Okay, so a few weeks ago, it was announced that the character of Charles Augustus Mil- Erm... Magnussen was joining Sherlock in the upcoming and highly-anticipated season. Also, it's been known that John Watson is, in fact, getting married to Mary Morstan as well, presumably in "The Sign of Three". Now here's what I'm thinking:
What if Magnussen will play a role in the events of "The Sign of Three"?
For those unaware of Canon, Magnussen's canon counterpart blackmailed women who were getting married. Meanwhile, the story Mary debuted in, The Sign of Four, had Holmes solving the mystery surrounding Mary's father, her mysterious benefactor, and her inheritance, all while she and Watson fall in love (Aww...).
So, what if instead of (or as well as) the inheritance plot, we have Mangussen blackmailing Mary (perhaps about her father) and her having to turn to Cumberlock for help? The show has combined stories together before. Besides, the original had a small man from a primitive island being sent to kill people, and I don't think that'd fly so well in a 21st century adaption as it did in the Victorian Era...
I can't help buy think this will happen. I mean, this can't be a coincidence... So tell me what you guys think...
So, next month is when Elementary starts season 2. I figured maybe now I should look back on the show overall (now that I've cooled down a bit) and settle the big question: was/is the show any good?
First of all, I feel the need to apologize about my rant about "Dormiarty". She really wasn't THAT terrible of a Moriarty, looking back. I think my harshness just stemmed from my general frustrations with the episode, tiredness from watching/reviewing it, and expecting a lot more. I guess if she comes back, things could be better. She was new, so she was a target. (And there's only so many ways to pick on Millerlock...) Just need to get it out there.
That out of the way, I figure I should discuss the two elements. (I may end up comparing a lot, so...)
STORY/WRITING:
This is sort of a big problem for me. The writing on this show is very... hit and miss. Sure characters may get good lines, but the stories can be rather lackluster, and often at times feel formulatic (especially early on). If you look back, VERY few episodes were fantastic this season for me. I think only 5 episodes out of the whole 24 episodes ever got me truly invested (though there were some honorable mentions...). Heck, the first episode was incredibly lackluster when compared to, say, the first episode of Sherlock or the first episode of Hannibal. And let's NOT discuss "Dirty Laundry", shall we? (that, "Bugs" from Supernatural, and "The Blind Banker" episode of Sherlock are my standards for bad TV writing...)
I'm especially disappointed in how the "story arc" was handled. It was pretty much all but forgotten until late in the season. And it started off so well, but kinda lost steam. Compare Supernatural (a show with a similar "episodes a season" count). They always try and keep some semblance of the seasonal story arc going on, but still take the occasional "filler break". If Elementary wanted to be more episodic, fine! Just don't tease me and leave me hanging.
Though, to be fair, I did hear they chose to start the "Moriarty" arc at episode twelve so, in case they WERE cancelled, they could end on a mystery. Then they got the extra episodes for the season picked up. Then two more added to that. So perhaps it was more of a timing thing, not having a whole hiatus to plot out everything for the season. Plus, more episodes meaning they needed more filler. If that's the case, then it's that sort of stuff that makes me ticked off at executive meddling. Hopefully, given that they've had all summer to work out what they want (and knowing that they're in a good place with the network), maybe season 2 will handle any and all story arcs better.
CHARACTERS
Hoo boy, characters...
You all know I love Joan Watson. She is definitely one of my favorite interpretations of Watson so far. (And to think I was worried). Heck, I'd almost prefer would prefer the show if it was just her character. Lucy Liu does well as her, and I almost wish she was in another adaption than this. I like that she's competent (almost to the point I wonder why she doesn't do more solo work (besides friendship)). And I like how her relationship with Sherlock has developed. And they kept it platonic, not even doing that much teasing at something more romantic (even though it'd be less "taboo")! I pray that the freaking execs and crew keep it that way. We need more platonic guy/girl relationships on TV! Not every duo has to hook up down the line! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?
