Elementary 4.17
Mar. 21st, 2016 02:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakComics related icon in honor of the episode's case of the week, featuring not one but two Henry Hellrung-esque characters, and Paul Cornell, who wrote it.
That was adorable, and such a fannish episode, in every sense. Including inner show continuity. Remember when Drew Goddard joined the Buffy scriptwriters team in season 7 and suddenly we got Selfless, aka the Anya episode which for the first time brought up something that happened in season 2, to which, hte famous Lie (of Xander's, re: Willow's message). In the Elementary case, Paul Cornell brings up something not mentioned since it was introduced in s2, i.e., Joan having the Homeless as one of her causes.
Then there was Sherlock's list of dramatic comic book hero's death, capped by his "personal favourite", aka the ACD written original death for Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls. (All the other deaths sound familiar, too, but rl business doesn't leave me the time to reflect on which death belongs to whom.)
And most of all: the case of the week for the first time in eons being really emotionally rivetting. Trust a comics book writer to manage this. Cornell being the author, of course i knew that the passionate fan wouldn't be the murderer, because he takes fans seriously and doesn't take those kind of cheap potshots, but that didn't make it less interesting. It's a very positive portrayal of fandom in general (the two superhero impersonators both being good people, with our red herring of a suspect also being the kind of fan being put off by the late 80s/early 90s tendency to make his hero more brutal and darker), and if it takes potshots at anyone, it's at the companies willing to screw the original writers/artists over and to not give them a fair share of the profits.
It being a Paul Cornell episode, there's also a basic faith in humanity at work; the true killer still is capable of friendship, shame, and doing the right thing and confess eventually because of this.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Morland arc - the only one this season - gets another installment which becomes unexpectedly awesome in the very last scene. Until then, I wasn't sure what the point would be though I enjoyed the character interacting, but wow. Machiavellian Joan, blackmailing the culprit she found to become her spy chez Morland, was a great twist. More, please!
Trivia: So many good geek scenes this episode; my favourites, in close competition, are Joan rattling off superhero origin stories (you could tell Cornell had fun coming up with copyright free yet recognizable versions, too) on the one hand, and Sherlock's "I was bitten by a radioactive detective" quip on the other.
That was adorable, and such a fannish episode, in every sense. Including inner show continuity. Remember when Drew Goddard joined the Buffy scriptwriters team in season 7 and suddenly we got Selfless, aka the Anya episode which for the first time brought up something that happened in season 2, to which, hte famous Lie (of Xander's, re: Willow's message). In the Elementary case, Paul Cornell brings up something not mentioned since it was introduced in s2, i.e., Joan having the Homeless as one of her causes.
Then there was Sherlock's list of dramatic comic book hero's death, capped by his "personal favourite", aka the ACD written original death for Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls. (All the other deaths sound familiar, too, but rl business doesn't leave me the time to reflect on which death belongs to whom.)
And most of all: the case of the week for the first time in eons being really emotionally rivetting. Trust a comics book writer to manage this. Cornell being the author, of course i knew that the passionate fan wouldn't be the murderer, because he takes fans seriously and doesn't take those kind of cheap potshots, but that didn't make it less interesting. It's a very positive portrayal of fandom in general (the two superhero impersonators both being good people, with our red herring of a suspect also being the kind of fan being put off by the late 80s/early 90s tendency to make his hero more brutal and darker), and if it takes potshots at anyone, it's at the companies willing to screw the original writers/artists over and to not give them a fair share of the profits.
It being a Paul Cornell episode, there's also a basic faith in humanity at work; the true killer still is capable of friendship, shame, and doing the right thing and confess eventually because of this.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Morland arc - the only one this season - gets another installment which becomes unexpectedly awesome in the very last scene. Until then, I wasn't sure what the point would be though I enjoyed the character interacting, but wow. Machiavellian Joan, blackmailing the culprit she found to become her spy chez Morland, was a great twist. More, please!
Trivia: So many good geek scenes this episode; my favourites, in close competition, are Joan rattling off superhero origin stories (you could tell Cornell had fun coming up with copyright free yet recognizable versions, too) on the one hand, and Sherlock's "I was bitten by a radioactive detective" quip on the other.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-21 05:15 pm (UTC)Paul Cornell provides! The deaths of comic heroes are: Captain America; Superman; The Wasp; Skrull victims and... Sherlock Holmes!
There are some more interesting live-tweets on his feed as well.
"I was bitten by a radioactive detective"
That had me laughing out loud. JLM's delivery was A+. And Joan knowing all about comics was perfect, too. Really well done take on it, the tone very much Elementary.
In the Elementary case, Paul Cornell brings up something not mentioned since it was introduced in s2, i.e., Joan having the Homeless as one of her causes.
Well, not quite as explicitly, but just last episode she was home late because she helped their homeless Hound-eyewitness to find a shelter for the night first. I thought that was a really nice and subtle continuity nod for her.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-22 09:04 am (UTC)Point taken re: their homeless Hound eyewitness, though Joan being Joan, I think she'd have done this even without any prior experiences with the homeless.
This episode was the perfect Elementary/Comics verses crossover!
no subject
Date: 2016-03-21 06:06 pm (UTC)I really, really love this show. I can't believe it's renewal is not yet a sure thing (listed as could go either way by tvline). I hope CBS comes to its senses soon.
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Date: 2016-03-22 09:05 am (UTC)It's such a lovely show.
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Date: 2016-03-22 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-26 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-26 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-22 03:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-22 09:11 am (UTC)The Joan reveal was superbly done, and I'm so looking forward to Handler!Joan managing her asset at Morland's headquarters.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-29 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-30 05:55 pm (UTC)