Sherlock Again...and a bit about Haven, too!

[rabid1st]

So, The Moff continues to make me eat my criticisms of his writing ability. Maybe it's the influence of his wife? Maybe he's just a really poor fit for Doctor Who. I don't know. But he's got his groove on with Sherlock and I think I'm in love again. Two weeks ago, I denied that I was. But The Great Game bowled me over. Not the villain so much, I'm afraid. But other than that bit of weird casting...I'm really enjoying the series. I've found myself craving some John/Sherlock porn as well. But I'm afraid I would have to write it. As I'm really fussy about Sherlock Holmes. You thought I was anal about the Doctor...just imagine that times ten.

Bit of spoiler under this cut . And speaking of Ten. Many people have suggested that they wanted to see David Tennant as Moriarty. Well, that was really my problem with what we got. I don't know that actor. Maybe he's a master of disguise (as Moriarty should be) and will be playing the chameleon even more than he did in this episode. But...I do know...that The Moff showed another weakness in casting there. It is rather like casting Matt Smith instead of Benedict Cumberbatch...once we see Benedict...we know what you did. And it looks to me as if Moff was imagining Ten as Moriarty all along and cast a poor man's DT.

Of course, I could end up eating those words. But there were definite Ten overtones to the way the character was written and acted. Too many for that to be coincidental. On the other hand, I did totally buy into the earlier appearance. Though I thought it played to type...and so wasn't really a test of the actor.

I didn't care as much for episode two as I did for episodes 1 & 3. But I did like the ballsy cliffhanger we got. Go Moff! I'm fine with cliffhanger endings, actually, as long we know that the writer didn't just run out of ideas. And, as in this case, we are pretty sure we will have a sequel. You all might have noticed I tend to end my chapters on cliffhangers. I think it's a good way to stir up an audience. I also would bet you that Sherlock doesn't need any help with the ratings. It's got the goods. And again, I only wish Moff had done this instead of Doctor Who.

I loved all of the couple references in this one. The fights and the nagging and Mrs. Hudson describing their tiff as "You two having a little domestic."

Favorite part...easily...was at the swimming pool.

John and Sherlock clearly worked up and both breathing heavily in the wake of exciting events.

John: I'm glad no one saw that.

Sherlock: Hmm?

John: You ripping my clothes off at a darkened swimming pool. People might talk.

Sherlock (with a shrug): People do little else.

They make eye contact and both smile.

It is refreshing that Moff and company don't duck the HoYay! It is all sort of offhand. As Moff says, people would naturally assume that two men who were so close in this day and age...were CLOSE. Yet, they retain Sherlock's air of being above it all when it comes to human interactions. Unlike the Doctor (who in my opinion became inexplicably asexual in fanon), I could easily see Sherlock as asexual. Just not interested in sex. I think the Doctor is rather busy but wouldn't mind once someone got his attention...ala Rose. Sherlock is also remarkably clueless about some things...which here...with Ben C. and Freeman languidly playing off one another...is very touching.



In other viewing news, I am also getting very fond of Haven. This unassuming little show on SciFi has overcome the goofy curse of second string shows. It is easily good enough for a major network. It isn't even that far off mainstream, in my opinion. What it does well is get intimate with the monsters. This week's zombie episode was scary and touching and you really can't say that about many shows. Even the X-Files had trouble (at least in later years) balancing humor and scares. That's what Haven really reminds me of...early X-Files. Even the quirky characters don't go too far down the lane toward annoying...something that plagues shows like Warehouse 13 and Eureka. Haven is a well balanced show. And the lead actress can deliver a good line without waiting for a rimshot to follow. I must say, I got a real shiver when she was summing up the case with the town doctor tonight. EEEK!

Rae
being pretty mysterious about plots above...but offer a few generalized spoilers. And if anyone that is very fussy about Holmes has read a really, really good SHERLOCK slash fic...nothing too long...or too graphic...point me to it.

Comments

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

Okay, okay - you wore me down. I am downloading the first episode of Sherlock Holmes.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't think you will regret it. I don't expect you to be lost with the mystery part of it all. I haven't been so far. But when it comes to technically structuring a story and having that be beautiful rather than annoying as hell...Moff has his show with Sherlock. Ratings do seem to be bearing me out on this. Though, I suppose it is too early to tell if he is going to slide off the rails in a few episodes. But, unlike with Who, he's gotten stronger with this show instead of weaker.

