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lunasarielUpon coming back home after several months away, I'm starting to notice a few weird things about my house that seemed perfectly normal before. Mainly, and extremely oddly, my room isn't really set up for reading. My bed has a tendency to collapse unexpectedly, and is almost always covered by cats and their hair. My desk has apparently set itself up to focus on my laptop and printer; the angle of light for reading isn't very good, and the chair is a swivel chair, which I find bugs me when I'm reading, but not when I'm on my computer. I know, weird.
Anyway, the upshot of this is that I've been spending more time watching TV on my laptop/generally dicking around on the Internet than I do while at Cal, and my reading has suffered for it. I've barely gotten anywhere on Lords and Ladies (although, as one of the Magrats of the world, I'm enjoying the hell out of her sudden badass upgrade), Fellowship of the Ring has been progressing slower than usual, and I'm ashamed to admit that I've barely picked up Mysteries of Udolpho or Book of Jhereg. Out of these four, the last two are the ones that I'm not re-reading, so it's weird that there's little or no sense of urgency to finish them and find out what happens. Udolpho is fun in small doses, as I've said, but the reading lists for next semester have come out, and it looks like I'm going to be reading both Northanger Abbey (again) and The Castle of Ontrato, the spiritual precursor of Udolpho, so I guess I'm afraid of getting all Gothic-ed out before the semester even begins. As for Jhereg (in which I'm enjoying the hell out of competent sidekick Khargar and absentminded genius Daymar, but after coming off of Temeraire, Loiosh's comparative lack of personality is a little disappointing), I've had some trouble just getting in the mood. I think this is because I'm reading a Pratchett novel at the same time. This has happened before: I read a Discworld book at the same time as some other non-modern fantasy, and PTerry's particular brand of gentle mockery (if that's even the right word) makes every thing else seem weak and pale by comparison, and the other book suffers for it. I know that this is just a case of comparison, but I'm afraid I might have to either put Lords and Ladies aside for the moment and finish Jhereg, or just finish L&L really quickly (no problem there, once I get back to Cal! XD) and then move on to Jhereg. Instead of reading, though, I've been catching up on/reviewing my Doctor Who and Sherlock, for the Christmas special and new season respectively.
The Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" was, sadly, the first time I've been even faintly disappointed by Steven Moffat. Previous specials have had this genuine warm-heartedness that I love, but this time, it felt forced. The Doctor seemed too manic, too eager to please. He's normally a bit child-like and excitable, especially in this incarnation, but this time it seemed almost creepy. In my experience, whenever he tries this hard to impress someone, he's either covering up some deep-seated grief/depression, desperate for affection, or both. Now, his slightly crazed running around and showing off seemed more to smack of "someone please, please love me!" than "OMG I'm so awesome and you're so awesome and the universe is so awesome!" Given this, there was this sad, lonely feel to the first part, at least (more on this later), that definitely dampened my Christmas cheer.
In addition, the titular Widow failed to please. I know that not everyone can be as scrappy as Amy or as no-nonsense as Donna, but Madge just kind of shrieked and blundered her way through the episode. The kids were okay, but the mother could have used a lot less damsel in distress. She had something of that "Runaway Bride"-era Donna Noble thing going on, and while Donna got an entire season to prove our initial reaction to her wrong, Madge Arwell probably won't be back, so we'll never get to see her develop into someone we can actually like. To make matters worse, the writers pulling their punches at the end, so that she wasn't actually a widow, felt more than a bit false. One of the reasons I liked last year's Christmas special so much was that Abigail really did die at the end. It was a happy story, with the usual Triumph of the Power of Love Against All Odds and all that, but the bittersweet ending leant it some real poignancy, which made it truly memorable. Now, pulling out the old timey-wimey ball excuse just feels cheap and silly.
You may notice, however, that I'm bitching and moaning only about the first two bits. The last bit, with the Doctor going to the Ponds' for Christmas dinner, was pure gold. It was everything a Doctor Who Christmas special should be: sweet, touching, funny, and just a bit wistful. Word on the street is that the Doctor is going to be "tragically" separated from the Ponds at the beginning of the new season, so I'm holding on to these happy moments while I can. So overall the episode was a bit lackluster, but the triumphant ending mostly made up for that. Mostly. This still isn't my favorite Christmas special ever, but it's the Grand Moff writing the Doctor saving the day through the Power of Love and Snark, which can never truly be bad.
