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?

Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:

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!

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Source: CBS

You might also like:

Elementary - Flight Risk

Elementary - The Rat Race

RIP Kwashi (1982 - 2012)

Kwashi (1982-2012)

Kwashi, a Silverback Gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden passed away recently.

We had the opportunity to see Kwashi during our visit to the zoo. He appeared calm and meditative (like many of his species do).

RIP, Kwashi. You will be missed.

 

Click here for more information. Click here and here to watch our videos of Kwashi.

You might also like:

Gorillas in the Mist

Save the Mountain Gorillas

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.

Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:

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

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Source: CBS

You might also like:

Elementary - One Way to Get Off

Elementary - Lesser Evils

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 5 - "Lesser Evils"

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in CBS Elementary

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) discovers that someone is killing victims with terminal diseases and passing them off as natural deaths. The killer is injecting Epinephrine into the victims to cause their deaths.

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) runs into her old friend, Dr Carrie Dwyer (Anika Noni Rose) who also works at the same hospital. Joan is concerned about Dr Dwyer's current patient, but her pleas fall on deaf ears.

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

Holmes and Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill) interrogate a list of suspects and zero in on a doctor. Does he turn out to be the killer? Can Joan save her friend's patient before it is too late?

Miller is showing continuous improvement in his performance. CBS recently ordered a complete season for the show. Hopefully by the end of the first season, Miller would have carved his own niche among the pantheon of actors to have portrayed the detective.

Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:

Joan not only stands up to Sherlock’s quips, but helps Holmes in the case as well. Joan started learning the skills of observation and deduction in the previous episode and I like her continuing character arc as the show progresses. Lucy Liu has given her best performance in this episode.

Lucy Liu as Joan Watson

Here comes my favorite section of the review – The references to the Canonical stories:

1. Miller’s Holmes discovers that there are 2 different handwritings in a patient’s consent form. Sherlock Holmes made a similar deduction in the story – The Adventure of the Reigate Puzzle.
2. Miller’s Holmes and his friend visit the same beekeeping chat room. In the story His Last Bow, Sherlock mentions he is writing a book on Bee Keeping entitled “Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen”.
3. In the opening scene, Miller’s Sherlock is conducting an experiment on a corpse. In A Study in Scarlet, Stamford informs Watson about Holmes’s habit of beating the subjects in the dissecting-rooms with a stick.
4. When Joan Watson asks Miller’s Holmes about having sushi for dinner, Miller’s Holmes mentions about mercury poisoning and explains that Anisakis is a worm can infect human beings. In A Study in Scarlet, Watson make a list of topics on which Sherlock Holmes has knowledge. In this list, Watson mentions Holmes as having variable knowledge in Botany and is well up in poisons generally.
5. Miller’s Holmes shuts himself inside the hospital room to make sure no one tampers with the scene of the crime. In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes expresses his regret at the lack of prints on the pathway to the scene of a crime due to the movement of people – “If a herd of buffaloes had passed along, there could not be a greater mess.”

This episode had lot of humor injected throughout. I especially loved the elevator scene with Holmes and the janitor. That was pretty funny.

The only downside was the excessive use of medical terms. Given the nature of the murders, this was understandable.

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson

In conclusion, this was one of the better episodes in the show.

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Source: CBS

You might also like:

Elementary - One Way to Get Off

Elementary - Flight Risk

Trailer: Robert Downey Jr. in Call of Duty Black Ops 2

I am not much of a gamer and most probably will not be playing/purchasing this game.

The ad caught my attention due to the fact that it has been directed by Guy Ritchie who also worked with Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Hope they start working on the third Sherlock Holmes movie soon...

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by email or RSS by clicking here.

You might also like:

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Iron Man 3 Trailer

White Tigers

The Majestic White Tiger

White Tigers are extremely rare in the wild and are found in India, Southeast Asia, China and Southeast Russia.

Males weigh between 440 to 570 lbs and Females weigh between 220 to 350 lbs.

A White Tiger's length can be anywhere between 4.5 to 10 ft

White Tigers have a lifespan of 26 years in the wild.

White Tigers prey on wild pigs, deer and other hoofed mammals.

