Review: Sherlock 2.2: The Hounds of Baskerville

In front of a full moon. Classic. No sense of subtlty there, guys.

Based on, "The Hounds of the Baskerville", Mark Gatiss delivered a slightly calmer adaptation that took a more traditional route and followed the more conventional Sherlock Holmes format as established by the written stories. It was a lot slower than the Moffation pace had left me expecting, but that didn't stand to its detriment as a lot more time was given forth to character development. It just didn't feel as clever as the series usually allows itself to be, and instead relied on what the titular character would call, "Cheap tricks".
       Sherlock is off cigarrettes cold turkey and is thus highly erratic. The only case he can find is One about a rabbit that has disappeared after turning luminescent. When Henry Knight (goddamnit, Russell Tovey) turns up and offers his testimony about a "gigantic hound" that roams Dartmoor near a science laboratory called Baskerville. Sherlock is immediately enthused, and once out on the moors he sees the Hound himself and is shaken by his own self-doubt. However, further investigations into Baskerville reveal the truth; Henry, Sherlock, and later John, saw the Hound because of a hallucinogenic gas which was specifically designed to cause people to go mad. They return to the sight, battling their own hallucinations as they finally corner the killer, who used the gas to cover up a murder.
       Russell. Tovey. I don't like him. He's irritating, his screechy, unconvincing acting style that was acceptable in the Being Human 2008 pilot but that slowly begins to gnaw away at my insides. Casting Tovey to play a man afraid of large dogs showed that at least the Sherlock team has a sense of irony, but it did nothing to enhance the episode and his scenes are by and large the worst part.
       The use of more modern, sci-fi elements leads this to be a little on the simple side, and any attempts at complexity come off like disposable red herrings. The story spent a lot of time on set pieces and ideas that never went anywhere - the moor, while atmospheric and great for, say, trailer shots, was over-emphasised over plot. Likewise there's a long scene where John believes he is being stalked by the Hound in a Lab, one that has no bearing on the actual mystery but seems just to be Sherlock uncharacteristically dicking about. More importantly, there were scenes added that made little to no sense whatsoever, such as hallucinations at Toby's home actually cause the lights to turn on and off.
        The Hounds of Baskerville was still enjoyable, but it didn't live up to the standard that I've become accustomed to in Sherlock. It replaced the usual fast paced conundrums with a slow walk around the British countryside, something that failed to tickle my fancy entirely. And, after his less than impressive Who record, Gatiss is still in my bad books for the moment.

Thanks.

P.S. Nice chap though. Lovely chap.

Review: Sherlock 2.1: A Scandal In Belgravia

Sherlock refuses to dress. Even for royalty.

Based on "A Scandal In Bohemia", the first episode of this new series of Steven Moffat's adaptation took a very different tone than that of the first series over 18 months ago. Its source material, one of the earliest of Conan-Doyle's tales, is one of the only stories that show the title character as showing any interest in the opposite sex. Suffice to say that Moffat's script does not disappoint in its powerful and yet incredibly clever take on the classic mystery.

  Following directly on from the black-out cliffhanger of The Great Game, Sherlock and John escape the scenario troubling them and get back to detective work, which leads John's blog on the path to becoming an internet sensation. Sherlock is drafted, by his brother Mycroft (co-producer Mark Gattis) and the Royal Family into investigating one Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), a dominatrix going by the codename, "The Woman" who uses photos of her high-profile clients to blackmail herself into powerful positions. They immediately dispense with any attempts at disguise and Sherlock slowly works out where she's hiding her privvy information - on a camera-phone also locked by a four-digit code.
      After an attack by a group of Americans, Sherlock is drugged and wakes up with his phone personally stylised by Alder to respond to her texts. Over Christmas she flirts with him by phone, until he is called in to find a body that he can identify as hers. This troubles him immensely, but John soon finds that Irene has falsified her death; Sherlock soon finds out as well. Before he can react, he arrives home to find his flat accosted by the same American units, whom he beats up and hands over to the police. Irene turns up again, and lets Sherlock look at the privvy information - a code written in a private email from the MoD. He uses the code to realise that a plane will explode the next day, and that the Government is prepared to let it happen.