The other big news in BBC-land is the new season of Sherlock, another project of Steven Moffat's. I admit I was a bit nervous about building up season 2 too much after the awesomeness of season 1, but the first two episodes, at least, have held up magnificently. I am worried about the third, though, as it's going to be based on "The Final Problem," and both Moff and Mark Gatiss, the other writer and another Doctor Who regular, have promised "tears." *gulp* Yeah, I'm planning on watching that one alone, leaving me free to bawl as much as I please.
The first episode, loosely based on "A Scandal in Bohemia," was fantastic. This is the first new episode I've seen since the news about Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and The Hobbit came out, so I was noticing more than ever how absolutely perfect Martin is for Bilbo. The put-upon, annoyed, stalwart, too-polite-to-complain-but-is-getting-there expression that John wears for most of the episode (for most of his life since moving into Baker Street, actually) is EXACTLY the same one that I've always imagined Bilbo wearing every time the Dwarves eat his last cake or throw his dishes around, or Gandalf knocks a dent in his nice new door. So bravo for PJ & Co. for holding out for Martin Freeman instead of re-casting! Benedict as Smaug/the Necromancer I'm less sure about; I suspect that a lot of his success (or lack thereof) will depend on the CGI and character design.
Steven Moffat's thing has always been continuity, especially little nods to a more obscure past. This first surfaced when he started writing for Doctor Who, which kicked off in 1963, but it shows up magnificently here. Nothing too big, you understand; nothing that would make the story incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't read the books. But Sherlock dresses as a priest to gain admittance to Irene Adler's house and John sets off the fire alarm to get her to reveal the location of the safe in "A Scandal in Belgravia." Likewise, there are a few little moments in "The Hounds of Baskerville" that made the Holmesian nerd in me squee: the first scene is set up to sound like Sherlock is trying to get John to let him get back on cocaine, but it turns out to be cigarettes. While looking for his hidden stash, he checks inside a slipper beside the fireplace. Mrs. Hudson offers him tea, but he needs something "seven percent" stronger. His very first appearance in the show is blood-splattered and carrying a harpoon, after having solved a case by stabbing a dead pig with it. Little things like that.
Also, the CGI continues to be fantastic. The decision to have texts/calls appear as words and/or numbers appear floating above the phone in a normal shot, as opposed to the usual workaround of having a cutaway shot to a hand holding the phone displaying the relevant information, was something I was originally unsure about, but now I like it. I don't know whether it will catch on by and large (it would require more money to the SFX department, after all), but for Sherlock, it works. Also, the way they illustrate Sherlock's mental process is very innovative, and IMHO, much better than the slow down/speed up/voiceover thing they do in the Guy Ritchie movies. Relevant words and images appear floating in real space, which Sherlock, or occasionally the person/thing he's observing, can then interact with and manipulate to come to a conclusion. So, yeah, there's another thing I like.
When the news came out that Irene Adler was going to be a dominatrix instead of an opera singer/all-around "adventuress," of course I was worried about what that would do to the story. Was it going to be pure shock value-come-fanservice, catering to the lowest common denominator to up the viewer count? I trust Steven Moffat more than that, but not the various executives that certainly have a great degree of control over the show. Thankfully, it turns out that the whole thing was handled at least fairly tastefully, and while yes, she was extremely unapologetic about what she did, it never felt gratuitous. And yes, she does appear naked, and Sherlock also appears (alllllmost) naked, but not in the same scene.
