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melon-kiss · 3 years ago

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This is just going to be a ramble about everything Sherlock. You’re most welcome to discuss or just ignore it. I needed the space to vent.

I watched Sherlock. Again. I think it’s beginning to become my annual tradition. And I have a crisis. Don’t get me wrong, I am always Sherlollian at heart. It’s just… I have doubts sometimes. And what triggered those doubts this time was the fact that Sherlock calls Molly “John”. Twice. And then Irene Adler. And then one post on Tumblr. And many, many more.

OK, these are just my random thoughts. Enjoy if you’re willing to read them.

1. “John”. “Molly”.

We often mix up names of people we consider to have the same place in our lives. Which is good, right? Right. Only, in Sherlock’s case, we’d have lean into the theory that Sherlock does love John romantically and feels the same way about Molly. Or concede the fact that he loves them both platonically. Neither of these options is really satisfying, isn’t it? Well, that’s why I’m struggling… One could say he’s in denial of feelings for Molly and identifies them as friendship, as this is the strongest, purest relationship in his life, the only one he describes as emotional and the closest he’s ever had to love. Besides, Molly and John are similar in one way – they both share the same – medical – knowledge. Of course, Sherlock doesn’t realise her other qualities until The Reichenbach Fall when she says she can help him whenever he needs it. It’s not until she’s honest with him again and tells him, without a shred of grudge, that she knows she means nothing to him, that he realises he has at least two friends. He calls her “John” when his mind is busy with something else, so there’s no room for any purposeful confusion. The same thing happens in The Empty Hearse. What else can it mean if not friendship?

2. Nothing Hits Like Irene

Irene Adler is created as the love interest for Sherlock. Is she, though? Well, we see Sherlock utterly confused upon their first meeting. We also see him flirting and creating an atmosphere of sexual tension for the first time. OK, he saves her but then she vanishes, he got over her, I thought. And all was fine until The Lying Detective came and Irene Adler sent a text to Sherlock, first in such a long time. John, of course, suggests that if Sherlock should be romantically involved with anyone, it should be her. And then it hit me.

Irene Adler is the symbol of chemistry in Sherlock’s life.

She’s a dominatrix. She’s all about sex, that’s obvious. At the critical point of The Scandal in Belgravia Sherlock says: I believe John Watson thinks love’s a mystery for me but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very distractive. Sherlock discovers that he, indeed, can have chemistry with people. He doesn’t mention love, he merely says sentiment, referring to the crush Irene Adler had on him. She is, indeed, a simple distraction – you can see it clearly in his memory palace when he yells at her to get away. But Molly… Molly stays. She leads him through the entire process of surviving a shot.

And then Irene Adler returns in The Lying Detective. John confesses to Sherlock about texting with a stranger met on the bus. And that he wanted more. Sherlock says everyone gets to be human sometimes. Even he can’t resist the urge of replying to Irene Adler sometimes. It was all about attraction again.

And that’s why she’s not considered a romantic relationship in his life. John rambles about love changing him, to be more specific, the love of his woman changing him. But he says Irene’s a dangerous criminal. How would that change Sherlock in any way?

In The Final Problem, upon deducing the coffin, John suggests Irene Adler but she’s not his first thought in general once they all hear that this is about someone who loves Sherlock. Sherlock’s response is very telling: Don’t be ridiculous. Look at the coffin. It seems like Sherlock pieces the puzzle at once – the coffin, plus the “name” on the lid – it couldn’t have been Irene Adler.

And that’s why Sherlock calls her The Woman. As a symbol of his sexuality. The Woman who’s woken up certain impulses in his life.

3. Makeshift Gauge

Who is she?, Sherlock asks John in His Last Vow.

Based on what Mofftiss duo said about Molly, she was supposed to be featured in two episodes top. Yet, she stayed. The uncanonical character not only stayed but became fans’ favourite. I think she became a useful tool for Moffat and Gatiss. I think that not only she represents Sherlock heart (of which existence he has no idea at first) but later becomes our makeshift gauge. For what? For measuring Sherlock’s progress. See, it’s like when you live with someone, you don’t notice when they put on weight or grew a little but those who see less of them will notice all changes right away. So, when Sherlock runs around with John, we don’t notice the change in his behaviour at once (also because he’s always been nice to him, from the very beginning), we need to focus to see that. But Molly pops by once per episode and we see how Sherlock’s perception changes. In season one, he has good intentions, but they turn out bad. In season two, he’s more neutral but doesn’t restrain himself from rude comments. And Molly is being Molly – tells him he’s rude in her natural, soft way and he says sorry. For the first time. Without anyone making him do that. Almost the same happens in The Reichenbach Fall – but this time, Molly doesn’t let herself be fooled by Sherlock’s arrogance and just ignores it, going straight to the point. She says: “I’m here for you” and lowers his defences. In season three, he spends an entire day with her, smiles at her and is the sweetest, softest Sherlock we’ve ever seen. Moreover, when Lestrade asks him about her helping him solve cases, he says: [John] is not in the picture anymore, implying that she not necessarily had to be a temporary replacement. In season four, he says I love you to her.

What can we deduce about his heart?

4. The Eurus Conundrum

We could write an entire book about Eurus and not even be able to grasp her spirit. I’m not going to do that right now.

I have issues with what happened in season four finale. I mean – Molly, of course. Mycroft says Eurus and Jim Moriarty met five years ago, so before Moriarty revealed himself to Sherlock. They both planned the entire game for Sherlock. Does that mean Sherlock never really won with him? Does that mean Moriarty let him use Molly to “win”? Since she was included in Eurus’ plan, we can safely assume Jim knew about Molly back then. At first, when I saw Moriarty saying We both know that’s not quite true [that you don’t have a heart] in many Sherlolly fanvids, I was like naaaaah. He didn’t see her as one of the important people in Sherlock’s life, it couldn’t have been a reference to their meeting. But now… how deeply back in time was Eurus’ plan allocated? Which events did she predict?

Or maybe I’m missing something? Any thoughts on this?

5. Sherlock Evergreen

I once came across a post here, about how BBC Sherlock is literature, about sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s struggle with his own genius character. He was over with him, didn’t feel like writing any more of his stories so he killed him, but fans demanded more. He kept writing, although he hated it from the bottom of his heart. Season four, so often considered as the worst of all of them, is a way of saying that Sherlock character is, unfortunately, invincible. Immortal. He will live forever. We can’t kill him, no one can. Even his creator couldn’t have done it.

In season four, Sherlock goes back to the start. He is a clean slate again. He went through the entire process of change – became a good Sherlock, considerate of other people’s feelings and emotions, appreciative, supportive, loving, ready to mend what he broke. That interpretation, although very good, kind of killed my Sherlolly spirit. But I guess every interpretation like this would do it. If we stop treating characters like real human being, we’re left with what they really are – a construct, tools, puppets in the author’s hands.

Based on this, I think we’re safe to say there will never be a fifth season of BBC Sherlock (gosh, how I wish I was wrong!). Why? Because, despite what Moffat said in an interview once (after season three finale he said they’ve plotted out the entire fourth and fifth season – liar, liar, pants on fire!), season four had the perfect ending. As mentioned above, Sherlock became a good man and Mary Watson summed up what Sherlock is all about: two man, a genius junkie and a former soldier, who solve the weirdest, the toughest of cases together in flat on 221B Baker Street. Now, Sherlock is ready to be taken over by other artists who may find a new way to tell his story (though, I don’t think so) all over again.

And that’s a big, big shame… I think I speak for at least most of Sherlollians when I say we’d like to see Sherlock and Molly’s first encounter after the call. The finale really closed all the story arcs and subplots, except for this one. I mean, c’mon. You don’t have to be a Sherlollian to be annoyed by this – just remember that it was such a “biggie” that Moffat was asked about this in an interview. And this may be another reason as to why we won’t ever get a fifth season of Sherlock – because that would mean taking a side. And none of the creators will do it because Sherlock cannot be an open-and-shut case. It has to be like literature: big, open, twisted, unclear and full of room for interpretation. As long as there’s no certain explanation – yes, Sherlock loves Molly, no, Sherlock is gay – we create more and more content out of the need of closure. Thanks to the room for interpretation, the story lives. I mean, it’s been four years since The Final Problem airing and here I am, discussing BBC Sherlock still.

Coming back to Sherlolly… don’t worry. Though I’m still not sure that we can harvest any hard evidence for Sherlock’s feelings for Molly (other than friendship and respect), I’m still a Sherlollian. There two new fics waiting for me to pull myself together and write them. I think it’s good to have doubts – it means my brain hasn’t rotten yet and I can still be critical, I’m able of having my own opinions.

Thank you if you managed to read it all! I’d love to discuss if you have any conclusions. If not, that’s fine, too. I just needed it get it out of my system.

PS WHY DOES MY POSTS IN ENGLISH SOUND SO SOPHISTICATED IN MY HEAD BUT WHEN I PUT THEM IN WRITING, THEY’RE SO SHITTY?!

#bbc sherlock #sherlock #sherlock holmes #john watson #irene adler #molly hooper #sherlolly #molly x sherlock #thoughts #eurus holmes

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starkassembled · 4 years ago

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I am a huge Hannibal fan / Hannigram shipper and know well enough that the new show has no relationship with Hannibal TV show. But as far as harassing the show-runner is concerned, it was Kurtzman who diminished the show labelling it nothing more than a gore-fest in comparison to what he claims would be 'meaningful cases'. What was the point of this kind of ignorant dismissal and insult ? They aren't related, and should be left at that, so yes some fans are disturbed at that, not the show.

[Also many of us have read the books, seen the movies. Fans thinking that Clarice is a problem from the Hannibal show are not correct either, just like you are incorrect thinking we want a crossover, because the shows exist in different universe so completely there is no chance it may cross path. But you are ignorant and loud mouthed.]] //end of questions from the same author, I think?// - - - So, by that logic, the show Clarice holds absolutely no interest for you and this entire fanbase. Has no connection to Hannibal and shouldn’t even be in your orbit? Why would you be actively pursuing a hate campaign for the series and anyone that is excited about there being a show based around Clarice Starling? Why not just focus on the Season 4 campaigns? The Clarice tags on this site as well as twitter are clogged with people spewing hatred and false statements. Like Clarice doesn’t have the rights to any Harris characters apart from Clarice Starling herself (it has the rights to dozens, and the first episode alone had physical appearances of 6, 2 verbal/visual references to other characters). And the perpetual spreading of the false narratives that one: Clarice Starling is a “rip-off” character of Will Graham. and two: that Clarice Starling doesn’t have enough to her character to hold up a tv series, when she’s the main character of both The Silence of the Lambs *and* Hannibal novels and films. I’m a huge Lecterverse fan. I followed NBC’s show from the pilot episode. Being a part of that fanbase for so long, I’ve watched it slowly transform into a toxic, aggressive and sad shell of it’s former self. Attacking fellow fans, attacking other shows, attacking actors and actresses for no reason. The toxicity and vitriol from that fanbase has tainted the show for me, I haven’t had the heart to re-watch it in at least two years. The final straw for me was when some fan account decided to steal my own picture and photoshop Will Graham’s face over my own. Who does that? My point wasn’t that you guys dream about a crossover, it’s that you would better benefit the Season 4 campaign if you advocated for a crossover rather than trying to tank the show before it even begins. MGM holds those rights that a fourth season desperately needs. You want to be friends with them, not enemies. I remember how bad things went when the BBC Sherlock fanbase decided to start a hate campaign with the CBS Elementary series, and it’s really disappointing that 9 years later, y’all are acting the exact same way. Any Lecter adaptation is a good thing, not something that should be aggressively loathed like some scorned lover. As for the Kurtzman quote, I’d really enjoy a link to the article in question, cuz I’ve read through about 6 of them and here’s the only two I see that mention Hannibal Lecter, and they don’t seem offensive to me at all as a fan of both series? “But it's been quite liberating because we have no interest in writing about Hannibal — not because we didn't love the films and the show, but because it was done so well by so many people that it didn't feel fresh for us,“ and “Let me say that we’re not doing what the show Hannibal did and that was make a literal meal of the murders themselves. Our goal, when we pick individual cases, is to always organize our story break around what’s going on for the characters and then how can the case itself somehow illuminate some inner struggle that they’re not confronting? So, we don’t really break story or grisly murders or ‘what’s the grisliest murder we can put on camera?’ We break story from the point of view of asking ‘What are they not looking at? What are they afraid to look at? What are they scared to look at? And how does this case open a door for them that they may not necessarily want to walk through?” Those both are factual and fair statements to me. Hannibal Lecter’s character has been portrayed in 5 films and one television series by some incredibly talented and decorated actors. Brian Cox, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gaspard Ulliel, briefly as young Lecter by Aaron Thomas and of course, by the incredible Mads Mikkelsen. His story is fully realized, from birth to old age. Why mess with fantastic acting and storytelling when you can tap into an untold story about Clarice, her years from the end of The Silence of the Lambs to the start of the Hannibal novel. That’s a 7 year gap to fill, and one that can be told easily without Lecter’s name. NBC Hannibal had wonderful cinematography, and we can all agree that it was gory pieces of art. It was so graphic that it turned away certain viewers at the time of airing because of how graphic it was at the time. In the one episode we’ve gotten of Clarice so far, the deaths are not “pieces of art”, they focus less on the killer and more on the victims, which is perfectly in line with Clarice’s empathy. It doesn’t suit the tone of the story these writers are trying to tell. I don’t find those statements insulting, I find them factual. Not everyone is interested in the gory death scenes. And I think emphasizing the victim’s stories are rather fitting for the time period we’re in now, it reminds me of the late Michelle McNamara’s true crime novel, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark. tldr: if you don’t like the concept of a Clarice Starling standalone series, then don’t watch it. but don’t actively mistreat those that do want to watch it and are curious to check it out. as this series holds absolutely nothing against Hannibal and the fan campaign to get a fourth season. and don’t be rude? isn’t that the entire tagline of Hannibal? Lol.

