TV Review: Elementary Episode # 7 - "One Way to Get Off "

Aidan Quinn, Jonny Lee Miller and Callie Thorne in CBS Elementary

A copycat killer has sprung up and Captain Toby Gregson (Aidan Quinn) promptly contacts Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) for assistance. Holmes is convinced that something more sinister is afoot as he deduces way too many similarities to previous crimes committed by one Wade Crews (Keith Szarabajka) now serving his jail sentence.

In the previous episode, it was revealed that Sherlock was involved with Irene Adler back in London. Sherlock is still hesitant to share any details and even conducts his investigation alone.

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) hands over Irene Adler's letters to Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller)

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) however is persistent and visit Hemdale Rehabilitation Facility to find out more about Sherlock’s past. She finds out that Sherlock has not revealed a single aspect of his life to any of his handlers. His only confidant/friend is Groundskeeper Edison (Stephen Henderson), who happens to tend to bees as well. Edison hands over some stuff left behind by Sherlock. These include letters sent by Irene to Sherlock.

Gregson’s old partner, Terry D'Amico (Callie Thorne) who worked with him on the Wade murders is back, thanks to Sherlock. Gregson believes that Wade is guilty. Holmes seems to have reservations. Is Holmes correct in his thoughts?

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Jonny Lee Miller continues to impress as Sherlock Holmes. Miller presents a version of Holmes that is faithful to the Canon. His sense of humor is fast becoming the signature trait of this version of Holmes.

Here are the Canonical references:

1. Miller’s Sherlock knows a lot of details about the Wade murders. This seems to surprise Gregson, considering that these murders took place almost 15 years ago. Dr Watson made the following observation about Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet – “Sensational Literature. -- Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.”
2. Interestingly, Miller’s Holmes also contradicts what we know about the Canonical Holmes. Miller’s Holmes recognizes a couple of lines spoken by a character as being written by Leo Tolstoy and Oscar Wilde. In A Study in Scarlet, Dr Watson lists Sherlock’s knowledge of Literature as Nil.
3. Miller’s Holmes uses Social Engineering to obtain information about a hotel guest. The Canonical Holmes used similar tactics to obtain information from Milverton’s housemaid in The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.
4. Miller’s Holmes changes his voice to gain entry into a hotel room. This is the closest I have seen this version of Holmes come to acquiring a disguise as part of an investigation. The Canonical Holmes adopted many disguises on a regular basis in a number of cases.
5. Miller’s Holmes indulges in lock picking to enter a hotel room. In the story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Holmes displays his burgling kit, complete with keys, glass-cutter and a jimmy.

Jonny Lee Miller makes a remarkable Sherlock Holmes

I also liked a couple of other things:

1. Miller’s Holmes speaks fluently in Russian. He was also seen conversing very freely in Chinese in one of the earlier episodes. Though there was never any mention in the Canon, it is not a far stretch to assume that the Canonical Holmes would have been fluent in many languages.
2. Miller’s Holmes asks to use the "Lavatory". Gregson has to explain to the puzzled American character that Holmes is actually looking for a bathroom. This was a nice touch and emphasized the very British nature of Miller’s Holmes.

As much as I liked the way Miller portrayed Holmes, the episode dragged throughout its running time. Despite a twist in the climax, this was one of the weakest episodes with a boring screenplay.

Callie Thorne as Terry D’Amico, Gregson's old partner

CBS, better luck next time!

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TV Review: Elementary Episode # 6 - "Flight Risk"

Sherlock and Joan with Gregson and Bell in Elementary

Holmes discovers about a plane crash by listening to the police scanner. The detective in charge of the investigation, Miranda Molinari (Reiko Aylesworth) makes it perfectly clear that NYPD and associated “consultants” are not welcome at the crash site.

Holmes cheerfully disregards this and proceeds with his investigation anyway. He deduces that one of the passengers was killed before the plane crashed.

All the passengers were working for a law firm and were involved in a lawsuit against a company for causing cancer. Soon one of the suspects seems to be on the run and as expected Holmes catches the culprit.

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The mystery is good but is overshadowed by the other subplot about Sherlock’s past.

Holmes’s father wants to have dinner with Sherlock and Joan. Sherlock is not appreciative of the idea and confidently predicts that his father will not turn up. In a way, Sherlock Sr. (Roger Rees) ends up having the dinner with Watson and this was the most hilarious scene in the episode.

Joan does some deductions on her own and tracks down “Sherlock Sr.” for some additional information about Sherlock’s past. And what we get is a doozy – Irene Adler aka The Woman.

