Psych-Lock

So I've been doing a lot of blogging lately about Sherlock Holmes.  First, I posted about all the incarnations of the character (House, Sherlock, Elementary, ext) and I followed Elementary like a good little member of the new fandom.  But, with Elementary's season over, BBC's Sherlock still in production and a third Sherlock Holmes movie barely out of the gate I began to feel a void in my life.  Then it hit me as I set my DVR to record tonight's episode of Psych... Psych basically is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes!  Don't believe me?  Read out doubter, read on!

Shawn Spencer/Sherlock Holmes:  Shawn Spencer is the Psych's crime solving genius.  Like Sherlock, he sees everything and can deduce things at a moments notice.  Now Shawn is not an addict or a completely antisocial, conceited, sociopath, but he has his own way of pushing people away.  First of all, Shawn is overconfident, feigning psychic powers in order to be a detective on his own terms.  Like Sherlock being the police's Consulting Detective, Shawn is the SBPD's psychic detective.  Shawn is immature, rude, sloppy, takes nothing seriously and does his best to get on people's nerves, but no matter what, at the end of the day, he always solves the case.  Sound familiar?

Burton Guster/Doctor Watson:  No, Gus isn't a doctor, but he does work for pharmaceutical company.  Like Watson, Gus is the only character that connects with and can kind of sort of control Shawn.  Gus, like Watson with Sherlock, gets easily annoyed with Shawn, but for some reason sticks by him not matter how bad it gets.  Shawn often degrades Gus, puts him in horrifying situations and still Gus is always there for him.  Also like Watson, Gus often uses his knowledge of medicine to help Shawn with cases he works on.  In some ways, Gus's mind is more like Sherlock's as he has incredible knowledge of seemingly everything but, he doesn't have the same ability to make the deductions Shawn can.

Juliet O'Hara/Irene Adler:  Juliet is not only Shawn's love interest, but the only one on the police force who can really go toe to toe with Shawn.  SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCH THIS SEASON  Juliet is the only person who figures out Shawn's big psychic secret.  Like Irene, Juliet is smart, cunning, bold, and making a name for herself in what is considered a man's world.  

Henry Spencer/Mycroft Holmes:  Henry is Shawn's dad who taught him everything he knows.  Like Mycroft, Henry is even headed, cool and stern.  Also like Mycroft, Henry is not only just as smart as Shawn,  but one of the few people who can talk to him reasonably.  Henry was once a high ranking police officer, but is no retired and often just wants to stay out of the messes Shawn makes, but almost invariably gets pulled in.

Carlton Lassiter/A Combination of Inspectors:  So in the Sherlock Holmes books there are several Inspectors, all of which have a different relationship with the consulting detective.  Like in BBC's Sherlock's Sargent Sally Donovan, or even the books Inspector Bradstreet, Lassiter acknowledges that Shawn is good at what he does, but has no tolerance for his tom foolery.  Lassiter in his own right is a smart and capable detective, but Shawn constantly one-ups and insults him.  The Lassiter Shawn relationship is a love/hate thing for sure.

Chief Karen Vick/Inspector Lestrade:  Like Lestrade, Vick has little to no patience for Shawn.  She knows that he is the best and will most likely be the only one who can solve the most complicated cases, but God does Shawn drive her crazy.

Mr. Yang/Moriarty:  Mr. Yang is a serial killer who nearly destroyed Shawn's world twice.  Yang is an genius, his/her mind the only one to ever challenge Shawn.  Like Moriarty, Yang becomes obsessed with Shawn and challenges him personally.  The only times Shawn has nearly fail have been at Mr. Yang's hands. Yang and Shawn nearly destroy each other, but like Sherlock, Shawn eventually does prevail, but not without some major losses.

So there you have it.  I'm positive I haven't stumbled onto anything new, but I'm really missing having Sherlock Holmes in my life.  Hope you enjoyed!

Elementary: Miss Hudson The New Transexual Voice On American TV

As if I couldn't love and respect this show more for breaking the boundaries of whats on typical American network TV, Elementary does it again.  First, they change Doctor Watson from a stuffy dude, to a stuffy dude-ette, an Asian women no less, one of the least represented cultures on American TV, then they update a classic nearly flawlessly, give the fantastic Johnny Lee Miller a platform to be brilliant, and now, NOW they have cast a transgendered woman to play one of the most beloved Shelock Holmes characters Miss Hudson.  How can you not love it?