#CBS Clarice #Lectersverse #just my opinion #ask #Anonymous

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yeah-oh-shit · 5 years ago

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Sherlock S5/Dracula Meta

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I’ve never written any fan theories or meta before (although I have so many), so please bear with me. I know my theory is going to sound a little out there, but I here it is: I think BBC Dracula is actually Sherlock S5, or else that it is somehow going to lead directly into it without warning.

Warning: this is going to be a long piece. I’m going to break this down as follows, because there are many different pieces of evidence to examine:

TFP, the story and the episode

Gothic Horror, HOB, Dracula

Vision, Timing, 20/20

The Final Problem

The first one is a fan theory I read probably 6-9 months ago that sadly I can’t find anymore (if you know who this person is, please please comment so I can give credit!). Basically this person was talking about how the naming of the episodes typically has some tie to what occurs in the original story by that same name, but how TFP has nothing AT ALL to do with the original story. In the original story, Sherlock goes face to face with Moriarty, and we are all lead to believe that both he and Moriarty die over the Richenbach falls. In all reality, ACD had meant to kill off Sherlock in this story, and stopped writing Sherlock Holmes stories for ten years before bringing him back in “The Empty House,” due to the public outrage and demand for more stories. So, the logic follows that maybe the one thing that they have in common is that they are both pitted as the end to Sherlock Holmes (in the story, he is dead; in the show we are given [force fed] an ending, it's made to seem like the final piece). The author of this theory also pointed out the show runners in this way are comparing ending the series with TFP (no canon Johnlock) to ending the show with Sherlock dead. We are left with a straight-washed version of John and Sherlock, with Mary’s voice controlling the narrative and that narrative being: It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are. The chemistry between John and Sherlock has been more or less completely lost throughout S4, and so we are left with this empty, dead-feeling version of them that doesn’t feel true to the characters we know and love. Even casuals thought S4 sucked.. this is why. They metaphorically killed them/killed the show.

Before S4 aired, Mofftiss had said that if they pulled off what they had planned, it would be the biggest thing in television. Well, what we got in TFP doesn’t really fit that at all, does it? What could they be referring to: A secret sister? Not really that epic. Even if we find out that most of S4 didn’t take place (either EMP theory or some other way of explaining it) that isn’t really a new trope. The audience discovering that they have actually been seeing things that are inside the main character’s head the entire time has been done over and over (Sixth Sense, A Beautiful Mind come to mind off hand). So what could this huge, history making move be? The argument that the meta I read previously made was that the show will come back (from the dead) unexpectedly, with no warning. That it will be a revival and in that revival, we will get canon Johnlock. I can’t remember if OP explicitly theorized that Dracula is actually Sherlock S5, but I think so.

Now, I was with this theory from the beginning.. there is just something that feels possible to me, despite the fact that it sounds far fetched. Dracula seems like a weird, random thing to do when Sherlock, Moftiss’s mutual obsession, isn’t finished. (Also creating an escape room to keep up hype is odd if the show is over, but I digress.) I just don’t believe Moftiss’s constant claims that they couldn’t get everyone together to film S5 because of schedules, that they wanted to take a break, that they don’t know if they will do more (when Moffatt has talked about wanting a 5 season arc before, not to mention John Yorke). And then there’s the fact that we know they have filmed scenes that we have never seen (Niagara Falls anyone?). All this evidence that S5 is definitely coming, combined with the fact that we haven’t heard anything about it but have heard about Dracula, sort of fell into place for me. Despite me being willing to buy into it, this theory still seemed a little far fetched. But wait, there’s more!

Victorian Gothic Literature, HOB, Dracula

A lot of people have been talking about how gay Dracula is going to be, and citing evidence of the connections between Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde (Dracula was written directly after his trial and Dracula is read as having characteristics of Wilde) as evidence. This, along with the extremely homoerotic last clip of the trailer, certain parts of the text that read as queer coded (I haven’t read Dracula, so I don’t know much but have seen some things floating around that seem v gay to me), and what we know about queer coding in Victorian gothic literature in general, all make a convincing argument. Gatiss actually recently confirmed (more or less) that Dracula will be bisexual in the upcoming series. And while I’m all about gay vampires (I am a huge vampire fan, seriously I love Vampire Diaries and True Blood and was one of “those girls” during the middle school Twilight craze), there is something about Dracula being Moftiss’s first cannon gay show that feels both disappointing and incongruous.

I want to bring up the All Ghost Stories are Gay Stories meta by heimishtheidealhusband. Now, this meta was written in 2015, in anticipation of TAB. Its great and you should definitely check it out if you haven’t/don’t remember it. The part I am most interested in is actually the reading of HOB, which I will get to in a bit. The takeaways from the first bit of the meta are that monsters and ghosts (to a different extent) are representations of queer desire in Victorian gothic literature. I’m summarizing drastically here, but as queer desire was obviously unacceptable in Victorian times, writers would obfuscate it by creating an “other,” a monster or ghost, that represented the queer or “inverted” desire and also demonstrated the fear and horror that society had for homosexuality. So the monster becomes the representation of homosexuality (homosexual acts or desires) that is pursuing the protagonists. Oftentimes, the protagonists were originally obsessed with the monsters or the concept of them, before actually confronting them, but are terrified and frightened when it actually occurs (think Dr. Jeckyll or Frankenstein). This meta also specifically talks about Dracula and vampires as the most queerly coded of the Victorian monsters: “Think about your vampire tropes: Dracula sneaks into your bedroom at night, lusting after your bodily fluids. The victim, meanwhile, is paralyzed with fear, but also excitement. (Oh hi phobic enchantment, I see you there!) The tension mounts until there’s a climactic penetration of fangs into flesh. And lots of sucking. Then think about the fact that the one doing the penetrating and the one being penetrated can be - and often are - both male.”

This all seems to bode great for our queer reading of the new BBC Dracula, yay! Vampires are clearly queer coded, and making it explicit makes sense and seems like a no-brainer. But I think it’s important to point out the ways in which this is also potentially (and likely) problematic. In Victorian times, there weren’t really many other options for portraying homosexuality. This is part of what makes what these writers did so brilliant - they were unable to show these desires as normal and healthy, because it was too dangerous and society didn’t see them that way (hence the use of the word “inverts” for homosexuals). Using the horror genre allowed them much more freedom to explore homosexuality, identity, and societal reactions to it, but also obfuscated the difference between reactions to homosexuality and the thing itself. In some of the stories, like Frankenstein, the monsters are actually misunderstood. Frankenstein’s monster only turns evil after experiencing society’s horrified reaction to it. However, in a modern context, I wonder about the message it sends to remake a Victorian story in a modern time and make the monster queer.

To flush this out a bit, I think it would be helpful to take a look at how Moftiss (and particularly Mark Gatiss) have played with this Victorian monster trope already, in Sherlock. Which brings us to HOB. heimishistheidealhusband points out that ACD’s original story “The Hound of the Baskervilles” would definitely fit into the scope of Victorian gothic literature, and their meta “All Ghost Stories are Gay Stories” does a particularly good job of breaking this episode down with the lens of Victorian gothic literature and queer coding. I am going to quote this reading here, and also also want to touch on the reading of this episode by Rebekah of TJLC Explained.

Here is what heimishtheidealhusband has to say about this episode: “Here’s why BBC Sherlock’s treatment of Hound is particularly beautiful. The creature – the hound – is our queer monster. In ACD’s Hound, the hound was indeed physically altered – he was painted in phosphorous to give him a hellish, glowing appearance. And the hound was actually the one to do the killing. In BBC’s Hound, there’s “the hound” – the monster that everyone is afraid of which is actually imaginary, and “the dog” – the real thing that actually exists. In other words, in this version, the “queer creature” in the horror story has been de-monstered. Homospectrality is being flipped on his head – rather than separating the man from the queer, they’re separating the queer from the monster. Because the dog isn’t inherently evil, it’s just the poison in the air that everyone is breathing that makes them fear it, and see a monster instead of an innocent dog. So in this treatment, if the dog/hound represents queerness, heteronormativity becomes a poisonous element in the air we all breathe.”

This is why it is so important that Hounds is plural (as opposed to the original story “The Hound of the Baskervilles”). They are emphasizing the differentiation between the two dogs, the differentiation between the monster and the queer. Rebakah of TJLC Explained also points out that despite all the conspiracy theories, there is actually no monster inside Baskerville, but rather a rabbit that glows “like a fairy,” (let’s all take a moment to remember the skipping dance and sing-song voice Ben does in this scene, in case it wasn’t obviously queerly coded enough). It’s hard to imagine a less-threatening animal than a glowing bunny.

Mark Gatiss has been very open about his love for horror and the gothic. He has studied the gothic writer M.R. James, and was involved with the BBC documentary about James that explored his “repressed sexuality.” He clearly loves and respects the genre, and is familiar with queer readings of Victorian gothic lit. In HOB, he chose to engage with the genre in a modern context, and to separate the monster from the queer. In doing so, he points out the inaccuracy and harm that coupling queerness with monstrosity generates. With this in mind, the choice to make Dracula feels like a step backwards, especially when you bear in mind that Gatiss has actually said that he isn’t really interested in gothic horror anymore. In an interview with Shadows at the Door in 2017, Gatiss stated: “I used to think nothing could exist without waistcoats and bubbling test tubes and now I’m actually more interested in modern horror; the gothic but in a modern context. I don’t think it has to be about the old and obviously I still love it but it doesn’t have to be about candelabra and castles. You can get the same feeling from modern methods, and in a way that is more frightening.”

All this isn’t to say that gothic horror or vampire stories isn’t still interesting and worthwhile as a concept, or that a canonically queer Dracula wouldn’t/couldn’t be badass. (I for one would love a Vampire Diaries remake wherein Damon’s character is a woman, but I’m off topic..). It doesn’t even mean that there can’t still be something complex or provoking in this representation for a modern audience. But it also feels dangerously close to repeating the queer coded (or even plainly queer) villain that we have all seen a hundred times from horror films and Disney movies. At best, still doesn’t seem particularly new or exciting, and at worst it could reinforce frankly problematic and dangerous stereotypes.