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

Jonny Lee Miller finally delivers a solid performance. This is the first episode where Miller’s performance has started to grow on me. It also helps that Miller and Lucy have a great chemistry. Miller's Holmes has the right combination of humor and assertiveness, that makes him a good on-screen version of the Canonical Holmes. 

It is heartening to see Miller establish his credentials as a credible Sherlock Holmes, after Stephen Moffat and some fans of Sherlock had written off this series so prematurely. As Holmes said in A Scandal in Bohemia: “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”

Lucy Liu continues her amazing run as Joan Watson. If the previous episode focused on her past life, this time it is Sherlock’s past. Since Miller’s Sherlock has never been happy to discuss his past, Joan has to do some investigation herself and she does not disappoint. Full credit to Lucy for giving us one of the best Watsons.

Lucy Liu as Joan Watson

Roger Rees made a fine impression and I look forward to his (hopefully) further appearances on the show. The discussion between “Sherlock Sr.” and Joan in the library about the definition of friendship was executed nicely and very Sherlockian in nature.

To the best of my knowledge, this episode had the least number of Canonical References:

1.   The dinner meeting of Sherlock Sr. and Joan Watson reminded me of the following line from The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone – “My old friend here will tell you that I have an impish habit of practical joking”.

2.   Irene Adler – It would be interesting to see how Irene fits in this adaptation and which actress is cast for the role.

I thought this was the best episode so far. Well done, Guys.

Reiko Aylesworth as Miranda Molinari

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Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'

The movie is based on the canonical short story The Final Problem.

As indicated in the first movie, Prof Moriarty (Jared Harris) is working in the shadows (pun intended) to initiate a war on a global scale. Dr Watson (Jude Law) has moved out of 221 B leaving Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) to his own devices. Holmes is on the trail of Moriarty, gathering all possible evidence.

Dr Watson’s impending marriage and the presence of a gypsy are 2 subplots incorporated into the story credited to Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. The finale at Reichenbach Falls has been executed to perfection by Guy Ritchie and his crew.

Downey Jr and Jude Law continue their crowd pleasing and fun portrayals from the first movie. The same is true of the other returning cast members as well. The 3 main newcomers are Jared Harris, Stephen Fry and Noomi Rapace.

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Jared Harris is mesmerizing as Prof Moriarty. His is a masterful performance that successfully sells the concept of an accomplished academic who also happens to be a criminal mastermind. Watching Harris’s performance sent me into raptures. This, my dear friends, is Prof Moriarty. The Moriarty who is every bit the intellectual equal of Sherlock, only far more devious (as rightly said by Adler in the previous movie). This is the Moriarty I had envisioned when reading The Final Problem and briefly in The Valley of Fear. A Moriarty who is subtle and ruthless.

Hats off, Mr. Harris. A truly Splendid performance!

Another great aspect of this movie is that, for the first time Moriarty is actually shown as a Professor in an academic environment. I have not seen this in the Granada adaptation or the Russian adaptation or for that matter in any other. In yet another nice nod to the canon, some of the characters in the movie refer to Prof Moriarty not by his name, but only as “He”. As Holmes spoke in The Valley of Fear about Moriarty – “No less! When any of that party talk about ‘He’ you know whom they mean. There is one predominant ‘He’ for all of them.”

Prof Moriarty with one of his students

Full credits to Warner Bros and Guy Ritchie for bringing Mr. Harris onboard and doing full justice to the character of Prof Moriarty!

Stephen Fry appears as Mycroft Holmes, the elder brother of Sherlock Holmes. As readers familiar with the canon will know, Sherlock and Mycroft indulge in a game of out-deducing each other in The Greek Interpreter where we are introduced to Mycroft. In a nice nod to the canon, we have Sherlock and Mycroft doing the same in the movie as well. 

However, unlike the canon Watson joins in as well, leading Mycroft to conclude that perhaps Watson is not as dim-witted as he is often made out to be. I thought this was a nice touch and a reference to the bumbling image of Watson as portrayed by Nigel Bruce in the Basil Rathbone movies. Fry makes an adequate Mycroft, though the physical differences between him and Downey Jr can be quite jarring at times.

Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes

Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Golden Tattoo movies) plays Madam Simza, a gypsy whose brother works for Moriarty. Rapace does her best with the role given to her.

Jude Law shares excellent chemistry with Downey Jr and this is one of the best things about these movies. The sequence at the gypsy camp is a fine example. 