[angely78.livejournal.com]

http://archiveofourown.org/works/104358

I have it on good authority that this is some of the best Sherlock fic on the 'Net right now :)

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I will check it out. I must say that most of the slash fic I've read tends to be too graphic or lose the essence of the characters. I came across one last night that was text messages back and forth and it was in remarkably good voice...BUT...for me, it totally slipped off the rails when it went into S&M and Sherlock's need for pain. And I don't even dispute that he could have such a need. I think it could be that when a story is about nothing but sex...and you don't find that type of sex particularly erotic yourself...you come down to analyzing the mechanics of it. And I find it all rather boring, I think. To be fair, I suppose I have the same reaction to PWP in the het!fic genre. The sex itself can break the fourth wall for me.

Rae

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Whoa! Well, when it comes to voice and idea that story you linked to might be great, but the grammar needs work. I couldn't make it beyond the second paragraph. My need to beta rose up with a vengeance with her first sentence. She needs to watch her parallels and her run on sentences.

Her grasp of the characters seems sound, from my little exposure. Is your authority about HER story or about the entire site?

Rae

[angely78.livejournal.com]

About the site, I think. I haven't watched, nor have I read, but I'm visiting with someone who has done both :)

[phdelicious.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check out Sherlock - ppl keep talking about it. As for Moff's writing - my friend, who's a big Coupling fan and an Old school Who fan, favors the theory that there's probably been quite a bit of behind the scenes mucking about and network interference at Who keeping Moff from doing as well as he could have. I'm sort of willing to roll with it because I keep hoping we'll get something along the lines of Blink out of them.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I've heard lovely things about Jekyll, myself. I never believed them. But now I do. I really am not sure I buy network interference as the cause for Moff's spectacular failure with Doctor Who. Unless they vetoed his idea of making the Doctor a sort of James Bond character and he went with clown as a second choice. I think that Moff simply doesn't understand Doctor Who. He's trapped in the mindset of his own childhood with the character. He's a man who is pretty good at understanding what he's read or watched. He has a great grasp of Sherlock from reading him. And I can see the Second Doctor in Eleven.

If you look back at his work with Doctor Who, you can easily see that his episodes stand out for the wrong reasons. The only time I think he really did a good job with a Doctor Who story was Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. I might allow that Moff wanted to make his Doctor like his Sherlock but didn't think it would be appropriate or didn't get clearance from the network to go that way. So he fell back on what I can only say is second best for the Doctor. I don't know though. He's never really understood the Doctor, in my book. But he definitely understands Holmes and Watson.

Rae

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

Caged tigers stalking around a disused swimming pool...anyone remember "School Reunion?" There's nothing new under the sun.

It's going to be really interesting to see where things go from here. The British public won't take kindly to having to wait a year for more "Sherlock" - so maybe we'll be seeing Moffat's Choice?

(I adore "Sherlock", BTW. It's even made me go back to the original stories. And I wonder how much of the infuriating, asexual, otherness of the Doctor was originally inspired by the earlier, iconic character?)

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah! I had a strong and unfortunate School Reunion flashback there. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt on it, because...as you say...nothing new under the sun.

I would be delighted if Moff made a choice to go with Sherlock so that the British public could have more of something they obviously enjoyed. I would love to have more like...now! Or at least by next week. :grin: And as far as more Moff Who...I couldn't care less about it. So...I think Moffat's choice should definitely be for Sherlock. It is an easy out for all concerned. The only problem is that I don't know of anyone who could helm the Doctor...among current writers. Some people think Paul Cornell. I wonder if they should pirate someone from another series...someone from Life on Mars maybe?

Anyway...as for Sherlock and the Doctor as characters. There is something intensely British about both of them. I can readily see that the original Doctor was drawn from an aging Sherlock. There is something in the Tom Baker portrayal as well. I don't know that Sherlock is quite so...humane, I suppose is the word. My friend and I were debating again over this last episode. My friend knows Sherlock Holmes from the Basil Rathbone and other television or film versions. She felt that the new Holmes is too much of a sociopath and too dismissive of people...not a gentleman. I actually find that much closer to the literary character.

