TeeVee
Defiance 1.6: Kinda fillerish, IMO?
Really, except for Quentin killing the ex-mayor's sudekick, or whatever he was, nothing really happened that wasn't fairly predictable? A bit disappointed that they're apparently having Kenya fall for Nolan, as opposed to going for "friends with benefits."
Elementary 1.23-1.24: Welp, anyone doubting that this show is a decontruction of the Sherlock Holmes canon and the genius/wrangler dynamic has hopefully been convinced?
-Holmes, dear, when a woman spends a month turning you down and you accidentally pounce on her the second she walks out of her apartment, thats called stalking. (Even though it's probable that Irene was rejecting him in a way that she knew would make him keep coming back.)
-I suspected they'd do this whole thing around midseason, but dismissed it because I didn't think they'd think they could get away with going this far.
-While I get that the central focus of these episodes was on the (excellent) complete and total deconstruction one gender roles and the idea of the villainous mastermind as the prerogative of male characters, there wasn't enough Watson. The deconstruction and subversion of gender roles with Irene was more obvious than it often is with Watson, but then, they've had an entire season with Joan, and two episodes with Irene. (So, basically, I get all the people who are suddenly interested because of Irene, but you shouldnt prioritize a character who made a big splash in two episodes over a character whose been doing the same for 24, just because they made one more obvious than the other.)
-But then, part of that deconstruction was the rejection of the idea of there only being this one woman as smart as Holmes, and all the others who come close are men. Moriarty is smarter than Holmes and Watson outsmarts her. I may be in the minority, but I think the most significant line in the episodes is giving Irene the "My dear Watson" line, since (IMO) it changed the conflict from "Holmes vs Moriarty" to "Watson vs Moriarty."
-But where was Clyde? (And why didn't Bell have more lines?)
Murder on the Homefront: This is either a stealth Sherlock Holmes adaptation set in 1940 in which Watson is a female reporter who Holmes absconds with form a crime scene to make his new assistant (short version: "Hey there, you didn't faint at the sight of blood and can type. You're my new assistant!" "Uhm, what?") or a fanfic set during the Blitz in which Nancy Drew is Holmes's protegee. Either works. So, yes. Terribly short (Only two episodes! Possibly set up for sequels? That the title isn't something related to the actual mystery plot but rather to the general concept gives me hope.) BBC miniseries about a serial killer who carves swastikas on his victims' tongues and a pathologist who uses early forensics (and girl reporters) to catch him. I am exceptionally iffy on the portrayal of the sole POC in the series, but otherwise enjoyed it considerably. It would probably appeal to fans of Foyle's War and/or The Bletchley Circle, though it has a bit more action and humor than those two, and isn't quite as well written as either.
Revolution 1.18: And once again, Revolution has an episode that has little to do with the promo. (And that was a better episode than the promo would leave you to believe.)
-I can't wait to see how fandom either ignores or justifies Monroe's treatment of Nora. Because, you know they're already so good at holding him accountable for Rachel's years of imprisonment and torture and probable rape.
-Nora, naturally, is as fantabulous as ever. And I'm glad they devoted a lot of time to how the torture affected her (even if it was centered around Miles) instead of having her immediately back in mental shape, or making it all about Miless guilt about not being able to save/protect her, as a lot of shows would have done.
-BUT WHERE WAS THE CHARLIE/NORA REUNION? (Though Im going to be laughing at the people still trying to insist that Miles doesn't have strong feelings for Nora.)
-Not enough Charlie. I appear to be sad that Charlie and Jason are already on the outs, though maybe it won't last? Both of their reactions make perfect sense. (Though I'm pretty sure Tom was manipulating Jason and preying on his insecurities the second he could after that.)
-I wonder if they had Tracy Spiridakos stand on a stool to get her face mostly level with JD Pardo's for the smoochy scene. (In canon, I think Charlie just never stepped off the curb and into the street like Jason did.) Unlike most shows, the camera angles deemphasize this, but while Spiridakos isn't really short she's LITTLE. All small boned and everything. I look at pictures of the cast at conventions and events and such and the girl is always dwarfed by everyone else, especially him.
-Miles's turning so quickly on Jason, I think is related to that look he had when he was accusing Jason of leaving Charlie to die last week. (Which isn't exactly fair, as I'm pretty sure some of Jason's injuries were caused trying to get to her and the boy was pretty much just crawling and delirious, but understandable.)
-BUT RACHEL. Just walking up to Monroe all "Hi, Bass!" (One day, I need to sit down and write up my feelings about Rachel's PTSD and how it makes perfect sense for her to channel everything into her hatred of Monroe AND HOW HE DESERVES IT. I do think some of it is actually for Miles, but she can't hate him because she's relying on him to keep Charlie alive and she has to feel safe about Charlie and she can't if she's with someone she hates.)
-Really not thrilled at Jim. AT ALL. Though, we're up to 7 dead major/recurring men with names, 5 of them white dudes (plus 1 of each...I wasn't sure if Sanborn died or not), and only one dead woman.
And I think everything I'm watching except Defiance, Revolution and Continuum is on hiatus. Maybe i'll finally catch up on Bomb Girls and Nikita, not to mention the last couple episodes of Beauty and the Beast.
