Sherlock (TV-BBC) Series 3 (2014)

My long overdue review of Sherlock Series 3! But hey, with the way things are going, I have a year and a half before series 4 airs! Grrr. That's probably the most frustrating part of the entire show; it takes SO long between seasons. With each series only having 3 episodes makes the wait so much more agonizing. I love this show but it frustrates me to no end! It makes you feel like you're chasing after someone who doesn't love you as much as you love them. :/ Hmm...it's like being in a relationship with Sherlock himself! Sigh...

Series 3 is paced quickly; especially in the second episode. Honestly, I feel like they're cheating. In 'The Sign of Three' they go through a montage of past cases. Every flashback scene is a teaser to an episode that doesn't exist! You want nothing more than to watch each of those flashback scenes in full blown episodes.

With all my frustration, I will still wait for series 4...and 5...and 6...and it better go on forever!

Sherlock Series 3 Trailer...

There is a mini episode for this series called 'Many Happy Returns.' It's technically series 3 episode 0. It's only 7 minutes, but a fun little intro into series 3. In case you missed it...

Here's a little trick I'm excited to try for Sherlock Series 4. Download the extension 'Hola Better Internet' on Google Chrome. If you set the country to the UK, you can watch a lot of British shows on their iplayer service. That's not the most exciting part! BBC UK airs Sherlock BEFORE PBS airs it in the US. BBC aired the premiere on January 1st while PBS aired it on January 19th. I know, it's only 18 days but still...it's 18 DAYS!!!

Beyond that, there isn't much to say that I haven't said already about the past 2 series. The acting, directing, and writing are simply superb. Although I will admit series 3 is my least favorite thus far; again, mostly because it runs fast and on the edge of chaos. Otherwise, I'm excited to see how Mary will fit into future series and hoping they will keep Sherlock working is abductive magic.

When will BBC start upping the ante? We want more!!!
Here's more!
Dr. Watson's Blog!
http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/

The 4400 Season 1 (2004)

Intriguing story. A group of seemingly random people disappear at different times over the course of several decades. One day, 4400 of them, reappear together on a lake. They all look exactly the same as they did when they disappeared. As they attempt to adjust, we start to see that some of them have unique abilities.

The acting takes a little getting used to. It's a tad on the cheesy side, but you get over it fairly quickly. I'm not sure if the actors get better with each episode or if you're just too engrossed in the story to notice it anymore.

There are literally jaw dropping moments in almost every episode. Episode 3 has a particularly scary concept involving a serial killer reappearing, with the 4400, after 20 years.

Episode 4 introduces a new character that looks incredibly similar to the lead 4400 detective, Tom Baldwin. It's confusing because you initially think it's Tom when it's actually Warren Lytell, an investigator from D.C. It's crazy to have two people in the same show who look almost identical to not be related in some way. Tom Baldwin is played by Joel Gretsch and Warren Lytell is played by Mark Valley. Do a google image search on both of them and you will see what I mean.

Season 1 is short; only 5 episodes. If you like mysterious scifi, alien abductions, X-Men type powers, etc. you will find this entertaining.

The Walking Dead Season 3 (2012-2013)

With the exception of episode 13, Arrow on the Doorpost, season 3 was far and away better than the first 2 seasons!

Let me first start by mentioning one character, Michonne. She is one Samurai katana-wielding bad-ass. Her lack of verbalization is a little frustrating in the beginning. Her minimal dialogue causes her to overact her facial expressions, but she opens up as the season progresses and she becomes a calmer zombie slicing machine. If I had to pick one person in this entire series to latch onto in a real life zombie apocalypse, no question about it, Michonne.

My second pick, someone that you grow to love, Daryl. In this season he solidifies his place as your favorite character, and he's pretty darn good with that crossbow too!

While watching the episodes, it feels like there are two seasons in one. Season 3 could have easily ended half way through, so if you're watching it without breaks, it tends to seem as though the season is stretching and dragging on a bit. It wasn't until I was done with the whole season that I found out that they aired the season in two parts. There was a 2 1/2 month break between the airing of episodes 8 and 9. It makes more sense that way. A brilliant move by the creators and producers to split up the airing in that manner. Unfortunately, there's no break on streaming services. It seems a lack of foresight prevented a simple title insertion, Part 1 & Part 2, to give a better contextual and psychological break.

