Sherlock vs Sherlock Holmes- A Study in Pink

So I 've realized lately how differently I appreciate all the different adaptions of Sherlock Holmes in comparison to those who have never read the original stories. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a marvellous cast of characters, came up with some memorable quotes, and fabricated some famous scenarios, but not many people realize how ingenious most of this stuff is. Those of us who have actually read the original stories can watch the adaptions and catch small references that are cleverly woven into the plot or hidden in the background or something, making the show that much more exciting.

I recently introduced my mom to one of my favorite shows, BBC's Sherlock (which you can read about here). I believe that she thoroughly enjoyed it and will be happy to watch the next season when it's available. She is also a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. So, I think you could say that she is a fairly thorough Sherlock Holmes fan... except for the fact that she has never read any of the books. Now, I'm not saying that you can't be a fan without reading the books. My mom is perfect proof that this is not so. My point is that those who HAVE read the books just appreciate the adaptions in a completely different way.

In my boredom, I've decided to rewatch the first episode of Sherlock and make a list of all the references to the books as I could find and put them here just to justify my point. So if you have never seen the show, I would not recommend reading any further as there will be spoilers.

SHERLOCK- EPISODE 1- A STUDY IN PINK: written by Steven Moffat

(Moffat is also the head writer for Doctor Who, so he is a skilled writer when it comes to plot twists and mysteries. He's also an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, so he stuck heavily to the original SH tales.)

• The first reference is obvious. It is based off one of the few novels SACD wrote, A Study in Scarlet.
• John Watson is staying in a rather rubbish hotel room before he moves in with Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street.
• Watson keeps a handgun handy.
• Watson is an army doctor recently belated home from Afghanistan. In the original stories, Watson was an army doctor also recently belated home from the Afghan Wars.
• I'd just like to point out something I read. The writers poke fun at SACD's continuity error in the books by giving Watson a psychosomatic limp when he was actually shot in the shoulder. In the books, it was originally written that he was shot in the shoulder, but then later it said that he was shot in the leg.
• Stamford (the one who introduces Watson and Holmes) and Watson had an internship together at Bart's hospital and meet again after Watson returns from Afghanistan.
• The name on the coffee cups Watson and Stamford are holding says "Criterion". Stamford and John met again in the Criterion Pub.
• In Sherlock's first scene, he is beating a dead man with a riding crop. Stamford mentions that he saw Sherlock Holmes beating a corpse with a stick in the original stories.
• Watson first meets Holmes in a lab in Bart's hospital.
• Holmes immediately deduces that Watson is an army doctor from Afghanistan, but doesn't explain how he knew right away.
• Holmes lists off his short-comings when he realizes that Watson wants to share a flat with him. (Playing the violin when he's thinking, not talking for days when he's upset, etc.)
• In the show, Watson expresses his skepticism over Holmes's claims on his website about how he can deduce a person's profession by looking at the tiniest details. In the books, Watson does the same thing except by reading an article Holmes wrote for a magazine.
• "The game is on!" is a play on one of Holmes's famous quotes, "The game is afoot!"
• Holmes is the only consulting detective in the world because he invented the job.
• Holmes's deduction using Watson's phone is similar to the original deductions in the books, except using a pocket watch.
• The murder to which Holmes is summoned to is located at Brixton, Lauriston Gardens.
• A wedding ring was an important factor at the crime scene.
• "RACHE" was found written at the scene of the crime. In the show, the police thinks it is the german word for revenge while Holmes scoffs at them and says that it's supposed to say "Rachel". In the book, it is vice versa.
• Holmes enjoys Watson's astonishment at his skill
• In the show, Holmes sends Watson two texts "Come at once if convenient" and "If inconvenient, come anyway.". In the originals, Holmes leaves a note for Watson reading, "Come at once if convenient. If inconvenient, come all the same"
• "It's a three patch problem" vs the original quote, "It's a three pipe problem". In the show, Holmes uses nicotine patches rather than smoking it through a pipe like in the books.
• In the show, Holmes uses Watson's phone to send a text just in case his own number is recognized. In the original story, Holmes puts an advertisement in the newspaper, but uses Watson's name in case his own is recognized.
• Lestrade orders a drugs bust on 221B and it is implied that Holmes has had trouble with drugs in his recent past. This is in reference to the original stories where Watson is constantly trying to get Holmes to stop his cocaine habit.
• The victims were killed by a poisonous pill. They were presented with the choice of a good pill and a bad pill.
• A cab driver was the murderer.
• The cab driver is suffering from an aneurism.
• Mycroft Holmes says that he is working on losing weight. This is because Mark Gatiss (the actor who plays Mycroft) is not overweight like Mycroft is described in the books.
• Sherlock says that Mycroft doesn't just a have a position in the British government; he IS the British government. The books don't specify exactly what Mycroft does for the government, but they say he is indispensable.