I am now going to analyze the actual trailer for BBC Dracula that was released a few weeks ago, because it is going to help me to illustrate this point. One thing that struck me most when watching it was just how horrific it really is. The 45 second long trailer includes: a fly that crawls into an eye, a bloody fingernail being ripped off, a blood covered hand, something that appears to be being birthed, a scary, old-looking Dracula with a bloody tongue, and bloody flesh that is being carved. There are at least 3 instances of mouths: the fangs at the very beginning, the mouth with bloody tongue, and the frame after the gunshot of a mouth that looks desiccated like a zombie, that only flashes for a split second. All in all, it’s not only scary, it’s quite disgusting. The three bloody or otherwise monstrous mouths that we see relate most strongly to the covert sexual tones of Victorian gothic literature (and also remind me of Moriarty’s oral fixation in TAB). These are some of the most disturbing of the images. While the intro fangs are pretty mild, the clip of Dracula’s frightening face and bloody tongue (which is followed immediately by the bloody flesh being carved) and the decayed mouth are both quite gruesome. If we apply the metaphors that we know from Sherlock, they are making some pretty damning connections. The mouths in-and-of-themselves could be read in a sexual way, but then there is the added fact that the decayed mouth appears directly after a gunshot, which we know has been tied to dicks/gay sex in Sherlock (and generally). The bloody flesh being carved on a table also recalls the food/sex metaphor in Sherlock, specifically reminding me of how disgusting the meal scene is in John’s wedding to Mary. Food and eating can be really disgusting, and this trailer makes a point to show us that. When we connect this back to the sex metaphor again, and give it a queer lens, we are once again being metaphorically told that queer sex is disgusting and horrific.

Whether or not Moftiss are purposefully making these metaphorical statements, they definitely went out of their way to make this variation of Dracula particularly scary, horrifying, and gruesome. It’s always possible that they are just hyping up the goriness in order to get audiences excited. It’s also possible that they are highlighting the disgustingness of Dracula’s monstrosity as a means of engaging with the public perception of homosexuality or that they will complicate the narrative in some other way. But even if we give them the benefit of the doubt here and assume they aren’t trying to paint queerness in a bad light, this highlighting of the disgusting nature of Dracula’s monstrosity doesn’t seem to push forward any kind of unique, modern narrative. We have seen this, this is exactly what Victorian gothic literature is all about. They needed to explore homosexuality through its repression, to make it monstrous, because they lived in a time when there were few alternative ways to explore it (except for maybe the example of our sweet “bohemian” boys - check out this meta from artemisastarte to learn more about bohemianism and queerness in Sherlock Holmes). But in our modern day, is this really that exciting? Is this the kind of queer representation we want and deserve in 2019 (soon to be 2020)? To me, the answer is no, especially in light of the incredible and complex work they have done in Sherlock toward building a queer love story that is normalized, and completely removed from any conflation with monstrosity.

The fact that Dracula is tied so heavily to Sherlock makes this distinction even greater. Gatiss said that they got the idea for Dracula from a still image of Benedict Cumberbatch on the set of Sherlock with his collar up. Supposedly it reminded them of Dracula and the BBC asked them if they wanted to make it. In an interview, when asked about Dracula in relationship to Sherlock, Gatiss called it a “stablemate” of Sherlock Holmes. I’m not really sure how we are supposed to take this, and he doesn’t explain at all (of course), but that would mean that they are in some way similar or connected. I think he doesn’t just mean that they both come from him and Moffatt, as that is rather obvious and was acknowledged in the question itself. Both shows are not only created by Moftiss, but written in the same format, produced by Sue Virtue, and shot at Hartwood Studios. They also really emphasize the connection to Sherlock in the trailer (which isn’t surprising because advertising), and also in the new Netflix description, which states only: “From the makers of ‘Sherlock,’ Claes Bang stars as Dracula in this brand-new miniseries inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic novel.” There isn’t even a background image, only a weird gray distortion on a black background.

Furthermore, there are also elements from Sherlock that point to Dracula, either directly or indirectly. In S4, when John is supposedly texting “E.” He asks “Night Owl?” and the response he gets is “Vampire.” It feels odd and out of place to mention vampires in this offhand way, as we have never really seen anything like this on the show. To be fair, a lot of S4 feels this way, but I believe that it is actually chock-full of symbolic meaning and that almost everything that we see that feels wrong or untrue to the show has a deeper meaning. What, then, is the purpose that this plays? Additionally, in the escape room (Spoiler alert for The Game is Now), there is a television in the first room (Molly’s lab) that is playing what is set to look like British news. In the newsreel at the bottom, they included the announcement that Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt are making BBC’s Dracula. Once again, this feels a little throwaway, or could be explained away as advertising (although the escape room is so fast-paced that having any time at all to look at the television, let alone read it, when it wasn’t explicitly part of the puzzles would seem rare). Once again, there is a subliminal connection made between these two shows that I would argue is purposeful.

The decision to make a gothic show that so completely plays on this horror trope, and then to tie it both explicitly and implicitly to the show that they have already done, which has a very different messaging around the gothic as it relates to conceptions of homosexuality, seems odd. In and of itself, a Gothic exploration of queerness is possible, but feels limited by its very nature. Gothic horror through a queer lens is about queerness and otherness being equated to and embodied by monstrosity. Dracula’s trailer seems to clearly be playing up this monstrousness. I want to reiterate that I don’t think making something like Dracula gay couldn’t be cool or interesting for what it is, or that there isn’t a way to engage with the gothic without it being problematic. But in comparison to what they are doing with Sherlock, it feels unimpressive. And in light of HOB, Dracula seems to go directly against the argument that Gatiss makes so beautifully, that queerness is harmless and very distinct from monstrosity, despite what the fog of homophobia might depict. To build up this narrative in Sherlock, then cut into the middle of it with something that is explicitly connected to it but symbolically making an opposite assertion feels counter-intuitive.

Vision, Timing, 20/20

Even with all this evidence, I don’t know that I would really believe they would go through the trouble to do all of this if not for the timing. Dracula is set to come out “soon,” but people have been speculating for this winter. That would make it the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020. Now I’m going to explain a little bit about my reading of HLV, which happens to coincide nicely with The Game is Now, and ultimately this theory as a whole.

Something that caught my eye in HLV is how much glass there is in its first scene. We open on a shot of CAM’s glasses sitting on the table. We are below them, looking up through glass (although we see later that the table is actually wood). Next we get a shot of lady Elizabeth Smallwood, reflected through glass so as to show her in double (which is particularly interesting given that she is repeatedly called Lady Alicia Smallwood, both by CAM in the text that flashes on the screen during his analysis of her later this episode, and in the S4 scene where she leaves Mycroft her card). Next we see the entire interviewing committee through glass walls (it continues but you get the picture). We are introduced to the concept of lenses, looking through them, and at times the distorted image created by them.

CAM owns a newspaper, and he controls people through rumors: it doesn’t matter what the truth is, it matters what people believe (what they see). (This sounds a lot like Mary in S4 to me). So we are introduced again (after TRF) to the concept of fact vs. fiction, truth vs. lie, and this time with the addition of lenses. What lens you view something through matters, has a bearing on how you read something, how clearly you see it (sounds kind of like the fog in HOB). By the end of HLV, we have been removed from the narrative enough, we can’t see completely clearly. We don’t know what has happened during the time between John and Sherlock’s confrontation with Mary and the scene at Christmas. We don’t see if Sherlock and John are on the same page or what Sherlock is planning.

This episode leads into TAB, followed by S4 fuckiness. In S4, there are many things that feel “off” but one of the biggest is that John and Sherlock are distant the entire time. In the beginning we get the indication that John is missing Sherlock, but then we see Sherlock acting as if he is closer to Mary than John, inviting her on cases in his place. She gets inserted between them completely, becomes part of the gang. After Mary’s “death” John blames Sherlock (in a feat of logic that is truly baffling) and we have them at their most distant in TLD. And then, they come back together again in TFP, but the warmth and closeness is missing.

This season makes it clear that Moftiss were writing in all the little things that made their dynamic romantic and their chemistry so clear. They were able to take that out, and they did so with intention. It is if we are seeing the show through a lens: through the lens of straight-washing, the lens or perspective that Mary (John’s wife, the symbol of a straight John Watson, a platonic John and Sherlock) narrates for us so thoroughly at the end of the series. (Also side note, this straight-washed version of the show also fits into the 5 part John Yorke structure with part 4 being the height of the antithesis or the “worst part” - I learned about York from garkgatiss’s meta). The heart of the show is John and Sherlock’s dynamic. This dynamic is clearly intimate and romantic and has been in every iteration of Sherlock Holmes since the original stories, despite never being explicitly canon. S4 really follows through on Moriarty’s promise. The heart of Sherlock Holmes is gone, missing, burned out.

Then we have the escape room [mild spoilers]. The entrance is Doyle’s Opticians; its filled with glasses. (Side note there was definitely a wall displaying glasses that were arranged by color to look like a rainbow). Once again we have the theme of lenses. Being in an optometry office, it’s interesting because the focus is obviously on correct vision. 20/20 vision. Vision is “right” when it’s 2020. (This wasn’t my realization, but someone else went to the escape room as well and wrote about it). So now, we have this idea of being able to see correctly tied to the number 2020. To the YEAR 2020. This is also interesting because one of the signs in Doyle’s Opticians read “You were told but you didn’t listen: coming soon.” Just another indication that we will be getting more (Sherlock) soon.

Now, finally, we come to what I see as some of the most convincing evidence about Sherlock S5 coming in 2020. It has to do with copyright laws.

In England, all of ACD’s stories are in the public domain. However, in the US, this isn’t so. US Copyright laws are different from the UK, so the last of the stories won’t actually enter the public domain until 2023. American copyright duration is 95 years from the date of publication. This is important because the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate is extremely protective of how Sherlock Holmes is portrayed in the media. It turns out that despite the fact that most of the stories are already in the public domain, BBC, CBS, and Warner Brothers have all gotten licenses from the Estate in order to make their shows/films. In 2014, the ACD Estate lost a lawsuit in which they were trying to argue that the characters are “complex” and that any use of the character (at all) was still valid under copyright laws (as not every story had entered the public domain) and therefore in need of a license from them. While some of the later stories are still under copyright, they lost the lawsuit and it was ruled that the character (as written in the earlier stories) is in the public domain. They sued Miramax for its production Mr. Holmes, which portrays an elderly Holmes, arguing that it drew from the later stories and therefore violated copyright. Miramax ended up settling to avoid litigation. The Estate is known for being litigious and basically doing its best to stay gatekeeper, hoard ownership, and generally extort money out of anyone who creates anything having to do with Sherlock Holmes. While the BBC has paid them for licenses before, I’m not sure how this clearly conservative group would feel about making Johnlock canon. Even if its not legally in their power to prevent it from happening, it doesn’t sound like that has stopped them in the past from suing basically anyone that has tried to create Sherlock Holmes material without their consent, and if that material in any way seems to come from the later stories, then they might have a case.

Which brings us to the Three Garridebs. Moftiss have said in the past that this is one of their favorite stories due to it being the story where Holmes shows his depth of feeling for Watson. As stated by Watson himself, “It was worth a wound–it was worth many wounds–to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask” Generally speaking, the fandom has posited that a Johnlock reveal may happen in a “Three Garridebs” moment. And do you happen to know the story that directly precedes the Three Garridebs? The Sussex Vampire. A story in which Holmes investigates a supposed vampire only to discover a loving mother who is attempting to save her infant child by sucking poison out from his wound. Kind of sounds familiar huh? A perceived monster, who is in fact nothing dangerous at all. Who in this case is the exact opposite of monstrous, is actually loving and gentle (like the real dog that is tellingly tied to sentiment, or Bluebell the glowing rabbit).

Both the Sussex Vampire and the Three Garridebs are part of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, the last collection of stories. They were both published in 1924, meaning that both their copyrights run out in 2019. It will really only be possible for Moftiss to use material from the Three Garridebs for a queer storyline starting in 2020. And if we assume that this is their plan all along, that they have even potentially set it up in S4 (looking at you John Watson getting shot by “Eurus”), they have HAD TO WAIT until now. But they won’t need to wait any longer, starting in January.

Oh and by the way, here is an interview Martin gave recently in which he tells a story about how he had to literally give up the Hobbit because he was CONTRACTED to Sherlock S2 and they wouldn’t move filming on that. (Thankfully Peter Jackson moved filming around for him, so we still have him as Bilbo). So I would imagine that if S2 was contracted, and they were planning on making a 5 series show all along, that they are probably contracted for all of it. Which means all those claims that its just too difficult to get everyone together for filming are just another means of throwing us off the trail.

If they have been waiting for this copyright to expire, but also unable to tell us that that is why they are waiting, it also makes sense why they have stretched it out so much. It's even possible that they didn’t realize how horrible the ACD Estate was going to be when they first started filming, and had to adjust/drag it out so that they could finally do what they want to do, what they have been planning for from the beginning.