The seductive Irene Adler

     Irene sends this information to Moriarty, who then taunts Mycroft. Sherlock is invited to the plane and finds the seats already filled with corpses; Mycroft arrives and reveals that the plane was designed to explode without any loss of life, and that Sherlock has inadvertantly told the terrorist cell in question about the entire plan. Irene arrives to barter terms; she is prepared to blackmail the entire government if her demands aren't met. Sherlock, feeling humiliated, then realises the code - his own name, because Adler is in love with him. Mycroft arrives some time later to reveal to John that Irene has been executed in the Middle-East, but we see that Sherlock already saved her life.
     The episode revolves principally around the relationship between Adler and Sherlock, and the fact that Sherlock may or may not have feelings for her. Lara Pulver was the perfect choice, in my opinion - she looks similar to Cumberbatch facially, and she was able to grab the dominatrix persona effortlessly. Her character threatens at time to rob the story, but as always Moffat specialises in characters just like Sherlock and so his inner turmoil is perfectly demonstrated, with Cumberbatch's mannerisms cementing it. I also thought that Mark Gattis was used very well in this story; in his inital appearances in the first series he often became something of a parody, but here Gattis is as sly and as manipulative as his fictional brother.
      I'm still not quite used to stories that last one and a half hours, but it gives the story a guessless quality that felt perfectly. The story kept twisting and turning, and the unusual length allows that to happen without it becoming silly. The beauty of Moffat's script was that I was still guessing until the end. The attitude of contant and total mystery and manipulation of the truth that so plagues his Doctor Who offerings is suited almost too well to this genre, and that's what, at least for me, makes it so enjoyable.

The boys are back in action.

      Irene Adler was an excellent contribution to Sherlock's modern day exploits, and A Scandal In Belgravia was a brilliant start to a new series. It was tense, action-packed and yet intelligent as hell, all the while mixing a clever mystery with brilliant characterisation that leaped from the screen. Possibly the best episode yet, Scandal makes me look forward to this series immensely.

Thanks.

Welcome to 2012

Doomsday stories aside, we waltz into 2012 with open arms! Despite budget cuts and other nonsense, we've plenty of TV to chew on this year. Today a new three-part series of Sherlock begins, which I will certainly be reviewing. Later there's Being Human, without Aiden Turner or, later, Russell Tovey. Later in the year will see a full Autumn series of Doctor Who, a brand-spanking new series of Red Dwarf, the last (thank Buddha) series of Merlin and Series Four of Misfits. That leaves a spring/summer shaped hole in the year, but I'll do my best to fill that gap with some reviewing joy as I tackle more Classic Doctor Who, Lost Season Five and I finally get around to reviewing Ashes To Ashes!

Happy New Year.

Thanks.

Opinion: Christmas Telly 2011

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. While the rest of the annum offers us modernistic, bleak offerings reflecting a cracked society, Christmas is the one time of year when things come together to provide a warm blanket of seasonal joy. Here is my rundown on some of this year's best Crimbo telly.

Lost Christmas, Sunday 18th, BBC1 Starring Eddie Izzard and others.

The first half of this urban fairy-tale was actually quite disturbing as an amnesiac known only as "Anthony" (Eddie Izzard) brought together a group of people with his ability to find lost things - including people. The drama is surprisingly dark when one considers that it was released for a CBBC audience, but the lessons it taught about simple acts of kindness in life were valuable. I in particular loved the drama's thick Hindu themology, as well as the wonderful twist that makes perfect sense. Lost Christmas is a tad strange, but if you stick it out you'll be left with a poignant drama that examines all areas of life.

The Old Bleak Shop Of Stuff, Monday 19th, BBC2 Starring Robert Webb, Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Celia Immre, Johnny Vegas and others.

I adore Dickens, and so this wonderfully satirical parody of his life and works was perfect for me. Taking aspects from his main works (especially the Pickwick Papers), the comedy follows Jendrington Secret-Past (Robert Webb) as he loses his family to evil lawyer Skullingworth (Stephen Fry) and has until midnight to get them back. The best thing by far is the dialogue, which mocks Dickens' lexicon beautifully and yet still allows for a captivating plot that mixes all of the writer's favourite stories. The Old Bleak Shop Of Stuff is a love letter to Charles Dickens and his legacy.

Little Crackers, Various Times Throughout the Season, Sky One Starring John Bishop, Jane Horrocks, Alan Davies, Sheridan Smith, Shappi Khorsandi, and many others.

These now-yearly short dramas have been brilliant this year. Taking on the heart-warming experiences of well-known actors and comedians, these autobiographical tales are all heart-warming and poignant. The best is by far John Bishop's tale of being payed in teddy-bears, but I also loved Sheridan Smith's tale as well as Alan Davies significantly sadder affair with a friend's dog.


Thanks. Merry Christmas.

Review: Doctor Who 7.X: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

Lily and Cyril find a present from The Caretaker.

