Are you guys watching Sherlock? (BBC Series)

[dilbertschalter]

Maybe I'm just trying to be "that guy" who complains about something that everyone loves, but I thought the plot of the most recent episode was awful. The writing, acting, and settings were still fantastic, but I wasn't able to get myself 'into' it as much, because the story seemed so uninspiring.

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

have got a (random) question about Kate. the girl who later on in the episode picked up John in the black car (and John thought it was Mycroft's assistant) -- was that Kate??

Spoiler:

No, it was Mycroft's assistant. She just also works for Irene (and, being Irene, is probably another lover of hers). Much earlier on, Mycroft had commented that the reason that he didn't trust his own subordinates with finding the photos was because they spy on people for money.

[Jd-]

Brilliant first episode of season two, with the second episode coming up in a matter of hours.

Spoiler:

The ending was goofy in many ways (how did a white guy infiltrate this terrorist cell and conveniently take on the role of executioner and then manage to defeat an entire outpost of armed terrorists with only a machete to his name as far as we are shown?), but I loved it anyway. I don't mind accepting the theatrics if it makes for a fun ending.

[Stopwatch]

Maybe I'm just trying to be "that guy" who complains about something that everyone loves, but I thought the plot of the most recent episode was awful. The writing, acting, and settings were still fantastic, but I wasn't able to get myself 'into' it as much, because the story seemed so uninspiring.

Hmm~ I do think that some parts were too predictable, but... overall, I thought it was great~!

[Jd-]

Watched S2.E2, and...

Spoiler:

Yeah, it was good. Quite strange in many ways, but I really don't mind that aspect so much. The idea of taking the name "Baskerville" and turning it into an Area 51-type of locale is a good idea. I'll have to watch it again to really solidify my opinion, but I'm excited for the finale nonetheless.

[dilbertschalter]

another, "that guy" alert :

Spoiler:

i wasn't all that impressed. the mystery was better, but they dropped the ball on some other things. in particular, i never really felt like i got to "know" the episode-specific characters very well, with the possible exception of henry (lack of moffat writing perhaps for this one). too much time was spent on the faux area-51 stuff and too little time was spent establishing and creating relationships. the action had a disjointed and herky-jerky feeling, which, though suitable given the plot, was rather frustrating (though some of the scenes were genuinely quite scary, even the ones where it was fairly obvious what was "really" going on). also, the password guessing thing was a "c'mon son" type moment- guessing the password in just a few try is complete bs, especially given that any password that gives you a CIA clearance would have to be more secure than that (i still would have been annoyed if it were a normal password, because password guessing scenes are irritating). still very enjoyable stuff to be sure (the sherlock/watson interplay is still AMAZING), but i feel like the well might be running a bit dry.

[Akonyl]

another, "that guy" alert :

Spoiler:

i wasn't all that impressed. the mystery was better, but they dropped the ball on some other things. in particular, i never really felt like i got to "know" the episode-specific characters very well, with the possible exception of henry (lack of moffat writing perhaps for this one). too much time was spent on the faux area-51 stuff and too little time was spent establishing and creating relationships. the action had a disjointed and herky-jerky feeling, which, though suitable given the plot, was rather frustrating (though some of the scenes were genuinely quite scary, even the ones where it was fairly obvious what was "really" going on). also, the password guessing thing was a "c'mon son" type moment- guessing the password in just a few try is complete bs, especially given that any password that gives you a CIA clearance would have to be more secure than that (i still would have been annoyed if it were a normal password, because password guessing scenes are irritating). still very enjoyable stuff to be sure (the sherlock/watson interplay is still AMAZING), but i feel like the well might be running a bit dry.

Spoiler:

yeah, I also thought the whole "super secret CIA password: Maggie" thing was a bit weird, especially considering that no CIA system would even allow someone to have such a simple password even if they tried. I understand that computers and technology are almost never accurately represented in TV shows, but I'd expect a bit more from a show based on Sherlock Holmes. Personal passwords like "Sher"locked are a bit more forgivable, but that, ehhhh.

All in all I liked the atmosphere of the episode, though hallucinogenic gas was pretty easy to guess sorta early on imo.

Also, how was Moriarty all holed up in a cell? If they were able to do that so easily, I'd think they would have tried for that before the events of the first episode.

[Jd-]

Spoiler:

yeah, I also thought the whole "super secret CIA password: Maggie" thing was a bit weird, especially considering that no CIA system would even allow someone to have such a simple password even if they tried. I understand that computers and technology are almost never accurately represented in TV shows, but I'd expect a bit more from a show based on Sherlock Holmes. Personal passwords like "Sher"locked are a bit more forgivable, but that, ehhhh.