Plus, she's in my most-exploited gif! :D
As for Millerlock... Oh boy... If Joan's one of my favorite Watsons, Millerlock's one of my least favorite Holmeses. Jonny Lee Miller, to be fair, does do well at certain things in this role, and plays his character as written fine. He has some good snarky lines, some refreshingly human moments, and does some impressive things. But in the beginning, the character seemed unsure what kind of Sherlock he would be. An anglamation of his current fellow Sherlocks? Something all-new, all-different? It was distracting. He eventually settled on "broken genius". Which, to be fair, was fine. But the big thing is, that while he could convince me he was Sherlock at some points, he would then do something that to me is very Un-Sherlockian. I'd be watching and the illusion would be broken by him having a prostitute over/discussing his... *ahem* exploits, or even just those emotional breakdown/comprises he was having with "Irene"/Moriarty. He's just... not THE Sherlock for me...
Finally, the supporting characters... Sweet merciful Doyle, the supporting characters. They're either underdeveloped or hardly used. Seriously, how much can you say about Gregson or Bell? It's hard for me to feel much attachment to them when I'm given so little about them to get attached to. Heck, in "The Rat Race", after Sherlock and Gregson's conversation at the end, I was hoping for more development in their relationship, like him developing into a surrogate father to Sherlock "Daddy Issues" Holmes (a la how Bobby is to The Winchesters on Supernatural). But then "The Red Team" crushed that with his "mistrust". Which, even that was more of an informed trait that was barely ever mentioned again!
There's kind of an opposite problem when it comes to the other supporting characters introduced later on: they're not used enough. Seriously, characters like Ms. Hudson or Alfredo, who have the potential to be interesting, get forgotten for episodes on end. Or, in the case of my beloved Sebastian Moran, get unceremoniously killed off in their second appearance... (SEBASTIAN! YOU MADE THIS FUN! NOW SOME OF THE FUN HAS DIED! And I was singing, "Bye bye, Mr. assassin guy....")
....Sorry about the big lipped alligator moment, there...
I mean, takeshows like Sherlock, Supernatural, or Hannibal. I'm far more invested in almost all the characters and care more about them. Their respective writers do good to ensure that. I care plenty about Sherlock's supporting cast. I've put effort into remembering the names of the forensics team on Hannibal. Even on Supernatural, where death doesn't necessarily mean "gone forever", I feel attachment to the characters and am sad when they suffer/die (except Bela Talbot. I did not like her. She was on there too long...). Here, I feel little attachments besides to Joan, the turtle (who even he doesn't appear much), and maybe Ms. Hudson (and her one appearance.); and unless they had much impact or are a regular, I don't remember many names...
---
So, ranting and accentuating the negative aside, is Elementary very good?
I say it's very middle of the road. It has potential, and sometimes it lives up to it. But for the most part, it can be very "eh". But, if it's getting people into other Sherlock Holmes-related things, who am I to fault it? I feel that if an adaptation can get someone into whatever the source material is, it's done something right. For example, you know that movie adaption of Fantastic Four? The first one? A lot of people didn't like that one. But believe it or not, it's what helped get me into superheroes and comics. I can't fault it for that. (the second one can rot at the bottom of a Wal-Mart $5 movie bargain bin, though... and ironically, guess which one I own? *sigh*)
So I guess what I'm saying is, it's fine, but very flawed (Elementary, I mean...).
Now, the big thing: will I actually watch season 2, and will I review it like last season?
First of all, yes, I think I will casually watch season 2. Some shows improve with time (heck, even "New Who" and the first season of Supernatural weren't that good in the beginning (forgive me, dearest Christopher Eccleston, I enjoyed your season in the end)...), but got better as time went on. I think maybe now that they have better footing, the show good be better.
Second of all, no, I will not be reviewing the show episode-by-episode like last time. It was a little draining, and I felt they got a bit repetitive (there's only so many ways a girl can say "this was alright, but not awesome"...) I know a lot of people read them, and it was nice to have a post up on almost a weekly basis, but I can't put myself through that again. I may review/share my thoughts on the season as a whole later, possibly.
But I doubt they'll have much to pull me... What's that? They're adding Mycroft to the show next season, starting with episode one? And he'll be played by Rhys Ifans, the guy who played both The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man AND Luna Lovegood's dad in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?
Yes, I've made it to two years of running this little blog of mine! Break out the Dancing Downeylock and Hawkeye Gifs!
So I thought I'd do a little something something. But the big thing I thought of doing I think I'll save for the 200th post. Instead, I think I'll do a little retrospective/news/stats/and a thank you. Okay? Okay!