So there you have it: the ending of The Final Problem, an analysis of HOB, Dracula, and Victorian gothic lit, and finally the symbolism of lenses, correct vision, and copyright issues all leading up to 2020. I think S5 of Sherlock is coming. I’ve been feeling it, sensing something for the last few months. I think we can all feel it. And it might just be sooner than we thought.

---------------------------------

Thank you so much to my love @canonicallybisexualjohnwatson who co-developed this theory with me, edited this, helped me with the links, and was also the one to introduce me to Sherlock/TJLC, subsequently changing my life. i love you b.

#tjlc #johnlock #tjlc is real #bbc sherlock #sherlock meta #bbc dracula #sherlock

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formerlyrunephoenix6769 · 6 years ago

Text

I was asked and ask, and in my flu causing feverish state, I deleted it. So if you’re out there and recognize this question (and I’m paraphrasing) please reblog and @ me.

So If i remember, the question was along the lines of

“Why isnt there huge amounts of stuff, for shows like She -Ra and TDP, are they not as popular?”

Lets go for a ride...

I think the reason why we dont get the same amount of content generated for shows such as The Dragon Prince and She-ra, say in comparison to shows like RWBY.

And by content, I mean, theories, memes, art and in depth analysis, boils down to 3 things.

1) Time to Generate.

Both The Dragon Prince and She-Ra have only recently dropped their first season. Now both have their second season coming rather swiftly, esp in the case of The Dragon Prince. Season 2 is dropping tomorrow: Feb 15 2019 over on Netflix.

She-Ra’s is set to be released April 26th 2019, again on Netflix.

The Dragon Prince S1 was released on Sept 14th 2018, and She-Ra: Princesses of Power, Nov, 13th 2018.

In TDP case, that is a 5 month and 1 day turn around and SPOP, 5 months and 13 days turn around.

It is rather unheard of for an animation to have their Second season be ready in under 6 months. Usually it is anywhere from 10 months minimum to a year or in some cases, even longer.

I put this down to the success of the two series and how the audience received them, and Netflix wishing to capitalize on it, and the hype generated.

Lets just hope that the both properties dont feel rushed as a result.

So with such little time, and a very short hiatus in terms of tv shows, (which is when most of fandom generated content tends to be created), that gives very little time for their respective fandoms to leave their senses and devolve into some sort of animeesque Lord of the Flies in a matter of weeks, in a bid to cope.

(RWBY FNDM, I’m looking at you with your ‘Beehaw’s’ and YORSE, and ‘Scheehaw’s’. I still cant believe you made Arryn read that with her own eyes!!)

(You can tumblr search Yorse yourself, I aint making anyone look at that cursed image without their consent. You’ve been warned! ;p @hammertime-rwby i shake my head in your general direction... ;D )

Time to generate can also be reflected in how long a show has been on air, thereby garnering a wider and much larger fanbase with a broader set of creative skills, which in turn results in more fandom content generated, esp if there is the potential of shipping.

And bloody hell does SPOP have some crazy potential on the shipping front,

2) Time to Mature and Fandom Engagement.

As a show matures and the audience leans learn more about the characters and the world that they inhabit, the nature of fandom created content evolves. It also depends on the verve of the show itself.

The way in which a show is presented, the topics and themes they cover, the way the characters and the world are presented, can vicariously dictate how the fandom engages with the property, go forth and multiply.

For example:

Sherlock is very meme worthy and that tends to be reflected in the content that is generated by the Sherlockians.

RWBY has been out for 6 volumes and has a very dedicated and passionate FNDM, but it is also broad, large and incredibly diverse.

It is also rather vocal and has very strong differing opinions from one end of the spectrum to the other, which in turn creates YT reviews, reactions and rebuttals and heated retorts.

These polarising pov’s can then go on to permeate to other branches of social media, such as twitter, tumblr, discord etc etc

Same with fandom accepted headcanons and lore...

(I’m still on the fence about you Renora Rodeo Round up... You’re on thin ice! ;p )

But it has taken a number of years to cultivate.

Neither The Dragon Prince or She-Ra has had the time to do that, yet!

But I’m certain that will change in the coming future.

She-Ra has already generated quite the buzz on both the positive and negative sides, due to being based on a much loved, older, property, ‘She-Ra 1985′, but that is a mine field which I covered on my previous blog before some asshat decided to axe it.

Also, the themes that Netflix She-Ra seems to be covering, which helped generate a lot of the negative backlash towards the show, will most definitely continue to be polarizing... So I would keep an eye out if YT and people picking stuff apart is your jam.

On the other side, what SPOP seems to be trying to deliver will also generate lots of awesome content. Just look at how this took off,

“Hey Adora”

And this cinnamon roll’s preoccupation with ‘force captain orientation’,

The Dragon Prince strikes me as a show that would generate deep reflective analysis of world and characters as well as theories, much like its older cousin, Avatar Last Airbender, once there is more to comb over and speculate on.

These two shows are presented differently and they way they are tackling certain themes in their respective narratives are also vastly different, which could also have a lot to do with their respective target audience and intended demographic, so it stands to reason that the results of fandom generated content would be different.

3) Platform and Format.

This I believe is one of the most important aspects which ties the previous points above.

If a property is delivered week by week, such as RWBY, there is time, for the FNDM, after they make amazing screen shots and insta analysis and excited speculations, to go over it again and allow the episode to sink in.

(which both TDP and SPOP could do, as they have episodic episodes but that is an entirely different post)

There is time for the fans to go sit back and react to what they have seen, whether that is creating beautiful fan art, crafting in depth theories, character analysis, extrapolate potential world building.

A week by week delivery culminates in an emotional impact that is allowed to foster and grow, thereby gives space and time for the individual to go off and create content for their respective fandom.

Fanart takes time, fics take time.

The not knowing what could happen next opens up the avenues of thought out speculations.

Having a week to go over everything to that point and process new info. Being able to take your time to research and prep before you put it out there, results in good, in depth analysis and well crafted work.

Time gives breeding ground.

(Some wait years for lore.. Overwatch fandom, I dont know how we do it! But we all cant be Tracer!)

Because, we are so salivating at the the mouth for insta gratification and ‘binge’ culture has become so prevalent where media is concerned.

When a property is delivered all at once, it gives no breathing space for speculation and wild theories.

For a particular scene or interaction between characters to have an emotional impact and thereby create emotionally significant fan art, that is reblogged and shared in that moment, give it time to resonate with its respective fandoms.

And there for have time for other members of the fandom to be inspired to go off and create their own stuff in what ever medium is their forte.

Because we are on this fast paced ride, not only from the start of the chapter 1 to end of the first ‘book’, so to speak, but also the social media need to be the first to create the content for the fandom, the type of content generated, how and why, is hugely different and may not at first glance look like it is forth coming..

It just takes time to sink in.. To go back through and re-evaluate.

Being inspired by a particular interaction between two characters , or a certain facet of the world that an fan may have noticed and wishes to expand on, art wise, fic wish or theroise, loses its validity when you know that the next episode could answer your burning questions in less than 5 seconds.

And so you stave off for the dreaded nine episode when your eye balls are nearly gumming together and you know you have work in 4 hours but you need answers to the burning questions..

and so results.

This is not the content creators fault, in anyway. This is quite literally the way in which it is delivered.

Its is pretty much,

II) However, in Conclusion

The perceived lack of fandom interaction/generated content, in the social media platforms that a fan chooses to consume, or is available to them, does not mean that a show isn't popular.

The ties to previous projects, such as SPOP to She-Ra 1985 and The Dragon Prince to Avatar Last Airbender are vastly different.

Expectations are vastly different.

Fandom interaction and generation of fandom content, is not a measure made of how popular a show is.

Also, politely, remember the demographic of which these shows are aimed at.

Be respectful of the show creators, the property, the characters and the narrative that the show creators have painstakingly crafted and put out into the world.

The story that they want to tell.

Again,

a reminder,

Tomorrow, 15th Feb 2019 , Season 2 of The Dragon Prince.

(im gonna go back into my fluey coma now)

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ebaeschnbliah · 6 years ago

Text

ABOUT THE MEANING OF SERIES ONE

________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION - USER MANUAL - CHAPTER LIST

A little while ago I made a short summary and overview of my ideas and theories regarding the events round the ‘Reichenbach Fall’ - including (mostly) the episodes ASIB, THOB, TRF and TEH - I called it: The Big Question.

This new post can be seen as a prequel to The Big Question. It deals with the episodes of Series One (including the Unaired Pilot). Unlike the other post, this is less about a possible decoding of the actual stories told in those episodes, but more about the probable funktion of Series One as ...

introduction (ASIP)

user manual (TBB)

chapter list (TGG)

,,, for Sherlock BBC as a whole. If S1 - and especially TGG - is, what I think it is, perhapst TGG as the ‘chapter list’ could provide some interesting hints regarding a possible continuation of the stoy, that feels at the end of TFP still very unfinished.

Enjoy this idea if you like under the cut ...

UNAIRED PILOT & A STUDY IN PINK

The most important function is, of course, the introduction of the main characters

Sherlock Holmes

Dr. John Watson

Mrs. Martha Louise Hudson - landlady not the housekeeper

Dr. Molly Hooper - pathologist

DI Greg Lestrade

DS Sally Donovan (different actors in PILOT & ASIP)

Philip Anderson - forensic scientist (wears a beard in PILOT)

Therapist Ella Thompson

Jeff Hope - serial killer

Mycroft Holmes (online appearance in PILOT)

Moriarty (name mentioned only ASIP)

Some interesting details of PILOT

The very first e-mail Sherlock opens is from Mycroft. He asks online for his brothers advice regarding ‘an impossible situation’. Sherlock answers with the famous canon Holmes quote: ‘When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains must be the truth.’

Sherlock calls John ‘good, old Dr. Watson’ only hours after their aquaintance. This phrase is from the last paragraph of the last canon story His Last Bow and it continues: “You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming … ”

John shoots serial killer Jeff Hope from the house opposite 221b Baker Street. In the canon story The Empty House, this is the spot Colonel Moran (right hand man of Prof. Moriarty and only survivor of his criminal network) chooses for his planned assassination of Sherlock Holmes. He gets caught in his own trap.

The topics ‘chess’, ‘playing the game’ and ‘a choice between two different options’ appear for the first time and will turn out to become a recurring theme through all currently existing episodes.

Ella, the ‘changeable’ therapist is later in the story replaced by a dead therapist in an airing cupboard, then by Elsa who finally turns out to be Eurus/Sherlock

Near the end of the episode a dog barks in the night … and dogs too will become a main theme that runs throughout the whole story, culminating in RedBeard. (Shoes for the Hound Dogs of the Mind Palace)

ASIP is, basically, a repetition of PILOT. The main differences (among some strange and seemingly unnecessary ones X) are:

The barking of a dog can be heard again. This time though at the beginning of the episode, immediately after John wakes from his nightmare and before he meets Sherlock for the first time (X)

Instead of five, ther are four victims. All of them get names. The phone of Jennifer Wilson, the pink lady, can be located by a tracking device called ‘MePhone’ (MyHeart?)