Robert Downey Jr is an excellent actor and I am pretty sure, given the right material to work with, he can be anyone he wishes to be. In the first movie, I was not convinced about his performance due to his shenanigans with McAdams’s Adler. Thankfully, in the sequel Adler leaves the screen quite early. This leaves Downey Jr to portray Holmes in a significantly more canonical tone and he is electrifying as Sherlock in all the scenes he shares with Harris’s Moriarty.

The very first meeting between the rivals is nicely done. But the chess sequence at the end of the movie is truly out of this world. The sequence captures the essence of the rivalry between Sherlock and Moriarty – 2 geniuses at loggerheads with each other. The picturization of the ensuing fight scene is another gem as well. Ritchie shows the fight at a metaphysical level and elevates the scene from being just another routine climactic fight. Great job, Ritchie!

Does he remind you of someone else....

Interestingly, Downey Jr’s makeup in the train sequence reminded me of The Joker. Coincidence? Considering that both the movie franchises are from Warner Bros, probably not.

I also liked the Wine Cellar scene where Holmes, Watson and Madam Simza meet a terrorist who makes bombs. The way Holmes calmly and masterfully deduced the hidden exit instantly reminded of the Canonical Holmes. This is Sherlock Holmes. A calm, cool thinking machine who has his emotions in check and goes about his business in a truly masterful and assertive way.

Guy Ritchie has done an amazing job, right from the casting choices to the action sequences. The action scenes that show Holmes planning his moves ahead are more inspired this time, as not all of them go as per Holmes's predictions. The escape sequence through the forest though dragged on considerably and could have used some editing. The pony scenes with Holmes also did not really tickle the funny bone.

Hans Zimmer has produced another outstanding soundtrack that enhances the movie’s tone. The soundtrack “The Romanian Wind” in particular, is exceptional. His music is the very soul of this movie franchise.

Not to be outdone, the other crew members have also made handsome contributions to deliver a classic rendition of Sherlock Holmes. The cinematography by Philippe Rousselot, editing by James Herbert, production design by Sarah Greenwood and costume design by Jenny Beavan deserve special mention.

Jared Harris as Prof Moriarty

This turned out to be a long review. I just loved this movie and would heartily recommend to readers who are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon and would like to see the finest onscreen depiction of Prof Moriarty.

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Image Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

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TV Review: Sherlock - "A Scandal in Belgravia"

Benedict Cumberbatch and Lara Pulver as Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler

This episode is a modern update of A Scandal in Bohemia.  While the series itself is contemporary take on the classic stories, the character of Irene Adler has been given the extreme makeover. 

Irene Adler has morphed from an adventuress into a dominatrix who is bisexual as well. She is the one to rescue Sherlock and Watson from their precarious situation at the end of the first season. 

Soon, Sherlock and Watson take on a royal blackmail case which involves Irene. The episode rambles on with Sherlock and Irene playing a game of cat and mouse, taking turns to outwit each other. The climactic scene features Sherlock deciphering the key to unlock Irene’s smartphone. Moriarty makes a brief appearance.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Holmes and Watson

The character of Irene Adler is not the only one to get a modern update. The great Mycroft Holmes himself is not immune to the dictates of a “modern” adaptation. Mycroft is still employed by the British Government; it is his relationship with his younger brother that bears the brunt. Mycroft and Sherlock have a very antagonistic relationship in this series.

The Holmes brothers

In the Canon, Sherlock and Mycroft share a mutually respectful relationship towards each other. They do not gush around each other, but they do have a lot of respect and goodwill for each other. The Granada series, the Russian series and SherlockHolmes: A Game of Shadows captured the essence of this relationship nicely.

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The Granada series in particular knocks this one out of the park and I recommend the episode “The Greek Interpreter”. The scene in the Diogenes Club, where Watson meets Mycroft for the first time is pitch-perfect and Charles Gray is just amazing as Mycroft in this episode as well as in the series.

The episode has references to some of the original stories: The Greek Interpreter (The Geek Interpreter), The Speckled Band (The Speckled Blonde) and The Adventure of the Illustrious Client. 

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Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

As the movie opens, we meet Dr Watson and Inspector Lestrade racing in a horse-driven carriage to an unknown destination. A medium-sized man (Robert Downey Jr) is also in a hurry as he quickly dispatches some unnamed hoodlums and prevents the villain Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) from making a sacrifice of a young woman. Thus begins our introduction to Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s renowned fictional detective.

