been unable to sell felt like it was setting up a new space for Joan or someone to move into. It seemed a bit random to set their conversation there otherwise.
I had a hard time believing Sherlock and Joan would be so reckless as to see an emotionally distraught man run out onto a balcony and not realize they needed to keep a close eye on him. That was a pretty implausible plot contrivance. At least, I wish they'd been distracted by something other than a personal conversation, like someone else coming in and confronting them.
I wonder if one or more characters are in for a change of scenery soon. That plot point with the great apartment that Joan's sister had been unable to sell felt like it was setting up a new space for Joan or someone to move into. It seemed a bit random to set their conversation there otherwise.
Yeah it was a bit all over the place, and as Christopher says it ends up doing a hugely truncated version of Die Hard with a Vengeance! The best bits were about Joan, and Sherlock's deductions over the letter were really nicely done.
Still not entirely won over by Sherlock losing his facilities, but I guess this might dovetail with the sponsor who's a serial killer idea in that it provides some blind spots to cover for Sherlock not figuring it out a whole lot sooner!
I'm still hoping it turns out that Sherlock suspected this guy instantly and has been stringing him along in hopes of gaining proof.
This is great news. Elementary is available on Netflix.
When season 6 started in the USA, Netflix released the complete 5th season.
And I already finished watching that season. Now I probably have to wait a year for season 6 or start downloading...
When season 6 started in the USA, Netflix released the complete 5th season.
And I already finished watching that season. Now I probably have to wait a year for season 6 or start downloading...
I'm glad they didn't drag it out. They didn't go the way I'd hoped, with Sherlock secretly suspecting Michael the whole time, but we did get a scene or so of it. The episode didn't really elaborate on Holmes's reasoning process, but I assume that when he discovered that the murder of his friend's daughter's roommate was connected to the disappearance Michael asked him to look into, he knew it was too coincidental. And since he'd already deduced that the serial killer was "announcing himself," trying to get attention, it stood to reason that Michael was the killer trying to get Holmes's attention. Still a bit of a leap there, more induction than deduction, but maybe it let him put together some pieces he hadn't connected before. It could've used a little more explanation, though.
I do find Michael's actor a bit more effective now that he's openly evil. He's not as bland, more understatedly menacing and calculating. He's no Natalie Dormer or John Noble, but he's at least adequate as an adversary now.
The season is almost over and Michael still hasn't been back. Sounds like he'll return for the final couple episodes, but I wonder if something changed as the season was being developed. Seems strange to give someone main cast billing for five episodes who was gone after episode seven.
Something was changed:
http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?/topic/80754-elementary-season-6/page__st__20#entry1536347
As it happens, episodes 9-11 involved the return of Morland and the revelation of Moriarty's escape. So this would seem to imply that the season's story arc was always intended to connect to Moriarty. I've suspected for some time that Michael would turn out to be working for her.
Presumably this is also why there was a 3-month time jump between episodes 7 & 8. That was probably meant to be the midseason hiatus in a 13-episode season.
I was a bit surprised by the last episode. Nobody considered the most obvious explanation for the suicides: that people were being blackmailed into performing their deaths in the way being "predicted."
I did like the plotline about Sherlock giving away all that money, though. I wonder if he kept any for living expenses. Do they still work for free, or does the department give them some money as consultants?
I did like the plotline about Sherlock giving away all that money, though. I wonder if he kept any for living expenses. Do they still work for free, or does the department give them some money as consultants?
I went to hypnotism in my head before the obscure Colombian tree poison reveal. This episode really kicked Occam's Razor in the ass! 
I went to hypnotism in my head before the obscure Colombian tree poison reveal. This episode really kicked Occam's Razor in the ass!
I considered hypnotism, but my understanding is that normal hypnotism techniques cannot make a person commit suicide or murder unless the person was already inclined to perform such acts. Obviously, drug intervention (such as from an obscure plant) is beyond normal hypnotism, so I don't know if the show was accurate.
That's right. Hypnotism as popularly portrayed in fiction is a myth. Brain activity scans prove that a "hypnotized" person is in fact in a fully conscious state with normal decision-making power. Being hypnotized is essentially a voluntary choice to put oneself into a submissive and self-abnegating state of mind, to basically just turn off your ego and will and let someone you trust tell you what to do. But that shutdown of will is voluntary, so if someone tries to tell a hypnotized person to do something beyond what they're willing to go along with, they'll just say "No" and can't be made to do it.