A Great Week to Fangirl

We wish you a Merry Whomas and a Happy Lockyear!

That^^^ has been trending on my other blog all month. Forget Christmas and New Years, it's all about my fandoms! The top quote is referencing the Doctor Who Christmas special and Season 2 of Sherlock. This week has been full of madness! I honestly don't know if I'm happy or sad anymore. I think I'm just verging on insanity. I'm excited for Christmas and all, but this week has been so whack that... well, allow me to enlighten you all on everything and maybe you can just barely begin to fathom my excitement.

Dec. 19- Two preview scenes from Sherlock season 2

Dec. 20- A scene (half way through the interview) from Sherlock that sends fangirls of Benedict Cumberbatch screaming

Dec. 21- Four trailers for season 2 of Sherlock and new promo pictures and a trailer for Tangled Ever After

Dec. 24- Merlin season finale

Dec. 25- Doctor Who Christmas Special

Jan. 1- Sherlock returns

The Sherlock thing is particularly exciting because season 1 aired almost 2 years ago and there were only three episodes, so we've felt a bit deprived. Therefore, suddenly getting all this new stuff is extremely exciting and slightly overwhelming. As someone on my other blog put it, "All this new footage at once after ages of having so little is like trying to eat way too much after you’ve starved for ages". Couldn't have put it better myself.

Then Merlin! Ohhhh! I cannot express how flippin' epic the finale looks! (Even better than last season's finale, which was pretty darn fantastic). The title itself is epic: "The Sword in the Stone part II".

Of course, Doctor Who. This year's Christmas special is based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Previews, promo pictures, etc. were released forever ago and I've got to say... I have no idea what to make of it. Of course it will be good, because it's Doctor Who and it's Steven Moffat (our master writer of Doctor Who AND Sherlock). I've heard it will be better than last year's special (which I adored. It was based on A Christmas Carol).

Now, Tangled Ever After. Not many people were even aware that there was going to be a mini-sequel to Tangled. Of course I knew about it ages ago. EXCITED!!!!! The preview was terrible quality and only like 5 seconds long, but still! IT EXISTS!

And just for the heck of it, I will mention that The Hobbit trailer debuted last night as well. It was all the rage. I sort of got in on it because I knew a lot of the actors, but not much because I'm not in on The Lord of the Rings stuff (but don't worry, I will be soon).

So, who knows what else will come up this week. I keep thinking, "they've already given us so much, they wouldn't possibly give us anything else" and then BAM! The next day, I wake up to people on my other blog raving over some new footage of whatever it may be.

In summary:

"This is the story of how I died"

--(a quote from either Doctor Who or Tangled).

Most Loathable

In case you didn't know, I have lists. Lists of my most loved characters, most loved TV shows, most loved movies, most epic speeches, most attractive characters, and so on. I also have a most loathable characters list.