Jude Law and Kelly Reilly as Dr Watson and Mary Morstan

Soon, Lord Blackwood is hanged for his dastardly deeds and is pronounced dead. Dr Watson is about to be engaged to Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly). Even as Holmes tries his best to thwart the impending engagement, Blackwood returns from the dead to menace England once again. Also thrown in the mix is Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), who has been employed by Professor Moriarty to manipulate Holmes into retrieving a device (the MacGuffin of this movie).

In a considerable departure from the canon, Holmes has a very personal and non-platonic relationship with Irene Adler.

Yes, definitely not the Canonical Holmes....

As Sherlockians know, Holmes is quite distrusting of the opposite sex and his only interaction with Irene Adler is in A Scandal in Bohemia. I will not go into too many details, but suffice to say that this interaction was quite brief and decidedly impersonal.

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Moving on to the supporting cast, Jude Law gives a fine performance as Watson. He is every bit the canonical Watson, a strong-minded and decent individual, who also happens to the ally of Sherlock Holmes. Law presents a competent version of Watson along the likes of David Burke, Edward Hardwicke and Vitaly Solomin.

Eddie Marsan makes a remarkable Lestrade. Mark Strong does his best with the given material. Interestingly, Strong has the requisite physical attributes to be Sherlock Holmes.

Mark Strong and Robert Downey Jr as Lord Blackwood and Sherlock Holmes

The movie is mainly focused on the bromance between the residents of 221 B and the ladies unfortunately have nothing much to do. Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams do perform the requisite duties of providing the necessary eye candy. Geraldine James makes a fleeing appearance in a couple of scenes as Mrs Hudson.

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Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Gatiss in BBC's 'Sherlock'

This is my second post about the BBC series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson respectively.

Please click here to read the first post.

Mark Gatiss, in addition to being the co-creator of the series, also plays Mycroft Holmes and he brings the requisite command and wisdom that Mycroft has always been associated with. In a significant deviation from the Canon, the Holmes brothers seem to have considerable hostility towards each other.

Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson

Una Stubbs makes a bland Mrs. Hudson. Her characterization seems to be little bit inconsistent as she is reluctant to be a housekeeper initially (in “A Study in Pink”) but does so in “The Blind Banker”. Though not miscast, she does not exactly bring to mind the humble and caring Mrs Hudson, I came across while reading the books.

Rupert Graves’s Lestrade retains most of the characteristic traits of the character. He constantly needs Sherlock’s help to solve cases and is humble enough to admit it. Graves hits all these notes correctly to deliver a likeable Lestrade.

Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade

But not everyone in the Scotland Yard is a fan of Sherlock. Anderson (Jonathan Aris) and Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) are openly contemptuous of Sherlock. There is no love lost on both sides as Sherlock takes every opportunity to insult Anderson and even deduces an affair between Anderson (who is married) and Donovan. Aris and Robinson play their parts nicely and make sure that these two characters are the most loathed recurring characters in the series.

Vinette Robinson and Jonathan Aris as Sally Donovan and Anderson

Andrew Scott's version of Jim Moriarty is miles different from the Canonical version. I was initially not very keen on Andrew's portrayal but am slowly getting used to it.

Andrew Scott after winning the 2012 BAFTA award

For canonically accurate portrayals of Moriarty, I would recommend Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Mortal Fight. Both Jared Harris and Viktor Yevgrafov gave amazing performances that stayed loyal to their canonical roots.

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Lara Pulver portrays the highly modernized version of Irene Adler. Readers familiar with the original story A Scandal in Bohemia will recognize the changes made to the character as well as the story itself.

Lara Pulver as Irene Adler

Russell Tovey gave a great performance as Henry Knight, the BBC version of Sir Henry Baskerville. Tovey's performance was one of the highlights of the episode, that happens to be my favorite in the second season.

Russell Tovey as Henry Knight

Katherine Parkinson made her appearance in 'The Reichenbach Fall' as Kitty Riley, the reporter who unknowingly becomes a pawn in Moriarty's scheme to discredit Sherlock.

Katherine Parkinson with Benedict Cumberbatch

Last but not the least, the great Douglas Wilmer made a cameo appearance in 'The Reichenbach Fall' as an elderly gent in the Diogenes Club. He portrayed Holmes in the classic BBC series (1964-65). Wilmer is one of my all-time favorite actors to portray Sherlock and it was great to see him if only in a single scene.

Douglas Wilmer with Mark Gatiss

The background score by David Arnold and Michael Price is as critically acclaimed as the series itself. Rest of the crew delivers topnotch work as well. The series co-creators, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are proclaimed fans of the Sherlock canon and have incorporated a lot of references to the original works. These easter eggs are by themselves a celebration of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle.

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