Spoiler:

The password thing was quite dumb. I was hoping for something better at that part.

My only real complaint about the series as a whole is Moriarty's portrayal. I thought I may grow into it, but, really, it's still not happened. I just don't think this new characterization is particularly threatening or interesting. He doesn't really have any sort of real menace to his madness. To be honest, he just seems more... quirky than menacing. I prefer my Moriarty to be a true criminal mastermind that is more genius than ostentatious.

Let's see how the next episode goes, I guess.

[Akonyl]

eh, I'm a fan of Moriarty, but I agree that he hasn't really been shown as a mastermind or anything yet.

Also, regarding this episode:

Spoiler:

while it's just a cold, I'm amazed at how casually Watson walks into a containment room that has a sign mentioning "hey we have some cold viruses chilling in here watch it or you'll get sick" right on the door. Also that nobody else in the plant had ever freaked out because of the leaky hallucinogenic gas pipes until Watson.

[mangaluva]

While I like Moriarty, I think it's mainly because he reminds me of The Master. In fact, the more I think about it, the more they're basically the same character. Sherlock reminds me of Doctor 11, too, in his more manic moments, You can really tell that the same writers were behind this...

Also, having a hard time seeing the new episode because I can't stream video here, fail internet connection being fail, and I've tried the BBC iplayer download links twice and both have produced a defective file. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah DX

[Jd-]

My vision of Moriarty has always been virtually identical to how he was portrayed by Eric Porter in the Granada series:

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Of course, that was sourced from a direct adaptation of "The Final Problem" (with some alterations made to introduce some continuity between the episodes of that series, such as making it so Moriarty was behind "The Red-Headed League") and was meant to reflect the character as he was originally written. Along those same lines, Moriarty as portrayed by Eric Porter is older there than in this BBC series, and you naturally can't expect them to be exactly the same. I mean, given that the two are from different eras and are also from series that set out to accomplish different things, it isn't fair or reasonable to expect them to be the same. However, I feel the Holmes as presented in the Granada adaptation (aka, the original Holmes himself) and the young Holmes as portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch are compatible with one another--you can take those two and imagine the progression of the character from era to era, age to age. With Moriarty as portrayed by Andrew Scott, I don't feel that same sort of natural progression. In fact, I think Moffat and Gatiss said they wanted to make a slightly more unstable and mental Moriarty, but hopefully they can make that pay off in the finale to this season. What made Moriarty so threatening originally was that he was a gentleman criminal--calm, centered, and methodical in his actions in running his criminal enterprise like a business but with his own morals at heart. The current Moriarty just doesn't really seem to care for anything that would constitute a "criminal mastermind".

Personally, I just don't care for "mental" criminals that do evil just for evil's sake. I've never really found that compelling, and I am hopeful that whatever Moriarty hatches in the next episode will be the result of something with a grand aim or purpose and not just pure anarchy or whatnot. I'll accept it either way as I love the young Holmes and young Watson chemistry and will continue to follow the series as a result of that and the genuinely sharp writing til the end.

[Akonyl]

Also, having a hard time seeing the new episode because I can't stream video here, fail internet connection being fail, and I've tried the BBC iplayer download links twice and both have produced a defective file. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah DX

well, if you end up still not being able to find ways to obtain it, feel free to PM me :V

(though depending on just how fail your internet's being, could not be much help anyway )

[bluekaitou1412]

It's hateful that I can't watch S2 ep 2 'til Sunday. Gah. Academics, you will be the death of me.

I didn't like the ending from last episode where Adler still survived but eh XD

[mangaluva]

Finally watched it. Wasn't bad.

Spoiler:

definitely playing on our book-based expectations again with Stapleton. I spent most of it convinced that the hallucinogen was somehow in the guy's cigarettes, since Sherlock had inhaled some and John hadn't.

The CGI for the dog was pretty ugly, though. The 5Ds episode I watched before it had better CGI. Unless it was meant to look bad to emphasize that the dog's appearance was a product of twisted fear, but mainly it just made me think "damn, that is ugly".

Also, do secret government projects normally have t-shirts printed?

Sherlock's attempts to make things up with John were hilarious. And probably not helping dispel the idea that they're a couple. I had to laugh at poor John giving up on trying to correct people about that.
"Sorry we couldn't get a double room for you two!"
"We're not... don't worry about it, thank you."

[Akonyl]

Spoiler:

Also, do secret government projects normally have t-shirts printed?

Spoiler:

well, Sherlock knew about the project beforehand (its acronym, at least), so it's probable that the project's name was unclassified but the actual contents were. So, having shirts with "Project HOUND" on them isn't too far-fetched in that case.