I think this year I really settled into what I would do with the blog. I found out I like doing reviews, mainly. I still do other stuff (news and the occasional opinion things I usually regret posting hours later), but reviews have kinda become my main thing. And people seem to like them, so that's always good.
-I hit over 12,000 views as of this post! Yay! :D
-I got more followers! :D
-Not much has changed as far as my most popular posts, but apparently my Elementary reviews have gotten more views than my BBC Sherlock reviews... Why? (Though I did notice my "Great Game" review got a bizarrely high (for me) viewcount after a day...)
-January 2013 is when I've gotten my most views. (it was over a thousand!)
-Apparently, I still attract a lot of Russian readers... The thought of me being to Russians as David Hasslehoff is to Germans is a hilarious (albeit exaggerated) thought...
Anyway, some announcements (subject to change):
-I have an Elementary-related post planned for right after this post. (whether season 2 gets reviewed will be included in this)...
-My 200th Post is coming up, so there's that...
-Definitely more reviews (Season Three of Sherlockis coming up!)
-Also, I kinda had an experiment I wanted to try. I've wanted to do fanfic MSTs (heck, I've done two). So I think I'll do my own little spin on it and do MST-style reviews of some fanfics that happen to be "riffable", giving criticism where due (mostly constructive). Think Atop The Fourth Wall meets The Half World(link leads to his MST list)...) I found this one giggle-inducing Sherlock fanfic that I just felt had to be read to be believed...
So, that's about it... Except...
Thank you to everyone who reads/has read this blog. It means a lot to me that you're interested in my opinions. And thanks for sticking with me, even when I go on long hiatuses like I have been...
Yes, now that "Scottiarty" is dead (Moffat and Gatiss confirmed it at Comic Con, though I'm still a little skeptical (Rule #1 of Fandoms: The Writers Lie)) there's a open position for "Nemesis for Cumberlock" over on BBC's Sherlock. And now we got an applicant!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present: Charles Augustus Magnussen!
Yes, he's obviously supposed to be "Charles Augstus Milverton" (don't ask me why they changed the name), the antagonist from the short story he shares a name with in the canon. He was a blackmailer of women. The character recently (briefly) appeared in the Elementary episode "Dead Man's Switch" (you can see my review here). Yeah, I'll probably end up comparing the two when I inevitably review whatever episode he's in.
Interestingly, he played by Lars Mikkelsen. If you're not familiar with him (I'm not), than you may be familiar with his brother, Mads Mikkelsen. He (the brother) plays the titular character on Hannibal. (He was also in Casino Royale, but I only really care about the other role... ;P) *Ahem* Said it before and I'll say it again: Everything I Love Connects To Sherlock Holmes (Six Degrees of Sherlock Holmes) (It's only a matter of time, Supernatural.).
I'm excited. In Milverton's story, Sherlock is pushed into doing questionable things. It'll be interesting to see if the same happens here. I can't wait. And I'm sure Lars Mikkelsen will do fantastic as Charles Augustus Magnussen, the character will no doubt be another fantastic addition to the cast.
So long as he doesn't make Hugh Dancy cry, we're good! ;)
As I've made no secret, I am a huge fan of Sherlock and Doctor Who. And if there is one inevitability for "Wholockians", it's that they become fans of another show. And we're gonna talk about that show! Ladies and gents, Supernatural.
Supernatural is a show from here in The States. It revolves around two brothers: Sam and Dean Winchester. When the boys were kids, their mother was killed by a demon. That spurred their father to go out on the road and hunt demons (and other monsters, as well), raising the boys to do the same. 22 Years later, Sam (the younger brother, played by Jared Padalecki) has tried to leave the life of a hunter behind by going to college and considering marrying his girlfriend Jessica. But a hunter never truly retires, as Dean (played by Jensen Ackles) shows up, telling him that their father disappeared. Thus begins the brothers' journey. Ganking, Demonic Hijinks, and The Longest Road Trip In The Greatest Car EVER ensues...