Overall, "A Scandal in Belgravia" was just an awesome episode. It had its rough moments (the explanation for how John and Sherlock got out of the cliffhanger at the end of season 1 felt like a bit of a cop-out, for example), but overall it hit that perfect balance of new and old. There was more Mycroft, which is always a treat, but disappointingly little Moriarty. The writers did a great job, in those first few scenes, of showing how Sherlock's and John's relationship has progressed from "OMG STFU" to...whatever it is now. Martin Freeman openly ships Sherlock/John (or Holmes/Watson, if you prefer), and I'm starting to think that Steven Moffat might, too. There's at least one scene where Irene, who it turns out was hired to seduce Sherlock, gets a little too handsy, and John is blatantly jealous. Of course, he also continues to claim to be straight, and Sherlock is as vehement as ever about love being a weakness, but it's becoming more and more a case of actions speaking louder than words. I'm actually interested to see where they'll take this: given the updated setting, and the cultural perceptions that go along with two perpetually-single men living together, of course the idea has been brought up, but I'm waiting to see whether Moff & Co. take the unusually close friendship from the books and bring it to its natural (from a modern perspective, anyway) conclusion, or whether this is one instance where they'll stick to the letter of the law. I would kinda like it if they got together, but only if it were done in a canon-compliant way. On the other hand, I know a move like that would send purists everywhere into spasms of nerdrage, and my favorite thing about Sherlock is that it manages to actually be faithful to the original, so ultimately, I don't know. I guess I'll just trust the writers, who haven't steered us wrong yet.
Speaking of faithfulness, as I mentioned, recasting Irene Adler as a dominatrix was an interesting move, but one that played out pretty well. It seems that they cast the actress to be basically Sherlock's Rule 63 counterpart, what with the dark curly hair, pale skin, and sharp cheekbones, and that was a nice touch. They didn't go overboard on the "Sherlock = Irene" thing, though; she seemed to be very much in touch with her emotions and especially her sexuality. I'll admit that I was kind of hoping for her to fool Sherlock on her own, but in the context of a miniseries, having two people consistently able to outwit the Great Detective would make Sherlock's deductive abilities look like an informed attribute.
The non-Moriarty antagonists this time were appropriately evil, but rather forgettable. Not chilling like Moriarty, or quasi-sympathetic like the cabbie from season 1, or even visually distinctive like the Golem. Nope, just some goons in suits. (The fight at Irene's house and Sherlock beating seven kinds of shit out of their leader were fun, though.) The revelation that Moriarty was behind the whole thing made a lot of sense, and really brought the whole episode up a notch. Throughout the first 40 minutes or so, I was bugged by the seeming plot hole created by the fact that Irene needs the photos and information for protection, but she wouldn't need protection if she hadn't stolen the photos/information in the first place, but the fact that she's another of Moriarty's catspaws pulls it all together.
"Scandal" was also great for cameos/secondary characters. Lestrade, Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson all featured prominently (although Donovan, Anderson, and the rest of the police were sadly absent), which was great. Don't get me wrong, it's going to be a long, looooong while before I get bored with Sherlock's and John's interactions, but having a third party or two there to spice things up is always great. Of course, a big part of this was that we got to see Mrs. Hudson be the utter and complete BAMF that we all knew she could be. CIA goons? Torture? Tenants shooting holes in the walls and throwing people out of windows? No problem, she'll have a nice cuppa and some biscuits ready for afters. In addition, seeing the boys get protective of her was d'aww-worthy, especially in Sherlock's case. It wasn't all that unusual for him to yell at Mycroft, but doing so in Mrs. Hudson's defense (even if he did turn around and insult her directly after) was a bit of a change, and him putting the hurt on the leader of the aforementiontioned CIA goons that beat her was sweet, in a (high-functioning!) sociopathic way.
As nice as getting to check in with the secondary characters was, though, my favorite part of the episode was definitely the interactions between the three leads. I've already mentioned the shippiness of the episode, but Irene's effect on Sherlock was beautifully done. He was clearly deeply affected by her, and her perceived death(s), but it might be going a bit to far to say he was in love with her. From what I can tell, he put her into that tiny, tiny category, which up until that point had consisted solely of John (and maybe Mycroft, although you'd never get him to admit it), of "people I don't utterly despise and aren't completely worthless." The revelation that she wasn't dead (the first time, anyway) clearly rattled him to his core, but in the end he was able to remain aloof enough to play her even better than she played him. So I might go so far as to call his feelings for her interest, even affection, but probably not love. She, on the other hand, definitely had some softer feelings for him, which made her conversation with John truly interesting. Even though neither of them professed an interest in men, they had both inadvertently fallen in love with him (if we take Irene's deductions over John's continued protest of exclusive heterosexuality, which I increasingly find myself doing).