While in PILOT Sherlock approaches the killer, in ASIP it is the killer who approaches Sherlock (X X)

The final confrontation between detective and killer is moved from 221b Baker Street to a public school. John shoots Jeff Hope from the twin building of the school opposite

While in PILOT John throws his gun into the Thames, he keeps it in ASIP

Mycroft Homes appears in person and, at first, incognito. He declares himself to be Sherlock’s ‘arch enemy’. This leads to the assumption that he could be Holmes’ famous antagonist from canon … Professor James Moriarty. Only by the end of the episode it becomes clear that the mysterious man is actually Sherlock’s older brother

Another main character is added .… Moriarty. He is the sponsor of serial killer Hope and a ‘fan’ of Sherlock Holmes. To introduce Moriarty already in the first episode is a major divergence from canon in this adaptation

THE BLIND BANKER

This episode seems to serve as an ‘user manual’ for the whole story which indicates how ‘the game is played’ by introducing certain elements that will recur again and again in different variations:

locked murder mysteries and a killer who can break into everywhere

protections of high security facilities are bypassed or fail or suddenly cease to exist

secret informations, ancient cypers, codes, hidden messages and the indication that there will be a regular change of those codes by using a different book (a different story/a different stage play?)

the search for something very small but most valuable (a memory?)

the past is important (valuable information is found at the National Antiquities Museum=history)

smuggling things of great wealth connected to the East (past?) …. drugs and antiquities (chemistry of love and memories out of the past?)

theatre stages on different levels, masks and disguises (X)

character mirrors ((Soo Lin//Sherlock; Liang ‘Zhi Zhu’//Mycroft & Jim Moriarty (the brother and the spider); Andy//John; city boy Van Coon//Sherlock; freelance journalist Lukis//John)

character switching (at the circus (on stage) John becomes Sherlock, Dr. Sarah Sawyer becomes Dr. John Watson)

family dynamics: sibling rivalry, dead parents, orphans

criminal networks (emotions?) connected to disused transport routes (bodily functions?)

the mysterious character M lurks in the background and pulls the strings of a criminal network (Mycroft, Moriarty, Mary, Moran, Magnusson, Molly, Mummy, ME//Sherlock himself? His own worst enemy?)

people behind masks .... a veiled attacker with a sword, a masked escapist who needs to break free in time before he gets shot, a masked attacker from behind … all of them from the ‘East’

a dangerous ‘dragon’ also from the East (because every ‘dragon slayer’ needs his dragon?)

a sister from the East who knows how to decipher the code

key-locations: high up in the sky (bank//Bart’s roof//CAM Tower) and underground (dragon den black tramway//Sumatra Station//London Aquarium)

things sitting behind glass that should be out in the open and used

the art of tea making

being observed and the sign of the eye (X X)

assassins pretending to kill Sherlock but don't do it because they want something from him

the period of … ‘five years ago’

a desired relationship that doesn’t come to pass

John fighting with a ‘machine’ (Sherlock?)

German language (X)

things coming in pairs (X)

secret tattoos

spiderwebs (X)

pouring water, rain, spilled water by Sherlock as well as his attacker

cats (golden lucky cats and lions)

a dog (Chow-Chow) hiding in plain sight

the colour yellow (X X)

William (one of 13 by the end of TAB)

Most likely this list could be continued ….

THE GREAT GAME

This episode looks very much like a chapter list for the whole story.

The ‘cold’ cases in combination with the new ones become very explosive. As it turns out in the end, every single case is connected to or planned by Jim Moriarty, the master criminal who later calls himself Mr. Sex.

The episode starts with a case in Minsk, the East (the past?) which Sherlock dismisses. Then 221b is hit by a massive explosion from the outside and right after that, Mycroft turns up with an urgent case regarding the missing plans for a very important defense system … called the Bruce-Partington-Plans. Sherlock pretends to dismiss this case too. Instead he puts his ‘best man’ - John - onto it.

5 PIPS - 5 DOUBLE-CASES .... A CHAPTER LIST for 5 SERIES?

The explosion opposite 221b reveals a pink phone (identical to that in ASIP but new) and leads to a series of cold cases, each one announced by a backwards countdown of five Greenwich pips. And each of those cold cases starts with the abduction of a seemingly random person …

a middle-aged woman

a young man

a blind old lady

a child

John Watson

Sherlock has to solve the cold cases in time, in order to prevent the death of the victims who are strapped to vests full of explosive material. Sherlock is eager to play that game, assuming he knows who is behind it.

The first pip - the first case - Series ????

A pair of shoes, dissappeared twenty years ago, reappears mysteriously in the basement 221C Baker Street (Sherlock’s subconscious?). They lead Sherlock back in time to his first case … the unacknowledged and therefore still unsolved death of Carl Powers, a champion swimmer who had a fit in the water and drowned during a school tournament. During the investigation Sherlock makes the aquaintance of ‘Jim from IT’. Though Sherlock can prove in time that Carl Powers had indeed been murdered, the identity of the murderer stays in the dark.

The bombing victim - a middle-aged woman sitting in a car on a car park - survives.

The first of the Greenwich pip cases feels suspiciously like the beginning of a story that stays unsolved and is still untold by the end of The Final Problem in Series Four.

The second pip - the second case - Series Two

Banker Ian MONKford disappears. Only the car he rented a day before his disappearance turns up with a lot of MONKford’s blood on the seat. It doesn’t take long for Sherlock to deduce that the missing man has faked his death, that his wife is in on the plan and that the car hire company JanusCars has helped with the execution of the fraud … including MONKford’s journey to Columbia in South America. Special feature of interest: half of Columbia is dominated by the high summits of the Andes (5775m) and sadly, that country is also one of the largest exporter of cocain worldwide.

The bombing victim - a young man standing on a traffic island at Piccadilly Circus - survives.

The second of the Greewich pip cases has a lot in common with Sherlock’s own fake suicide and the events following The Reichenbach Fall. Fake blood on a ‘borrowed’ body (car). People being in on the plan. Janus-faced Mycroft and his agents providing the means for Sherlock to go undercover … at first apparently in Tibet (according to the following episodes MHR and TEH). Sherlock lives, disguised as a MONK, in a monastery high up in the Himalayan mountains, where he exposes a blond drug smuggler who had infiltrated the monks.

The third pip - the third case - Series Three

Connie Prince, a media TV star and famous for her ‘make-over’ (cover up) programmes, dies. After a quick investigation, Sherlock knows that she has been murdered by Raoul de Santos, her house boy, who is the lover of Connie’s brother Kenny. After a severe dispute the ‘big’ sister threatened to disiherit the brother, whom she constantly bullied and ridiculed. Raoul de Santos, who had grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle, took revange and poisoned his lover’s sister. Sherlock solves the case and Raoul de Santos goes to prison while Kenny stays back with Sekhmet, his sister’s cat.

The bombing victim - a blind, old lady - dies, because she starts to describe the bomber’s soft voice. The presumed gas explosion, caused by a shot at the explosive filled vest the old lady was wearing, claims 12 lives in total.

The third of the Greewich pip cases resurfaces again in Series Three in form of a multilayered story carried out by several character mirrors … vividly indicated by the refelctions on the mirror panes in HLV. Basically this happens: the case doesn’t start but ends with a ‘big one’ being murdered ... Magnusson (’son of the great’), the media mogul who bullies, ridicules and blackmails anyone whom he deems useful for his purposes. Magnusson threatens to expose Mary’s secret, which she fears could cause the break-up of her established relationship with John. But it is Sherlock who decides that a certain lifestyle should be maintained. He takes revange, kills Magnusson and is ready to go to prison/exile while Mary stays back with John.

The fourth pip - the fourth case - Series Four

The case of Alex Woodbridge, a security man who loved to gaze through big lenses at the stars, before he was suffocated and thrown into the water of the Thames, leads Sherlock to the painting of an old master. Sherlock knows right from the start that it is fake but he still has to prove it. The Golem, a killer who is known for executing people with his big hands, is hired to keep the secret of the fake painting. He tries to stop Sherlock as well, but John comes to his aid. The Golem escapes. Time is quickly running out. In contrast to the privious cases, the bombing victim, a child, is only revealed near the end. But no visuals are given. Just a scared voice on a phone calling for help. No location where the abducted child is held captive either. Instead Sherlock is confronted with a countdown from 10 to 1. He finds the required proof in the very last seconds … the Van Buren Supernova …. a massive explosion that happened not earlier but later than indicated.

Sherlock solves that case and the child survives.

The fourth of the Greenwich pip cases contains several key elements which play also an important role in Serious Four. There is a strong connection to water: ‘When does the path we walk on lock around our feet? When does the road become a river with only one destination?’. Fake identities (masks/spray tan) are revealed. A serial killer appears, who prefers to suffocate people with his bare hands. Scared children are begging for help, either high up in the sky on a falling plane or deep down in the ground in a flooding well. Old family paintings and modern family pictures are moved into focus. There’s a countdown from 10 to1. A massive explosion, caused by the so called ‘patience (passions) grenade’, hits 221b. One could describe that explosion as ‘postponed’ because it could have happened earlier in the story … at the pool where little Carl died …. at Guy Fawkes Night under the parliament … but it happens later.

The fifth pip - the fifth case - Series Five?

The fifth case is a hidden one. There is no Greenwich pip for it. The case starts before all the other cases, right after 221b is hit by the explosion across the street … where the canonical ‘empty house’ is located. It is Mycroft who brings that case to Baker Street. Plans for a very important defence system have gone missing … the Bruce Partington plans. It’s the case Sherlock pretends to dismiss. He lets Mycroft believe that he has put John onto it. He doesn’t tell John anything either. Sherlock keeps completely silent about that one and tries to keep everyone in the dark. But it seems that Sherlock is very well aware of the importance of this case …. the case of the stolen DEFENCE SYSTEM plans.

In contrast to the previous four Greenwich pip cases, which are each treated in one block, the individual parts of the Bruce Partington case are embedded in the others. After Mycroft has delivered the basis informations, three visual scenes are presented, each one accompanied by the sounds of a barking dog:

1 - While Sherlock investigates Carl Powers’ shoes, John visits Mycroft to get more details about the Bruce Partington case. The visuals appear in form of a flashback. That flashback is followed by Sherlock who still investigates the shoes and now discovers the poison involved in the murder of Carl Powers.

2 - A text message from Mycroft reaches John right after he has completed his investigations at Woodbridge’s flat. At the same time Sherlock turns up at the Hickman Gallery and talks to Mrs. Wenceslas. John visits Westie’s and Lucy’s flat to gain more informations regarding the missing plans. When he comes back to Baker Street, Sherlock already waits for him and they set out to the Vauxhall Arches, where they will meet the Golem.

3 - Right after Sherlock has solved the Van Buren Supernova case, John receives another impatient text message from Mycroft but only after wrapping the Van Buren case in Scotland Yard, he is able to investigate the railway tracks where Westie was found dead. Sherlock joins him there and though he admitts that he hadn’t dismissed his brother’s case at all, he doesn’t reveal anything else. Together they visit Joe Harrison’s flat and Sherlock confronts the man with his investigations. A flashback accompanies Joe’s confession and reveals what really happened to Westie and the Bruce Partington plans.

Now Sherlock has the missing plans in his hands. Yet, he doesn’t reveal the true meaning of the case. Instead he misleads John even more by claiming that his brother’s case had been nothing but a ‘distraction of the game’ and that the last Greenwich pip is still missing.

SHERLOCK: Distraction over, the game continues. JOHN: Well, maybe that’s over, too. We’ve heard nothing from the bomber. SHERLOCK: Five pips, remember, John? It’s a countdown. We’ve only had four.

And when John asks him about the whereabouts of the plans, Sherlock tells him another downright lie and pretends that he has returned the plans into his brothers hands.

JOHN: Have you given Mycroft the memory stick yet? SHERLOCK: Yep. He was over the moon. Threatened me with a knighthood – again.

But the very moment John has left the flat, Sherlock contacts the mysterious bomber and arranges a secret meeting to hand over the Bruce Partington plans … interestingly at the same pool where once little Carl Powers died. This means that Sherlock associates the plans of the DEFENSE SYSTEM not only with the outstanding fifth pip but also with the first pip of ‘the great game’. And his first words at the pool confirm, that it’s not his brother’s case which Sherlock considers to be the ‘distraction’ but the other cases of the ‘game’.

SHERLOCK: Brought you a little getting-to-know-you present. Oh, that’s what it’s all been for, hasn’t it? All your little puzzles; making me dance – all to distract me from this.

Despite Sherlock’s conviction that he knows what’s going on, a completely unexpected surprise awaits him at the pool. The bomber finally reveals himself as criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty (the former Jim from IT). He admits that he is the one responsible for Carl’s death twenty years ago as well as being the creative mind behind the ‘great game’. Shockingly, the fifth bombing victim turns out to be John.

There is no solution for the fifth case in The Great Game. The episode ends on an explosive cliffhanger. A stand-off between consulting detective and consulting criminal. No one dies because Irene Adler - Mrs. Sex - enters the stage per phone call, before Sherlock can bring himself to shoot the bomb vest … and kill them all.

The most interesting features of the FIFTH CASE …. especially with regards to a possible FIFTH SERIES of Sherlock BBC

There is no Greenwich pip for the fifth case:

maybe because the last case is actually also the first case?

the end runs a full circle back to the beginning?