A pattern has emerged out of the avaliable data. My hypothesis, as indicated by The Christmas Carol and The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is that Moffat is bloody brilliant at Christmas specials. DWW wasn't a perfect outing for the show, but it certainly embodied everything that I want out of both a Moffat script and out of a heart-warming Christmas special. Its few flaws were outnumbered, however, by a brilliant tone and an exemplary set of performances from the main leads.
      The Doctor, escaping from an exploding ship, falls upon a small town in 1938 and is picked up by proud mother Madge Arwell (Claire Skinner, Outnumbered). She helps him to return to the TARDIS, and he tells her that he will repay the favour if needed. Three years pass, and Madge's husband Reg (Alexander Armstrong) is killed at war. That Christmas, Madge takes her children Cyril and Lily (Holly Earl, who interestingly enough had a cameo in Red Dwarf during the Dark Times) to a house in the country run by The Caretaker (The Doctor). At night, Lily investigates The Doctor's tinkering while Cyril strays into a present in the sitting room - a portal that leads to a snowy wood where trees spontaneously grow decorations.
     As Lily and The Doctor tried to find Cyril, who is being stalked by wooden men, Madge also stumbles through the portal and is caught by an Androzani Major mining group (led by Droxil - comedian Bill Bailey), who are prepping the forest for an acid rain drop designed to harvest the valuable Androzani trees. In response, the trees' souls (life force) are trying to escape - but need to use a human as a relay. The Doctor is surprised to discover the trees consider him "weak", but when Madge arrives in their wooden lighthouse, her motherlyness deems her "strong" and she guides the souls. The lighthouse is guided by Madge's mind through the Time Vortex, back to 1941 - and as a bonus, her husband is sent through the vortex and saved. Madge, as a farewell present, promises to call again, and asks for The Doctor to tell those he loves that he is still alive. He pops to visit Amy and Rory, who welcome him to Christmas dinner with open arms.

The Doctor comforts Lily.

     Young actor Maurice Cole's performance as Cyril was irritating at times, but that was excuseable. Claire Skinner was brilliant as always, as was Alexander Armstrong's touching cameo and the appearance from Bill Bailey. Holly Earl as Lily Arwell was actually rather brilliant, and she stood out from the cast - in particular her reactions to Matt Smith, which were wonderfully naturalistic. Claire Skinner ran the risk of feeling just like her character in Outnumbered, but she added an extra pathos to the role that was inescapable.
      The plot was by far the most straightforward of Moffat's tales, and at times it felt distinctly more Gaiman than Moffat. There wasn't any twistyness or strangeness, and the number of references to Who old and new was astonishing to even me. The references felt comforting rather than exploitative, although I do feel that a story as comfy and safe as this one should be wary of dealing with one of the series' more dark outings.
      What can I say, this Christmas day? Moffat delivered a Christmas treat, which, while a little melodramatic and linear in places still presented a heart-warming Christmas adventure with brilliant performances and even better dialogue. I liked it, and it gave me cheer. So Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Thanks. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas 2011

Rooms are warm with Xmas joys,
As children play with new bought toys,
And though the year begins anew,
There's nothing left now to review.

Hopefully I'll publish my Doctor Who review some time in the Holiday, as well as a few other tidbits here and there. The Christmas logo is going down on January 6th; the Winter theme will last throughout the season.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Thanks.

Review: Merlin 4.13: The Sword In The Stone (Part Two)

I hadn't expected much, but the finale of this series was absolutely brilliant. It stroked the mythology in lots of brilliant ways, the writing was smart and advanced the characters... I'm in a state of wonderment. While it all panned out in a particularly predictable way, it was incredibly enjoyable and I loved every minute. Truely this is a salve for all of my worries this season, which through sheer persistance has managed to trounce its predecessor in lots of wonderful ways.
      As Agravaine and his army followed the troupe of Merlin, Arthur, Gwen and the legendary Tristan and Isolde through the woods, Merlin used his Dragontongue to order Kilgharrah (John Hurt) to decimate Agravaine's forces. As they were stalked through a cave, Merlin hung back and used magic to kill any stragglers, including Inspector Lynley himself (I enjoyed his death perhaps a little too much). They need to head back to Camelot, but Arthur is having a confidence crisis due to comments from Tristan, and believes that he isn't the true King of Camelot.
      Merlin, in the time honoured series tradition, called Kilgharrah for advice. With no help from the Dragon, Merlin came up with the fabled Sword In The Stone tale, and gathers all of Arthur's remaining forces to watch him triumphantly remove Excalibur from the boulder Merlin stuck it in this time last year. With this confidence boost, Arthur prepares to raid Camelot. To make sure there aren't any problems, Merlin sneaks into the city (which obviously by now has the worst security in the world) and does some voodoo beneath Morgana's bed.