Anyway, I love the show. Each season has its own arc of sorts (each in varying degrees of goodness). They all kind of interconnect, and it's fun to see what pieces of continuity they drag back up. The show has been on for 8 seasons (season 9 starts in October) and for a show to stay on so long (let alone keep up decent quality, even after switching showrunners three times throughout) is a testament in and of itself. (Granted, I've only seen the first seven seasons in their entirety (eight isn't out on DVD or Netflix yet) but still...)
The characters are incredibly likeable. Of course, there's the charmingly roguish Dean (who is kinda my favorite of the brothers (shh!)) and the symathetically tragic (and often adorable) Sam. But the supporting characters (the ones who come back) are great, too. There's Bobby (played by Jim Beaver), an older hunter and family friend to the Winchesters who's pretty much the boys' real father in a sense (as far as I'm concerned...). Castiel (played by Misha Collins) an angel of the lord and friend of Dean who's comedically serious (and adorable) and is always fun to see. And, of course, the show-stealing Crowley (played by Mark Sheppard), The King of the Crossroads Demons who is probably one of my favorite villains ever.
Another great thing about this show is that they don't take themselves too seriously. Yes, they have dark, creepy, heavy, angsty episodes, but they balance it. They have goofy, fun episodes like: when they got sucked into TV shows, Dean becomes terrorfied of everything, and even one where they're teleported into OUR universe (albeit exaggerated) where their life is just a TV show... The writers are awesome. It really helps offset the show's creepier/sadder moments. And I don't mind the "filler", because it keeps the season's plots/arcs up enough.
The show does have its share of gore (seriously, I can't count the number of times someone's bled from the mouth). And there have been some freaky/gag-inducing moments. But, like Hannibal, it works for the show and its tone. Sure, it's not artistic like Hannibal, but they're hunting demons; it ain't exactly a clean job. Also, be prepared for a LOT of characters dying, often more than once...
One more thing I want to talk about is the use of music on this show. Not the background soundtrack stuff (which is good), but the use of OTHER music. They use a lot of classic rock (and other songs) and it is AWESOME! I DARE you not to want to belt out "Carry On My Wayward Son" during "The Road So Far" segments of the season finales. If they realeased a soundtrack of nothing but the classic rock songs on the show, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! It's fantastic.
Final Thoughts:
-I can't list all my fave moments, and a list of my favorite episodes would be another post entirely...
-The gag reels for the show are awesome, 'nuff said.
-I'm convinced now, due to Jensen Ackles's pure charm, he might have been better/more acceptable option for The Wizard than James Franco in Oz: The Great and Powerful...
-Also, I've yet to find a role I haven't liked Mark Sheppard in yet (granted, I've only seen two...). I think he's officially one of my favorite actors, now...
-The best game to play watching marathons of this show is the "What's Wrong, Sammy/Dean?" "Nothing's Wrong, Dean/Sammy!" The object is to see how many episodes a brother goes before sharing his current angst...
-The two episodes the creator apologizes for ("Bugs" and "Red Sky at Morning") both had a woman killed in the shower by the paranormal force of the week. Let this be a lesson, writers: don't kill women with monsters in the showers, it makes whatever you're writting terrible...
-Why haven't they done a musical episode yet? I am disappointed...
Overall, this show is a lot of fun, and I enjoy it. The first seven seasons are all on DVD and Netflix, season eight comes out on DVD in September (but can be found online), and season nine premires on The CW in October. I highly recommend it...
Okay, so Thursday I went to the movies and saw Despicable Me 2 (it was a cute and funny movie, BTW). And, obviously, there were movie trailers. I had thoughts on the trailers, of course, so I decided, "Hey, let's judge the trailers and share our thoughts on them with all of Internetland! ^_^" They say you can't judge a book by it's cover, but they say nothing about movies and trailers. Besides, trailers are supposed to give good impressions. After all, they're trying to get you to watch the freaking movie and help them get your eight bucks (or more, if it's in gratuitous glorious 3D)! So, here's my experiment, I call it, "Trailer Park".
Okay, I'll stick to the ones I saw in the theater Thursday, and if you like it, I'll do more of the trailers out there...
