And then, there was this . . .
First thought: Patton Oswalt having a Sherlock moment is some super-cool geek stuff.
Second thought: Goddamned PBS.
Nobody likes being Mr. Negative, especially when it comes to a "public" network that's supposed to be working for the good of humanity, teaching kids the alphabet and exposing us to fine arts. But this isn't the 1980s any more. We all know there are networks in Great Britain that have these TV shows that are made for citizens of the imperial island. We actually have a cable channel called "BBC America." We can buy their shows on iTunes and watch them on Netflix.
Well, at least I think we all know that. But we must not.
If we all knew that PBS was just slapping "Masterpiece" in front of Brit shows and calling them their own, then why the heck would anybody give PBS a dime for making Americans wait five or six months to see BBC Sherlock like they did on the last outing?
Anyone who watches both Dr. Who and Sherlock was painfully aware of the disparity last time out. With the Doctor, we can keep up with our Brit cousins without buying a region-free DVD player and ordering European DVDs from Amazon UK. We don't have to ignore Twitter feeds and podcasts and blogs for almost half a year, trying to keep some of the joy a fresh TV show brings when we watch Dr. Who. Thanks to PBS, though, series two of Sherlock made that spring a very irritating time to be a Sherlockian . . . just so PBS could stick to their outdated business model.
So to see PBS happily starting to put on the fake PR smile about "their" Masterpiece Mystery series once again is like seeing a driveway paving con man show up at your door for a second or third time. But at least we can slam the door in the face of that guy.
Still, cool about Patton Oswalt.
Don't get me started! Cumberbatch has been quoted as saying he was trying to use his influence to get PBS to show the series concurrent with the BBC airing. I wish him luck with that. I'll probably end up doing what I had to do for the first two series, which was use links of dubious legality. PBS should consider that their ratings might improve if millions of us haven't already seen the unedited version online. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteAnd they cut scenes. I could almost (but not quite) forgive them on airing it later...but THEY CUT SCENES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, granted, I watched those episodes hours after their airdate because the Sherlock Holmes world is kind and generous, so I saw those scenes. But it bothers me no end that others have NO IDEA that they could have seen Sherlock twirl John around because he's so anxious to have him remember the graffitti message, for example, or that they missed some really great dialogue that PBS thought was disposable. NOTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW IS DISPOSABLE, PBS!
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, we know about it, PBS. And there are already a zillion fanvids, fics, memes, etc. floating about the internet when the clip isn't even 24 hours old, but we know about it because of sites like Sherlockology and thousands of other generous souls on the Internet. If you could air the S3 episodes in tandem with BBC (time difference accounted for, of course), and uncut, you'd see your rating jump through the proverbial roof, compelete with mass hysteria, and all the love with none of the irritation, but if you wait again, and cut...you're missing out on something special.
(Leah)
And we know PBS just caters to Sherlockians.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should complain to WGBH in Boston, they are American and have a hand in the production.
I still haven't bought season two of Sherlock on DVD, so I haven't seen it yet. But I'll get around to it eventually. No hurry, though.
ReplyDeletePre-VCR, I can well remember the excitement of being there for event television, where if you missed it you might never see it at all. But VCRs changed all that.
As for Sherlock, it's only a TV show, for Clapton's sake. There are much more important things to worry about in life.