from Mary
It has been a l-o-o-o-o-n-n-g wait for the new season of Sherlock on PBS. Now we're less than TWO AND A HALF days away (yip yip mmrr-eeoW-WOOF ba-OOOOOOH!) from the Sunday night season 3 premiere.
There's so much to love about this series - the clever screenplays, the BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH humor, the great MARTIN FREEMAN actors, the little geek-y squiggles onscreen, the twisted nods to familiar bits of the Sherlock canon. It's all great.
So far, my favorite from seasons 1 and 2 is SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA. Can the new Sherlock team ever top it? I don't think so but they're a clever bunch. My favorite scenes are:
Command Performance at Buckingham Palace
... or should that be Commando ...
and
Tears At The Door
in which poor innocent Father Sherlock delivers the most pitiful bunch of crap trying to get in Irene Adler's house.
They get my votes for Most Hilarious Scenes That Get Even Funnier Every Time You Watch Them. :)
To help get in gear for Sunday, last night I watched an old Holmes movie, THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION. I don't think I'd seen it before but do remember how excited I was when the book came out back in the '70s.
The movie has an incredible cast. Sherlock is played by Nicol Williamson and Watson by Robert Duval.
Sorry, don't know the dog's name. Moriarty was a lovely surprise ... Sir Laurence Olivier!
As was Alan Arkin's performance as Sigmund Freud. Wunderbar.
Vanessa Redgrave and Joel Grey didn't have the big parts in this one, but it was good to see them in action again. Even with very little dialog and screen time, Joel Grey was just fabulous. He moved in a way that makes the viewer want to watch him. All that Broadway dancing experience showed here, even though he wasn't dancing. Masterful and a joy to see.
Between now and 9PM CST Sunday, I think I'll pull out some Nigel Rathbone and Jeremy Brett DVDs to tide me over. Maybe get in the spirit of things with some tea and biscuits. But Sunday ...
Sunday there will be champagne! :)
Mary and the Femmes want to know: What is your favorite Sherlock moment? Sherlock actor? Will you be celebrating the triumphant return of the new season Sunday?
Loved Seven Per Cent solution--and you know if you stick with it, after the credits there's a surprise...
SO--how do you think he managed it? (A truck and a dummy and a deliberate bicycle?)
Posted by: Hank Phillippi Ryan | January 17, 2014 at 01:22 PM
OMG, Mary, I've seen the new episodes, and hold on to your hat!
Also, have you seen our boy Benedict on the Jimmy Kimmel show? ROTFL!!
Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/pbpu9x8
Posted by: Marcia Talley | January 17, 2014 at 01:32 PM
Gosh, okay, I have to break down and watch this. So many smart people I know love this series that it must be spectacular.
Posted by: Charlaine Harris | January 17, 2014 at 01:48 PM
Definitely a fan of Cumberbatch at the Palace, Mary. And we know he's not dead, right? Please say yes.
Did you see the interview where he says his name "Sounds Like A Fart In A Bath"?
www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/10/benedict-cumberbatch-said-...
Posted by: Elaine Viets | January 17, 2014 at 02:00 PM
Two sleeps! Two sleeps! No, I'm not excited or anything. I think my favourite moment so far was probably The Hat. So clever and affectionate.
Posted by: catriona | January 17, 2014 at 02:37 PM
Hank, no, I didn't watch past the credits! It's on On Demand so I'll do that tonight. Whew. I'd never sleep knowing there's more. :) BTW, when I last watched Young Sherlock Holmes, there was also a twist after the credits rolled. Sneaky!
Charlaine, I think you'd like it. You'd appreciate the writing skill and the fun modern twists on Holmes stuff.
Marcia, I'm so jealous! No, haven't seen Jimmy Kimmel's show. Love him but can't stay up that late. :) Looking forward to checking out that link.
Elaine - OMG, no haven't seen the interview. Thank you for the link.
Oh yes, he's definitely alive. :) All I can figure is he got the lab girl to dress up a corpse to look like him, and already had it in place before Sherlock jumped. ??? How did he survive the jump? Don't anybody tell me!! I want it to be a surprise!
Posted by: Mary | January 17, 2014 at 02:38 PM
Cumberbatch is in the new Meryl Streep/Julia Roberts movie, as well. Without the English accent, I hear....
Posted by: Alana White | January 17, 2014 at 02:56 PM
Catriona, yes, and the other one for me is Watson at Sherlock's grave. :sniff sniff:
Probably others too that I can't think of right now. Oh dear, maybe I should watch a couple from seasons 1 & 2 again. :)
Posted by: Mary | January 17, 2014 at 03:23 PM
Alana, this may be the exception that catapults me out of the house and into the movie theater. :) Although, it's a shame to throw out that beautiful accent.
Side point: It's interesting to me that British actors do Southern accents very well. I'm thinking of Kenneth Branagh in Wild, Wild West. He was such a good bad Southern guy. :)
Posted by: Mary | January 17, 2014 at 03:34 PM
Charlaine, definitely start with the very first episode, though...
Posted by: Hank Phillippi Ryan | January 20, 2014 at 06:32 AM
I was at the BSI (Baker Street Irregulars) weekend the show premiered, and was trying desperately to avoid spoilers. For me, it's the line "What must it be like in your funny little minds?" Can't wait for #2!
Posted by: Dana Cameron | January 23, 2014 at 12:23 PM