I didn't enjoy "The Hounds of Baskerville" quite as much, but that's probably because there was more focus put on the actual mystery and less on the characters. Of course, there was Sherlock's truly alarming moment of doubt, and he did sincerely apologize for putting John in danger (at which point I realized that the episode was a fusion of The Hound of the Baskervilles and "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"), but mostly, it was a straight-up horror/mystery.
Not that this is a bad thing, of course! I liked the way they updated the eventual solution, although having the perpetrator get himself killed instead of being arrested felt a bit cliché-cop-show. I started to suspect a chemical weapon as soon as John opened the door marked "Don't come in here if you don't want to catch cold" and filled with mysteriously billowing smoke and panicking animals, and TBH the thing about the sugar missed me entirely. Henry's flashbacks to his father's murder were genuinely scary, and the conclusion, where the dog actually put in an appearance, tied things up nicely. This episode has been accused of turning Sherlock into Scooby-Doo, but I think this was more a case of sticking to the admittedly slightly silly original canon and our modern perception of it (although having the elderly villain utter "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" before getting blown up would have been lol-worthy).
I'm afraid I don't have as long to rhapsodize about "Hound" as "Scandal;" I'm hosing our first D&D game in almost a year today, people will start arriving every minute, and I don't have the bathroom cleaned, the furnished shed/granny unit where we hold our games set up, or my character's spell sheet set up. Eeek!
Anyway, the upshot of this is that I've been spending more time watching TV on my laptop/generally dicking around on the Internet than I do while at Cal, and my reading has suffered for it. I've barely gotten anywhere on Lords and Ladies (although, as one of the Magrats of the world, I'm enjoying the hell out of her sudden badass upgrade), Fellowship of the Ring has been progressing slower than usual, and I'm ashamed to admit that I've barely picked up Mysteries of Udolpho or Book of Jhereg. Out of these four, the last two are the ones that I'm not re-reading, so it's weird that there's little or no sense of urgency to finish them and find out what happens. Udolpho is fun in small doses, as I've said, but the reading lists for next semester have come out, and it looks like I'm going to be reading both Northanger Abbey (again) and The Castle of Ontrato, the spiritual precursor of Udolpho, so I guess I'm afraid of getting all Gothic-ed out before the semester even begins. As for Jhereg (in which I'm enjoying the hell out of competent sidekick Khargar and absentminded genius Daymar, but after coming off of Temeraire, Loiosh's comparative lack of personality is a little disappointing), I've had some trouble just getting in the mood. I think this is because I'm reading a Pratchett novel at the same time. This has happened before: I read a Discworld book at the same time as some other non-modern fantasy, and PTerry's particular brand of gentle mockery (if that's even the right word) makes every thing else seem weak and pale by comparison, and the other book suffers for it. I know that this is just a case of comparison, but I'm afraid I might have to either put Lords and Ladies aside for the moment and finish Jhereg, or just finish L&L really quickly (no problem there, once I get back to Cal! XD) and then move on to Jhereg. Instead of reading, though, I've been catching up on/reviewing my Doctor Who and Sherlock, for the Christmas special and new season respectively.
The Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" was, sadly, the first time I've been even faintly disappointed by Steven Moffat. Previous specials have had this genuine warm-heartedness that I love, but this time, it felt forced. The Doctor seemed too manic, too eager to please. He's normally a bit child-like and excitable, especially in this incarnation, but this time it seemed almost creepy. In my experience, whenever he tries this hard to impress someone, he's either covering up some deep-seated grief/depression, desperate for affection, or both. Now, his slightly crazed running around and showing off seemed more to smack of "someone please, please love me!" than "OMG I'm so awesome and you're so awesome and the universe is so awesome!" Given this, there was this sad, lonely feel to the first part, at least (more on this later), that definitely dampened my Christmas cheer.
In addition, the titular Widow failed to please. I know that not everyone can be as scrappy as Amy or as no-nonsense as Donna, but Madge just kind of shrieked and blundered her way through the episode. The kids were okay, but the mother could have used a lot less damsel in distress. She had something of that "Runaway Bride"-era Donna Noble thing going on, and while Donna got an entire season to prove our initial reaction to her wrong, Madge Arwell probably won't be back, so we'll never get to see her develop into someone we can actually like. To make matters worse, the writers pulling their punches at the end, so that she wasn't actually a widow, felt more than a bit false. One of the reasons I liked last year's Christmas special so much was that Abigail really did die at the end. It was a happy story, with the usual Triumph of the Power of Love Against All Odds and all that, but the bittersweet ending leant it some real poignancy, which made it truly memorable. Now, pulling out the old timey-wimey ball excuse just feels cheap and silly.
