mercychaplet

I have watched this episode quite a few times, and really enjoy it. From the aspect of a professional in the recovery field, I find that dynamic to be just as interesting as the "mystery of the week" that Sherlock and Joan solve.

In this episode Joan is making it clear that Sherlock needs to step up to the plate and find a sponsor. She isn't going to be there forever, and whether he likes it or not, it needs to be done. It's quite amusing watching him reject her choice/suggestion for completely spurious reasons, and even funnier when he finally does meet the man who will become his sponsor. Watch how he reacts when Joan takes him seriously after he makes a "choice" at a meeting that was entirely meant to bug her!

The episode itself, solving the mystery, takes a few directions, as usual, but tracking down the real killer is just a brilliant use of dogged persistence. Sherlock keeps hitting brick wall after brick wall (at one point kind of literally), but that's par for the course.

Of course the chemistry between Holmes and Watson is great, but also undergoing subtle changes as the end of his treatment time with Watson approaches. I really like the way they showed Watson trying to prepare her client for her departure, working to make sure he has adequate support once she is gone.

All in all a great episodel!

I wish I could say that I was "sad" about Abby leaving, but all I can think is, "it's about time ." The fact that all of a sudden Abby stopped being in scenes with Gibbs was excruciating to watch. Her grand goodbye scene at the office, explaining her "reasoning" was terrible. All I could think was "where the hell is Gibbs???" And then that crazy thing at his house? No hug, no nothing? Standing across the street and signing through a closed door? Could you heighten and underline the tension between these two actors any clearer! Please! It was just miserable to watch.

I have to admit, way back when I heard that this version of Holmes and Watson was not only moving the character to modern day New York, but that Watson was going to be female, I really thought the show would be pandering to the "PC" crowd, and was prepared to be uninterested. Wow! Was I ever wrong!

Here we have a Holmes as quirky and brilliant as Doyle's character, who, oh, btw, is just getting out of rehab! And if that bothers you, go back and read Doyle, where Holmes chronically uses cocaine... Watson, as in the original, is a medical doctor, but due to very difficult, possibly traumatic experiences, she has left the field. Watson had also done this in the books (although he did eventually go back to practicing medicine). Her role as his "recovery companion" makes her a great fool, as she has something to offer him, to help him through the difficulties of his early recovery, and we aren't just watching her stumbling along in his wake, while he explains how brilliant he is. One of the great aspects of this show is showing the ambivalence that many people with substance use disorders have during early recovery, especially regarding accepting help.

I really enjoyed the give and take between the two characters, they have great timing and chemistry. This Holmes starts off very "Jeremy Brett", he is arrogant, a know it all, and doesn't care who he annoys, yet he is fascinating, and so very imperfect. It's just great TV.

This is a very sweet movie, set in the beautiful Cornwall countryside. I t is a simple tale, based on a short story by 19th century Victorian era serial novelist Anthony Trollope. Orphaned Mally Tringlos (Veronica Quilligan) gathers seaweed in a cove on the coast of Cornwall, and supports her aged and crippled grandfather Malachi (Donald Pleasance) by selling it as fertilizer. She lives a desolate life of the hardest physical labor, hewing a narrow, dangerous path down the cliff side, and harnessing herself like an animal to drag back the heavy weed. The son of a neighboring farmer invades Mally's beach, and with his greater strength and the aid of a pony is able to gather more of Mallys daily harvest. Despite her best efforts, Mally can't stop him, and no one will help her. Her rage and isolation grow, and she becomes consumed with getting rid of this interloper on her territory. Working one day near her, he falls into a whirlpool from which she, without thought of her own safety, rescues him at the risk of her own life. His peril arouses in her the first tenderness she has felt quite some time, and, her anger having disappeared, she finds that she loves him. He wakes, and calls for her.