I also admire Moff for bringing in Mycroft at the outset. It's good to see that Sherlock is not the smartest person on the planet, but is, instead, an outcast. That's another similarity with the Doctor...brought in at Two, I think. Definitely there by the time we get to Four and perhaps a bit neglected in the new series. Ten did a fine job at first with it...but once he gave in to his ego...we lost a little of his being lost about things. Though Donna did play to that from time to time...big brain...but a dumbo.

My friend thought, and so did I, that the earth rotation question was a bit too silly to be believed. It is rather vital to information that he could have found easily relevant. And it was another example of Moff not really understanding his audience...thinking they are much stupider than they are. He should have gone with something that was more public knowledge...like he doesn't know who Elvis or Michael Jackson is...or...he doesn't know who the Prime Minister is. I think Moff felt that would be something most of the audience didn't know either. But it is still something Sherlock should know and it would be believable that he didn't.

I am happy to hear that you adore Sherlock, too. I am also going to reread the original stories. It has been at least a decade since I did. Long enough for me to not be bothered by the little changes Moff makes...but then...I am also not as thrilled as I could be was I aware of more detail on the stories. I do have an urge to write a modern Mary Russell story crossover. I would make her a biologist studying the loss of bees...and have another Doctor Who homage while referencing Holme's eventual retirement. :grin:

Rae

Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[soophelia.livejournal.com]

Actually you shouldn't give Moffat all the credit for Sherlock. Mark Gatiss is the co-creator along with Moffat so it wasn't just Moffat's project. Also Mark Gatiss wrote "The Great Game" episode (the third episode). Moffat wrote "A Study in Pink" (the first episode). Stephen Thompson (sic?), another writer, wrote the second episode (which is obviously the weakest out of the three episodes).

I'm glad to see that you're enjoying the slash. I know I am.

Re: Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

This is true. Mark Gatiss is probably having a lot to do with my enjoyment of the project. Especially if he wrote The Great Game, which was the best episode of the lot. I'm amazed there wasn't a slew of Sherlock/Jim slash after that. Not that I would fancy that pairing...but it seems like people love to slash enemies...and Jim was certainly flamboyant enough for anyone, I would have imagined.

Rae

Re: Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[soophelia.livejournal.com]

There is a little bit of Sherlock/Jim slash out there, but yeah not as much as I had thought there would be.

I've only read the books and this is the first Sherlock series I've seen. Anyway, even in the books, Sherlock and Moriarty were obsessed with each other, but I definitely do not ship them.

I'm completely Holmes/Watson (aka John/Sherlock) all the way. Besides, I find it difficult to get into "Foyay" pairings. I don't know why, but I normally just don't. (I think it's because I despise the cliche of "oh they hate it each other, but it's really just love in disguise").

Here's an entry at the sherlockbbc comm where someone met Mark Gatiss recently. They said that Mark talked about his love for the books and that he was really gracious.

And I love Mark's tweets.

Re: Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I just discovered that Mark is Mycroft. I honestly did not recognize him. He's lost a considerable amount of weight. I hope he's not ill. On the other hand, perhaps he had gained a lot of weight when I saw him. I am afraid that I haven't been paying very close attention to the credits for the episodes. I've seen each episode at least three times, though. And I did wonder about Mycroft when I first saw him...I was like...who is that? I know who that is. But then I forgot to look it up...and I honestly didn't think it was Mark Gatiss...as I remember him most clearly from the Lazarus Experiment.

I, too, am completely Holmes and Watson as my ship. I also do not buy into the "love/hate" relationship to the point where it applies to people you REALLY dislike. I think that good relationships need a foundation of mutual cooperation, at least. I don't mind a little twisted affection...I think, for example, that you could make a good Sub/Dom case for Sherlock and John...but I have no interest in writing or reading about relationships that are twisted to the point of being bad for the characters.

Re: Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

That seemed to make very little sense...uhm...what I mean is that I can only enjoy relationship fic where the partnership has some hope of being healthy and functional. Lots of sub/dom or foyay stories seem to be delving into very unhealthy situations for the participants. I'm not saying that's not a valid thing to examine or explore...but I just don't like spending time with people I don't like and so I can't get into that sort of thing.

Re: Don't forget Mark Gatiss

[soophelia.livejournal.com]

You made complete sense and I agree.