Two main characters are dramatically moved into focus:

Dr. John Watson - good old Dr. Watson, the one fixed point in a changing age

Jim Moriarty - the changable criminal mastermind who calls himself Reichenbach … Rich Brook

The fifth case connects two different cases:

an old one (the twenty years old murder of Carl Powers)

a modern one (the missing Bruce-Partington Plans - the very important DEFENSE SYSTEM of the government)

The fifth case also combines two ‘first cases’:

the missing shoes of Carl Powers, found in 221c Baker Street, are marked with the first of the Greenwich pips. Additional this case is called ‘Sherlock’s first case’, the case where he began.

Mycroft’s request/order to retrieve the missing Bruce-Partington Plans, is the first case for Sherlock after the explosion opposite 221 Baker Street

Both cases ultimately end(ed) in the water of the same pool

Carl Powers

Bruce-Partington Plans

Both cases are initiated by Jim Moriarty … Rich Brook … Reichenbach

All in all ... the case of the missing DEFENSE SYSTEM is defined by absolute secrecy. Sherlock lies, conceals, deflects and hides his intentions and actions from the moment the case is presented to him. He tells no one, confides in no one … not even John.

Sherlock assumes he knows … and yet, what a massive rug pull is waiting for him at the pool ….

Deep waters, Sherlock, all your life. In all your dreams. Deep waters.

Related earlier posts regarding the idea of TGG functioning as a ‘chapter list’: FOUR STAGES & FOUR CASES (stages inside stages) and THE FIVE HOSTAGES (foreshadowing of five episodes).

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.

The three promo pics for S1 (ASIP, TBB, TGG) can be found here

December, 2018

@gosherlocked @sherlockshadow @sarahthecoat @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @sagestreet @loveismyrevolution @spenglernot @devoursjohnlock @waitedforgarridebs

#series one #a possible meaning #description and content #overview

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dyketectivecomics · 5 years ago

Note

I’m the anon whose setting the bomb off by asking why season six won’t happen

TL;DR- bc Teen Titans (2003) ended! It wasn’t canceled! It was brought to a conclusion, that fans weren’t super happy with obviously, but it was an ending nonetheless.

I’d really like to encourage everyone in the fandom to read the interviews gathered by TitansTower (2nd half of the page) during the time TT03 actually aired. David Slack, Glen Murakami, & the crew have said over and over again, the original order for the series was for 4 seasons. WB hadn’t expected the popularity of the show to last past that, but it exceeded expectations and by the time season 4 was wrapping up development, they were asked to pen a movie and move forward with development for s5.

They had LOTS of ideas for season 5 too! More side characters they wanted to explore! More depth to get into the Brotherhood’s plot! But unfortunately, when they pitched the idea of a Longer season/more episodes, they were asked to keep it at 13 eps, the usual order. There were Talks about a possible 6th season & the crew started prepping for it and pitching it because, hey! they were passionate abt the show they were working on too! But WB ultimately decided to move onto other projects and guess what? So did the crew! Because that’s just what happens! Things end and you have to accept it and move on. Huh it’s almost like Things Chan-

(The rest under the cut here, is very much getting more into a Rant that veers way off topic (the Bomb is above mostly, the shrapnel is below lmao) & it hasn’t been proofread for errors bc I am, as the kids say, Big Mad. so Beware. You’ve been Warned) (also tagged: long post, in case the cut doesnt work for whatever reason, sorry mobile users RIP)

[[MORE]]

Even IF, for whatever reason, against all logic & reasoning they decided to Greenlight a sixth season, 12 years after this series ENDED. I GUARANTEE fans would find SOMETHING to bitch about every single step of the way. Just look at Young Justice. Much shorter timeframe between s2 and s3 getting picked up and yknow what fans are still doing? Being the Same Old Fans that Fans who Fan will Be.

Misinformation gets spread around every so often too, and I just wanna be really fucking clear: No amount of Toy Sales success/failure had anything to do with the show. No amount of the Demographics they Targeted vs Ones they Hit, had anything to do with the cartoons perceived ‘failure’. Especially considering that, again, they got a movie+5th season that hadn’t originally been planned for. So from that, no amount of fan petitions or campaigns were going to ‘bring it back’ because WB & the crew, again, had moved on to other projects. Because the show, as a production, had reached a natural conclusion.

Now sure, let’s fast forward to 2011/2012? The DC Nation block gets dropped into a SatAM slot. Nostalgia hits Big as, alongside new eps of Green Lantern:TAS & Young Justice, they showcase a plethora of shorts! One of which, is the New Teen Titans, done in that ~*adorable*~ Super-D form but with more or less the same style as the first cartoon.

Fans lose their minds and there’s a resurgence of petitions and letter writing campaigns (ones that I will readily admit to participating in because I was 15 and we all do DUMB things when we’re 15) And through all of this. WB/DC answers our Monkey Paw wish.

But here’s the thing abt the monkeys paw: you’ll get what you wish for, but it’s gonna come with a Big Ass Catch

And that catch, while they gave us the same lineup and same voicecast, they also gave us a comedy-focused & fully super-d/simplified style. And “fans” were Outraged with that.

But here we are again, 7 years later. And there’s a whole generation of fans who have forgotten the mistakes of the past, thinking and hoping against any kind of logic & blinded by nostalgia, that maybe JUST MAYBE. WB will revive a cartoon that ended in Two Thousand and Fucking Seven.

I tutor kids now who weren’t even born by then! The only Titans they know are TTG! And when they tell me they LOVE them, I say “that’s AWESOME dude! Did you know that they’ve got comic books abt them too?”

I tell them about the new generation of TTG! comics, the ones based on the cartoon they grew up with, not the ones I did. I let them know that there’s even more kid & teen heroes beyond the titans. And if they have a certain fav I let them tell me everything they love abt them and I tell them a cool Fact that might encourage them to find out more later!

Some days I HATE TTG, but I will NEVER tell a child that I hate something they love. I saw too much of that when I was growing up and I’ll be damned before I turn around and do the same damn thing to these kids.

Cartoons are a WONDERFUL medium to introduce a new generation of fans to these characters. And we should be encouraging WB to take more chances on bringing more of them to life. Not asking for the same few characters or groups to be redone over and over again.

Give me a Birds of Prey limited series! Give me a Secret Six Adult Oriented action-comedy! Explore that Amethyst short, with all its 80s game tech+magical girl anime aesthetic! Explore more Obscure characters with a quick 5-10 min story! Put a fresh new spin on a golden/silver age storyline (bc lbrhh some of them got WILD)

Just for the love of fuck stop pretending that One cartoon was the absolute Peak of Achievement and is the only thing that deserves to be revived or redone to death. Teen Titans WILL get another cartoon eventually. It’s like Scooby Doo and Batman. Its like Sherlock Holmes or Star Trek. It’s just a little early in its journey but it WILL have another reboot, another reimagining, another chance to shine for an entirely new generation. Everyone will have their preferences.

Just sit down, have a juice box and popcorn and enjoy ur fan servicey nonsense movie that you asked for But Didn’t Ask For, until we get that brand new series again.

TTG is gonna have to end eventually. And when it does, WB will be rubbing their hands together just biding its time until they can reboot the Titans again.

#long post #asked and answered #anonymous asks #randywrites #randyvents #I'm using both tags for archiving/post blocking purposes #(just in case ppl want to block my vents. i Totally Get It ur valid)#but i want y'all to understand its ok to reblog but if you try to Enter a Debate i WILL kneecap u #well. just block really bc I'm not about to Debate this #theres NO DEBATE. the show ENDED. its OVER. we almost had a CHANCE in 2011/2012 but??? is it REALLY any surprise that they took it in a #difference direction when all they had to go off was that the shorts were doing WELL #and that they probably wouldn't have been able to get the exact same crew back together anyways? besides the voice cast at least?#i was PSYCHED when they got amy wolfram to write a few eps of TTG!!! that had be HYPED! but she wasn't brought on as a Regular writer! which #is understandable! she probably had other shows she was working with!#like!!! enjoy the stuff these writers and artists have GONE ON TO DO INSTEAD #theres a lot of the same Spirit of TT there!! its just in something Else instead!

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mysticalmaniac · 6 years ago

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Sherlocking...

This is just an observation with which you will probably disagree, but I would like to hear your thoughts on this if you have the time and inclination. First, this quote is from a long time ago. It was before Jonny Lee Miller officially took the role of Sherlock in the US show "Elementary". BC was quoted as saying this... "I did say [to Jonny], 'Well, I’d prefer you didn’t do it but you’ve got a kid to feed, a nice house in LA and a wife to keep in good clothes.' When you get used to a certain standard of living and they waft a paycheck at you, what are you going to do?" Cumberbatch says. I found it on this website... https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/benedict-cumberbatch-jonny-lee-miller-elementary-sherlock-366932 Then JLM was quoted as saying this... “I love the work that Benedict has done with Sherlock. I would call him up, like a groupie, after every episode came out, wanting to talk to him about it. And we had a discussion about this project as well.

“Benedict has been very, very supportive, and, you know, I wanted to reassure him about how different this script was and project was." I found it on this website... http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/10/jonny-lee-miller-praises-benedict-cumberbatchs-sherlock-im-a-groupie Then BC walked back his quote saying he was misquoted. Then hug, hug, kiss, kiss they were besties again.

Now, you must take into account how much I was smitten with both BC and "Sherlock" (it was the first thing I'd seen him act in and fell in love with those curls and, of course, acting skills). When I saw that first episode I felt like a teenager with her first crush (hard to do when you're 50 years away from being a teenager). And please know how much I adore the first two seasons (series) of "Sherlock" and still watch them over and over until I can quote the words they're saying. I think it ranks somewhere in the 5 best TV shows in history. Then we got to season (series) three. It was "cute" crushing on itself kind of; I really liked it being "fluffy". Then we got season (series) four. OMG! I couldn't have felt worse if that teenage crush had walked up and slapped me in the face. (And that's where you're probably going to disagree, I bet! ;->) I wasn't just disappointed, I wasn't just be disillusioned, I felt betrayed. And that was even after the horrible Christmas Special "The Abominable Bride" had already lowered my standards for the show. How could they do that to the best TV show of all time? I was angry! Just a break to say that I think BC is a much, much better actor than JLM. Now, about Elementary (which I'm watching just now on DVR, which prompted this post). At first, I wasn't even planning on watching the first season. WTF was that kind of stealing a concept of modern-day Sherlock, and making John into Joan!!! But then I got curious. I was going to watch it just to ridicule it. But it wasn't awful. Of course, it was not even a notch on "Sherlock's" belt. But what the hell, it aired 24 one-hour shows a year. And I didn't have to wait 2 or 3 years for the next new instalment. So I stuck with it because it was kind of good, in a way. Now? Well, as I said above, I'm watching the latest show in season (series) six, episode 13! I like it. I really, really like it. It sticks to the same theme, has the same "ethos" as ACD's original stories. The relationship between S&J is totally platonic, and, as would happen in real life, she becomes more and more adept at deduction. They bounce ideas off each other and work better together than apart. Even though Sherlock is the actual genius, he admires Joan and doesn't scoff at her ideas all the time, and time after time it pays off for them. Again, as would happen in real life, the police detectives who work with him have come to be more and more adept at deduction. They don't come wailing at him to please do their work for them. They don't scoff or roll their eyes at him when he proposes a seemingly ridiculous theory. They listen, take notes, and forward that line of investigation. They don't act like idiots who couldn't find a water cooler without his help. They do value what he can do and appreciate his genius. It doesn't use versions of the actual stories like "Sherlock" did, but it has the same type of banter, crime-solving expertise, logical deductions, etc. as the original works. It's not just a lesser version than "Sherlock". It's not just a "knock-off" of the best of the best TV show. But at this point in time, after seasons/series 3 and 4 of "Sherlock", I think it is a better show than "Sherlock" taken side-by-side, over the years. It has held up well, the relationships grow, but never outside of how the original works portrayed them. I don't think I've ever seen it be "cute" or "facetious", it does take itself seriously and that's a plus, not a drawback in a series about Sherlock Holmes. So, what are your thoughts on this? Are BC and JLM really still friends or do you think they never see or talk to each other? Do you think the 132 shows (with, at the least, 11 more to come and it's looking like it might get renewed again) of "Elementary" are worse, as good, or better than "Sherlock"'s 13 shows? Quality is the most important, but quantity as well.

