Supernatural and Sherlock Reviews
Nov. 1st, 2010 04:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatHaving a bit of a lazy day today. Wherein I did a vaccumned, cleaned my bathroom by spraying tilex all over the tub, ate fresh homemade marshemellows (note to self marshmellows are now officially on your do not buy list - I bought fresh homemade marshmellows - I didn't make them), did some painting or watercoloring, read, and marathon watched five episodes of Supernatural...while basking in the sun that is pouring in through my windows like a cat. (there's a reason I don't call myself shadowdog, outside of the fact that it sounds really really stupid.)
Saw Sherlock last night - was not as good as the opening episode. But then it was also written by someone other than Moffat. The mystery - I figured out way before Sherlock did, which is never a good thing. (Although I sort of figured out last week's mystery before Sherlock too, but that at least worked on a character level and made sense. This week not as much. ie - there was more chewy character stuff last week and less stupid mystery stuff, this week it's the opposite.) The moment Sherlock saw the picture of the boy and girl - I knew it was her brother and probably a smuggling ring, just not sure why Sherlock didn't figure it out. (Shrugs).
Outside of that? I rather enjoyed the episode. The two characters/actors have great chemistry. Although I'm not so sure Watson is going to get that second date, he may however get to keep his job - at least she knows now why he's falling asleep at work. I loved her exchange with the mighty Sherlock..."So you basically solve puzzles for a living?" Sherlock - "No, I'm a police consultant."
I think one of the reasons Sherlock is so fascinating is Doyle based him on a real person, Bell, his teacher and the physician to Queen Victoria. He basically wrote what he knew...and that made the character in some respects three dimensional.
Supernatural - I enjoyed as well, more than I thought I would. I don't do scary well, but Supernatural outside of maybe two-three episodes during the first three seasons, doesn't tend to scare me.
Here's a mini discussion between Momster and I over the phone, regarding horror films, tv shows and books. Momster isn't scared by horror. Grossed out occassionally. But that's it.
Me: Horror shows don't scare you, do they? I mean you weren't phased by Jaws or Alien at all.
Momster: Nope. Poltergeist didn't bother me either. It's rare that something does - usually pyschological horror, if that.
Me: Why?
Momster: Because I know it's not real.
Me: But.. How do you know it's not real? It could be real. You have no evidence that it isn't. It is totally possible that an alien creature could impregnant someone and leap out and devour everyone in sight, and that ghosts have taken over a house, or...see this is the problem with having a vivid imagination...
What works best for me in Supernatural is actually what works best for me in Sherlock - the B plot-line about the characters, not the mystery of the week plotline (which often serves as a way of exploring them further - if done right, which it is in shows like Supernatural.).
The story here is basically the "bro-romance". That's all this show is at its heart of hearts, one big long bro-romance. If you don't like that sort of thing? You won't like Supernatural.
So why are you hanging out here reading this review? Go away. Shoo! I don't discuss stuff I don't like. If I don't like it, I probably rarely if ever mention it. Not good for the blood-pressure.[Note I don't dislike or hate the Buffy comics - I'm frustrated with the Buffy comics, because I actually do like portions of them, but they are disappointing me, because there's so much potential and the stupid writer is falling down on the job. That's different than ranting about something you dislike or hate. Just in case you were wondering not that you were...but just in case. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.]
That bro-romance to give Supernatural a lot of credit is explored through various characters, and its effects on those characters. As Lisa, Dean's significant other and female partner, states in a rare and somewhat painful moment of truth - caused by the Goddess Veritas- "I had you as long as Sam was dead, the moment he came back, I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost you to him again. As long as you are with Sam - you will be miserable. You're never going to be happy
with him. You're relationship is so co-dependent, and so twisted." She pauses, realizing what she just said. "That came out completely wrong. I'm sorry. I...look I love my sister too, but if she died, I wouldn't go and try to bring her back to life."
His relationship with Sam, who in some respects is his son as well as his brother - considering he was forced to raise Sam on the road, with a father who was seldom there, is destroying his life.
But it's not that simple. By the same token Sam has saved his life, and he has saved Sam. They are entwined. Soul mates.
Their relationship is echoed by Bobby and Rufus - the two old hunters, except that's a far less destructive relationship and more of a friendship. Or better yet the Angels - Castiel and Balthazar (now played by one of my favorite actors), and Rafael. Cas who loves and hates his brothers. Is disappointed in them. And struggling to care, beaten down, he's not sure he can, anymore, while his brothers clearly don't. Cas is an echo of Dean, who is equally beaten down.