You may notice, however, that I'm bitching and moaning only about the first two bits. The last bit, with the Doctor going to the Ponds' for Christmas dinner, was pure gold. It was everything a Doctor Who Christmas special should be: sweet, touching, funny, and just a bit wistful. Word on the street is that the Doctor is going to be "tragically" separated from the Ponds at the beginning of the new season, so I'm holding on to these happy moments while I can. So overall the episode was a bit lackluster, but the triumphant ending mostly made up for that. Mostly. This still isn't my favorite Christmas special ever, but it's the Grand Moff writing the Doctor saving the day through the Power of Love and Snark, which can never truly be bad.
The other big news in BBC-land is the new season of Sherlock, another project of Steven Moffat's. I admit I was a bit nervous about building up season 2 too much after the awesomeness of season 1, but the first two episodes, at least, have held up magnificently. I am worried about the third, though, as it's going to be based on "The Final Problem," and both Moff and Mark Gatiss, the other writer and another Doctor Who regular, have promised "tears." *gulp* Yeah, I'm planning on watching that one alone, leaving me free to bawl as much as I please.
The first episode, loosely based on "A Scandal in Bohemia," was fantastic. This is the first new episode I've seen since the news about Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and The Hobbit came out, so I was noticing more than ever how absolutely perfect Martin is for Bilbo. The put-upon, annoyed, stalwart, too-polite-to-complain-but-is-getting-there expression that John wears for most of the episode (for most of his life since moving into Baker Street, actually) is EXACTLY the same one that I've always imagined Bilbo wearing every time the Dwarves eat his last cake or throw his dishes around, or Gandalf knocks a dent in his nice new door. So bravo for PJ & Co. for holding out for Martin Freeman instead of re-casting! Benedict as Smaug/the Necromancer I'm less sure about; I suspect that a lot of his success (or lack thereof) will depend on the CGI and character design.
Steven Moffat's thing has always been continuity, especially little nods to a more obscure past. This first surfaced when he started writing for Doctor Who, which kicked off in 1963, but it shows up magnificently here. Nothing too big, you understand; nothing that would make the story incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't read the books. But Sherlock dresses as a priest to gain admittance to Irene Adler's house and John sets off the fire alarm to get her to reveal the location of the safe in "A Scandal in Belgravia." Likewise, there are a few little moments in "The Hounds of Baskerville" that made the Holmesian nerd in me squee: the first scene is set up to sound like Sherlock is trying to get John to let him get back on cocaine, but it turns out to be cigarettes. While looking for his hidden stash, he checks inside a slipper beside the fireplace. Mrs. Hudson offers him tea, but he needs something "seven percent" stronger. His very first appearance in the show is blood-splattered and carrying a harpoon, after having solved a case by stabbing a dead pig with it. Little things like that.
Also, the CGI continues to be fantastic. The decision to have texts/calls appear as words and/or numbers appear floating above the phone in a normal shot, as opposed to the usual workaround of having a cutaway shot to a hand holding the phone displaying the relevant information, was something I was originally unsure about, but now I like it. I don't know whether it will catch on by and large (it would require more money to the SFX department, after all), but for Sherlock, it works. Also, the way they illustrate Sherlock's mental process is very innovative, and IMHO, much better than the slow down/speed up/voiceover thing they do in the Guy Ritchie movies. Relevant words and images appear floating in real space, which Sherlock, or occasionally the person/thing he's observing, can then interact with and manipulate to come to a conclusion. So, yeah, there's another thing I like.
When the news came out that Irene Adler was going to be a dominatrix instead of an opera singer/all-around "adventuress," of course I was worried about what that would do to the story. Was it going to be pure shock value-come-fanservice, catering to the lowest common denominator to up the viewer count? I trust Steven Moffat more than that, but not the various executives that certainly have a great degree of control over the show. Thankfully, it turns out that the whole thing was handled at least fairly tastefully, and while yes, she was extremely unapologetic about what she did, it never felt gratuitous. And yes, she does appear naked, and Sherlock also appears (alllllmost) naked, but not in the same scene.
