On the television front
That's it I'm caught up with Mad Men. I will watch yesterday's episode later today.
I'm about to watch the second episode of Moffat's Sherlock. I really enjoyed "a Study in Pink" that I watched yesterday. This Sherlock Holmes in modern setting is much better and truer to Conan Doyle's books than the Guy Ritchie's movie that was released earlier this year, although Sherlock's mannerism sometimes calls The Doctor to mind. I like Robert Downey Jr but the film was anything but SH and his Sherlock didn't work. This one sounds right. The transposition to modern times is less refreshing and daring than what Moffat did with Stevenson's book in Jekyll, but it's entertaining and very well done. And if we want something more original, adaptation-wise, we already have House M.D, although the show and Gregory House himself are less and less Sherlock-Holmesish these days...
Anyway I really liked Watson played by Martin Freeman and the chemistry between the two actors. They just clicked. Cumberbatch is a believable Sherlock Holmes, and the "high level sociopath" angle is perfect for the present day; he isn't Victorian times weird, he is modern times weird. He is magnetic but not likable while Freeman's Watson is someone we can root for. And this is how the present war in Afghanistan comes in handy since the original Watson was in Afghan war too!
I loved the texts-on-screen stuff (those visual tricks were a brilliant idea)or the way Sherlock figured Watson's background out thanks to his mobile phone with the mobile phone taking the place of the watch or the scene in which Holmes and Watson were chasin the cab. It was clever.
Thank you Mr Moffat, once again you delivered!
The taxi driver plot was okay I guess (a bit anti-climatic in the end maybe) but the episode mostly works in portraying Sherlock convincingly and showing the meeting of the famous pair and I was left wanting more.
As for True Blood that I've just seen earlier? It was better than last week.
I miss Franklin, but the episode's pace and the few great moments made up for the lack of our favourite lunatic.The coma world in which Sookie found herself was really silly. As pointed out by a few critics, it looked like a commercial and did remind me of our three nerds in Andrew's fantasy on Buffy. A lot of stuff seemed borrowed from BtVS in this episode. Bill draining Sookie? That was sooooo reminiscent of Angel and Buffy (minus the erotic side).
It was an entertaining episode, but a bit heavy metaphor/parallel-wise (I sorta liked the crystal meth idea though). We have Jason being his usual dumb self, already addicted to Crystal, trying to make the guy in jail talk bout Crystal while Eric questioned the queen in cage about Sookie, via Headley. Eric was better at getting information out of a cousin than Jason
As for the real authority, both Tara and Sam ruled !!!
Even as a pitbull Sam was cute and I loved that he saved the day, released the dogs and got the black dog to submit. That's my boy! Too bad we didn't see his naked butt. The Sam sub-plot has been weak for weeks but his rescue of his bro was better than the Eric/Sophie-Anne/Russel rescuing Pam. pam had a great one-liner though, about the earrings matching her chains.
I'd rather see Sam as king of dogs than Russel having his black dog (the Magister) submit.
Is it me or Denis O'Hare sort of looks like Gary Oldman playing old Dracula?
BTW Sam and Tara are meant for each other for they both have the shittiest mothers ever.
Although Tara and Alcide was kinda cute together. Anyway thanks to Sookie's explanation about vampire death now Tara knows that she didn't kill Franklin...