"I'm just a killer, a hunter - I can't be a family man, a father, that was the lie I told myself."
Working backwards over the episodes...my favorite may well be the character sketch on Bobby, portrayed by the brilliant character actor Jim Beaver. It was well written and provided closure on one of the hanging subplots from the previous season - Bobby had sold his soul to Crowley in order to walk. Now he wants his soul back. So he calls up Crowley to try and get it. Crowely basically laughs at him and says uh, no. We learn in a previous episode why Crowley cares - apparently human souls are a hot commodity, so hot that Angels are bargaining to get them - which is basically Balthazar's rap right now with all the Archangel weapons - which he's selling to humans in exchange for their souls. Crowley being the King of the Damned...is being particular. He got a promotion after Lucifer got put away. And things aren't as great as he thought they'd be. Apparently Crowley is having some of the same issues as well, Castiel, regarding personnel. It's not as easy to keep a bunch of powerful beings in line as one might think. Freedom is a double-edge sword. Where's God in all this? The characters keep wondering. Well, God's the writer and like most writer's - God tends to like to see how thing play out if pulls this story thread or adds that one. And no, the writer isn't going to appear to his characters and let them talk to him - be headache inducing for one thing, plus the characters would basically all whine about being made the way they are. Why'd you make me short? Why'd you make me be the one who drank the demon blood? etc.
Anywho...Bobby is one busy guy. Besides keeping his town safe (his relationship with the local Sheriff reminded me a little of Murphy and Harry Dresden's early relationship), he's flirting with a single lady in town, doing research for Sam and Dean and all the other hunters, taking all their phone calls, being their cover, burying bodies, etc. And now, trying to find a way to trick Crowley into giving him back his soul.
We find out almost as much about Crowley and what demons are in this verse as we do about Bobby.
Crowley was a 16th Century Tailor who sold his soul for a bigger dick. Literally. Size apparently matters to some people. His son Gavin hated him. Bobby resurrects the ghost of Crowley's son to find Crowley's resting place. Which he does. And the bones. He trades Crowley's bones for his soul.
Apparently demons aren't that different than ghosts - all you need to do to get rid of them is burn their bones. As Bobby states, "in the end you are just spirits, just a bit more twisted up inside than the original variety, but that's it." By exorcising Crowley, Bobby does some exorcising of his own..,to a degree.
Dean, meanwhile is struggling...he loves his family and wants the family, which he acknowledges isn't his, but feels like his all the same. Like Bobby, he too wants the normal life. (The life most of us take for granted.) And Dean is a good father to Ben and a good husband. But he's also a wreck and Lisa realizes fairly rapidly that Dean is correct - he can't be in her life and be a hunter. He'll bring it home to her, Sam, all of it. When he's almost turned into a vampire - he almost hurts Ben...just a shove to protect the boy - but it is enough to spark Lisa's radar.
She sees the danger finally.
But what about Sam - who has come back odd. He no longer seems to care about anything or fear anything. Dean who fears everything - because he has a lot to lose and has lost a lot, is a bundle of fear and emotion, while Sam is not. Sam allows Dean to be half-turned into a vamp - in order to get inside the stronghold. And he brings the Jin to Dean's door. He tells Dean in the first episode that he needs him, but not why...yet over the course of the episodes we begin to realize it is to a degree to act as his conscience, someone who cares. Samuel - the grandfather for whom he was named, and the other hunters aren't like Dean, they don't care in the same way Dean does.
Dean wears his heart on his sleeve. And Sam hopes that Dean may be able to help him or tell him that he's okay. He's not of course...he can lie without Veritas affecting it, and he does not appear to care about anyone. But why...
Dean fed up...finally, with losing his family, losing his hope for one, hauled back into this life by a brother - who he can't trust any longer, punchs Sam silly. Pounding all his rage and frustration into the man who pulled him away from his life, yet at the same time gave him that life. The push-me, pull-me dynamic...is fascinating to me. And realistic.
The thing about horror - is it only really works if you care about the main characters, if you don't it is neither scary nor moving...here, it works because I care about Sam and Dean.