Overall, "A Scandal in Belgravia" was just an awesome episode. It had its rough moments (the explanation for how John and Sherlock got out of the cliffhanger at the end of season 1 felt like a bit of a cop-out, for example), but overall it hit that perfect balance of new and old. There was more Mycroft, which is always a treat, but disappointingly little Moriarty. The writers did a great job, in those first few scenes, of showing how Sherlock's and John's relationship has progressed from "OMG STFU" to...whatever it is now. Martin Freeman openly ships Sherlock/John (or Holmes/Watson, if you prefer), and I'm starting to think that Steven Moffat might, too. There's at least one scene where Irene, who it turns out was hired to seduce Sherlock, gets a little too handsy, and John is blatantly jealous. Of course, he also continues to claim to be straight, and Sherlock is as vehement as ever about love being a weakness, but it's becoming more and more a case of actions speaking louder than words. I'm actually interested to see where they'll take this: given the updated setting, and the cultural perceptions that go along with two perpetually-single men living together, of course the idea has been brought up, but I'm waiting to see whether Moff & Co. take the unusually close friendship from the books and bring it to its natural (from a modern perspective, anyway) conclusion, or whether this is one instance where they'll stick to the letter of the law. I would kinda like it if they got together, but only if it were done in a canon-compliant way. On the other hand, I know a move like that would send purists everywhere into spasms of nerdrage, and my favorite thing about Sherlock is that it manages to actually be faithful to the original, so ultimately, I don't know. I guess I'll just trust the writers, who haven't steered us wrong yet.
Speaking of faithfulness, as I mentioned, recasting Irene Adler as a dominatrix was an interesting move, but one that played out pretty well. It seems that they cast the actress to be basically Sherlock's Rule 63 counterpart, what with the dark curly hair, pale skin, and sharp cheekbones, and that was a nice touch. They didn't go overboard on the "Sherlock = Irene" thing, though; she seemed to be very much in touch with her emotions and especially her sexuality. I'll admit that I was kind of hoping for her to fool Sherlock on her own, but in the context of a miniseries, having two people consistently able to outwit the Great Detective would make Sherlock's deductive abilities look like an informed attribute.
The non-Moriarty antagonists this time were appropriately evil, but rather forgettable. Not chilling like Moriarty, or quasi-sympathetic like the cabbie from season 1, or even visually distinctive like the Golem. Nope, just some goons in suits. (The fight at Irene's house and Sherlock beating seven kinds of shit out of their leader were fun, though.) The revelation that Moriarty was behind the whole thing made a lot of sense, and really brought the whole episode up a notch. Throughout the first 40 minutes or so, I was bugged by the seeming plot hole created by the fact that Irene needs the photos and information for protection, but she wouldn't need protection if she hadn't stolen the photos/information in the first place, but the fact that she's another of Moriarty's catspaws pulls it all together.
"Scandal" was also great for cameos/secondary characters. Lestrade, Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson all featured prominently (although Donovan, Anderson, and the rest of the police were sadly absent), which was great. Don't get me wrong, it's going to be a long, looooong while before I get bored with Sherlock's and John's interactions, but having a third party or two there to spice things up is always great. Of course, a big part of this was that we got to see Mrs. Hudson be the utter and complete BAMF that we all knew she could be. CIA goons? Torture? Tenants shooting holes in the walls and throwing people out of windows? No problem, she'll have a nice cuppa and some biscuits ready for afters. In addition, seeing the boys get protective of her was d'aww-worthy, especially in Sherlock's case. It wasn't all that unusual for him to yell at Mycroft, but doing so in Mrs. Hudson's defense (even if he did turn around and insult her directly after) was a bit of a change, and him putting the hurt on the leader of the aforementiontioned CIA goons that beat her was sweet, in a (high-functioning!) sociopathic way.