For time and eternity, I thought that nobody could possibly compete with Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter in my top spot of my most hated characters. What with her prissy voice and her pinkness and her orderliness. Ooh! No way, right? However, recently she has had a tough competitor in one of my favorite TV shows, Merlin.

He's only recently turned up in the latest season, season 4. His name is Lord Agravaine. Oh my word, I just want to pound my fist into a wall or something every time I see his face now! In fact, even when I was searching for a picture to put on this post, I was ready to explode. I literally glare at the screen and grumble my disregard at him every time he appears (like: "Go away. Nobody likes you. Go rot in a hole. I hate you."). Just... gah! I can't stand the guy!

He's Arthur's uncle. He comes to Camelot to serve as a source of council to Arthur while he is running the kingdom while Uther is unfit to rule. At first he seems to be just another loyal subject, but of course we soon learn through Merlin's eyes, that he is in league with Morgana and wants to overthrow the rightful king and put Morgana on the throne. So why does he bother me so much more than any past villains with the same motives? (Because basically all the villains of Merlin have this motive of overthrowing the king). WELL... let me tell you.

He's so... manipulative, for lack of a better term. (I'm not going to give very specific examples since the season is still running and some people may not have seen it yet.) It's just that Arthur, the knights, and all others with authority trust him and it drives me insane because he's so obviously a traitor sometimes, but he's so darn good at covering it up. There was one specific time where he was caught red-handed, totally obviously a traitor, literally a knife in his hand and everything. No way out surely, but he still managed to wriggle his way out of it. I kid you not, I was banging my head in frustration. He's always giving advice that will work to his and Morgana's advantage and he's always trying to direct blame at obviously innocent people, to name some other things that bother me. I've never been more anxious for a character to die in this series. Nathaniel Parker (who plays him) does a brilliant job with the character, I think.

(One thing I'd just like to point out and laugh at is that he and Morgana sort of remind me of Pinky and the Brain. Agravaine: "Gee Morgana, what are we going to do tonight?", Morgana: "Same thing we do every night, Agravaine. Try to take over Camelot!")

So, I'm not so sure he beats Umbridge out of top spot, but he's definitely tied with her at least.

In a Land of Myth and a Time of Magic...

...the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name... Merlin.

(Actually, recently the intro has changed to "rests on the shoulders of a young man". Congratulations, Merlin. You have graduated into young manhood.)

HaHA! Who was wondering if I would ever blog about this show? I definitely was. I was watching this show long before I had even discovered Sherlock or Doctor Who or any of the sorts.

First, par usual, I shall tell you how I was introduced. Let's see, I think it was during my winter break of 2009, I was super bored (of course. How else do I discover amazing things?). One morning, I looked up a list of Disney movies so that I could look them up on YouTube. As I scanned the list, I found The Sword in the Stone. I decided to click on it just for fun. "One thing led to another" (a little Brian Regan humor there) and soon I was reading a little bit about the Arthurian legends. Eventually, I came across a list of movies and TV shows based on the Arthurian legends. I randomly clicked on one titled 'Merlin' made by the BBC. After reading the synopsis, I decided I wanted to go look it up. I found the first episode on YouTube. I thought it was pretty good and decided to watch the next one. I ended up watching the entire first season on YouTube and was completely hooked by the end. I continued watching the second season on Netflix instant play. The third season was eventually released in the UK, but I had to purchase it on iTunes. Now, the fourth season is airing in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Basically, it's about King Arthur before he becomes king, the knights of the round table before they become knights, Guinevere before she becomes queen, Morgana le Fey before she goes bad, and most importantly Merlin before he becomes the most powerful sorcerer in the world. So it's the backstories to the Arthurian legends.

SYNOPSIS: Merlin is a young wizard who arrives in the kingdom of Camelot after his mother arranges for him to stay with the court physician, Gaius. He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and imprisoned the last great dragon deep under the kingdom. The dragon tells Merlin that he plays an important role: to protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will bring forth a great kingdom. When Merlin meets Arthur, he believes that he is an arrogant bully. And Arthur, likewise, has a less than stellar opinion of Merlin. Merlin must keep his magic secret or face being executed by Uther.