Saw Sherlock last night - was not as good as the opening episode. But then it was also written by someone other than Moffat. The mystery - I figured out way before Sherlock did, which is never a good thing. (Although I sort of figured out last week's mystery before Sherlock too, but that at least worked on a character level and made sense. This week not as much. ie - there was more chewy character stuff last week and less stupid mystery stuff, this week it's the opposite.) The moment Sherlock saw the picture of the boy and girl - I knew it was her brother and probably a smuggling ring, just not sure why Sherlock didn't figure it out. (Shrugs).
Outside of that? I rather enjoyed the episode. The two characters/actors have great chemistry. Although I'm not so sure Watson is going to get that second date, he may however get to keep his job - at least she knows now why he's falling asleep at work. I loved her exchange with the mighty Sherlock..."So you basically solve puzzles for a living?" Sherlock - "No, I'm a police consultant."
I think one of the reasons Sherlock is so fascinating is Doyle based him on a real person, Bell, his teacher and the physician to Queen Victoria. He basically wrote what he knew...and that made the character in some respects three dimensional.
Supernatural - I enjoyed as well, more than I thought I would. I don't do scary well, but Supernatural outside of maybe two-three episodes during the first three seasons, doesn't tend to scare me.
Here's a mini discussion between Momster and I over the phone, regarding horror films, tv shows and books. Momster isn't scared by horror. Grossed out occassionally. But that's it.
Me: Horror shows don't scare you, do they? I mean you weren't phased by Jaws or Alien at all.
Momster: Nope. Poltergeist didn't bother me either. It's rare that something does - usually pyschological horror, if that.
Me: Why?
Momster: Because I know it's not real.
Me: But.. How do you know it's not real? It could be real. You have no evidence that it isn't. It is totally possible that an alien creature could impregnant someone and leap out and devour everyone in sight, and that ghosts have taken over a house, or...see this is the problem with having a vivid imagination...
What works best for me in Supernatural is actually what works best for me in Sherlock - the B plot-line about the characters, not the mystery of the week plotline (which often serves as a way of exploring them further - if done right, which it is in shows like Supernatural.).
The story here is basically the "bro-romance". That's all this show is at its heart of hearts, one big long bro-romance. If you don't like that sort of thing? You won't like Supernatural.
So why are you hanging out here reading this review? Go away. Shoo! I don't discuss stuff I don't like. If I don't like it, I probably rarely if ever mention it. Not good for the blood-pressure.[Note I don't dislike or hate the Buffy comics - I'm frustrated with the Buffy comics, because I actually do like portions of them, but they are disappointing me, because there's so much potential and the stupid writer is falling down on the job. That's different than ranting about something you dislike or hate. Just in case you were wondering not that you were...but just in case. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.]
That bro-romance to give Supernatural a lot of credit is explored through various characters, and its effects on those characters. As Lisa, Dean's significant other and female partner, states in a rare and somewhat painful moment of truth - caused by the Goddess Veritas- "I had you as long as Sam was dead, the moment he came back, I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost you to him again. As long as you are with Sam - you will be miserable. You're never going to be happy
with him. You're relationship is so co-dependent, and so twisted." She pauses, realizing what she just said. "That came out completely wrong. I'm sorry. I...look I love my sister too, but if she died, I wouldn't go and try to bring her back to life."
His relationship with Sam, who in some respects is his son as well as his brother - considering he was forced to raise Sam on the road, with a father who was seldom there, is destroying his life.
But it's not that simple. By the same token Sam has saved his life, and he has saved Sam. They are entwined. Soul mates.
Their relationship is echoed by Bobby and Rufus - the two old hunters, except that's a far less destructive relationship and more of a friendship. Or better yet the Angels - Castiel and Balthazar (now played by one of my favorite actors), and Rafael. Cas who loves and hates his brothers. Is disappointed in them. And struggling to care, beaten down, he's not sure he can, anymore, while his brothers clearly don't. Cas is an echo of Dean, who is equally beaten down.
"I'm just a killer, a hunter - I can't be a family man, a father, that was the lie I told myself."