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keiiro · 6 years ago

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Explaining myself just for myself bc I felt like I needed to... o)--( No one will read this but I have no one to rant to abt this td;lr so.

From S1, I’ve said multiple times that I’m in Voltron mostly for Sheith, that VLD isn’t usually the type of show I like to watch. I simply have a preference for dark and complicated dramas/stories. I don’t like cartoons much, actually ^^;; I’m sorry, but a show really has to grab me with its writing or characters for me to be invested in it even a little without me having a ship there. (I uh, hyperfocus on romance. . v.;; I don’t ignore plot tho I swear.. I mean if it’s objectively well written (side-eyes naruto and 500 other series)) Like Steins;Gate. FMA. Skip Beat. Inception. etc. In my case, my criticisms about the show, i.e. the pacing, were always there since S1. I don’t think I like... betrayed LM or JDS by being hurt and having such a negative outlook on this. I think my comments were fair.

Before this.

I was in the Sherlock fandom, knee-deep in TJLC (The Johnlock Conspiracy, yes, humilating, I know, but the sad thing is the real S4 that was written was so bad that we thought it unthinkable that it would be... like that trashfire). I remember near the end of an episode of S4, before the other eps aired, I really liked this one popular blogger. Pearl something. She was really good at making me feel more relieved in the bigger plan. Even though already with episode 1, I was already incredibly disappointed in the writing of S4 and regretted every time I defended S3. The sister’s storyline. Was so. Bad. There were so many plot holes. I don’t even. Pearl--She sent the message to have faith. And as a result I crashed incredibly hard, 40x worse than Shiro’s retirement. Her account ended up hacked and she went MIA. I was there through Apple Tree Yard, being sent the message that apparently two middle aged het ppl hooking up within 15 minutes of meeting and having 5 mins of bad sex that she made sound like he rocked her world but it was just so goddamn sad--and apparently sexual assault--is more valid than a canonized mlm couple. Though really, even if they did, since S3 would still be an incredible disappointment. (the cases in the wedding ep were so, so dumb) Just because even though I knew there wouldn’t be a fourth episode, I was in so much shock I just. ...I was there for the probably-troll fansite for “the lost episode” with friggin Sherlock scripts hidden in the coding. The horror stories go on.

Before that, I was in the Naruto fandom, as a hardass SasuNaru fan. Everyone getting hetmarried at the end was a real shoot in the fucking face, this coming from someone who also likes NaruHina. I. My faith in authors. I just. Yeah, that kerplunked.

I decided to give the benefit of the doubt to Isayama Hajime (Attack on Titan). I used to defend him, pointing out and believing his Imperialistic comments were mistranslated or blown out of proportion. :) Then he said the Chinese and Koreans lives were bettered because of Japanese takeover. Which I ignored because I love Eruri. I don’t care for the writing of AOT/SNK, never really had. I tried to have faith in him. And then apparently he’s now using Jewish WW2 imagery in the series in a way that’s. ........ Basically, it’s been debated whether this is anti-semitic. Idk. I’m not touching that trashfire outside of Levi remembering Erwin frames anymore. So yeah, faith in yams was DIRT. Oh, and then Erwin died. Which hurt much, much worse than this with Shiro, and would’ve hurt more even had Shiro died.

I believed in Bryan Fuller, a lot. He still supports Hannigram fanzines and literally wears shirts of them making out. He told a beautiful, dark mlm romance and I. It didn’t stop him from calling their relationship a “bromance”. He gave no explanation and I was very. Every time it felt a little no-homo’d, I bit the inside of my cheek.

I was in the Supernatural fandom, and I loved Destiel terribly so and I’m not. even. going to start.

Death Note, Piano no Mori, Sam Esmail re: Mr. Robot, goddamn Yana Toboso, Magi, X-Men, many others.

I mainly stan a pairing in the D.Gray-man fandom, and I can’t. Over many years, the mangaka has said things/put things in in a certain way that I decided to overlook. Stereotypical transphobic “okama” inserts. The novel she approved where it was said a guy’s first kiss didn’t count because it was with a guy. Um. Frankly, I didn’t like the Alma arc...... at all. I found that it was mostly tell and not show w/ Kanda and past!Alma’s romance.... and I’m just like........ he was white in his past life his was completely different... and they were lovers in their past lives but their portrayal in their present lives are only as friends? Um. ok I’m rambling and there’s a lot of stuff too but. My point is, I don’t expect anything of her anymore. I don’t hate her, I just don’t respect her as much anymore. I don’t have faith in her anymore to write the absolute best, and she proves me right in recent chapters quite a bit. I’m still quite mixed-feelings there. (Also, I know a lot of people made fun of kls for being so emotionally dependent on kl, but. I’ve been stanning Yullen since 2006. Over ten years. It is literally my life. It’s the main reason if not the only that I’m still alive. The other is my merch. Once I tomb my merch, sayounara Earth.)

I don’t expect authors to be perfect but. I think it’s reasonable for me to not be able to have faith here. Most of the times I held onto faith, it was crushed. I already had faith in that they’d return everyone to their original lions, because honestly I wanted them at each other’s side while saving the world together, in a way that I found most beautiful. I mean, the only thing that could beat that tbh is Shiro getting his own mecha, which I find unlikely. Oriande arc was done already and the white lion accepted Allura and the comic version was just a Robeast, so I found it very unlikely that he would pilot white.

I don’t really know if this is all so childish. It’s hard to care about a lot of things when you, well, deal with dark thoughts every day, and I’m such a bad adult that before worrying over worldy issues, I can’t. even help myself. I don’t eat most days. The entire past weeks I’ve felt like passing out. Vomited on monday from nausea. major depressive disorder. been to two psych wards, the first time for a month. chronic headaches, chronic back pain... being 24 without a degree because I still haven’t finished studying the language I even need to get into the school I want mmmmmm I’m pretty worthless, man. Shipping’s my best distraction. Yes, I know it’s not healthy. But it’s either that or me being dead so.

Anyway. I’m just trying to say that I think it’s fair for me to be bitter like this. I personally think I didn’t take it very far, but. I think it’s fair that I/we’re upset.

#just throws this into the void #I don't wanna bother more ppl today #than I have already #personal #tw: depression #I had... a really rough day today #news of Shiro was icing on the fucking cake

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looky-here-imma-reading · 4 years ago

Photo

Masterpiece: America’s 50-Year-Old Love Affair with British Television Drama by Nancy West

2 out of 5 stars ✨✨

Synopsis:

What accounts for Masterpiece's longevity and influence? Masterpiece offers two reasons: the power of its drama and its aspirational appeal. West delivers great stories, stories that transport, enthrall, enrich, and comfort us, while also speaking to a uniquely American belief in the possibility of self-improvement, even self-transformation, through the acquisition of "culture."

My Notes:

"Enjoying this so far, but clearly the editor fell asleep at the wheel. I’ve noticed a bunch of stupid little mistakes. Like they ask a question that has an A, B, or C answer then say the answer is D. What? Number the questions with 2.2 or 7.2, all clear mistakes. Plus no spacing between certain words. I’m glad I only paid 99 cents for the Kindle version."

"I don’t think the author watched the Downton Abbey movie right, or totally misinterpreted it."

"I knew this wasn’t right but I double checked and rewatched the video of Fred Rogers giving his speech to Congress in 1969, he was not wearing his trademark cardigan sweater as the author states in this book. He’s wearing a suit. There’s a bunch of photographs of it as well. Sigh."

"Sometimes I feel while reading this that I’m getting yelled at for being a fan of Masterpiece."

"I’m fairly certain 2005’s Bleak House had fifteen episodes, not sixteen. Unless she’s splitting the first episode in two because that one was sixty minutes while the other episodes were only thirty minutes. Gonna look that up, be right back. I’m back, and I was right, it’s only fifteen episodes. I do remember when this aired on Masterpiece in hour long installments, it was eight episodes."

"Mas terpiece. Did nobody edit or check this book before print? Either they don’t space between two words or put a space in the middle of a longer word."

"Bette Davis never played Queen Victoria in film or television. She did however portray Queen Elizabeth l twice. Takes two minutes to fact check folks."

"It says here in 2015 Wolf Hall was the first Tudor program to air on Masterpiece in 25yrs is incorrect. In 2003 they aired Henry VIII and I only remember that cause Sean Bean was in it. That’s only like 12yrs. Plus the Virgin Queen in 2006."

"Now they calling my fav 80s fun crime shows indisputably crappy with low grade actors. Damn lady. WTF. 😆"

"Jolyon was not Soames’ brother but his cousin. Come on, it takes just a minute to fact check this stuff."

"In the 2008 rebranded opening for Masterpiece while Colin Firth is in the montage it is not from Pride & Prejudice because that program was not broadcast on PBS in America originally. The image is from 1999’s The Turn of the Screw."

"I fully believe no one edited or saw a finale copy before publishing. Did no one notice the countless words running together without a space between them? You can forgive an error like this sure, but this book is riddled with them."

"How dare they forget to add Kelley Hawes to the cast of 1998s Our Mutual Friend."

And again they forget to put Kelley Hawes’ name in the cast list for Wives & Daughters. Two strikes. I know they limiting the cast list to three, but come on now."

"I see they are putting the big names for this cast list, but they leave out Miranda Richardson for The Lost Prince and Gillian Anderson for Bleak House."

"I’m that person I know, but I just gotta point out for the 2007-2008 season they just say The Complete Jane Austen. Like no, they were all separate movies. You had Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and the miniseries Sense & Sensibility. They premiered for the first time (originally aired on A&E) Emma starring Kate Beckinsale, and 1995’s Pride & Prejudice."

"Weird that while they are listing all the programs, at least till publication of this book, they don’t mention all the Sharpe films, or even all the Prime Suspect."

"Can we really consider The Collection or the excellent recent adaptation of Howard’s End true blue Masterpiece programs? I mean Howard’s End first aired on Starz then a year later on Masterpiece. The Collection was exclusive to Amazon Prime for like two years I think. Hmm."

"Ah, Prime Suspect is in the Mystery section. Makes sense.

"The few photos are left to be viewed at the end of the book. Wouldn’t it have been more practical, and more visually appealing, to have the photos on the pages were the programs/actors were discussed. Like we’re talking Downton Abbey here’s the text and a photo. I don’t know about this layout they got going here."

"The best photo for Sherlock they found was the region 2 dvd cover? Are you fucking series?"

"Why include a photo of 1995’s Pride & Prejudice when it’s not an original production of Masterpiece? I mean they rebroadcast the series like twelve or thirteen years after it premiered on A&E stateside. I call bull shit."

My Review:

Not great, but the best we’ll probably ever get which is sad. I’ve watched Masterpiece for decades now so I was super excited to get this book. I’m not sure what I was expecting, not what we got, but it’s not an entirely bad read. I wish it was more of an in-depth look into the productions, there’s fifty years worth. This book does go into some details about certain series, a few classics but much more about certain recent programs. I love Downton Abbey, but Masterpiece is much more than that show. I can forgive a few grammatical errors here and there, or the non spaces between words, but this book is littered with them. Did they not proof read or edit this book before publication? The biggest crime this book commits is the abundance of factual errors. Like the plot lines of certain programs, character relationships, episode counts, years, and so forth. It literally takes two minutes to fact check this stuff. Diehard fans are gonna take notice of those errors. I also hated how they crammed the few photos they had to the back of the book. It’s visually unappealing. I wished the photo was on the page when the program was talked about. With countless photos of the program Sherlock out there this book decided to go with a DVD cover. Completely lazy. Happy I didn’t pay $30 for this, only $0.99 for the Kindle version when it was on sale. Honestly not worth more than that. To be fair this book has interesting elements, just not enough to save it from being a disappointing read.

#masterpiece #america's 50yr old love affair with british television #nancy west #nonfiction #television #history #tv companion piece #kindle #my reviews

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writingwife-83 · 8 years ago

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Sherlolly Appreciation Week, Day 5- The Abominable Bride

Hello again! I was kind of excited to try this theme because I actually never wrote anything at all to do with TAB since it aired over a year ago. Tbh, I wasn’t terribly inspired by it at the time. But that’s another story lol. Now I was happy to try! So although this isn’t technically canon, it also doesn’t conflict with the canon of that episode. It could certainly fit if you’d like it to...I know I would. :))

A War He Must Lose

“Going somewhere?”

