Elementary, so far
Elementary tied with Life on the poll, and since I still have a few eps to go before I'm done with Life, I figured I'd start with Elementary.
I'm sure TV Tropes has a cute name for the Special Person + Ordinary Person, Together They Fight Crime! formula. It's so pervasive and durable that three out of the four shows I offered to write about fit the trope. In the TV iterations that I've watched, it's very rare for the crimes that they investigate to have anything interesting to say. Really, TXF is the only exception that comes to mind. (I guess if you stretch the formula to include Xena, that might be an exception as well. Xena sort of aspired to overarching themes, sometimes.)
Which is a long way of saying, I hardly remember any of the plots so far.
If Sherlock and Joan aren't actually *talking* (or making faces at each other), I'm not paying full attention. That's when I look down at my knitting or glance over at the pattern. So I guess there were, like, some crimes? It's unfortunate that in this reboot of one of the original detectives, a character pretty much defined by the pleasure he takes in investigating and deducing, they can't have some cases actually worth his chops, but so it goes. I wasn't expecting otherwise.
I keep watching shows like this for the interactions of the central duo. In this Elementary does not disappoint. (Well, there was the creepy thing with Joan and the Irene obsession -- glad they dropped that. Yes, Sherlock invades her boundaries way more often, way more seriously, but (a) that's exactly why I don't ship them, and (b) she's supposed to be the professional, here.)
I love that they haven't rushed the friendship so far. There really is no reason why these two *should* be friends, except for the one that Sherlock pointed out this week: Joan's inner eccentric is finally getting the chance to spread her wings, and she's finding she loves detection. I loved Sherlock's whole speech to her family, and the truth her told her later -- but I hope this moment of connection doesn't mean they'll suddenly be BFFs. I like the reserve and the prickliness, the slow discovery and gradual respect. And they both have such wonderful exasperated faces, it would be a shame to waste them.
I love what Joan's position as a professional does to the power dynamics of their relationship, the way it forces intimacy yet requires distance at the same time. I wonder if Joan and Sherlock like that about it, too -- I suspect they do. When her current term is up, will Sherlock renew her contract on his own, necessitating just a tiny adjustment to their relationship? Or will they try to transition to some sort of informal friendship? Or will he hire her as an assistant to his consulting "business"? I find that I actually care about the answer!
This entry was originally posted at http://loligo.dreamwidth.org/435641.html.
comments on that entry. Comments on Dreamwidth preferred.
I'm sure TV Tropes has a cute name for the Special Person + Ordinary Person, Together They Fight Crime! formula. It's so pervasive and durable that three out of the four shows I offered to write about fit the trope. In the TV iterations that I've watched, it's very rare for the crimes that they investigate to have anything interesting to say. Really, TXF is the only exception that comes to mind. (I guess if you stretch the formula to include Xena, that might be an exception as well. Xena sort of aspired to overarching themes, sometimes.)
Which is a long way of saying, I hardly remember any of the plots so far.
If Sherlock and Joan aren't actually *talking* (or making faces at each other), I'm not paying full attention. That's when I look down at my knitting or glance over at the pattern. So I guess there were, like, some crimes? It's unfortunate that in this reboot of one of the original detectives, a character pretty much defined by the pleasure he takes in investigating and deducing, they can't have some cases actually worth his chops, but so it goes. I wasn't expecting otherwise.
I keep watching shows like this for the interactions of the central duo. In this Elementary does not disappoint. (Well, there was the creepy thing with Joan and the Irene obsession -- glad they dropped that. Yes, Sherlock invades her boundaries way more often, way more seriously, but (a) that's exactly why I don't ship them, and (b) she's supposed to be the professional, here.)
I love that they haven't rushed the friendship so far. There really is no reason why these two *should* be friends, except for the one that Sherlock pointed out this week: Joan's inner eccentric is finally getting the chance to spread her wings, and she's finding she loves detection. I loved Sherlock's whole speech to her family, and the truth her told her later -- but I hope this moment of connection doesn't mean they'll suddenly be BFFs. I like the reserve and the prickliness, the slow discovery and gradual respect. And they both have such wonderful exasperated faces, it would be a shame to waste them.
I love what Joan's position as a professional does to the power dynamics of their relationship, the way it forces intimacy yet requires distance at the same time. I wonder if Joan and Sherlock like that about it, too -- I suspect they do. When her current term is up, will Sherlock renew her contract on his own, necessitating just a tiny adjustment to their relationship? Or will they try to transition to some sort of informal friendship? Or will he hire her as an assistant to his consulting "business"? I find that I actually care about the answer!
This entry was originally posted at http://loligo.dreamwidth.org/435641.html.
comments on that entry. Comments on Dreamwidth preferred.