 |
| Jonny Lee Miller and Aidan Quinn in Elementary |
The
least explored character in the show has been without a doubt, Detective Marcus
Bell (Jon Michael Hill). Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) has had his share of fame
in some of the previous episodes. Detective Bell, on the other hand, has
remained a non-entity. He has remained the token member of the official force
who bears the brunt of Sherlock’s sarcasm.
This
episode seeks to rectify this situation and Bell gets to hog the limelight.
Bell
is attacked by an unknown assailant in a car. Bell’s car flips, leaving him
bruised. Bell suspects that Curtis Bradshaw (Anwan Glover), a powerful drug peddler
from one of his earlier cases is behind the attacks. The case takes a new
direction when Curtis himself is murdered.
The
suspicion next falls on Bell’s brother, Andre Bell (Malcolm Goodwin) who is an
ex-convict and out on parole.
Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:
Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:
In
the episode’s customary subplot, Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) has grown
apprehensive about Joan’s safety since the incidents of the last episode. Holmes
in his search for a martial arts trainer for Joan zeroes in on Bell’s colleague Paula
Reyes (Paula Garcés). Holmes has deduced that Paula is good at boxing.
Continuing
the show's downward trend, this episode is another weak one. Many of the attempts at humor fell
flat. It felt like Miller was trying too hard to be funny.
His guerilla style attacks on Joan to test her reflexes reminded me instantly of the same antics employed by Cato (Burt Kwouk) on Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in A Shot in the Dark, the second in the Pink Panther movie series.
His guerilla style attacks on Joan to test her reflexes reminded me instantly of the same antics employed by Cato (Burt Kwouk) on Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in A Shot in the Dark, the second in the Pink Panther movie series.
 |
| Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes |
I did like Holmes’ usage of the British
term “Water Closet”.
Canonical References
1.
Holmes' attempt to get
information from Curtis by placing a bet – Reference to The Adventure
of the Blue Carbuncle, in which Holmes places a bet with the salesman to
obtain information about the goose.
2.
Holmes conducting a
Ballistics exam inside his apartment – Reference to this line from The
Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: “ … Holmes, in one of his queer humours,
would sit in an armchair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges
and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V. R. done in
bullet-pocks,..”
3.
Holmes remark about
catching the scent of recently used firearms in Bell’s apartment - Holmes
states in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier: “I have, as my
friend Watson may have remarked, an abnormally acute set of senses, and a faint
but incisive scent was apparent.”
4.
Holmes commenting that Bell
was not stupid enough to conceal the gun (used to commit a crime he is accused
of) in his apartment – Reference to The Problem of Thor Bridge, in
which Holmes deduces that the discovery of the revolver on the floor of the
governess’ wardrobe was meant to frame her.
5.
We see the set of locks on
the wall in a couple of scenes - The Canonical Holmes is an expert in lock
picking. He even mentions in The Adventure of the Retired
Colourman: “Burglary has always been an alternative profession had I cared
to adopt it, and I have little doubt that I should have come to the front.”
6.
Holmes treating Bell as
just another resource for getting information – I think this is an indirect
reference to this statement by Holmes in The Sign of the Four: “A
client is to me a mere unit,—a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are
antagonistic to clear reasoning.”
 |
| Jon Michael Hill as Marcus Bell and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson |
Trivia
The
song “No Man is an Island” (Losers Theme) by Losers is played when Holmes is conducting his ballistics exam.
Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.
You might also like:
