(no subject)
So, after watching the teaser trailer for "Star Trek: Into the Darkness" yesterday and basically getting a girl boner from Benedict Cumberbatch's voiceover, I finally did something all the pretty gifs on Tumblr couldn't get me into - watching "Sherlock". By now I've watched four episodes out of six, and I have to say... I still don't get the fuzz over it.
(Putting this behind a cut so the Sherlock fans won't kill me. Please keep in mind this is merely a matter of preference in storytelling and character development.)
Yes, it has a certain entertainment value, good plot, and some amusing scenes, but it feels... staged, for lack of a better word. Scripted. And, as I already suspected from what I've seen other people treasure about him, this Sherlock is exactly the kind of interpretation that annoys me on a gut level - the kind who merely shows him as an uber-cool, arrogant mastermind and brushes aside his numerous negative character traits. Yes, he's arrogant and blunt and gets on everybody's nerves, but basically I get the impression that this Sherlock merely likes to hide behind the cloak of being a "sociopath" just so he doesn't actually have to deal with people. There is nothing in his behavior that suggests actual "sociopath" or even, as he was called in the first episode, "psychopath". His bad sides consist of behaving like a child with impulse issues, and that's it. I mean, they even toned down the facet of his drug abuse to a mere nicotine addiction. =_=
I like some of their storytelling elements, like the typographic overlays they use to illustrate his observation/thinking process. Of course, they have enough scenes where these are made superfluous because directly afterwards he launches into a detailed explanation anyway. I also feel like a lot of the scenes were done with their possible comedic/entertainment value in mind, like all the Sherlock/Watson shippy references. Moriarty is an annoying twit. And I seriously do not get fandom's obsession with this version of Irene Adler. I don't get why everyone claims she is such a "strong female character". Because she really isn't that extraordinary, and I've seen much stronger and much more intricately shaped female characters. She's just different from most females on current TV because she's someone who uses sex to get what she wants. And she's merely someone who is used to being on top and acts that way. In fact, if I were to dig out the textbook definition and compare her to it, I'd probably be pretty fast to label this Irene a Mary Sue. *waits for people to dig out the pitchforks*
I still prefer "Elementary" a lot because the show and especially the characters feel a lot more real to me. I love how this Sherlock has more than enough moments where you feel like he really cannot function normally around other people. That he sort of gets them, yes, but still doesn't get them. I love how he is someone who went through really dark shit and is, as we enter the show, recovering from it. I love how he is someone who actually needs help, not just someone who works okay once he gets the right roomie.
I especially like the feeling of growth I get from these characters. How you can see the characters evolving and changing in front of you. Especially after the latest episode, where you start to get a sense that it's not just Holmes who profits and grows from the partnership with his companion, but that it's also good for Watson and changing her as a person, too. How, very subtly, the balance and the forces of movement in this partnership shifted. I like how this Watson doesn't just tag along like a vaguely annoyed puppy and then indulges the brilliant mastermind anyway, but doesn't take any of Sherlock's shit.
I also love, love, love the fact that this Sherlock actually trains his abilities of observation. He's not just brilliant out of his own accord, he works hard for it. His mind is always busy, and he purposely keeps it that way. He doesn't get bored when nothing happens - he actively keeps his thoughts occupied, and he doesn't lean back like a spoiled child until the next case is served to him on a silver platter. And I love the fact that this Sherlock feels at times so very vulnerable - something I never get from the Cumberbatch version.
Yeah, I certainly know what new episode I'm more excited about.