Saturday, May 4, 2013

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 21 - A Landmark Story


Jonny Lee Miller and Vinnie Jones as Sherlock Holmes and Sebastian Moran in CBS Elementary Episode # 21 A Landmark Story

The episode starts with a brief flasback to episode # 12 "M" as a kind of quick refresher to Moran's character for new viewers.

Cut to the present. Two people related to the same establishment die in seemingly normal circumstances. The first death is due to a heart attack (a severe one though by any criteria) and second victim is killed by a falling air conditioner.

Sebastian Moran (Vinnie Jones) is out of his solitary confinement in Newgate. He requests a meeting with Sherlock and infroms his that the aforementioned first victim was on his hit list.



Lucy Liu as Joan Watson in CBS Elementary Episode # 21 A Landmark Story

Sherlock and Joan quickly zero in on a probable third victim and are able to stop the killer. Holmes apprehends the killer, Daniel Gottlieb (F. Murray Abraham) and interrogates him in his brownstone apartment. Holmes send a message to Moriarty from Gottlieb's phone. This leads Holmes to track down yet another of Moriarty's agents, John Douglas (Roger Aaron Brown). But John is killed by an unseen assassin, before Holmes can elicit any information.

Moriarty sends a new message to Gottlieb on his phone. Gottlieb informs Holmes that this is not the usual code. To save time, Holmes tries to get Moran to decipher the information. Moran however refuses to help and it is up to Holmes to crack the code. 

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Canonical References
  1. When Joan asks Sherlock if he has broken into a mortuary before, Sherlock refers to "a certain problem of Thor Bridge" - In the Canon, Holmes and Watson enter a crypt in The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place. In The Problem of Thor Bridge, there is no mention of mortuary or a crypt.
  2. The second victim is killed by a falling air conditioner - In The Final Problem, a similar attempt is made on Holmes' life by one of Professor Moriarty's agents: "I kept to the pavement after that, Watson, but as I walked down Vere Street a brick came down from the roof of one of the houses and was shattered to fragments at my feet. I called the police and had the place examined. There were slates and bricks piled up on the roof preparatory to some repairs, and they would have me believe that the wind had toppled over one of these. Of course I knew better, but I could prove nothing."
  3. One of Moriarty's agents is named John Douglas - In The Valley of Fear, Sherock Holmes sets out to solve the murder of John Douglas.
  4. Both John Douglas and Sebastian Moran refer to Moriarty as "him" - In The Valley of Fear, Holmes states about Moriarty: "When any of that party talk about "He" you know whom they mean. There is one predominant "He" for all of them."
  5. Moran refers to Moriarty: "He's got ears and eyes everywhere in here" - In The Final Problem, Sherlock Holmes mentions about Professor Moriarty: "But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized."
  6. Miller's Holmes refers to Daniel Gottlieb  as "a man after my own heart" - In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes remarks about Dr Mortimer: "This is a colleague, Watson, after our own heart."
  7. Miller's Holmes works on the case without a  sleep - The Canonical Holmes is known for skipping food and sleep when working hard on a case.
  8. Miller's Holmes deciphers the system of coded messages sent by Moriarty - In The Adventure of the Dancing Men, Sherlock Holmes solves the case by decrypting similarly coded messages
  9. Miller's Holmes is too late to prevent the outcome of the coded messages, that he deciphers. - In The Adventure of the Dancing Men, Holmes is unable to prevent tragedy and redeems himself by capturing the murderer.
  10. Miller's Holmes compliments Joan by stating that "some people without possessing genius have a remarkable knack for stimulating it" - In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes remarks about Watson: "It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it."
  11. Joan Watson is delighted by Holmes' comments about the improvement in his life due to their connection - This is not a direct reference, but still reminded me of Watson's reaction (to Holmes' praise of his deductions from Dr Mortimer's walking stick) in The Hound of the Baskervilles: "He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity to his methods."


F. Murray Abraham as Daniel Gottlieb in CBS Elementary Episode # 21 A Landmark Story


The best part of this episode was the Oscar Winner F. Murray Abraham's scenes as Gottlieb. He is the "scalpel" to Moran's "sledgehammer", as Holmes put it. Murray has superb acting chops and would easily make a remarkable "Napolean of Crime".  Coincidentally, I have been enjoying his work as a narrator on many PBS Nature videos. I am going to check out Amadeus for which he won the Academy award for best actor in a leading role.

He is easily the best casting choice so far and easily surpasses that of Miller and Liu as Holmes and Watson. Here's hoping he indeed turns out to be Moriarty.

Speaking of Holmes and Joan, there are some aspects of "character development" that I will be discussing in a separate post. Suffice to say, it was a big letdown.

Still, there were some enjoyable aspects - Miller's Holmes using Joan's legos to stuff his bag for his meeting with John Douglas. We also see Miller's Holmes trying out his skills as an escape artist. 


Joan's reply to Holmes thanking her for helping him decrypt the coded message was hilarious: "Oh, an insult and a boast".

Vinnie Jones as Sebastian Moran in CBS Elementary Episode # 21 A Landmark Story

Vinnie Jones continues his good work as Sebastian Moran. He has an intense screen presence. We also learn that this version of Moran has a sister.

The episode was more of a setup for the season finale. To give an analogy, this episode is like the individual Marvel movies (Iron Man movies, Thor and Captain America) that built the audience expectations for Avengers, the box office phenomenon. Let's hope the season finale does indeed live up to the hype!