Okay, first up:
ENDER'S GAME
Okay, I'm gonna start by saying I've never read Ender's Game. I knew it was a book before seeing this trailer, but I never read it. The trailer looks alright, your typical sci-fi epic fare. But what caught my attention is the sheer amount of "Academy Award Nominee"s in the trailer. It feels like they're trying to make this into award bait or are just flaunting their credentials. Like "LOOKIT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ACCOMPLISHED STUFF! WATCH THIS!!!!!" Just because you have successful people in or behind something, it doesn't necessarily mean it's guaranteed to be a good movie. How many good actors have been in complete bombs/stupid movies? Heck, how many good directors have made complete bombs/stupid movies? Plus, notice 90% of the actors they're flaunting are just nominees. There's only one they admit won something: Ben Kingsley (oh hai, nice to see you again after Iron Man 3!). Yeah, I'm a tad skeptical.
...Oh, and Harrison Ford is in here, too. Nice to see you, too, HanIndy Ford...
R.I.P.D.
(I can't find the exact one I saw this time, sorry, but I did see a different one before Man of Steel, so I guess I'll put that one up... Sorry about the annotations, can't be helped... ;/)
This movie looks like it can be fun. Not a cinematic masterpiece, but fun. Ryan Reynolds is pretty funny. I think I'd enjoy this one. Also, I can't help but notice something about Ryan Reynolds. Ever notice how he seems to be in every movie for a while, then sorta vanishes for a while? He's almost never a major role in just one movie? Like he has to recharge his powers or something (I don't think he was fully charged in 2011, hence that Green Lantern movie I heard was awful and The Change-Up which looked like a terrible movie from it's trailer...).
One more thing, seeing as this is yet another comic book movie he's in, I'm now convinced that in the future, all male comic book characters will have been played by Ryan Reynolds at least once, and if not, Chris Evans will have played them. :P (And in animation, they'll have all been voiced by Nolan North...)
PLANES
*buries head in hands* Pixar, wh-why do you keep making Cars-related films? NOBODY LIKES CARS THAT MUCH! (Personally, I find them rather "eh" and not exactly Pixar's best work.) Is Disney making you continue to make them because they make money from the merchandise? Because they make money from the Disney Princess line, but they don't force the animation department to make sequels to those movies... Anymore...
(Speaking of Direct-To-Video sequels, this was originally intended to be a DTV movie. Make with that what you will...)
Also, you got Dane Cook to voice the main character? DANE FRIGGIN' COOK!? HAVE YOU NOT SEEN HIS WORK!? *facepalm* It ain't exactly "kid-friendly". (Though, I guess that could be said with a lot of actors in animated movies, but for some reason this one in particular strikes me as mind-boggling...)
Finally, the whole "dog" joke throws me for a loop. There... there are no living creatures except the vehicles in this world, how do they know what a "dog" is? It can't be a "we call certain vehicles "dogs"", because the first one had tractors act like cows, but they were still called 'tractors"! It doesn't make sense with the world. Unless...
Sweet merciful Disney...
...The Cars universe takes place after the end of life on the planet. Life died in the machine uprising. This... this is horrifying! The dark implications... *shudder*
Something less over-thinkable and lighter, please!
(Also, I love how the trailers posted to YouTube I looked at ALL had annotation links to How To Train Your Dragon 2's teaser trailer. EVEN YOUTUBE THINKS YOU SHOULD WATCH THE TRAILER FOR WHAT WILL PROBABLY BE A BETTER MOVIE! (I do thoughts on that trailer if I do another one of these...))
TURBO
(Can't find the trailer I saw, sorry)
Oh, lookie, the OTHER movie with Ryan Reynolds... Yeah, when it comes to DreamWorks Animation, I'll wait for How To Train Your Dragon 2, thanks. Also, I can't help but notice that, well, the trailers can't seem to decide what song to go with? Usually, trailers stick to one, maybe two songs per trailer. These ones just use every song they can think of! (Plus, the one I saw pretty much gave away the whole plot... I hate those trailers...)
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2
SO. MANY. FOOD PUNS...
I saw the first one, it was better than I thought it'd be. It was... cute... I kinda question the need for a sequel, though (besides "MOAR MONEY FOR SONY")... Though the food puns may be worth a Netflix Instant View... I guess...
FREE BIRDS
This just looks dumb. It truly does. That's all I have to say... Really? Just... really? (Fun fact, I'd totally forgotten what this movie was called. My brain is actively trying to forget this...)
...Is there an unspoken rule that executives HAVE to let at least one lame animated/kids movie out to make the rest look better in comparison?
