Sherlock - Series 3
- Thread starter Agent Richard07
- Start date
That it did.
Which is why Sherlock asked if Watson had is gun!
Not really sure what to think of this season of Sherlock. There was certainly a lot of clever writing and fun character moments, and the episodes usually had me glued to the screen throughout.... but I also couldn't help but be frustrated the entire time with the lack of much actual, you know... detective work.
The show has become SO overly flashy and stylish that the mysteries almost feel like afterthoughts now. And while I appreciate the intricate way in which Moffat and Gatiss have constructed these episodes, the stories jump around so much and take so many liberties that by the end it all starts to seem pretty far-fetched and ridiculous.
I never thought I'd say it, but by this point I far prefer the calmer and more grounded approach Elementary is taking with the character. Even if not every mystery feels worthy of the character, the show still feels a lot truer to the source material than the crazy, over the top cartoon that Sherlock's become.
The show has become SO overly flashy and stylish that the mysteries almost feel like afterthoughts now. And while I appreciate the intricate way in which Moffat and Gatiss have constructed these episodes, the stories jump around so much and take so many liberties that by the end it all starts to seem pretty far-fetched and ridiculous.
I never thought I'd say it, but by this point I far prefer the calmer and more grounded approach Elementary is taking with the character. Even if not every mystery feels worthy of the character, the show still feels a lot truer to the source material than the crazy, over the top cartoon that Sherlock's become.
It’s interesting because I’ve just finished watching the first series of Elementary and whilst I have to say I really enjoyed it, I never quite felt like Miller was Sherlock Holmes. In essence it felt more like The Mentalist than Sherlock, and you could have called him Fred Bloggs it wouldn’t have made much difference to how the show played out, meanwhile it’s hard to see Cumberbatch as anything other than Sherlock Holmes.
For me Johnny Lee Miller’s greatest strength is that his Holmes is human, Cumberbatch’s greatest strength is that his Holmes isn’t, and because of that he’s eminently more interesting.
Also every time Gregson, Bell or Watson says “Sherlock Holmes” or “Scotland Yard” it makes me want to giggle.
But, to add I do really like Elementary and agree with one of my friends who said it and Sherlock are good companion pieces. In fact it kinda reminds me of the days when DS9 and Voyager were both airing at the same time, I thought they complemented each other well, the dark and thoughtful Trek and the light enjoyable popcorn Trek.
For me Johnny Lee Miller’s greatest strength is that his Holmes is human, Cumberbatch’s greatest strength is that his Holmes isn’t, and because of that he’s eminently more interesting.
Also every time Gregson, Bell or Watson says “Sherlock Holmes” or “Scotland Yard” it makes me want to giggle.
But, to add I do really like Elementary and agree with one of my friends who said it and Sherlock are good companion pieces. In fact it kinda reminds me of the days when DS9 and Voyager were both airing at the same time, I thought they complemented each other well, the dark and thoughtful Trek and the light enjoyable popcorn Trek.
I think it was Lonemagpie who described this season as a "Richard Curtis sitcom." I can see that in the first two episodes (and even agree with it somewhat), the third not so much.
A few weeks ago The Onion's AV Club had an article on how Elementary has eclipsed Sherlock here. I think it makes a number of good points, though I think the series are very different things with very different aims that don't lend themselves to comparison. (However, I would really like to see the two series do a script swap; I'd love to see Cumberbatch work with Miller's material and vice versa.) There's one thing that I felt the article missed, which I wrote about on my blog -- stylistically, Elementary is closer to Doyle's material than Sherlock is.
On my blog said:
In GenTrek there's a thread about whether Star Trek is better in films or TV. I think, as you allude Allyn, they, like Sherlock and Elementary, are two different formats so that asking if one format is better than the other for either Trek or Holmes is a fruitless question. The feature length time of film and the few number tends Sherlock and Trek movies to hype the dramatic out of necessity of the scarcity of appearance. The event has to be worth it to the audience. The greater amount of time given a lengthy series lets greater attention to be given to character building to the leads and to the lesser characters thus giving the leads a deeper and more lushly developed world to perform in. Both Sherlock and Elementary are great fun and should be appreciated for the fine productions that they are.
Agreed that Cumberbatch's Sherlock is by far the most compelling and interesting to watch, but ultimately I'd much rather watch a show that actually gives the character some halfway decent mysteries to solve. And that isn't just about dazzling the audience with lots of flashy direction and clever story twists for the sake of having clever story twists.
Yeah I saw that article and largely agree with it. Even though Elementary can risk feeling at times like just another Mentalist-style procedural, there are others-- like the entire Moriarty arc-- where I think the writing and character work was so good it surpassed that of Sherlock (I certainly prefer their version of Moriarty to the walking cartoon that is Sherlock's).
I stay out of these threads mainly to avoid the chance of spoilers, but having seen series 3 now, I just wanted to pop in and say that I enjoy this series immensely, and have from the very first episode. Thumbs up. 
Toodles until after series 4!
Toodles until after series 4!
He also pointed out that he knows where all of Mary's old enemies are--and could easily alert them to her new identity. He wouldn't need to have legal proof; he would just need to notify various interested parties that they might want to look at a certain "Mary Watson" if they're out for revenge against that missing CIA assassin . . ..
