Sherlock Season 4 thoughts

[mariole]

Hi, Sherlockians!
I watched Season 4 with hope in my heart and fingers crossed. While there were some things to like in every episode, my overall reaction was:
Season 4 Episode:
1. Not Sherlock
2. Yay, a new Sherlock episode!
3. Not Sherlock

Comments

[addie71]

God, I love you! This is so spot on.

[mariole]

(((Addie!!!) *gloms onto you*

Thank you for reading this rather exhaustive analysis. There's nothing like sharing one's love of literature and good shows, and what makes them work, with those who love them also. RELIEF! *sigh*

[addie71]

Added: This is freaking brilliant! It is!

[aussiepeach]

I agree about Mary, it has never been explained how Sherlock missed that. If there are future episodes I hope we do get a return to the basics!

[mariole]

The good news is that they appear to be "resetting" the show to go back to the good old Watson/Holmes dynamic. Let's hope they do, and bring back the fun!

[illariy]

I have not seen the new season yet because I prefer to watch TV with friends and we are watching Game of Thrones now first (are on ep. 7 of season 1 so a long way to go there!) but of course I couldn't resist clicking to read your thoughts.

This makes me want to re-read Ender's Game and read Speaker for the Dead for the first time. :D (Despite Orson Scott Card's fail in other areas...)

Now I am not certain I want to watch season 4 at all... maybe the second ep but the rest? Not sure. I did not enjoy season 3 (especially because I also believe if Sherlock was a true genius he should've seen through Mary) and I had hoped they would recover the spirit of the first two seasons for this last one. Well, it appears not.

Also, I agree Spock's emotionality in the Reboot was way overdone. I also feel the Reboot movies rely too much on action on the detriment of character development. The original series was a lot brainier and posed actual dilemmas.

[mariole]

I should be fairer to the newest Star Trek reboot. To me, the third film, Star Trek Beyond, was a return to form. Yes, too much shaky-cam way too tight on the action scenes, but a strong new character, lots of great teamwork, and a terrific theme. Brilliant solution to the "bees" problem! :)

> (Despite Orson Scott Card's fail in other areas...)
Oh, so much fail. But these 2 books were his best (before I stopped reading him).

I've been thinking, and I'm sure you can enjoy S4e2 as a standalone. If you want to go that way, just read a summary of the first one. Ep2 will end on a high note, you can smile quietly to yourself, and go about your day, unplagued by the rest. Actually, a pretty good solution.

Of course, other people like certain episodes more than others. I'd put all of S3 & S4 below S1 & S2 (and Abominable Bride below them all), but this one episode I'd rate higher than Hounds. So it meets that bar, FWIW.

[mariole]

(((Poil!)))

Yeah, I think Gatiss is the horror buff-- he did Hounds, also, with all it's jump scares et al. Sherlock isn't about horror. I know the modern movies sometimes trend that way, but it always weakens the story. Sherlock is better when he's more Columbo than Twilight Zone.

As for the dysfunctional family-- er, is that why _anybody_ tuned in? "Hey, want to watch some Sherlock made-up family angst and no mystery? Sign me up!" So, yeah.

I was disappointed at the beginning of S3, because the writers didn't properly address the hiatus or the reunion. It was just nonsense that never was resolved. Maybe someone else can pick up the torch, because that whole acting team is incredible and really works well together. Ah, well. We shall see.

So good to see you! *bounce*

[ancalime8301]

I have long enjoyed reading the Sherlock fanfic more than watching the actual show (but have more or less moved into Marvel movie fandom, or at least that's the fic that's insisting upon being written at the moment! I was quite... taken... with Captain America: Civil War). I haven't watched the new episodes yet, but am wary because of the reactions I've been seeing. I appreciate your analysis despite not having seen the episodes, though, so thanks for that. I'm sure I'll watch the episodes eventually, I'm just in no hurry, haha. The show's inability to maintain a high bar makes me a little nervous about a Sherlock Holmes 3 movie, if they ever manage to make one. But then, I'm more fond of RDJ's Holmes than Cumberbatch's, so maybe I'll be okay. ;-)