"We have to greenlight a movie that'll make Planes look like Up!" "IT CAN'T BE DONE, JOHNSON! IT CAN'T BE DONE!!!" "Get a hold of yourself, Perkins!"
...I am taking these family flicks too seriously...
---
So, yeah, this was my experiment. Tell me what you think! Should I do this more often? (I promise, next time I'll have more diversity in trailers...) Are there any trailers you want me to throw my two cents in about? (I know How To Train Your Dragon 2 and The Sea of Monsters are two I want to talk about next time... maybe Thor: The Dark World...)
Hello, and welcome to The Mildy Nerdy Ramblings Of A Loveable Freak Internet Reviewing Initiative. Test Subject: LOVEABLE FREAK has just completed Video Game: PORTAL for Entertainment, Reviewing, and Science. Her findings during the experiment have been compiled for HER peers as follows:
Test Subject: LOVEABLE FREAK
Video Game: PORTAL
Hey, guys! Long time no write! So, I've finally played Portal! You see, there's this rental place in my town (yeah, those still exist! I know, I'm shocked, too!) and they finally had a copy of The Orange Box (AKA The only way I could play the game without downloading it on its own from Xbox Live...), so I grabbed it and played.
And hoo boy, am I glad I did...
Alright, in the game, you play as Chell, our silent protagonist. She is stuck in the facility of Aperture Science, doing tests for the AI known as GLaDOS, who promises cake if you succeed in these dangerous tests. But as you continue, you'll see things aren't right in Aperture... Puzzles, Lies, and Turrets ensue.
In the game, you have the portal gun, which shoots, you guessed it, ducks. No, it's portals (obviously). You use them on the right surface to get around. You also have to get objects to the right buttons, use freaking annoying energy ball-shooty thingies to power up devices, and try and take out turrets.
The game is very fun, and the puzzles of each test chamber are fun and challenging. (It wasn't until the last chambers I had to break down and use walkthroughs... :/) It is relatively short, I'd gauge a little over the length of a game on the Internet, give or take. I'd say because it IS on a disc with 4 other games (Half-Life 2, 2side games of that game, and Team Fortress 2). I beat it in a little over a day, two days tops (a personal best!). But it's enjoyable, nonetheless.
The story is pretty good, too, though it doesn't really kick in until the later parts of the game. GLaDOS is one of the only speaking things (besides the turrets, who I'll get to later, and the personality cores) in the whole game, offering twistedly hilarious comments as you progress through the game. In fact, the game's often twisted, dark, Invader Zim-like humor is one of the highlights of the game!
Also, the game can be quite creepy at times. As you progress through the chambers, you'll start to find the scrawlings of someone who's been there before you, hidden in panels. There's the turrets, who, while having adorably childlike voices, WILL kill you with extreme prejudice (the blood... the blood... I didn't know so much could spray from the body while that body stays alive...). Heck, their cuteness almost makes them scarier... And there's the eerie atmosphere of the facility when you leave the chambers to... I've said too much, I don't want to spoil a 6 year old game... But it works for the game...
Test Subject: LOVEABLE FREAK left some extra notes as well:
-I freaking hate the energy ball things. They're hard to keep track of and kill you on contact. I'm glad they switched to lasers in the sequel... (yes, I've played the second one, too. I'll review that when I finish co-op with my brother...)
-I think I'd be here all day if I listed my favorite GLaDOS lines...
-Curiousity Core's my favorite core in this game...
-Alas, poor Companion Cube...
-I liked the part of the game where you have a whole large room of turrets, that you have to portal behind and drop. It's like something from a movie! ^_^)
-I tried not to make obvious cake jokes. I know those got old, Internet...
-... It's different, reviewing a game instead of some show or movie...
Test Subject: LOVEABLE FREAK left this final summation of her experience:
Overall, I enjoyed this game. I can see why people like it so much. It's fun, and I highly recommend it. I think it's available on Steam, I don't know, don't quote me on that, and you can get it on Xbox 360 as either part of The Orange Box (if you don't mind 4 other games (I think if I get my own copy, I'll try the other games, too...)), or if you have Xbox Live, as a download. Well, GLaD I played it, and finally wrote something here again. And I'll try to write more and review the next one! ^_^
