This in from several sources today: "It's Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS procedural surpassed the BBC drama" out on the A.V. Club site. Let me pen a reaction . . .
Heh.
Heh heh.
BWAH HA HA HA, HEE HEE HEE, khch . . .
HA HA HA HA HA HA, HUH HA, HA HA HA HA!
Ah, my . . . HA HA HA HA HA HA, heh HA HA HA HA . . .
I just . . . I just . . . *snort* HA HA HA HA HA HA . . . hooooooo . . . .
I just can't do this with a straight face anymore. *snicker*
They really should have saved that one for April Fool's Day, instead of the day after the Sherlock American premiere. But hey, we're in "funny" mode with Sherlock these days, so I guess it fits right in.
The ongoing investigation of Sherlock Holmes, reported from the Peoria, Illinois outpost of Baker Street's dirtiest half a dozen.
*snort*
ReplyDeleteYeah, I couldn't believe it either.
ReplyDeleteWhen Elementary manages to draw in one third of the American audience and has been sold in 180 regions - than we can talk.
Until then, I really don't get why they keep comparing those shows. Who paid them to start this idiotic fandom war again?
Though I admit, I wish I were able to read the reactions (since they redesigned their website, their comment section doesn't load for me any longer)
That was actually my first thought in reading that piece, "Somebody got paid to write this." Some of the statements seemed a little too disingenuous.
DeleteOh, well, the AV Club also claimed that The Blind Banker is a better episode than A Study in Pink, so I really don't have a high opinion of the reviewers there (especially since they regularly get their facts wrong).
DeleteBasically the article boils down to "Elementary is better because there are more episodes and therefore more room for character development". If you had seen the third season of Sherlock already, you would know how unbelievable funny the statement is.
They have no doubt caught on to the fact that part of Sherlock fandom is not quite happy with S3 and are now launching this stuff again in hopes to catch some emigrants.
ReplyDeleteBut I for one, though I've ranted and criticised a lot, still find even the worst of all Sherlock eps still better than anything I've seen on Elementary.
Waiting for my S3 DVDs, reading fic and meta, basking in fandom experience - best thing ever.
I am actually not sure how much this is the actual Sherlock fandom being unhappy (I for my part am quite happy) and how much of the complains actually come from people who only watched it to rip into it. Success sadly always builds contempt.
DeleteI have yet to see the Sherlock season after which every fan is satisfied with everything. There are always weaker and better episodes, bad decisions and impressive scenes.
I think you have a tendency to judge from a very limited point of view. I am reading literally dozens of tumblrs and comments on reviews and people are definitely struggling. Just because the website you mostly frequent consists mainly of squee-ers who have nothing much intelligent to add to the discussion does not mean that people as far and wide as France, Japan and Russia are having said discussion now about the merits of S3.
DeleteIf you call avoiding tumblr and twitter a limited point of view, than I can certainly live with it. Otherwise I like to look around in the net, read the reactions to reviews (though it is really hard to sort out the genuine fans from the haters sometimes) and the forum I frequent (which has a lot of fans of Germany, but is basically for people from all over the world) is full of fans who like to discuss the details in a show, but enjoy the good things nevertheless. The opinion about TEH for example is "a little bit unfocussed, the blend over from the coffee cups to Watson's eyes was terrible, and the placement of the third explanation just awful". But we also had a lot of fun with the three theories, think that it was pretty much genius to predict the unavailable reaction of the fans, we adore the "restaurant hopping" at the start, and the parallels between Sherlock's cases and John's work. The case was a little bit weak, but most of us don't mind because for this particularly story is a greater focus on the characters a good idea. BTW, I wrote a whole article about the structural difference of season 3 compared to the first two season. Just follow the link to my wordpress account. In short, the season is different, but different is not always bad, and I applaud the writers for exploring new ways of story-telling instead of letting the show stagnate.
DeleteIn the end though, there is usually one episode in each season which is less beloved than the others. Last season is was either SIB or HoB, depending on whom you asked. This season it is for some people TEH, for others TSOT - but this reaction is not different from the reactions we had in the past. What do you expect? The Sherlock fandom was never the "squee-fandom" a lot of people claimed it to be. This is a show which mostly addresses people who like to get challenged, and they enjoy the heck out of picking the episodes apart.
"Just follow the link to my wordpress account."
DeleteErm, no, thanks. Not worth my time.
Conan Doyle took forty years to write 56 stories and 4 novels. But were all they perfect or satisfying?. I don't think I can pick in that respect not more than 20 . But does this make the other ones dispensable? NEVER.
DeleteIn the long run each episode will prove valuable in its own right in the BBC Sherlock canon. If the new season had followed the old pattern, the result would have been like a 'Stock-broker's Clerk'. New ways should be tried. CHAS is a best example.
So what the heck about fandom waiting 2 years and dissatisfied with what they got? As Brad says in his post http://sherlockpeoria.blogspot.in/2014/01/an-evening-in-ninety-minutes.html,
"It doesn't matter what those friends have been particularly up to. It was just good to be with them again for ninety minutes, to spend an evening with them."
@Silke Ketelsen For someone who accuses others of a limited point of view, this was incredible rude and narrow-minded.
Delete@Silke Ketelsen " KNOW SPOILERS!!! YEEHAW! ;-D))
DeleteI was already starting to get desperate because no one told anything and I really like to go prepared into things like S3. I would never have made it through S2 without seeing spoilers on YT before. Thankfully everyone on twitter warns for spoilers being posted un tumblr which made it easier for me to find them.
What I've found so far sounds pretty dam GREAT to me! *happyhappy joyjoy*"
I wonder what you had actually found back then!