Really, except for Quentin killing the ex-mayor's sudekick, or whatever he was, nothing really happened that wasn't fairly predictable? A bit disappointed that they're apparently having Kenya fall for Nolan, as opposed to going for "friends with benefits."
Elementary 1.23-1.24: Welp, anyone doubting that this show is a decontruction of the Sherlock Holmes canon and the genius/wrangler dynamic has hopefully been convinced?
-Holmes, dear, when a woman spends a month turning you down and you accidentally pounce on her the second she walks out of her apartment, thats called stalking. (Even though it's probable that Irene was rejecting him in a way that she knew would make him keep coming back.)
-I suspected they'd do this whole thing around midseason, but dismissed it because I didn't think they'd think they could get away with going this far.
-While I get that the central focus of these episodes was on the (excellent) complete and total deconstruction one gender roles and the idea of the villainous mastermind as the prerogative of male characters, there wasn't enough Watson. The deconstruction and subversion of gender roles with Irene was more obvious than it often is with Watson, but then, they've had an entire season with Joan, and two episodes with Irene. (So, basically, I get all the people who are suddenly interested because of Irene, but you shouldnt prioritize a character who made a big splash in two episodes over a character whose been doing the same for 24, just because they made one more obvious than the other.)
-But then, part of that deconstruction was the rejection of the idea of there only being this one woman as smart as Holmes, and all the others who come close are men. Moriarty is smarter than Holmes and Watson outsmarts her. I may be in the minority, but I think the most significant line in the episodes is giving Irene the "My dear Watson" line, since (IMO) it changed the conflict from "Holmes vs Moriarty" to "Watson vs Moriarty."
-But where was Clyde? (And why didn't Bell have more lines?)
Murder on the Homefront: This is either a stealth Sherlock Holmes adaptation set in 1940 in which Watson is a female reporter who Holmes absconds with form a crime scene to make his new assistant (short version: "Hey there, you didn't faint at the sight of blood and can type. You're my new assistant!" "Uhm, what?") or a fanfic set during the Blitz in which Nancy Drew is Holmes's protegee. Either works. So, yes. Terribly short (Only two episodes! Possibly set up for sequels? That the title isn't something related to the actual mystery plot but rather to the general concept gives me hope.) BBC miniseries about a serial killer who carves swastikas on his victims' tongues and a pathologist who uses early forensics (and girl reporters) to catch him. I am exceptionally iffy on the portrayal of the sole POC in the series, but otherwise enjoyed it considerably. It would probably appeal to fans of Foyle's War and/or The Bletchley Circle, though it has a bit more action and humor than those two, and isn't quite as well written as either.
Revolution 1.18: And once again, Revolution has an episode that has little to do with the promo. (And that was a better episode than the promo would leave you to believe.)
-I can't wait to see how fandom either ignores or justifies Monroe's treatment of Nora. Because, you know they're already so good at holding him accountable for Rachel's years of imprisonment and torture and probable rape.
-Nora, naturally, is as fantabulous as ever. And I'm glad they devoted a lot of time to how the torture affected her (even if it was centered around Miles) instead of having her immediately back in mental shape, or making it all about Miless guilt about not being able to save/protect her, as a lot of shows would have done.
-BUT WHERE WAS THE CHARLIE/NORA REUNION? (Though Im going to be laughing at the people still trying to insist that Miles doesn't have strong feelings for Nora.)
-Not enough Charlie. I appear to be sad that Charlie and Jason are already on the outs, though maybe it won't last? Both of their reactions make perfect sense. (Though I'm pretty sure Tom was manipulating Jason and preying on his insecurities the second he could after that.)
-I wonder if they had Tracy Spiridakos stand on a stool to get her face mostly level with JD Pardo's for the smoochy scene. (In canon, I think Charlie just never stepped off the curb and into the street like Jason did.) Unlike most shows, the camera angles deemphasize this, but while Spiridakos isn't really short she's LITTLE. All small boned and everything. I look at pictures of the cast at conventions and events and such and the girl is always dwarfed by everyone else, especially him.
-Miles's turning so quickly on Jason, I think is related to that look he had when he was accusing Jason of leaving Charlie to die last week. (Which isn't exactly fair, as I'm pretty sure some of Jason's injuries were caused trying to get to her and the boy was pretty much just crawling and delirious, but understandable.)
-BUT RACHEL. Just walking up to Monroe all "Hi, Bass!" (One day, I need to sit down and write up my feelings about Rachel's PTSD and how it makes perfect sense for her to channel everything into her hatred of Monroe AND HOW HE DESERVES IT. I do think some of it is actually for Miles, but she can't hate him because she's relying on him to keep Charlie alive and she has to feel safe about Charlie and she can't if she's with someone she hates.)
-Really not thrilled at Jim. AT ALL. Though, we're up to 7 dead major/recurring men with names, 5 of them white dudes (plus 1 of each...I wasn't sure if Sanborn died or not), and only one dead woman.
And I think everything I'm watching except Defiance, Revolution and Continuum is on hiatus. Maybe i'll finally catch up on Bomb Girls and Nikita, not to mention the last couple episodes of Beauty and the Beast.