Trivia
  • Miller's Holmes is listening to the song "Singin' the Blues" by Bix Beiderbecke
  • The song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" by Countdown Kids is sung by Sebastian Moran

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Image Sources: CBS, ONTD

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

TV Review: Elementary Episode # 20 - Dead Man's Switch


Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes, Lucy Liu as Joan Watson and Ato Essandoh as Alfredo Llamosa in CBS Elementary Episode # 20 Dead Man's Switch


For the first time, we have a modern update to one of the original stories - The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.

This week's case is courtesy of Holmes' sponsor Alfredo (Ato Essandoh). Alfredo's own sponsor Ken Whitman (Thomas Jay Ryan), is one of Milverton's blackmail victims. Ken's daughter Eva (Portia Reiners) has been drugged and raped by one Brent Garvey (Tom Guiry).

Milverton (David Mogentale) gets his materials by buying old storage units. In the original story, Milverton paid housemaids/valets to obtain sensitive information.

Holmes breaks into Milverton's house to recover the material(s). Holmes unwittingly becomes a witness to Milverton's murder by an unknown assailant.

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Holmes reports the murder to Captain Gregson and convinces him to keep the murder a secret for the sake of other blackmail victims. Holmes wants to find out the identity of Milverton's associate, who might leak the remaining videos to the world.

One of the other victim's father, Anthony Pistone (Joseph Siravo) has been arrested for trying to bury Milverton's body.

I will leave it to the readers to find out more details for themselves.

Canonical References
  1. The character of Charles Augustus Milverton is the antagonist in the story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.
  2. Miller's Holmes refers to Milverton as being "more despicable than even murderers" - Reference to this Iine spoken by Holmes about Milverton in the story, The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton: "....I would ask you how could one compare the ruffian, who in hot blood bludgeons his mate, with this man, who methodically and at his leisure tortures the soul and wrings the nerves in order to add to his already swollen money-bags?"
  3. Miller's Holmes breaks into Milverton's house to recover some materials and becomes an unwitting witness to his murder - In the story, The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, the same thing happens except that Holmes is accompanied by Watson.
  4. Holmes compliments Eva Whitman on her violin playing skills - Reference to Holmes being a good violin player as mentioned in A Study in Scarlet
  5. Holmes wakes Joan from her sleep to discuss about the case - 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)
  6. Joan mentions beehives in a discussion about pets with Holmes - Watson mentions that Holmes has taken to bee-farming in The Adventure of the Second StainIn His Last Bow, Sherlock Holmes has written a book: “Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen.”
  7. Holmes is seen listening to a police transmissions scanner- The Canonical Holmes read the agony columns in the papers for potential cases.
  8. Holmes makes some deductions based on the paper quality - Holmes makes deductions about paper quality in several stories inclucing A Scandal in Bohemia.
  9. Holmes uses handwriting analysis as part of his investigation - The Canonical Holmes used handwriting analysis to solve crimes in A Case of Identity and The Reigate Puzzle
  10. Miller's Holmes states that he has "no interest in in public celebrations, speeches, encouragements or the bestowing of chips" - Watson mentions in The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot: "...I have continually been faced by difficulties caused by his own aversion to publicity. To his sombre and cynical spirit all popular applause was always abhorrent,..."
  11. Holmes recognizes the scent of cat litter at Milverton's house - Holmes mentions 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."
  12. Holmes refers to his tattoo needle as the "only needle these arms see anymore" - Reference to the Canonical Holmes' use of cocaine injection using needles

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Elementary Episode # 20 Dead Man's Switch


I felt that more emphasis was laid on Holmes' drug addiction than on the mystery element. Despite having a number of references to the original stories, the episode was not very interesting.

We learn that Miller's Holmes is
  • ambidextrous
  • an accomplished tattoo artist

Miller's Holmes describes himself as being as "stealthy as a shadow". The Canonical Holmes has often shown that he has acute senses of sight, hearing and smell. This would be a logical extension of his skill sets.

Miller's Holmes also shows his knowledge of British history. He uses the metric unit "kgs"  - another reference to his British nature. 

Joan Watson does her own detective work by listening to scanners. She makes a deduction about the shoe size of the killer from the boot prints on a corpse. Holmes also refers to both of them as being consultants for the NYPD and even refers to her "former" career as a sober companion.

Alfredo too does some surveillance work.


Ato Essandoh as Alfredo Llamosa in CBS Elementary Episode # 20 Dead Man's Switch

Gregson and Bell do not have much to do in this episode. We do learn that Captain Gregson has daughters, a fact that Holmes utilizes to his advantage.

Trivia

  • The song "Cello Suite No.1 Prelude" by Johann Sebastian Bach is played by the character of Eva Whitman when Holmes interrupts her.
  • Joan gifts Holmes lines from the poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
  • The song "Two Trains" by Yo La Tengo is played in the aforementioned gifting scene

If this episode is any indication, I think it would be best for the writers to stick to writing original stories. Some of the best episodes so far (Child Predator, M and The Deductionist) are examples to support this theory.


Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Aidan Quinn as Captain Gregson in CBS Elementary Episode # 20 Dead Man's Switch

Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat and Steve Thompson are doing a great job at giving us modern updates of the classic stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Image Source: CBS

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