Meet Candis Cayne, formally Brendan McDaniel, a very successful transgender actress.  This is the kind of confidence, talent and bravery that doesn't get awarded enough in the country.  Bravo CBS, you have just done something no network show has successfully done.  You have cast a LGBT actor in a role where they are neither the victim nor the comic relief, she's just a normal person.  Yes, they make it known that she was once a man but it is quickly breezed over it.  It doesn't really matter and I LOVE it!  And she's some kind of genius   Oh I am loving this, I am eating this up!  That's right CBS, Bravo!  And not to mention, Cayne is FABULOUS.  I mean, yes she is gorgeous, see above picture, but she is a talented actress.  The scene where she Sherlock's apartment was my favorite part of this very blah episode.

Tonight's episode "Snow Angels" may not have been a knock out episode, but the introduction of Miss Hudson made it for me.  I hope to see her in many more episodes now that she is going to be the housekeeper at the Sherlock/Watson abode, especially because she has great chemistry with both Miller AND Liu.  In fact, I find her repartee with Liu a lot of fun, I can see them having a great girls night out.  Can you see a Joan Watson/Miss Hudson get their kiki on.  I can.

Jonny Lee Miller, You Elegant Genius You

That's right!  You lay there and look smug!  You deserve it.  Every episode I become more and more in love with Miller's portrayal of Shelock Holmes.  Now, I'm not going to lie, I worried for Miller.  Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant at playing Sherlock, but Miller's Sherlock is not only different than Cumberbatch's virginal more analytically minded Holmes, but just as brilliant.  If you are not watching this show, you really are missing out.

Tonight Sherlock gave an impassioned speech to Watson, admitting that not only had he known that she wasn't being paid to be his sober companion anymore, but that he tried to push her away.  It was beautiful.  Then when he turned around and asked her be his partner!  Oh!  So lovely!  When he said "I'm better with you," my heart literally melted.  I am dead now.

This plot is leading to an obvious romance between Sherlock and Watson, but when?  Who knows!  Are they going to go Bones style and wait 6 seasons to start the romance?  I kind of hope so, they can't jump the shark, the show is too good.  This works out really well for Liu's character as well.  Now that she has finally admitted she loves Sherlock's work she has really opened up.  It seems that the shell around her character has cracked and when she hit Sherlock with a basketball and said "It could have been a knife" I saw light at the end of the tunnel in Liu's close to the cuff performance.

But back to Miller. I haven't seen many of his movies, but I must get on it because I really am falling for his simple and elegant performance style.  I adored his last American show Eli Stone.  The only reason that show failed was due to the unfortunate writers strike which also took down the brilliant Pushing Daisies.  Eli Stone was another beautiful performance from Miller, who also delivers a near perfect American accent.  I implore you to give me recommendations for other Miller performances, I have seen Dracula 2000, Aeon Flux and Dark Shadows.

In conclusion:  NATIONAL THEATRE PLEASE LET AMERICANS SEE FRANKENSTEIN, GIVE US THE DVD!!!!  I MUST SEE MILLER AND CUMBERBATCH TOGETHER!  PLEASE!

Forget James Bond, Hellloooo Sherlock Holmes

This image is missing a few people, don't don't you worry you're pretty little heads my dear darling readers, I'll get there.

Back in 2006 the iconic British Spy James Bond came back, and this time he was Blonde, James Blonde, and just a sexy as ever.  I myself have never been a Bond girl, literally and figuratively.  He's kind of boring, just a bunch of shooting and drinking, with the occasional tumble in the sheets.  Let's be honest, M is really the sexy brains of the operation.  But Sherlock Holmes was already stirring in the background, quietly waiting in the wings under the alias of Gregory House, sparking something I hardly think anybody expected.

That's right!  I credit the whole Sherlock resurgence with Hugh Laurie as the infamous House MD.  With Gregory House as Sherlock Holmes, James Wilson as John Watson and Lisa Cuddy in an Irene Adler/Mrs. Hudson-esque role.  We even had a bit of a Moriorty in House's season long nemesis Tritter.   America, and very quickly most of the world, fell in love with the pill popping, sarcastic, never clean shaven, constantly rude genius, falling equally in love with the man who stayed by his side despite it all, Wilson, played beautifully by Robert Sean Leonard.  I'm not sure that even the people at Fox realized how huge the show would be, but season after season viewers loyally watched, even if the show went a bit downhill around season 5 when the it took a dark turn.  But why... WHY do we love this terrible terrible man?  Yes he saves lives, but often at the expense of not only his own team, but the patients themselves!  Is it just because we are waiting for the moments that he shows glimpses of humanity through he gruff exterior?  But with House a spark went off, a spark that led to a very new adaption of the actual Sherlock Holmes.

