Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sherlock versus Sherlock



I fell in love with the BBC series Sherlock five minutes into it. I was always a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and I enjoy many of the reinterpretations we’ve seen over the years. Whether it’s Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downy Jr., or even Hugh Laurie as House (a character based, in part, on Holmes), I am a fan. Naturally, I was very interested in the new show Elementary, again setting Holmes in the modern day but putting him  in New York rather than London.

Immediately, this invites comparison to the BBC series Sherlock, since this show is an American adaptation of that British show. Today I’m going to compare both of these shows, comparing the three most critical factors: Sherlock Holmes, Watson, and the mystery itself. To be fair, I’m only going to look at the first episodes of each. For Sherlock, it’s “A Study in Pink” and for Elementary, it’s the Pilot episode.  

Monday, September 24, 2012

How I Met Your Mother: "Farhampton"

Quick Review: An annoying start but a promising finish.

Episode Synopsis: The sitcom rings in Season 8 with wedding bells for the impending nuptials of Barney and Robin, but concerns that one or both of them will get cold feet cloud the happy time. Meanwhile, all the matrimonial jitters trigger Ted's memories of Victoria's wedding day and how he insisted that she leave her fiancé a note after deciding to leave him at the altar. -tvguide

Spoilers ahead, so you might want to watch the episode before you read ahead. If you need to leave the room so that you aren't spoiled, you may be tempted to climb out the window and shimmy down the drainpipe. I get it, that seems like a good idea. Well, let me assure you, it isn't. Sure, you'll get out the window easily enough, but that's when you'll learn the horrible truth: you don't have a drainpipe.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Revolution's Lost Problem

First things first, I like Revolution. It's an interesting science fiction concept about a world in which electronics just stopped working for no good reason, combustion engines too. Now it's been fifteen years and our main characters must not only survive what the world has become, they are also on a quest to turn the power back on.

Characters thrust into a mysterious and deadly situation trying to figure out just what is exactly going on? Sounds just like Lost. Given that J.J. Abrams is connected, that's no surprise. He loves a good mystery, and this one is right up there. I admit, I am intrigued and might even be tempted to tune in to see the answer. This brings us to the problem.

Monday, September 17, 2012

How I Met Your Mother: Season 7 Recap

Before the September 24th premiere of How I Met Your Mother's eighth season, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at where we were this past year to better understand where we are now. That's why I waited until now to post my season 7 recap. After I talk about season 7, I'd like to express where I hope all of this goes.

Let's begin with the recap. Much like my reviews, I want to first offer my quick takes and then discuss the season as a whole.

Oh, and spoiler alert if you didn't bother watching season 7. Unless this is your plan, to just read the recap of the seventh season so you're prepared for the eighth.I wouldn't recommend it, I'm going to talk about things that I assume you know, and I may or may not bother to explain it to you. You'll just have to sit there, nodding like you understand it, but in reality it's just whooshing over your head. If that's how you want it to be, it's your life, you live it however you want. No judgement here.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

This Open Letter to Vending Machines

Dear Vending Machines,

Consider this my complete and utter unequivocal surrender. You won, I lost. It wasn't even close, and it would be laughable for me to consider it a draw. Sometimes you just realize you were beaten badly, pwned as the kids like to say. You got me, you really got me.

It was going so well for a while. I was able to resist your siren call and walk right on by. No matter how delicious your wares, I wasn't tempted. Okay, I was tempted, but I had the perfect way of preventing myself from succumbing: I didn't carry cash. Thanks to credit and debit cards, we are becoming more and more a cashless society, meaning that sheer practicality prevented me from giving in. I can't spend what I didn't have.

And then you installed card swipes.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

SNL has always been this funny


Since the early 1980's, the common refrain about Saturday Night Live has been that it's not as funny as when the 'Not Ready for Prime-Time Players' were tromping around Studio 8H. Oh, those were the days of cutting-edge, daring, and renegade comedy that pushed the envelope live, from New York, on Saturday Night. The days of Coneheads, Wild and Crazy Guys, Blues Brothers, and even some sketches that didn't involve Dan Akroyd. When Lorne Michaels offered The Beatles $3,000 to reunite and Steve Martin waxed poetic about King Tut.

Ever since then, and we've been hearing it for quite some time, SNL is just not funny anymore; it's lost its edge and is a sad, pale imitation of what it used to be. How can people even watch that program anymore, because even the most casual eye can see that it is a black hole where comedy goes to die? Why can't this show get back to the golden days when it was the funniest thing on the planet?

And then they released the original seasons, uncut on DVD, and we got to see for ourselves the glory and majesty of those original seasons. And that's when we all realized something: SNL was always this level of funny.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

This Open Letter to Clint Eastwood's Chair

Dear Clint Eastwood's Chair,

I hope you're proud of yourself. You are all anyone wants to talk about. You're trending on Twitter, you're an internet meme, and even President Obama referenced you. Clearly you are the only thing anyone is going to remember from the RNC, and we might be referring to the infamous "Chair Speech" for years to come.

Don't act all innocent. You know what you did!

You've really got a lot of nerve, do you know that? Do you not understand that you do not upstage Clint Eastwood? He's a legendary actor who is a Hollywood icon. Many remember him as his most iconic role, Dirty Harry, while recent audiences loved him in Gran Torino. Even when he's not dominating the silver screen in front of the camera, he's still large and in charge behind it. He's an Oscar Winning director, responsible for many fantastic films.

This man deserves to be remembered for his lifetime body of incredible work. But thanks to you, he's going to be known as the guy who had an argument with a chair.