This series was simply amazing. Great shows, great writing, and each episode was progressively better than the previous. The additional "background" that was added to Mary Marston Watson's story was a nice touch, and the actress that portrays her did a fantastic job holding her own with her two heavyweight male co-stars.
I particularly enjoyed the exploration of Watson's character, and the writers of this show made some nice inferences as to his thought process and personality. Plus they made him a badass, and that is awesome.
One side note for those who are upset by Sherlock's murder of CAM: in the original short stories, Holmes is shown to be someone who would resort to violence to protect others, in particular women. So combine his protective instincts for Mary, his love for John Watson, and his hatred of bullies and of CAM in particular he knew there was no other option but to kill the villain. In the short stories, he made the same decision when he finally confronted Moriarty. There was no court who could try Magnesson, there was no way to neutralize him but to kill him. The decision made sense.
My only wish is that they had not done the "Moriarty returns" reveal in this season. I would have enjoyed several months of speculation about whether or not Holmes would be able to find a way to survive undercover work and return.
I particularly enjoyed the exploration of Watson's character, and the writers of this show made some nice inferences as to his thought process and personality. Plus they made him a badass, and that is awesome.
One side note for those who are upset by Sherlock's murder of CAM: in the original short stories, Holmes is shown to be someone who would resort to violence to protect others, in particular women. So combine his protective instincts for Mary, his love for John Watson, and his hatred of bullies and of CAM in particular he knew there was no other option but to kill the villain. In the short stories, he made the same decision when he finally confronted Moriarty. There was no court who could try Magnesson, there was no way to neutralize him but to kill him. The decision made sense.
My only wish is that they had not done the "Moriarty returns" reveal in this season. I would have enjoyed several months of speculation about whether or not Holmes would be able to find a way to survive undercover work and return.
And then slowly build up a "Miss me?" campaign of Moriarty in real life media before the next series airs?
And then slowly build up a "Miss me?" campaign of Moriarty in real life media before the next series airs?
Dude! (Or dudette) That would have been amazing. Plus I would have enjoyed watching my wife freak out "They CAN'T be getting rid of him... they just CAN'T"
And then slowly build up a "Miss me?" campaign of Moriarty in real life media before the next series airs?
The pattern of meaningless cliffhangers has already been established in the first two series. I'm pretty sure the "Miss Me?" videos will be swept under the carpet within the first 5 minutes of series 4.
The moment they revealed that all the blackmail was just in Magnussen's head... I kept asking myself why doesn't someone just kill him? Shouldn't he be insanely paranoid about his personal safety? That was way too easy an ending.
I really enjoyed Series Three. I would rank the episodes 2 > 1 > 3.
While the Mary revelation in 3 was absolutely totally shocking, the rest of the episode was pretty so-so. They build up the threat of Magnussen but don't deliver on it, and the ending is far too easy.
I really loved the wedding episode. Not only was it absolutely hilarious with great character moments and actual growth and warmth from Sherlock, it also was a series of short stories and not one long drawn out story like normal. Great stuff!
I really enjoyed Series Three. I would rank the episodes 2 > 1 > 3.
While the Mary revelation in 3 was absolutely totally shocking, the rest of the episode was pretty so-so. They build up the threat of Magnussen but don't deliver on it, and the ending is far too easy.
I really loved the wedding episode. Not only was it absolutely hilarious with great character moments and actual growth and warmth from Sherlock, it also was a series of short stories and not one long drawn out story like normal. Great stuff!
Yeah, I wasn't too fond of that ending either. Not because I have a problem with Sherlock killing someone, but because it was disappointing to see him not come up with a cleverer solution than that. Instead he just kinda gives up and... shoots the guy.
I mean, really? After miraculously escaping death at the start of the season, suddenly he's completely stumped by an annoying newspaper owner with a photographic memory? I'm just not buying it.
I mean, really? After miraculously escaping death at the start of the season, suddenly he's completely stumped by an annoying newspaper owner with a photographic memory? I'm just not buying it.
he said that Magnussen disgusted him. and whilst Sherlock found Moriarty a threat, there wasn't disgust involved... he almost admired him
Yup, that was my biggest problem with the episode, too. Especially since he'd just drugged everyone at his parents' house -- so carefully as to not even harm Watson's unborn child -- but he couldn't have slipped Magnussen something to permanently scramble his brain, but leave him alive? And that Sherlock somehow couldn't figure out that he was "reading" a photographic memory when the glasses turned out to be normal? Isn't he supposed to smarter than everyone else?
I have to mention that I loved seeing Janine again. She's a lot of fun. And maybe I imagined it, but I thought I saw something cross Sherlock's face when Magnussen started talking about how he'd tormented Janine, too, just as he was tormenting Watson...and that was when he really decided there was nothing for it but to kill him. Sherlock can be cruel himself, but he hates bullies.
They could have let the series follow closer to the story with Milverton and let Mary shoot Magnussen and get away. Holmes and Watson could have come on the body and then looked into who did it. In that search finding out it was Mary and her nefarious background. As it went, I agree with the something to scramble his memory idea rather than Holmes shooting him. A little domoic acid as was done to some folks in Elementary.