As nice as getting to check in with the secondary characters was, though, my favorite part of the episode was definitely the interactions between the three leads. I've already mentioned the shippiness of the episode, but Irene's effect on Sherlock was beautifully done. He was clearly deeply affected by her, and her perceived death(s), but it might be going a bit to far to say he was in love with her. From what I can tell, he put her into that tiny, tiny category, which up until that point had consisted solely of John (and maybe Mycroft, although you'd never get him to admit it), of "people I don't utterly despise and aren't completely worthless." The revelation that she wasn't dead (the first time, anyway) clearly rattled him to his core, but in the end he was able to remain aloof enough to play her even better than she played him. So I might go so far as to call his feelings for her interest, even affection, but probably not love. She, on the other hand, definitely had some softer feelings for him, which made her conversation with John truly interesting. Even though neither of them professed an interest in men, they had both inadvertently fallen in love with him (if we take Irene's deductions over John's continued protest of exclusive heterosexuality, which I increasingly find myself doing).
I didn't enjoy "The Hounds of Baskerville" quite as much, but that's probably because there was more focus put on the actual mystery and less on the characters. Of course, there was Sherlock's truly alarming moment of doubt, and he did sincerely apologize for putting John in danger (at which point I realized that the episode was a fusion of The Hound of the Baskervilles and "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"), but mostly, it was a straight-up horror/mystery.
Not that this is a bad thing, of course! I liked the way they updated the eventual solution, although having the perpetrator get himself killed instead of being arrested felt a bit cliché-cop-show. I started to suspect a chemical weapon as soon as John opened the door marked "Don't come in here if you don't want to catch cold" and filled with mysteriously billowing smoke and panicking animals, and TBH the thing about the sugar missed me entirely. Henry's flashbacks to his father's murder were genuinely scary, and the conclusion, where the dog actually put in an appearance, tied things up nicely. This episode has been accused of turning Sherlock into Scooby-Doo, but I think this was more a case of sticking to the admittedly slightly silly original canon and our modern perception of it (although having the elderly villain utter "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" before getting blown up would have been lol-worthy).
I'm afraid I don't have as long to rhapsodize about "Hound" as "Scandal;" I'm hosing our first D&D game in almost a year today, people will start arriving every minute, and I don't have the bathroom cleaned, the furnished shed/granny unit where we hold our games set up, or my character's spell sheet set up. Eeek!
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Date: 2012-01-11 07:26 pm (UTC)Kragar is one of my favorites (and quite possibly my soul twin, heh), and though it took awhile for Daymar to grow on me, I have started to find him quite amusing on rereads. I never noticed a lack of personality in Loiosh, but it's been so long since I've been new to this canon that I probably simply don't remember what impression he makes in Jhereg itself. (I should probably have mentioned that Jhereg is Brust's first book and I think it takes him until book 3 to really sort of hit his stride, though Jhereg and Yendi are fun romps, IMO anyway.)
Also, L&L is near the top of my top 5 Pratchetts, so, yeah, pretty much anything is going to pale by comparison :P
(But I will say that I've sometimes reflected on Discworld and Dragaera together because, while they're very, very different and nobody can do what Pterry does, I get the same sense of big-city fantasy-modernness from both Ankh-Morpork and Adrilankha that I've not found in other series. Though I don't think that's really there in Jhereg yet.)
But in any case, you should feel entirely free to dislike Jhereg or be meh about it -- as much as I've grown to love the series (and it's taken time, because this is very much a series where reading more than one book and rereading them really pays off in terms of incremental enjoyment, even though Brust has tried to make all of them stand-alone) I do think it's probably a bit of an acquired taste.
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Date: 2012-01-12 08:32 pm (UTC)Yay Kragar! I've always had a soft spot for a well-done hypercompetent sidekickd. I just got to the part where he saved Vlad by killing the Demon's assassin in the restraunt, and I'm pretty much ready to declare him awesome. XD
I never noticed a lack of personality in Loiosh,
I'm starting to think that this is because I'm only, like, 80 pages in, and he's had a grand total of maybe six lines. I'm sure that his role is going to expand, and I like what I've seen, I'd just love to get a closer look. We do get to see more of him, right?
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Date: 2012-01-12 09:54 pm (UTC)There will definitely be more Loiosh! His relationship and banter with Vlad is actually one of my favorite things about the books (well, I have a lot of favorite things about these books, admittedly), and I've seen people list him as a favorite character of theirs, so I definitely think one gets more of a feel for his personality. (It's possible that it took Brust a while to figure out that was one of the key relationships in the series, and that's why it's not as noticeable early on in Jhereg.)
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Date: 2012-01-11 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 08:33 pm (UTC)