      The forces for Good raid Camelot easily, and in the final confrontation with Morgana she is unable to use any of her magic. As his last act, Helios offs Isolde which is treated with the appropriate sadness. Arthur and Gwen kiss and make up, and she is crowned Queen of Camelot. Finally, there's a vague cliffhanger where an injured Morgana finds Aithusa in the woods, hinting that she might have a draconic buddy next year.
     My only complaints? What didn't happen. Merlin didn't reveal his magic to anyone but Inspector Lynley, who died. Morgana didn't find out that Merlin is Emrys, which was sort of her arc this series. Hopefully this means that next series will be packed with mythology to make up for the lack of it in this series, but I know Merlin and so my hopes aren't high.
     Merlin's finale was downright awesome and despite it not progressing the general mythology as much as I would have liked, it was a brilliant 45 minutes and left me with the highest hopes for next year. Perhaps I'm just taken up in the spirit of Christmas cheer, but I really hope that next year's final ever series of Merlin will be just as good as the last three episodes of this series have been.

Thanks. Merry Christmas.

News: Who Revisitations

So back in the day I wrote a few reviews on Classic Doctor Who that I feel I could write about better now that I'm not only a better writer but now that I also have some context. In 2012, I'll be revisiting a number of my old reviews and giving them another hearing. Amongst those being revisited will be:

• Inferno
• Earthshock
• Attack of the Cybermen 
• The Two Doctors
• The Movie

This will be joined by a ton of new reviews, the vast majority of which will follow Four To Doomsday through Peter Davison's time on the program.

Thanks.

Review: Doctor Who Classic: The Edge of Destruction

Susan goes barking.

 Doctor Who, Season One, Story Three (1963)

I end my Beginnings Trilogy by taking a look at The Edge of Destruction, the twelth and thirteenth episodes of Season One. Used to fill the series' initial thirteen episode quotient, the story was written on the fly with almost no resources to hand except the main cast and the Tardis interior. Thus, here is where the character arcs established in the first two serials hits an end and where our core characters mature into the final incarnations as they would have stood had the series not been taken up. A lot of fans won't give The Edge of Destruction (known also as "Inside the Spaceship" and "Beyond the Sun") the time of day, but of the three beginning stories it's my particular favourite by a mile.
     Our heroes gather around the Tardis console after having escaped the Daleks, and there is a blinding flash of light. All of them fall to the floor, and Barbara wakes up to find her fellow passengers unconscious. The doors continually open and shut, and the Scanner keeps showing multiple images. The Doctor accuses Barbara and Steven of sabotaging the ship in an attempt to return home. Susan, who appears initially to have been posessed, sides with her father until a tired Steven appears to strangle Barbara, proving that someone is influencing them. They work through the information at hand; the Tardis fault locator itself is broken, and so the partially sentient machine was continually giving them warning signs. Somehow the machine had gone to the Big Bang, and the Tardis had stopped itself from being destroyed. The problem is tracked to a faulty spring on the "Fast Return Switch", and soon the characters reconcile with one another stronger than they were before. 
     Because of its claustrophobic atmosphere and character-focused dialogue, The Edge of Destruction feels very much like a recorded stage play. The break between the two episodes is like, say, an intermission. This falters slightly, because the two parts had two different directors, and thus the second half is a lot more structured and confident than the first. This is perhaps for the better; the first half is more about creating the fear and tension regarding the possibility that some outside influence is masquerading as a member of the Tardis crew, while the second is a Sherlock-esque solving of the mystery.

The Doctor has one last fit, but his character mellows.

     Here is where The Doctor finally mellows. In realistic character development, his encounters with his human companions over the past 13 episodes have turned him from a grouch prepared to kidnap and kill into a kind-hearted if crotchety grandfather figure. The development over the Beginnings Trilogy for all of the characters is incredibly well done, and in a way this particular arc is actually better written than Moffat's today or RTD's a few years ago.
     The Edge of Destruction is a story that, despite its rushed conception and creation, is an enteraining 50 minutes of suspense and mystery, where acting styles are manipulated to compliment the script and characterisations are played off against one another. It's very well-made for what it was and perfectly rounds out the 13 episode arc that is The Beginning of Doctor Who.

Thanks.

