Saturday, May 18, 2013

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 23 - The Woman



Jonny Lee Miller and Natalie Dormer as Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Moriarty in CBS Elementary Season 1 Finale Episode # 23 The Woman

This review has spoilers. I recommend the readers to skip this review, if they have not watched the episode yet.

As seen at the end of the previous episode "Risk Management", Holmes is reunited with Irene Adler. Holmes takes up full time the task of keeping Irene safe. Joan continues Holmes' consulting with NYPD. Joan's deductions lead the cops to catch a suspect. In the end, it is revealed that Irene Adler is in fact, Moriarty.

Canonical References
  1. Miller' Holmes states: "A man should know when he is beaten" - Dr Watson states about Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia: "...how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit."
  2. Miller's Holmes remarks about the difference between a PI and a Consulting Detective: "Considerably less clandestine photography of cheating spouses, yeah" - This reminded of the Canonical Sherlock's often repeated disdain for the official force
  3. Holmes seems to be flattered by Irene's appreciation of his "beauty" - This is in contrast to the Canon. Watson states about Holmes in A Study in Scarlet: "I had already observed that he was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty."
  4. Miller's Holmes and Irene Adler discussing about forgery in paintings - Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Adventure of the Final Problem: "Again and again in cases of the most varying sorts -- forgery cases, robberies, murders -- I have felt the presence of this force, and I have deduced its action in many of those undiscovered crimes in which I have not been personally consulted."
  5. The character of "Mr Stapleton" - Reference to the character from The Hound of the Baskervilles

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  6. Miller's Holmes "bargains" for a date with Irene Adler - This is a direct departure from the Canon - “His aversion to women and his disinclination to form new friendships were both typical of his unemotional character,..” from The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter and “I am not a whole-souled admirer of womankind, as you are aware, Watson,…” from The Valley of Fear
  7. Miller's Holmes looks very pleased when Irene proposes to spend some together in her apartment and they proceed to have a "sexual marathon". Holmes even tries to repeat that experience with Irene and instead settles for a (romantic) walk in London's tunnels - Watson states about Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia: “…while Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books,…”. Watson also mentions about Holmes in The Adventure of the Reigate Puzzle: “but when Holmes understood that the establishment was a bachelor one, and that he would be allowed the fullest freedom, he fell in with my plans  and a week after our return from Lyons we were under the colonel's roof.”
  8. Miller's Holmes mentions about making his own map of London's extensive networks of underground tunnels and catacombs - The Canonical Holmes has an intimate knowledge of London.
  9. Miller's Holmes has had sex with women in London and NY. Knowing Holmes' knack for taking international cases, it is not a stretch to imagine that he has had his fun in other countries too - Interestingly in the Canon, it is Dr Watson who is the Ladies' Man. He mentions in The Sign of the Four: "In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents,..." 
  10. Miller's Holmes refers to his habit of dabbling with narcotics - Reference to the Canonical Holmes' cocaine addiction
  11. M's message made up of cut up words from papers - Beryl Stapleton sent a similarly constructed message to Sir Henry Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles
  12. Miller's Holmes asking Joan to "dismantle" Moriarty's empire in Holmes' absence, to "expedite" Holmes' return - This is in direct departure from the Canon. In The Adventure of the Final Problem: "This was the organization which I deduced, Watson, and which I devoted my whole energy to exposing and breaking up. "
  13. Moriarty tries to get killed Proctor for his sloppy work and getting nearly caught - Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Valley of Fear: In the first place, I may tell you that Moriarty rules with a rod of iron over his people. His discipline is tremendous. There is only one punishment in his code. It is death. Now we might suppose that this murdered man—this Douglas whose approaching fate was known by one of the arch-criminal's subordinates—had in some way betrayed the chief. His punishment followed, and would be known to all—if only to put the fear of death into them.
  14.  Miller's Holmes uses a single stick to defend himself from Proctor - The Canonical Holmes is an expert with single stick.
Jonny Lee Miller and Natalie Dormer as Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Moriarty in CBS Elementary Season 1 Finale Episode # 23 The Woman

Miller's body language and mannerisms (specifically his way of pointing with his finger) are increasingly becoming a distraction. Coupled with the liberties taken (mentioned in the Canonical References section), it is hard to believe that the character he is playing is "the great Sherlock Holmes" (as Irene refers to him in a scene).

Miller's performance as a romantically involved Sherlock is just plain funny. Special mention must be made of the scene in the police station, where Miller's Holmes plays the perfect gentleman and opens the door for the love of his life, Irene Adler. Equally amusing was the scene in the garage ("safe place"), where Miller's Holmes talks about his concern about keeping Irene safe from further pain and danger.

Miller's Holmes not getting suspicious after Irene describes his face as being symmetrical was quite incredible. His plans to leave NY to save Irene's life and leaving it to Joan to take care of Moriarty and his criminal empire is patently unSherlockian.

Lucy Liu and Natalie Dormer fare far better than Miller. 

Lucy Liu is still the best part of Elementary. She comes off as a believable Watson. I would even go further and suggest that she should have been cast as Holmes.

Natalie Dormer gives a good performance as Moriarty posing as Irene Adler. The show has a terrible record of using Canonical characters who disappear after one appearance (anyone remember Miss Hudson from episode # 19 "Snow Angels"). It will be interesting to see how  soon  and how much of Moriarty will be seen in the next season.


Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in CBS Elementary
The worst part was every time the name "Mr Stapleton" was mentioned. For readers unfamiliar with the original stories, Stapleton is the antagonist in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. If this was done by the writers with the probable intent to impress viewers with their knowledge of the Canon, it only had the opposite effect. Throwing his name around repeatedly (in a completely unrelated story) as a possible agent of Moriarty was quite irksome.

Another puzzling part is how one of Moriarty's agents determined that his employer is a lady. As Holmes states about Moriarty in The Valley of Fear: "The agent may be caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his detence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught -- never so much as suspected." Dormer's Moriarty herself mentions in the next episode "Heroine" that one of her lieutenants passed off for her as the real Moriarty to hide the truth about her gender.

Recommended only to die-hard fans of the show.

Trivia
  • The song "Don Giovanni: Overture to Act 1" by Berliner Philharmoniker and Daniel Barenboim is played in the final scene, when Miller's Holmes discovers that Irene is actually Moriarty in disguise
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Saturday, May 11, 2013

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 22 - Risk Management


Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Elementary Episode # 22 Risk Management

Moriarty wants Holmes to solve a murder case. Against Joan's wishes, he takes up the case with the desperate intention of getting any kind of clue(s) about the man who killed Irene Adler.

Captain Gregson is concerned about Joan's safety and does his best to ensure her safety. Joan is too smart for such tactics and not even Holmes can keep her away from the scene of action.

Canonical References
  1. Moriarty quotes almost verbatim the following lines spoken by Holmes (about Moriarty) from The Adventure of the Final Problem: "He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized. Is there a crime to be done, a paper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be removed... "
  2.  Moriarty compliments Holmes that he would "excel as an assassin" - The Canonical Holmes himself remarked on more than one occasion that he would make a great burglar and that the society is lucky that he is working for the law and not against it.
  3.  Miller's Holmes states that "new eyes on a case could be new information" - The Canonical Holmes often discusses with Watson to see if he can get a new clue or leads to solve an ongoing case.
  4.  Captain Gregson informing Joan about a prospective client (as a sober companion) - The Canonical Holmes got many of his cases from Scotland Yard
  5. Miller's Holmes mentions that Irene Adler was American - In A Scandal in Bohemia, Holmes maintains the following information about Irene Adler in his files: "Born in New Jersey in the year 1858. "

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  6.  Miller's Holmes referring to Irene Adler as The Woman - In A Scandal in Bohemia, Watson states about Irene Adler: "To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name."
  7.  Miller's Holmes mentions that Irene Adler "eclipsed and predominated the whole of her gender" - In A Scandal in Bohemia, Watson states about Irene Adler: "In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex."
  8.  Miller's Holmes indicates that Irene Adler is the only woman he ever loved - This is contrary to the Canon. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Watson states about Irene Adler: "It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler."
  9.  When asked about his martial arts skills, Miller's Holmes mentions "Single stick, now and then again". - Watson mentions about Holmes in A Study in Scarlet: “Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.” Holmes himself states in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client:  “I’m a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know.”
  10.  Miller's Holmes waking up Joan from her sleep (for the nth time in the show) - In the Canon, it has happened in many cases – either due to the sudden visit by a client (The Adventure of the Speckled Band) or after Holmes has had a sudden brainwave (The Man with the Twisted Lip)
  11. Miller's Holmes mentions that he has "been stiff, sitting for too long". - The Canonical Holmes is known to occupy the same posture for long periods of time, when he is pondering on a case.

-----------Spoilers ahead. Skip this section if you not have seen this episode yet------

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The final 5 minutes show that Irene Adler is alive. Viewers can safely skip the rest of the episode. In fact, now that you have this information, you can skip the entire episode and check out the season finale due on May 16.

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Lucy Liu as Joan Watson in CBS Elementary Episode # 22 Risk Management

As for the mystery plot, it was one of the most boring ones. By Elementary's usual standards, that's saying a lot. Joan did most of the deductions.

But the episode did have its share of enjoyable parts. The best scene was definitely Holmes' reaction to Irene's presence in the room. Miller goes so over the top that he stopped being Holmes and became just another lovelorn TV show protagonist. This scene is easily the funniest moment in the show!

Joan had her moments too and thankfully, at least hers were the (intentionally) good ones. She was smart enough to deduce not only Captain Gregson's true intentions but also Holmes' plan to face Moriarty alone. She also made some fine deductions about the victim's wounds.

Holmes was left to read the case details on the web and being too emotionally involved to make his deductions. This episode almost reversed the roles of Holmes and Watson and reminded me of the original story The Sign of the Four (SIGN). In SIGN, Watson meets Mary Morstan and instantly falls in love with her. Holmes, as usual, is emotionally detached and solves the case. Watson does end up with Mary in the end. But he experiences a roller-coaster ride of emotions as the case progresses, something that Miller's Holmes goes through in this episode.

The other notable aspect was the characterization of the show's version of Irene Adler. Elementary's Irene Adler (portrayed by Natalie Dormer) is a painter who restores renaissance paintings for museums. The Canonical Irene Adler is an opera singer and an adventuress.

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson in CBS Elementary Episode # 22 Risk Management

Trivia
The overture to Don Giovanni (Don Juan), K. 527 by Mozart is played in the background, as Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson approach Irene Adler.

In a nutshell: A certifiably boring episode with some strong dose of unintentional humor, this is a near perfect example of what is wrong with Elementary. Recommended only to die-hard fans of the show.

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Image Source: CBS

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Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes
Canonical References in BBC Sherlock