Sherlock:The Series, Season 2 (PROBABLE SPOILERS)

SPOILERS...

...which oddly leads me right into the episode. Because it must have taken an inhuman amount of effort for Steven Moffat not to cast Alex Kingston as Sherlock's more toothsome nemesis Irene Adler, a rather racier River Song.

Good points:
- The interplay between Cumberbatch, Freeman, and Lara Pulver as Miss - sorry, Mistress Irene Adler. Perfectly played to a tee, with Freeman's patented "I really don't know where the heck to look" expression used perfectly - especially when Irene demonstrates a novel way of stopping Sherlock reading you.

- The idea of casting Adler as a Domme actually works perfectly as a translation from the Victorian intrigue that surrounded stage actresses. Naughty but high-profile and with access to the highest levels of the land...

- Endlessly quotable wisecracks galore with Adler getting some of the best Moffat lines in history ("...mind you, he was upside-down at the time"), but Sherlock, Mycroft, Watson and even Lestrade all well-supplied throughout the show ("So, how many times DID he fall out of the window?" "It was all such a blur, I lost count.")

- Unpredictability - you'd better be paying close attention. The Moff's trick of throwing in one or two spoilers as perfectly innocuous comments or gags is back.

Bad points:
- how the cliffhanger from last season gets resolved.

- Irene Adler needing rescuing - including from her sexual preferences? Wrong. If you want to give Sherlock a little closure and satisfaction, better ways of handling it.

- the opening sequence where we catch up on Sherlock and John's adventures is frequently hilarious but also confusing and stuffed with red herrings. Not ALL red herrings, though.

Further reading:
The game is evidently afoot: Watson's blog, Sherlock's website and Irene's Twitter are all live and out there, hooked to a network of other sites. BBC probably don't have Spielberg's resources to run a full Alternate Reality Game (and Cloudmaker was a hell of a lot better than AI which spawned it) but could well have some entertaining puzzles coming up.

Thoroughly thoroughly enjoyable.

I was skeptical of Irene Adler being a dominatrix, but yes. On the whole I think it was presented well. My own personal bad point was her needing to consult Moriarty before she knew what to do with herself.

And keeping Mycroft as a solid presence is wonderful for the dynamic too.

My favourite moment (paraphrased slightly):
Adler: You love him.
Watson: Look, despite what the world might think, I'm not gay!
Adler: And I am. Yet here we are.

I very much enjoyed watching last night's show. It's been the first time I've been glued to the screen, unable to move for ages. The interplay between the characters is wonderful and the script is very tight. Most annoying thing of all was trying to work out where we knew the actress playing Mistress Adler from. We kicked ourselves when we worked out it was from True Blood.

Downsides, only two I can count. I hate, hate, hate Screamy Shouty 'Jim' Moriaty. He's far too much like Screamy Shouter Master from Doctor Who (although in fairness, he wasn't Moffat's creation). I like my masterminds clever and focused, not semi-coherent lunatics.

Also, I'm not keen on how Dr Watson is portrayed. Aside from the moment in the very first episode where he saved Sherlock's life, he's continually either comic relief or a fool to be used by Sherlock and anyone else who sees fit. Watson was both a doctor, a soldier and a damn fine mind in his own right, it would be nice to see him as less of a victim.

Other than that, superb, gripping viewing.

To me, this was the best episode of the series so far. I think my favourite parts were the more 'human' moments Sherlock had. His righteous anger on behalf of Mrs. Hudson. His relenting apology with Molly as well as his realisation that he had taken his game too far (Watson's reaction to the apology was priceless, too).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dante Most annoying thing of all was trying to work out where we knew the actress playing Mistress Adler from. We kicked ourselves when we worked out it was from True Blood.

For me it was Guy of Gisborne's sister from the Robin Hood series.

Incidentally, I was trying to figure out if 1895 was some sort of reference. I thought it might be the year The Final Problem was published, but apparently that was 1893 - close, but no cigar.

http://www.thescienceofdeduction.co....hiddenmessage3

I'm betting "SHERLOCK I HAVE FOUND YOU"...

EDIT: Apparently the "Comments" on the main site revealed it. So much for an apparent mystery.

I positively loved it! Loved every minute of it! This Irene Addler portrayal rocked. In fact it rocked so much, it rawked!!

The 1895 thing is apparently a reference to a poem called "221b" by Vincent Starret:

Here dwell together still two men of note
Who never lived and so can never die:
How very near they seem, yet how remote
That age before the world went all awry.
But still the game's afoot for those with ears
Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:
England is England yet, for all our fears—
Only those things the heart believes are true.

A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane
As night descends upon this fabled street:
A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,
The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet.
Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always eighteen ninety-five.

I enjoyed that immensely.

I am still not sure about their depiction of Moriarty though. I expect him to be cold and unemotional, like Sherlock. On the plus side he is quite scary!

One of my favourite Moriarties is the Kim Newman take in Professor Moriarty: Hound of the D'Urbervilles, who is at least as smart, curious, and dispassionate as Holmes, and also a consummate long game artist - though he has something of a blind spot when it comes to outwitting Miss Adler.

It was great! Although, they could have just ened it at 'The Geek interpreter' and I'd have been happy!

More sleuthering tonight as Sherlock takes on the Hounds Of Baskerville, guest starring Russell "Being Human" Tovey...

All I can say is as much as I enjoy this series since it first began, I absolutely LOATHE Doctor who since Moffat took over. He not only ruined his best addition to Who with Blink and the weeping angels being mucked up in 5+ but seems proud that he has done so. Amy and Rory are the best part of it and keep being given minimalist roles in to many episodes, and not nearly enough doctor light ones to balance it out.

And River Song....BLEH! I liked her plenty back in 4 in the library....as a tragic femme fatale who might of been a terribly interesting character if they had never developed her. Sometimes the mystery is alot more fun.

Really I wish the damn writer would just focus on this series and leave who to the writers who actually like the Doctor.

I think I was consistently more satisfied with Davies run but Moffat's turn at the wheel has yielded some truly exceptional episodes i.e. The Doctor's Wife and The Lodger so I'm currently happy.

This episode of Sherlock dragged on for me. Gatiss has a tendency to make his stories overly elaborate (if you've ever seen Jekyll, you might know what I mean.) The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of my favorite stories but this one had sort of a weak reveal. On the other hand, it was interesting to see Sherlock unhinged and doubt-stricken. Still enjoying the series as a whole so I'll be here next week.

Loved this weeks too. Particularly as they shoehorned in a scene from The Blue Carbuncle, which is one of my favourites of the original stories.