MERLIN played by Colin Morgan

Our main character. Like the synopsis said, he's a young wizard. He was born with extremely powerful magic, which is apparently unheard of. Today, most people picture Merlin as an old rickety man with the long white hair and beard, right? Ha! Well, not here. (Actually, wait for some later episodes where he uses an aging spell. Hilarity ensues!). He serves as the personal servant to Arthur and eventually as the two of them become better friends, he sometimes serves as a source of trust. He is also known as Emrys to magic folk. (He has been spoken of in many ancient legends under the name of Emrys which is why he is called that by the magic people.)

ARTHUR played by Bradley James

I ain't putting no spoilers here. He's not a king, he's a prince. When we first meet him, he's an arrogant brat and a bully. No one really likes him very much. Guinevere even says in disgust, "who'd want to marry Arthur?". As the series progresses though, we watch him become more mature and responsible. He is significantly more caring and merciful than his father is, and will often choose banishment over execution.

GUINEVERE played by Angel Coulby

Known as "Gwen" to her friends. She is a servant girl to Lady Morgana and also her best friend. She is high and mighty and not afraid to speak out. Pretty much everyone respects her and her opinion, even though she is just a servant. She, like everyone else, doesn't like Arthur very much at the beginning, but as he matures and gains responsibility, she starts to fall for him.

MORGANA played by Katie McGrath

When we first meet her, she's King Uther's ward, living in the castle. She was born with magical powers (though not nearly as powerful as Merlin's), but doesn't know how to control them on their own. Her story is very complex, but in summary she falls to the dark side because of constantly being lied to, the fear of possessing magic, and eventually learning to control it. It doesn't take too long before she is the main antagonist of the show.

GAIUS played by Richard Wilson

The court physician and Merlin's mentor. Apparently, Gaius once practiced magic. He's one of the few people who knows of Merlin's powers. Everyone in Camelot trusts Gaius (and it makes absolutely no sense to me when the king starts questioning his loyalty -__-).

UTHER played by Anthony Head

The tyrannical king of Camelot and father of Arthur. He is very strict towards Arthur and Morgana, but he does care about them. He hates all forms of magic (for a reason that I shall not share here) and will kill anybody practicing it without question.

Other characters have appeared too. Such as Lancelot, the Lady of the Lake, Gwaine, Morgause, Nimueh, Mordred, etc.

All the episodes somehow introduce some part of a legend, like how Excalibur came to be, or where the Lady of the Lake came from, or how Arthur and Guinevere fell in love, or how Morgana went bad, or something. It's an excellent show! "Four stars. Two enthusiastic thumbs up" (some more Brian Regan humor for you).

Quote Board

My wonderful mother requested that I do this. So, in my dorm, my roommates and I have a quote board. A board on which we write strange and/or funny things we say. I'm just going to give a couple examples here on this post. Now, most of the things on the board are usually only funny to us because of an inside joke, or they're only funny because of how they were said.

"My hair could eat your hair for breakfast and still be hungry."

(While discussing Brenna's hair volume as opposed to mine)

"I was going to sit on your lap, but it was going to be awkward."

"Why?"

"Because you're kind of naked."

(She wasn't actually naked, but she was wearing tiny spandex)

"AHHHH! Relish and pickles!"

"What am I going to do with my life?"

"Sell your body for money."

"My computer just flashed me!"

"There's no place to be in this kitchen."

"Except out of the way!"

"Kelsi, answer the door! You're the only one dressed!"

(I'm the only one to dress modestly for bed)

"Eyes on the road, not on the prize."

(While Brenna was looking at Daniel in the rearview mirror when she was driving)

"I cuddle with my stuffed elephant."

(While everyone was sharing their cuddling experiences)