The deep echo of Sherlock’s voice in the back alley caused the small woman to halt and slowly turn. Once she was facing him, he could see the fear in her eyes. It occurred to him that she was afraid of him and that cut him deeply.

“Suppose I’m not anymore,” she said bitterly. “You’ve come to stop me, I assume?”

“I have,” Sherlock admitted.

She nodded. “And is the whole of Scotland Yard out front then? Waiting to take me away?” she asked through grit teeth.

Sherlock approached her slowly, again noting her trepidation. “No, Molly.”

Her lips parted in momentary shock. “Y-you know…you remember.”

“Of course I remember, yes. Do you really expect that I wouldn’t recognize a childhood schoolmate who happened to have the same last name and unmistakable eyes as a rather short and slight, but supposedly male, doctor at Bart’s hospital?” He raised a brow.

Molly set her bulging carpet bag down on the ground with a sigh and crossed her arms. “You never let on,” she replied softly.

Sherlock agreed with a small chuckle. “Naturally. For three years I’ve carefully concealed, even from you, that I had any inkling as to who you truly were. Any hint of that fact could have altered our behavior towards one another, and therefore could have compromised your secret.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “It was hardly worth the risk, in my estimation.”

The glare she leveled at him softened, and she allowed herself a reluctant smile. “And here I thought that I’d disguised myself so well that even the great Sherlock Holmes didn’t catch on. But then, on the other hand…” Her voice dropped and eyes hardened. “I hated you a little for not knowing, or caring.”

He stood his ground cautiously, watching her as she went on.

“I suppose it made me feel just as easily brushed aside and forgotten as I’d felt back in school when we were younger.”

“But you were wrong,” Sherlock stated pointedly. “I didn’t forget.”

Molly’s countenance wouldn’t be moved though. She set her lips in a hard line and looked away for a moment.

“It hardly matters now anyway,” she said, her tone somber. “It’s all over.”

“It doesn’t have to be. Not for you, not in London.”

Molly frowned at him in confusion and perhaps even anger. “Yes it is,” she spat back. “I am a criminal on a number of counts according to the law, and I find it difficult to believe that there is any life left for me here. At least not one that I’d be willing to stoop to!”

“You should stay in London,” he said firmly. “And I believe that I could assist in making that possible.”

Her lips formed a little “ah” shape and she began slowly shaking her head. “I see…so what is this? Some sort of selfish plan of yours? Hoping to keep me in London to use me somehow? Probably hoping that I can’t possibly say no due to my current state of desperation!”

When he reached down to gently but firmly grasp her little hand, he was sure he heard a tiny gasp escape her lips.

“Dr. Hooper,” Sherlock murmured intensely, ensuring that she was riveted. “My desire to keep you in London is for you, because I would like for you to have the life that makes you happy…because you deserve it.”

For a moment, she looked almost like she would cry. Sherlock considered the cause she’d recently rallied behind, and all that she and her friends had lived through and suffered, mostly at the hands of men. And often times it was men who should have been respecting and cherishing them. It was quite likely that it had been some time since Molly had heard a generous word from someone of his sex. Perhaps she was moved.

She blinked rapidly and then steadied her gaze again. She didn’t pull her hand free though.

“There is much that I deserve, but that does not mean it is possible at the moment,” she countered softly. “I cannot imagine my being able to reside safely in London any longer.”

His lips lifted a bit. “Then, please, will you allow me to explain?”

“Very well, then,” she agreed.

“Actually, my plan was that you wouldn’t just hear it from my lips. Would you be willing to come with me, Dr. Hooper? To meet with someone else. Because as little as I like to admit it at times, there is another who is far more suited to the particulars of protecting your life here in this city.”

Molly paused, considering his offer. “Alright, I accept. But we must go now. If I refuse this offer, whatever it may be, I should like to catch a train by the end of the night.”

“Not a problem,” he assured her confidently. “He is already awaiting our arrival, so this meeting should be rather brief.”

“He? Who is it?”

Sherlock smirked as he directed her toward the roadway and an awaiting carriage. “Oh I believe you will know him. He does, after all, occupy a rather large role in our government!”

“Mr. Holmes, good evening, sir,” Molly quietly greeted as they entered the grand study and came face to face with Sherlock’s older brother.

“And a good evening to you, Dr. Hooper. And perhaps we can make it a bit better,” the very large man said as he gestured across his desk. “Do take a seat.”

Molly sat, but her expression and body language made it clear that she was still on the defensive. Sherlock told himself to be patient, that her trust might not be won so quickly and easily.

Mycroft Holmes said nothing at first, but simply took some papers out of his desk and slid them across to her. Molly hesitantly took them and turned them over to read. Her eyes instantly went wide as she looked back at the man across from her.

“W-what is…how did you do this?” She could barely speak clearly, for it was her name; her own full name that was printed on the documents that certified her medical education and license.

Mycroft turned his palms toward the ceiling for a moment. “I have a number of useful connections at my disposal.”

Molly swallowed thickly and became nervous again. “What do you want?”

Sherlock spoke up then.

“He wants nothing, we want nothing. This is simply a gift. There are no strings attached and you certainly are under no obligation to take these and stay in London. But, if you did choose to…” Sherlock glanced back at Mycroft, prompting him to explain further.

“You see, Dr. Hooper, I fund a rather large portion of the work, research, and education that is carried out at Bart’s hospital. That means that my word carries quite a bit of weight.”

Sherlock snorted.

Mycroft continued with a brief eye roll. “If a position of importance must be filled in the hospital, there would be no questioning my opinion on the matter, should I choose to voice it. And it just so happens that a certain Dr. Michael Hooper has recently had a frightful family emergency which requires a hasty relocation. It is rather fortunate, however, that he is not the only one within his family who has a medical degree.” Mycroft smile. “His female cousin specializes in the same profession, and I can personally vouch for her skill and character.”

Molly jaw hung slack as she listened to the almost unbelievable words. She turned to Sherlock, as if she were searching for answers, but couldn’t come up with the needed questions. Sherlock took the hint and tried to fill in some of the possible gaps.

“Dr. Molly Hooper is unknown in the city of London. You have no past, criminal or otherwise. At least, not to anyone besides any of your remaining fellow…brides. And none of them are likely to talk, considering the target they’d place on their own heads. The point is that you can start again, if you wish. You can be yourself, and apologize to nobody for it. You have our word.”

She looked back down at the papers in her hands, clutching them like inestimable treasure now. “And everything I did…you apparently find no fault in it?” She glanced between the two Holmes men.

Sherlock tilted his head in thought. “Conspiracy and murder…frowned upon, I admit. But all of your motives were rooted in justice, and that I can respect. Naturally, we would hope that your days of any criminal activity are now behind you.”

“Yes, I should hate to regret any help I agreed to give in this area,” Mycroft added. “No matter the justification, I cannot, even indirectly, be a party to the sort of activities with which you were recently involved.”

Molly nodded. “It was already done. It was all over and done with before I met with you two gentlemen tonight. Naturally once the secret was out, our little group could do nothing but go our separate ways. Besides, we had never intended to go on like that forever.” Her expression was a bit contrite for just a moment. “I know I couldn’t have.”

After a moment of silence, Mycroft cleared his throat. “Well then I must ask what your final answer is, Dr. Hooper? Will you be staying on at Bart’s hospital?”

Molly drew a deep breath, and Sherlock saw her fingers touch her own name written in ink on the official documents she held. She finally looked up at Mycroft and gave him a small smile.

“Yes, Mr. Holmes, I will.” She reached across the desk and shook his hand. “I am rather speechless at this unexpected generosity, and I thank you for it.”

“Not at all,” Mycroft stated wearily. “I hardly had to lift a finger! And besides, it certainly wasn’t all my idea.” He glanced conspicuously at his younger brother.

Molly’s eyes shifted to Sherlock and he felt a new and pleasant warmth in her gaze which he was now realizing he could certainly get used to.

“Well! Now that our business is settled, I must admit that I need to be going. You see I have a rather large and important dinner to attend and mustn’t be late,” Mycroft explained as he began rising from his seat with some difficulty.

Sherlock and Molly followed suit and she smiled at the elder Holmes as they made ready to leave. “How lovely. What sort of dinner is it?”

Mycroft grinned widely. “My own!”

The silence was thick for a while in the darkened carriage as it rolled down the bumpy London streets. Sherlock could feel Molly’s eyes on him occasionally, but she remained tight lipped for the first few minutes of the ride. Finally, after releasing a small breath, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Holmes- er, no, that is…” She faltered a bit and paused, and Sherlock couldn’t help but be intrigued by this very different side of her. She wasn’t playing a part anymore.

“Mr. Holmes,” she began again. “Please do not take my silence for lack of gratitude. I am very grateful, truly. But you must understand that for some time I have not been in the practice of accepting…assistance from a man. I have made my own way and am proud to have done so. So to feel as if a path was cut for me without much at all being done on my part, well, I can only describe it as a bit…unsettling.”

Sherlock nodded, able to sympathize a bit. “Perhaps, Dr. Hooper, you may come to think of it not so much as assistance, but that you are simply taking what is owed you. You are taking what is rightfully, and what always should have been…yours.”

Molly’s expression softened a touch. “I shall try to see it that way, yes. Thank you,” she said genuinely.

Sherlock turned his gaze to the window, but Molly’s voice quickly drew his attention back again.

“How long would you have gone on as we were, Mr. Holmes?”

He drew a deep breath, taking a moment to think as he let it out slowly. “As long as you wished to remain concealed, I believe. I had no plans of prompting you to admit your identity to me. Hardly seemed fair for me to force such a thing. It was you who deserved to maintain control, since it was your own secret hanging in the balance.”

“And that wasn’t…difficult for you?” Molly further questioned very softly. “To remain silent?”

Sherlock could just barely make out her sparkling eyes in the dim carriage, reaching out to him, perhaps a little desperately, for the truth. He almost shook his head and said “no,” effectively ending the discussion. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

“There were times,” he began slowly, the darkness of the carriage allowing for a level of honesty that perhaps would not be possible otherwise. “That it was…trying. Perhaps during a difficult case or when you were clearly struggling through your day. Times I preferred to speak to you as a friend, to more candidly tell you how brilliantly you had succeeded in your career, and to remind you that regardless of how we behaved in our roles as indifferent colleagues, you always had and always would…matter to me.”

Once the words had begun flowing, he hadn’t quite been able to turn off the tap. Perhaps he’d said too much. But the moment Molly opened her lips in response, any chance of regret flew far away.

“And there were so many times I longed to hear it,” she whispered.

Sherlock was beginning to feel very much out of his depth. God help him if Watson could see him now. He’d never hear the end of it! His heart began to pound in fear, not because he didn’t know what to say next, but because he very well knew there were many more words simmering beneath the surface which he had the undeniable urge to speak.

He considered it a mercy when the carriage came to a halt outside the building where Molly lived.

Molly smiled shyly across at him as the driver knocked on the roof to alert them to her stop. Sherlock climbed out and went round the side to open the door and help her out.

“It seems I am now in your debt,” she stated earnestly while taking his hand and gathering her skirts in order to climb down.

Sherlock smirked. “Precisely. Perhaps I am more selfish than I previously admitted.”

She laughed and it was instantly like music to his ears. It had literally been years since he’d heard that sound, and all at once he realized what he had been missing.

“Not to worry,” she replied playfully. “Your selfless behavior can remain our little secret.”

It was then that he realized he was still clutching her hand in his, despite the fact that she now stood in front of him, no longer climbing down the carriage steps. Instead of releasing it, he impulsively lifted it, bringing it to his lips to press a small kiss to the lace covered skin.

“Hooper,” he murmured in parting.

She looked up at him intently and the corner of her lips tugged upward a bit as she responded in a tone that matched his.

“Holmes.”

As she turned and walked up to her building with her bag now destined for unpacking, he couldn’t help but think that his name spoken on her lips now sounded worlds different when compared to the countless times she’d used it in the past. And when he tried to define the new and appealing quality to it, the first and most prominent words that came to his mind were surprisingly, warmth and affection. He could have said that the idea was repugnant to him, or at least that he was wholly indifferent to it. He certainly could have made such a claim.

But of course…he would have been lying.

#sherlolly #mollock #sherlollyweek2017 #day 5 TAB #A War He Must Lose #will post on AO3 soon

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