P.S. That's the last Doctor Who Classic review until after Christmas! Over this Holiday, you can expect my reviews of the Merlin finale, the Misfits finale and, of course, the Doctor Who Christmas special.
Merry Christmas.

Review: Misfits 3.8

Sally (Alex Reid) is back for revenge.

The finale of this turbulent series has finally arrived, and we face a finale that extends back to both of the preceeding years. This year was a time for a lot of change, both for better and worse. Now that we know that we have another series, we have to hope that this finale will provide the sense of closure and excitement that we received from previous years. (I consider last year's finale to be the Crimbo special.)
     A medium is operating out of the community centre, and based on his comments it's obvious that he has the power for real. Simon, chilled by his remarks about Sally (Alex Reid), then sees the deceased probation worker. She appears before him in the Lair during a vision, and kisses him. She meets him in the bathroom and tells him that the medium has brought her back, and that she's always had feelings for him. The gang talk to the medium, who discusses his ability to talk to and bring back the dead. He accidentally brings back the Virtue-girl, who Rudy flirts with relentlessly. She has come back because, realising upon death that there is no God, she wants to do things she avoided in life.
     Seth and Kelly's relationship is on the rocks; she's unhappy with him dealing powers without regulation. He tells her that he is quitting power-dealing. While Simon is haunted by Sally and Kelly by Tony, Virtue-girl gets absolutely bladdered and tries to shag Curtis. In a scene that mirrord the pilot, the gang were chased by Tony and Kelly hits him with a fire-extinguisher. Tony is, however, quite civilised and tries to find Sally, who is in a store-room chatting up Simon.

He's dead, Jim.

    Sally and Simon head back to the Lair, where she blackmails him into making love with her - which she films on Simon's phone. She sends the video to Alisha (I've been getting the spelling wrong forever!) who watches it and is shocked to discover what's been going on. She confronts him. Sally tries to throw Alisha off the roof, but Tony explains why he died. The two dead probation workers reunite and pass on. Simon and Alisha kiss and make up. Virtue-girl is unhappy because she has done everything she can think of and she can't pass on. As the two love-birds get their mac on in a storage closet, Virtue-girl gets hold of a stanley-knife and slits Alisha's throat Sweeny-Todd style.
     Simon reveals to the others that he is Superhoodie, and that this is the time he must go back. With the help of Seth and Kelly, they manage to get a one-way time travel power for Simon. The gang bury Alisha and Simon goes back to Series One. He discovers the derelict Lair, and trades Seth the power of Immunity. As he leaves Seth's place, Superhoodie is born. The modern gang is now left with only Kelly, Curtis and Rudy/Frudy.  
    Sally's storyline was a little off-putting. 1.5's key draw was that we knew that Sally was leading Simon down a false road. The question there was whether any of the affection that she showed Simon was real. Here it doesn't just feel like a retread, but it's also jarring because it doesn't make sense; nothing tells me in 1.5 that Sally really felt anything for Simon in a real way. And if she was being deceptive, then surely this more mature Simon wouldn't fall for it a second time. Virtue-girl's plot, while funny, didn't feel that necessary to the story until the very end. In a way it felt silly; Sally's plot was more of an unnecessary scapegoat that developed Simon and Alisha's relationship to the point where her death would be absolutely gut-wrenching.

Superhoodie is born. In a rather convenient orange hood,
which sidesteps a continuity issue about his appearance
in the first series. Nice.

     The episode's main problems really came down to the fact that nothing of any consequence happened until the last ten minutes. The Series One villains were nice to see, but their storylines didn't really have anything that we need from a Misfits finale. They weren't all that potent; they weren;t reflective and most of all they weren't at all epic in scale. Series One's finale saw a group of people hypnotised into zombies; Series Two saw the gang shot to fame and then stalked by a psychopathic killer.
    On the other hand, the last ten minutes of the episode might as well have been completely different from the rest. A simple music track, and the benefit of hindsight, allowed crude Series One comedy scenes to be imbued with a fantastic sense of poignancy. It was a shame that the cause of Simon's timey-wimey path was something as mundane as a slash by stanley-knife, and it's also sad to think that Simon's actions did nothing. In Misfits it appears that time-travel, in Simon's case, leads only to a Whatever Happened, Happened scenario.
     And so it ends. Series Three's finale was just like the rest of the series. It was fun in places and there were a lot of entertaining things, but in the end it didn't quite fall together and any moments of brilliance were confined to small nooks and crannies. Despite this, I am curious as to how the show will continue with only two-fifths of its original cast remaining this time next year. I'll see you there.

Thanks.