"Excellent!" I cried.
"Elementary," said he.-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Crooked Man
Second of three political debates last night. This time, with vices! Should I... should I hold out on the political commentary until all three debates? Huh. Ma- maybe? I'm just kind of bummed that the debates last night messed up the television schedule for all the regular Thursday shows. Like Elementary. Especially Elementary. I was going to wait three episodes, to get a good feel on it, before reporting further, but this just throws stuff off and I don't think I can wait till next week.
Yep, Elementary. Being the fan of Sherlock Holmes that I am (I guess?) I couldn't resist. Even if it's all, well, this is certainly enjoyable, but I don't see how it's strictly necessary. OH WAIT! Entertainment doesn't have to be necessary. That's why it's entertainment. Nevertheless! Elementary does a pretty good job of at least trying to appear necessary. The mysteries that Holmes solves in this one are the most faithful to the tone of the mysteries in the original novels and short stories. And Johnny Lee Miller's characterization serves as a nice counterpoint to the other two recent Sherlocks. While Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes focuses more on the eccentricities of the original character and Benedict Cumberbatch's on the brilliance that justify the eccentricities, Johnny Lee Miller's is all phlegm and dry wit, a throwback to the old Peter Cushings and Basil Rathbones. All three portrayals have their place. I think. Hopefully others think so too? I've still got more to say on this, but I think we'll wait a week to see if anything else I may have noticed gets confirmed.
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