Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

The movie, originally known as the Wrath of Holmes, or How I Learned To Stop Hating and Love The Triblle, ultimately was renamed Into Darkness. I guess this is a reference to certain actions taken by certain individuals throughout the film, and I don't mean those taken by Khan.
To be completely honest, I think we saw a little glimpse of Mr. Abrams Star Wart part 7. At the beginning of the movie when Krik amd Spock get called to Starfleet Command HQ and they are wearing the very militaristic grey uniforms with the officer's hats, I thought, "all we need to see are the plans for galaxy's greatest weapon and it's Star Wars", and I of course meant the Death Star, but as soon as they walk into the Admiral's office we pan along a line of space ships from the current day up to the Enterprise and this monstrous gun-metal grey ship right after it. I was waiting for a fade-out to the Jedi Temple where any Jedi Knight that isn't called by name in the Star Wars movies to be telling a Jedi Master of the same ilk about a rumor they had heard about the Senate building an army.
There were many inside jokes for the Star Trek fanbase, most of which I actually got. Well, I got all that I got and am assuming that there were ones that I didn't get. In fact, every scene that Karl Urban was in was like he wasn't playing Dr. McCoy as much as he was playing DeForrest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, and was very entertaining while doing it. Despite this I didn't really feel like I was watching a Star Trek film. I half expected Tom Cruise or Colin Farrel to come on screen at any moment and introduce the sub-plot that would prove that I was watching just anothyer big budget science fiction film. This is not a complaint. I really quite liked this film. Benedict Cumberbatch acted the crap out of the role of Khan. People had told me that he was so far beyond the other actors, who were not slouching mind you, that it was like a professional in with dinner theatre troupe. I don't think that was far from teh mark. I would love to see him opposite Patrick Stewart - in anything, it doesn't have to be Star Trek related. Maybe they could find a role for Mr. Cumberbatch in the upcoming X-Men film. That. Would. Rock.
The main weak point of this film was the way it used it's female characters. Unfortunately, it used them teh way that classic Trek used famele characters - as scenery and second-class characters. I felt that way about all of the women in teh movie, but the Adniral's daughter, what the fuck? It appears that the whole point of having her in the film was so that she could say, "Daddy, please don't kill them." All she had done before then was make statements like, "I am too a science officer" and "Why yes Captain, I will have sex with you later." An homage to Star Trek is one thing, but this would have been the chance to show us just how important Uhura was in running the Enterprise.

Star Trek: Into Darkness on IMDb

Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall

Um, so, yeah. This one got messy.
If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about, and if you haven't seen it, go watch it then come back and read this. Or like, you know, whatever.

I'm a student of television and movies. I'm as well schooled in the BBC as anyone this side of the pond who doesn't own cable. I know that sometimes shows kill of major characters (Game of Thrones anyone?) and sometimes they don't when they should (Awake - I'm talking about you), but you can always see it coming if you're paying attention to the show. You can see the coming death and you can see the coming not death, if you catch my drift. If you're using your brain while watching you can make some assumptions about things.
What do I know about Sherlock? First off, I know that the rather odd seeming ending of Series 1 was explained at the beginning of Series 2. Secondly, I know that the show tends to have Sherlock make some leap of intellect to which he comes back to later and explains that while he may have appeared to be acting weird, that he was acting upon one or more bits of knowledge than everyone else, oft times including the audience. Thirdly, turning more to the content of this episode, Sherlock has an epiphany that seems like nothing, but for Sherlock there are no small epiphanies - this is when he announces that the conflict between he and Moriarty is a game. In the fourth place, Sherlock makes it abundantly clear that he doesn't give a crap about what anybody thinks about him as far as the media is concerned. Fifthly, Sherlock never loses sight of the endgame, not when he's drugged or terrified - as illustrated in the first two episodes of this series - so there are no sudden changes of heart, only calculated decisions, I mean specifically when he goes to visit Molly and says that he needs her. Sixthly, Sherlock has shown himself to be quite the actor when he thinks it will help solve a case - again as evidenced in the earlier episodes.
What inferences then, do I make about this episode? Sherlock is not dead, which should be obvious by his appearance at the end, but should not be seen as anything supernatural or psychological on the part of Watson - it was the big reveal that sets up the "here's how I did it and how I knew to do it" at the start of the next series. Moriarty is not dead, the phone conversation on the telephone with John wasn't for John's sake or some kind of suicide message as Sherlock said it was, it was for Moriarty's benefit. Shall I go further? I think I shall. Sherlock never mentions that Moriarty is on the roof, though Sherlock would likely mention that Moriarty's body is on the roof. By not doing so, he gives Moriarty a way to escape because nobody is going up to the rooftop to investigate what is so obviously a suicide. Sherlock also positions John very exactly, so that at the moment that Sherlock jumps, John is hit by a bicycle messenger and knocked roughly to the ground which dazes him so that by the time he regains his feet and some of his wits, Sherlock is 'dead' on the sidewalk amidst a growing crowd of onlookers. Why is this key? John is a doctor, and not your regular run-of-the-mill general practitioners, he's a combat trained doctor who is used to thinking on his feet and reacting appropriately even when it's his best mate there in front of him. By causing John to miss what happens, and the viewer, Sherlock can utilize whatever it is he's cooked up to fake his death, which may have involved Molly's help, but the next step - identifying the body and doing anything with it that was needed would be her job and she has already said that she would do anything for Sherlock. Why else would she not be at the funeral? Sherlock has to keep the three people closest to him in the dark because if they even suspected that he was still alive, their lives would be forfeit, which is also proof that Moriarty is alive. If the assassin has received money for the job, but now Moriarty is dead, they have nothing to gain by continuing on with the agreement, so Moriarty must be alive to continue giving the orders. Or if the assassin hasn't been paid yet, it is only the promise of pay that keeps them on the task they were hired for, and let's face it, dead men don't pay bills. And need I point out that at the end of episode one is the reveal that Sherlock helped Irene fake her own death and disappear?
On top of all of this, but equally as important is the social engineering I have used to further back up my inferences. I've mentioned previously that I only read the Hounds of the Baskerville, but I know that this story, the Reichenbach Fall is the one that Doyle killed off Sherlock in because he was tired of writing this series, but do to popular demand the character was revived and more novels were written. So, thank you librarian for having that conversation with some patron where I could eavesdrop and store that info away.

Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville

I mentioned earlier that I had only read one of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, and it just so happens that I read the Hounds of the Baskerville. I think it was also one of the first adaptations I saw with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. I think that Rathbone may have been part of the reason that I didn't read anymore of the books - I enjoyed Rathbone far more as the famed detective than I did reading that book.
A couple of years later, I saw the story again, but this time adapted to be an episode of Doctor Who with Doctor number four, Tom Baker. There was lots of running around at night and maybe in the fog. It was all very dramatic, or should I say overly-dramatic, but it was a jolly good romp.
This take on the story has Baskerville as a top secret military base with Hound turning out to be an acronym and the cause of the mystery a gas used to render enemy soldiers immobile with fear. Though in the case of Holmes and Watson that doesn't mean the same thing as with other folk.
The leitmotif throughout the episode, and  actually brought up at least twice in the first episode, is that Holmes and Watson are gay and in a relationship. This seems to bother Watson a lot more than Holmes. We'll see what they do with this in the next episode when they bring back Moriarty (which I know they will based on the last scene of this episode).

Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

I wonder what the percentage of British actors compared to American actors is appearing nude on television? I wonder if I should factor in Showtime and HBO? A lot of their shows star British actors, well, I'm thinking about the shows I know with nudity. It has always seemed odd to me that television can show people getting blown up and shot and strangled, all in graphic detail that continues from the crime through the investigation; but can't bring itself to show boobs and bums. Anyway, Mr. Cumberbatch continues with the long tradition of British actors.
I have a confession to make. Please don't tell my librarian. I have only ever read one Sherlock Holmes book and I don't recall liking it very much, though I don't recall disliking it either. I think I was very indifferent about it and was thus distracted by something shiny and forgot about reading any others. If I thought for a second they were as interesting as the episodes of this series, I would stop writing right this moment and go find a copy. Actually if I thought they were as interesting as the Robert Downy version of Sherlock Holmes I would read them and while I like those movies, I like this series a whole lot more.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for the second season of Sherlock, starting with A Scandal in Belgravia. As I don't believe that Belgravia is explicitly mentioned in the episode, one is left to draw inference from the cases and / or possibly the ending sequence, both of which point to a terrorist cell which is likely tied to Belgravia.
At the end of the first season we are left Holmes being outwitted by James Moriarty. He figures into this episode as well, but Holmes main adversary is The Woman, Irene Adler, who is Holmes match or very nearly so, but not in the way that Moriarty is.
Adler manipulates Holmes and uses his own ego against him and through him his older brother Mycroft. She very nearly gets away with it but Sherlock figures it out at the last moment.
The real treat is that Sherlock seems to genuinely feel something for her and saves her life, though it means not seeing her again.
This was a really top notch program and I really need to wrap this so I can watch the next installment.