Just so I understand all of this -- in the winner-take-all pubescent mindset of "fandom," one cannot like both shows?
ReplyDeleteGood thing I'm neither a fan nor pubescent, since there's good and bad to be had in both programs.
So you're going with the thought that all productions are created equal then? If the internet hadn't already killed the movie reviewer's profession, I guess we could just let that go. Takes pressure off at the ticket window, now that I can just go up and say, "Ticket for whatever's next, please!"
DeleteGiven that there is no such thing as a perfect human being, then, yeah, all productions are equal in that they are created by flawed masses of DNA.
DeleteAs I said, both shows have their good points and both shows have their less good points. One can choose based on one's particular opinions and/or hormones (the latter, seemingly, drives most cases of fandom), but we know what part of the anatomy opinions are like, don't we?
As for being equal, it isn't a case of one show being made by Sir Alexander Korda and one by Edward D. Wood, Jr. There's talent and money and resources to go around in both cases.
With the odd minor caveat or two, I pretty much like what I see in each production now that I'm finally getting around to watching them.
And when they're over, I go do some gardening or puttering about the house or shovel out elderly neighbors, or....
Life is good.
"...pubescent mindset of "fandom..."
DeleteWell, I'm closing in on sixty, so clearly not pubescent anymore. But perhaps you're just too OLD to feel passionate about anything.
To quote Nigel Green in Hammer's COUNTESS DRACULA, "At least there's dignity in age." (And there's definitely a difference in having a scholarly interest in something and being obsessed with it; the former strikes me as far healthier. [N.B.: Holmes would agree.])
DeleteIt's also good to be very well seasoned before receiving an investiture in the BSI (I was nearly 47 before being reborn as Count Von Kramm). And now I'm 52, still larger than life, and shoveling snow like a 16 year old for my elderly neighbors. I'm even making snow angels for 'em. Life is good.
Why is it when a woman feels a passionate interest in something she must be "obsessed" with it? Whereas a man being interested in something, he of course only has a "scholarly" interest in the subject?
DeleteAnd stop waving that BSI investiture in my direction. I couldn't care less about the BSI and it doesn't impress me one wit if you're Count Whatever (been born a RL baroness, btw). Larger than life? Maybe, but small minded from my POV.
Actually, I was needling Brad about obsession, but if you want to take offense (the world's fastest growing sport), be my guest.
DeleteAs for the last point, if finding both shows interesting/fun/intriguing is small minded, then, yeah, I guess I'm small minded.
Brad: You write "Takes pressure off at the ticket window, now that I can just go up and say, "Ticket for whatever's next, please!"
ReplyDeleteThe analogy would work if you only had enough money for one ticket that month, or could only watch one TV show. Most of us can fit in at least two shows each week, so we don't have to chose between "Sherlock" and "Elementary" or between "Elementary" and "The Big Bang Theory," which makes more sense as a comparison.... And if we don't like one, we don't feel any need to watch it.
But how do you know you don't like something if they're all the same? Because that's what I'm hearing about these two shows.
Delete"But how do you know you don't like something if they're all the same?"
ReplyDeleteThat strikes me as non-sequitur. I know I like something if I watch it and it appeals to me. If I watch something that is "the same" it's likely to appeal to me as well, but I try it and see. Here's the script:
Watch show 1.
Like?
Yes -- keep watching.
No -- stop watching.
Repeat with show 2.
Easy.
Point. Missed.
Delete"Point. Missed."
ReplyDeleteThen. Make. More. Clear.
Sorry, latest Anonymous. It's been done before, as has the old song of "don't like it, don't watch it." Bored now.
ReplyDeleteThe AVclub can be lots of fun. Most of the reviewers do a fairly good job & some of the commenters are pretty sharp.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what happened to the site a few days ago. A new reviewer gave the first episode of Sherlock a C+. And went on & on about her disdain for The Evil Moffat. Of course, Mark Gatiss wrote the episode. She also slammed his acting--and the acting of Benedict Cumberbatch.
The next day, this mess appeared. If you love Elementary, please let me know why I ought to watch it! Telling me I'm wrong to love Sherlock is not the way to go. Both articles received much unfavorable comment. Was the site just going for page hits?
Then there was an article about Sleepy Hollow, just before its season finale. The writer explained how it was almost a good show--and worked in some Moffat slamming while he was at it. This delightful show gave me strength to wait to see Sherlock on PBS--it's a great example of a highly original American show loosely based on classic literature. But it only had 13 episodes this season--an issue for those who prefer quantity to quality.
AVclub has gotten back to normal. I'd been thinking I might take a look at Elementary when it shows up on Netflix or TNT---when I usually check out procedurals. Now, I think not....I'd rather watch reruns of The Mentalist.
The AV Club has been slipping for a while...the coverage for Grimm is awful! It is like the reviewer in question only watches the show with one eye considering how often there are clear mistakes in the review. (For example they recently claimed that one character has been very single minded in his last relationship and that this behaviour is typical for him - yeah, right, the only reason the character in question even was in said relationship was because he was slipped a love potion which was designed to make him act obsessed).
DeleteThe AV Club has giving Sherlock negative reviews from the get-go (the best rating it ever got was an A- and they actually gave a C for A Study in Pink. A C!!!!!! I sometimes wonder if they overcompensate for not having predicted that the show which they gave mediocre reviews the whole first season became such a huge hit), while overpraising Elementary at every turn. At this point, it has become quite embarrassing to read the articles.
Where the comments to the last mess that negative? Since they redesigned their website, I can't load the comments anymore. Since then I realized that I was mostly there for the smart remarks of some of the commenters and not for the actual articles.