While House MD continued on, the people at Warner Brothers got their hands on a screenplay and ran with it.  House was working out rather well, and Holmes hadn't been put on film with any sort of seriousness since maybe the 50s so, why not?  Using the brilliant directorial talents of Guy Ritchie and a perfect storm of actors, new life was breathed into Arthur Conan Doyle's dusty character.  Robert Downey Jr was perfect for the role, being somewhat similar to Sherlock himself.  He is a genius on film, maybe not in the same way as Holmes but still, and Downey has been known for his snarky attitude, past bad behavior and lets not forget drug addiction.  Let's be honest  it really works.  So with his equally sexy counterpart Jude Law as Watson, well ladies and gentlemen we have a movie!  And this is not the boring Holmes of yesteryear!  No!  This is action packed steampunk Sherlock Holmes!  And the sequel did not disappoint, bring the steampunk themes out full force with Gatling guns blowing trees apart!  Fantastic!  But again!  Shelock Holmes is kind of a huge dick.  A huge dick with the mind of a computer, but he's spends a good part of the films poisoning Watson's dog, trying to ruin Watsons marriage and blowing apart their home.  And yet we still love him!

Hello Sexy.  Steven Moffet you wonderful creature you.  Teaming up and nerd-ing out with the equally genius Mark Gatiss to give us a whole new and very modern Shelock.  The love that Moffet and Gatiss have for Doyle's work is evident in every frame of this show, from the sets to the actors they choose.  The update is nearly flawless, Martin Freeman playing possibly my favorite Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch bringing his brilliant talent to the role (fyi if you haven't seen him play Stephen Hawking, please do because it's one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on TV, next to Claire Danes as Temple Grandin).  Cumberbatch by far plays the most removed Holmes, his genius out doing all of the other Holmes' I've described so far, but he also seems the most heartless.  This Holmes has no idea how to be human, even being described as a virgin as sex isn't necessary for his mind to solve puzzles.  We yearn for the moments when he breaks and becomes nearly human for the love of John, Mrs. Hudson and of course the love of his life Irene Adler.  Cumberbatch and Freeman play brilliantly off each other, Freeman constantly reminding Cumberbatch what social protocols are, pleading with Holmes not to leave severed body parts in the fridge or not to openly point out other's failings or not do a happy dance every time somebody ends up dead.  And here we are again, falling in love with a man who often more cruel than he is kind, but we worship him.

Step in CBS.  It worked for the BBC, lets do this.  Thus, Elementary was born, and if you can't have Benedict Cumberbatch, the next best actor you can grab is the ever brilliant Johnny Lee Miller.  As I have mentioned in other blog posts, Cumberbatch and Miller switched off roles as Frankenstein and his monster.  I've only seen bits and pieces, but Miller is fabulous, moving his body gorgeously as the monster, but he was so different from Cumberbatch's monster... that's what made the switch off brilliant.  Both actors played the same part so differently the show stayed fresh every night.  The same can be said for Elementary.  Miller may be playing the same character, but it's so unique you can't point you're finger and the TV and yell "He's not Ben!"  Elementary is another modern telling of the Doyle story.  In this version, Sherlock is a recovering addict and Liu plays his addiction councilor as the first female version of Watson.  Shelock is living in NY and helping the police while dealing with demons from his past.  Miller's Sherlock is a little more human emotionally than others, but is still ever the total tool, being rude to everybody in his path.  This show is relativity new, but already gaining notoriety... but again, why, why?

In the last 10 years we have seen more of Sherlock Holmes than any other re-inventable character, including James Bond.  But what is it about this character that we all love so much?  So much so that I haven't be able to take a single Shelock Holmes novel out of the library without being on a ridiculous wait list.  After finishing the book I just started I plan on breaking down and buying one.  But what exactly is it about the character that we love so much?  By all accounts he should be repulsive, but no, the more he pushing the more we want him.  Is it his relationship with Watson that we adore?  How Watson is able to bring real emotion to the seemingly uncaring man?  Or is it his genius, his ability to see more than we could ever dream of.  For Christ sake I don't even notice if my own shoe is untied half the time.  Maybe we watch just to see those moments of humanity and love that so contrast the Holmes we know.  Maybe it's just that they get such hot actors to play the same man.  That could be it.  No matter what, I have yet to find a Sherlock/John that I don't love, so keep it coming Hollywood/BBC, I want more!