NP but Quality TV

[Charles Albert]

Thanks for the heads up.

love,

cfa
On Jan 1, 2016 6:13 PM, "Allan Balliett" <allan.balliett at gmail.com> wrote:

> If you're in North America, the new episode of BBC's SHERLOCK starring
> Benedict Cumberbatch will premier at 9PM on PBS. (Yes, you can stream it
> from their website)
>
> If you are in Europe, you've already missed it, of course (but it will
> show again in a couple of days)
>
> -Allan in WV where the VPN has once again come in handy and we'll be
> setting down to a meal of Hoppin' John and Sherlock in a few moments
>
> SHERLOCK: THE ABOMINABLE BRIDE SPOILER-FREE REVIEW * 01 JANUARY 2016
>
> After two years of waiting, we have taken a parallel side step that still
> propels us forwards.
>
> What transpires in this 90 minutes was so top secret the press weren't
> allowed to view the completed episode before its first airing on BBC One
> and in UK cinemas. Sherlock: The Abominable Bride is crowd pleasing and
> rather self indulgent (while all the better for it), razor sharp in the
> scripting, tangled in the narrative, occasionally broad in the comedy, all
> while capable of cutting to the heart of the characters in new and exciting
> ways.
>
> Indeed, the characterisation is resolutely familiar to the canon stories,
> while also forging ahead with the characters as we know them in the series.
> It's an incredible feat by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, playful and
> daring in equal measure. Sherlock and John are gone, Holmes and Watson are
> instead present and correct. Benedict Cumberbatch is a stiller presence as
> this version of Holmes, clipped, often polite and full of acid wit, but
> still frequently curt and losing none of the brilliance. Watson meanwhile
> is a boiling kettle of frustration coupled with gentlemanly honour and more
> human observation, clearly essential to Holmes in ways even he does not
> realise - there is genuine concern for his friend here, both emotional and
> stern, and not unwilling to stage an intervention when necessary.
>
> Always known as a television show rich in cinematic flair, The Abominable
> Bride ramps this up still further in full justification of its cinema
> release. This episode looks utterly ravishing in the hands of director
> Douglas Mackinnon, not least thanks to the work of production designer
> Arwel Jones and costume designer Sarah Arthur in ensuring that the world
> onscreen feels truly Victorian. Despite the old-fashioned looks though,
> there's no way you could mistake this story as glacial in the telling. The
> episode features some rollicking, action packed adventure, fashioned around
> a genuinely chilling ghost story that has other concerns bubbling along
> under the surface.
>
> There are numerous other observations that rocket to mind. It is
> intrinsically a cutting look at Victorian gender politics, sometimes in
> laugh out loud, show stopping form; in others, emotional tragedy.
> Appearances of numerous characters who never appeared in the trailers is a
> very conscious decision. The new, period ways of implementing the trademark
> onscreen graphics are works of subtle, clever genius. At times, it
> intentionally plays as a subversive package of greatest hits from the
> canon. And everything that occurs after an hour in we're simply desperate
> to talk about. But this is a spoiler-free review, and that first reaction
> is one to savour.
>
> We wouldn't want the series to do this forever, but we'd gladly visit
> again, from time to time.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20160101/d577fcb1/attachment.html>