White Tigers enjoying a nap

Taken at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

You might also like:

Gorillas in the Mist

Save the Mountain Gorillas

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 4 - "The Rat Race"

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in Elementary

Click here to read the review of the previous episode - "Child Predator".

The COO of a prominent company is missing and Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is hired to investigate the disappearance. The missing man is soon found dead with his hand still holding the needle that supposedly delivered the fatal dose. Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill) is quick to classify the death as a case of suicide.

Sherlock, astute as always, suspects foul play and is proved right when he discovers 3 other previous instances of strange deaths in the company.

Click on the link below to buy your copy of Season 1:

Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is “ambushed” by her friend for a surprise date with a stranger. Watson starts developing the skills of observation and deduction from her current client and this proves vital to the case conclusion.

I spotted the following Canonical References. There are some spoilers below. If you have not watched the episode yet, skipping this section of the review would be a good idea.

1. Miller’s Sherlock confesses to a character that he is fascinated with her for her initiative and patience. This reminded me of the following line spoken by Holmes to Watson in The Sign of Four – “I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor.”
2. Miller’s Holmes uses Social Engineering tactics to get inside an apartment. The Canonical Holmes used similar tactics to obtain information from Milverton’s housemaid in The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.
3. Miller’s Sherlock mentions to a character about his habit of picking locks and pockets. In the story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Holmes displays his burgling kit, complete with keys, glass-cutter and a jimmy. I am not sure if Holmes actually picked someone’s pockets in the Canon, but he did put the Mazarin Stone into the overcoat pocket of Lord Cantlemere in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone.
4. Miller’s Holmes admits to Gregson that he is vain about his talents. This reminded me of the following observation by Dr Watson from The Adventure of the Red Circle - "Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery…”
5. Miller’s Sherlock charges the company 12 times his standard consulting rates and later confesses to Watson that he has no standard rates. This is actually a direct departure from the Canon where he states in The Problem of Thor Bridge - "My professional charges are upon a fixed scale … I do not vary them, save when I remit them altogether."

I liked the second half of the episode better. Watson’s scenes with her surprise date were just plain boring. She did redeem herself in the end though.

Lucy Liu as Joan Watson

I liked Sherlock’s exchanges with Gregson and Watson in the closing scenes. They were very Sherlockian in nature and helped the show establish its credibility as a respectable adaptation of the legendary detective.

Click here to read the review of the next episode - "Lesser Evils".

Click here to read all my posts about CBS Elementary.

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Source: CBS

You might also like:

Elementary - Flight Risk

Sir Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes

TV Review: Arrow Episode # 3 - "Lone Gunmen"

Stephen Amell as Arrow

Arrow is about to take down his latest target, John Holder (Tobias Slezak). An unknown assassin beats him at his own game and kills Holder just as Arrow is confronting him.

This killer turns out to be Deadshot (Michael Rowe) uses bullets tipped with Curare, a rare poison. Deadshot’s next target happens to be Walter Steele (Colin Salmon), Oliver’s new stepfather.

Michael Rowe as Deadshot

Oliver decides to take help from the official force and approaches Detective Lance.

In the episode’s subplot, Thea breaks into a shop in search for drugs and is grounded. We also some more flashbacks about Oliver’s time spent on the island.

Deadshot is a well-known character in the DC Comics and it was disappointing that his character was not given much scope in this episode. In the brief moments, that we get to see him, he is doing the usual lone assassin stuff - striking macho pose, checking his weapons etc. I hope they do a better job with Deathstroke and other prominent DC villains and not treat them as a regular weekly villain of the show type character.

Click on the link below to buy your copy:

To make things worse, the show is getting little bit repetitive. I find the same 2 threads in all 3 episodes so far:

1. Oliver going after a corrupt businessman/mobster.
2. CWesque romantic subplots

Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak

On the bright side Amell is still appealing as Oliver/Arrow. Colin Donnell gets more screen time as Tommy Merlyn.

We are introduced to a new character, Felicity Smoak played by Emily Bett Rickards. Felicity works in the IT department of Queen's company and looks set to be this show's version of Lucius Fox. Oliver gets another ally at the end of the episode and I will leave it at that to keep this review spoiler-free.

Click here to read all my posts related to DC Comics.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Image Source: CW

You might also like:

Suicide Squad Trailer - Review

Batman v Superman Trailer - Review