Working backwards over the episodes...my favorite may well be the character sketch on Bobby, portrayed by the brilliant character actor Jim Beaver. It was well written and provided closure on one of the hanging subplots from the previous season - Bobby had sold his soul to Crowley in order to walk. Now he wants his soul back. So he calls up Crowley to try and get it. Crowely basically laughs at him and says uh, no. We learn in a previous episode why Crowley cares - apparently human souls are a hot commodity, so hot that Angels are bargaining to get them - which is basically Balthazar's rap right now with all the Archangel weapons - which he's selling to humans in exchange for their souls. Crowley being the King of the Damned...is being particular. He got a promotion after Lucifer got put away. And things aren't as great as he thought they'd be. Apparently Crowley is having some of the same issues as well, Castiel, regarding personnel. It's not as easy to keep a bunch of powerful beings in line as one might think. Freedom is a double-edge sword. Where's God in all this? The characters keep wondering. Well, God's the writer and like most writer's - God tends to like to see how thing play out if pulls this story thread or adds that one. And no, the writer isn't going to appear to his characters and let them talk to him - be headache inducing for one thing, plus the characters would basically all whine about being made the way they are. Why'd you make me short? Why'd you make me be the one who drank the demon blood? etc.
Anywho...Bobby is one busy guy. Besides keeping his town safe (his relationship with the local Sheriff reminded me a little of Murphy and Harry Dresden's early relationship), he's flirting with a single lady in town, doing research for Sam and Dean and all the other hunters, taking all their phone calls, being their cover, burying bodies, etc. And now, trying to find a way to trick Crowley into giving him back his soul.
We find out almost as much about Crowley and what demons are in this verse as we do about Bobby.
Crowley was a 16th Century Tailor who sold his soul for a bigger dick. Literally. Size apparently matters to some people. His son Gavin hated him. Bobby resurrects the ghost of Crowley's son to find Crowley's resting place. Which he does. And the bones. He trades Crowley's bones for his soul.
Apparently demons aren't that different than ghosts - all you need to do to get rid of them is burn their bones. As Bobby states, "in the end you are just spirits, just a bit more twisted up inside than the original variety, but that's it." By exorcising Crowley, Bobby does some exorcising of his own..,to a degree.
Dean, meanwhile is struggling...he loves his family and wants the family, which he acknowledges isn't his, but feels like his all the same. Like Bobby, he too wants the normal life. (The life most of us take for granted.) And Dean is a good father to Ben and a good husband. But he's also a wreck and Lisa realizes fairly rapidly that Dean is correct - he can't be in her life and be a hunter. He'll bring it home to her, Sam, all of it. When he's almost turned into a vampire - he almost hurts Ben...just a shove to protect the boy - but it is enough to spark Lisa's radar.
She sees the danger finally.
But what about Sam - who has come back odd. He no longer seems to care about anything or fear anything. Dean who fears everything - because he has a lot to lose and has lost a lot, is a bundle of fear and emotion, while Sam is not. Sam allows Dean to be half-turned into a vamp - in order to get inside the stronghold. And he brings the Jin to Dean's door. He tells Dean in the first episode that he needs him, but not why...yet over the course of the episodes we begin to realize it is to a degree to act as his conscience, someone who cares. Samuel - the grandfather for whom he was named, and the other hunters aren't like Dean, they don't care in the same way Dean does.
Dean wears his heart on his sleeve. And Sam hopes that Dean may be able to help him or tell him that he's okay. He's not of course...he can lie without Veritas affecting it, and he does not appear to care about anyone. But why...
Dean fed up...finally, with losing his family, losing his hope for one, hauled back into this life by a brother - who he can't trust any longer, punchs Sam silly. Pounding all his rage and frustration into the man who pulled him away from his life, yet at the same time gave him that life. The push-me, pull-me dynamic...is fascinating to me. And realistic.
The thing about horror - is it only really works if you care about the main characters, if you don't it is neither scary nor moving...here, it works because I care about Sam and Dean.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 10:41 pm (UTC)Ah. This was the episode that everyone was upset with and ranting about online? I get it now.
Agreed. The mystery sucked. It was so stereotypical and predictable, also a bit cliche. (I've seen that story done before one too many times.) The only part of the mystery that worked was the bit with the bank (or his interactions with the bank).
Who was the writer? I think he may be the same one who does the atrocious Doctor Who episodes. It wasn't Stephen Moffat or Mark Gattis. Was someone else.
The only good portions of the episode were the bits that had zip to do with the mystery and focused on Watson/Sherlock or Watson/Sherlock and Watson's girlfriend (whose name escapes me). That saved it for me.
Shame there's only three so far, and one sucked. Hoping PBS picks up the rights to the rest of them. Watching this on PBS is so much better than BBCAmerica and Syfy - a) no commericial interruptions, b) Alan Cumming introductions with nifty historical tidbits about Conan Doyle, and c)unedited.