You'll get a little irritated by the road some of the characters take. Rick and Glenn develop strangely this season. They're whiny and weak, and even while they're on their selfish, dramatic, unstable, and sometimes psychologically disturbed roads, ALL the men STILL make ALL the decisions. The male-female dynamic is still very archaic and illogical. I'm hoping the introduction of Michonne and the development of Maggie and Carol will turn this misogynistic show toward the 21st century.

Mild spoilers...

Beyond gender issues, season 3 kept replacing it's black men. It's as if they can't have more than one at a time, but they have to at least have one. It's odd and blatant. They still, however, make more of an effort to reflect actual american demographics than most shows.

Without giving away too much, I'm surprised at how many of the core group they killed off this season. Honestly, one particular kill-off was a relief (episode 4). Now if only they would get rid of that annoying kid.

In season 3, the action is intense, the effects a lot more gory, and overall has a better energy to it.

On a scale of 1-10, The Walking Dead Season 3 is 8.0

Breaking is down into 2 parts, episode 1-8 ranks a 8.5, while episodes 9-16 ranks 7.5.

P.S. Poor Milton, the goofy Val Kilmer lookalike, he was creepily likable. He would've been an interesting and fun addition to the core group.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 (2011-2012)

The pace of season 2 is just as slow as the first. There's still the same amount of talking and extended scenery shots. There are scenes three minutes long of zombies walking...just walking.

Just as in season 1, there are many times when you wonder "Why don't they do this?" or "Why aren't they doing that?" and "Why the damn hell did they not have multiple rendezvous points?" They all have miraculously good aim for average citizens and yet for every other instance they are stupendously ill prepared. And why oh why haven't they learned to watch their children?!?!?

All the women still look to the men to make the decisions. The one semi-strong female character, Andrea, develops into a more independent person as the season progresses but not only did she get there almost directly because of the men but is rescued by men...again. This show must be written by a group of lackluster men who seek a vicarious release of control that they are otherwise lacking in real life; because this type of groveling toward them is so outrageously fiction. It's like the show was based on a comic book series aimed at adolescent young boys. Oh wait.

There's an incredible amount of religious references and symbology throughout both seasons. The Walking Dead is not a simple gory and grotesque zombie show. It surprisingly has a lot of room for philosophical reflection.  It's full of avenues for analyses for the not so brain dead folk.

The group's chemistry is growing and the characters stick to you like gorilla glue. Just when you think there's any resemblance of stability, there's the finale. The Walking Dead does an irritatingly good job at keeping your curiosity hooked. Maybe it's the adolescent young boy within me, because I can't help but want to watch season 3. SIGH.

Note:
-There was a disconnect between episode 9 and 10. I literally had to check back to make sure I didn't skip an episode.

On a scale of 1-10, The Walking Dead: Season 2 is 7.5

The Walking Dead: Season 1 (2010)

I've heard so many references to this show that I finally decided to take the plunge. The Walking Dead is obviously about zombies. Much of the show moves as slow as a typical zombie. The pilot episode's first 25 minutes is a lesson in patience. That being said, the characters create instant attachment; paradoxically, they are also incredibly unremarkable. Their humanism really shines through the entire time. I suppose that's the point.

There's much more relationship drama than you expect and it's also not as scary as you would think a zombie show would be. Although, I did watch all of season 1 in one sitting and had zombie dreams that night! There are definitely gory parts to it. The reason season 1 can be watched in one day is because there are only 6 episodes. I will confess that I fast forwarded past the very slow and long scenery shots. The substance of the entire season is, generously, half it's length in time. There's a lot of talking...and talking...and talking. As much as I appreciate character development, the droning on and on about feelings is excessive.

The lead character, Rick Grimes played by Andrew Lincoln, is very likable and fits well into his definition.

If there's a blaring omission, it's strong female characters. The Walking Dead feels like a throw back to the 50s and 60s. All the leaders are men, all the problem solvers are men, all the women are the ones who need saving, or need to be calmed down. It's all quite typical. The first strong female character doesn't get mentioned until the finale and unfortunately is only available via video of her dying brain. Where's Marg Helgenberger or Jada Pinkett when you need them?!

The Walking Dead feels like Lost meets Mad Men meets zombies...Lost: Mad Zombies (I've never seen Mad Men, I'm just referencing the era).

On a seemingly positive note, the desire to watch the next season is uncomfortably present.

On a scale of 1-10, The Walking Dead: Season 1 is 7.0