Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Can I tell you what I love about Sherlock?

Everything.

The first episode of the second season of the wonderful BBC series, Sherlock aired on Masterpiece Theater on Sunday. The first season was so outstanding, and based on this episode, you know the second season will not disappoint. I have actually seen all of the second season, but I've waited until they aired in America to post my thoughts on them. I hope you enjoy the season as much as I.

This episode introduces Irene Adler, and is based on A Scandal in Bohemia. It begins where the last episode ended, with a confrontation with Moriarty. And what a great confrontation it is. I love Andrew Scott as Moriarty.

Observations:

***Spoilers***

Moriarty's ring tone is "Staying Alive." Brilliant.

Sherlock is such a narcissistic, egotistical jerk sometimes, but he's so likable - why is that? If he were living in America, in L.A., he would be named Sheldon Cooper.

Sherlock has thumbs in his refrigerator.

It's hilarious to see Sherlock Holmes sitting in a sheet in a beautiful room at Buckingham Palace. Sherlock and John find it quite funny too. I love seeing them laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely stellar as Sherlock Holmes. Along with the great script and directing, his acting is a joy to watch.

Irene Adler's professional name is The Woman.

I love how they filmed the scene when Sherlock is explaining to Irene how the hiker was killed. This is great television.

The only kind of woman that Sherlock can be attracted to is one who can match him brains for brains.

Sherlock says "Before you sent John and I in there." Sherlock may be a genius, but he doesn't know the proper grammatical use of I and me.

I love how both Sherlock and John stand up for Mrs. Hudson against Mycroft.

It's sad to see how Molly likes Sherlock so much and Sherlock has no clue (pun intended). He can be such a jerk. At least he apologizes to her when he finally figures it out.

So, Irene Adler is dead. Or is she?

Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Gatiss have similar noses. Convenient when they are playing brothers.

I love the wallpaper in Sherlock's flat.

It's wonderful to see Sherlock being tender to Mrs. Hudson after she is attacked by the Americans.

How the heck did Benedict memorize all of that deduction? So many words. So fast. How many takes did it take him?

The plot thickens, or just gets turned on its head. Sherlock gives everything away to Irene Adler. She played him, and he allowed it. But then, Sherlock always gets the last word - or he wouldn't be Sherlock.

The pass code is cool, but how did it show up as letters instead of numbers?

"Witness protection scheme." Not program, but scheme. I love how the English have different words than we do for certain things.

The ending is so perfect. Again, it shows how well this show is written.

Sherlock has too many quotes to list them all, but the following are some of the great ones.

Quotes:

Moriarty: Say that again, and know that if you are lying to me and I find you, I will skin you.

Moriarty: Sorry. Wrong day to die.

Moriarty: If you have what you say you have I'll make you rich. If you don't, I'll make you into shoes.

John: What happened there!
Sherlock: Someone made him charge his mind. Question is, who?

Sherlock: Tell us from the start. Don't be boring.

Lestrade: Listen to everything [Sherlock] has to say, and as far as possible, try not to punch him.

Mycroft: We are in Buckingham Palce at the very heart of the British nation. Sherlock Holmes, put your trousers on.

Sherlock: I'm not the Coomonwealth.
John: And that's as modest as he gets.

Sherlock: Punch me in the face. Didn't you hear me?
John: I always hear "punch me in the face" when you're speaking, but it's usually subtext.

Sherlock (to Irene): Stop boring me and think. It's the new sexy.

Irene: You got that from one look? Definitely the new sexy.

Mycroft: Oh, shut up Mrs. Hudson.
Sherlock & John: Mycroft!

Jeanette (John's girlfriend): You're a great boyfriend. Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man.

Sherlock: I dislike being outnumbered, it makes for too much stupid in the room.

Mrs. Hudson (re: man falling out of the window): That was right on my bins.

Sherlock: Shame on you, John Watson. Mrs. Hudson leave Baker Street? England would fall.

Irene: I was just playing the game.
Sherlock: I know. And this is just losing.

Mycroft: My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?
John: I don't know.
Mycroft: Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate.

Sherlock: The Woman. THE Woman.

The Avengers

My company treated all of us to a viewing of The Avengers on opening day. I love my job!

You would think if you have a movie that brings together such superheroes as Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) that you couldn't lose? Right? Well, with Joss Whedon at the helm as screenwriter and director, I would give a very enthusiastic "Yes"! I enjoyed the film from beginning to end.

The plot is very simple, as are most films based on comic book superheroes. Earth is in danger. The reason isn't as important as the fact that Fury (Samuel Jackson) gathers the heroes together to save Earth.

I have seen the first Iron Man film and Thor. I watched the original Incredible Hulk series with Bill Bixby, and I and saw Captain America the night before seeing The Avengers. I enjoyed all three of those movies (and the series), and I'm glad I had some background for this film.

The best part of the film for me was the dynamics and clever banter among the superheroes. Joss Whedon (creator of my much-beloved Firefly series) is such a great screenwriter, and the script here was stellar.

Chris Evans portrays the idealistic, innocent Steve Rogers so well. From his 1940s haircut to his boyish good looks, Chris looks every bit a soldier from WWII. I liked how he became the unofficial leader of the pack.

I've been a big fan of Chris Hemsworth since I saw Thor, and I loved seeing him back as the hammer-yielding God.

Robert Downey, Jr. has always been a favorite actor of mine, and his Iron Man character is great. As much as Tony Stark pretends to be self-centered, he definitely is a team player and is willing to risk a lot to save the world, and his friends. Robert Downey's portrayal of Tony is spot-on and great to watch.

I have not seen either Hulk movies, so I don't know how Eric Bana or Edward Norton were as Bruce Banner, but I loved Mark Ruffalo as Bruce/Hulk. I just don't understand the Hulk's 'personality.' The first time he changes, Bruce has no control over the monster side of him, and attacks Natasha. It seems no one can reason with the monster. However, in the big battle at the end of the movie, the superheroes tell him who attack, and he does it. Does Bruce have any control of his actions when he's the Hulk?

The villain is Thor's brother, Loki, played by the wonderful Tom Hiddleston. There are few comic book movies where the villains are charismatic, but Tom almost steals the movie, and that's a lot to say when the heroes are also great and cast so well. As Loki, Tom reminded me a bit of Iago in a stage production of Othello I saw a few years ago. He was so likable in a diabolical kind of way.

Jeremy Renner is new to me as an actor. I've heard of him, but I've never seen any of his movies. I have to say that from his performance of Hawkeye, I really want to see more of him.

I'm glad there was at least one woman among all of the men. I liked Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. I'm not familiar with the history of Black Widow, but I enjoyed the character. For some reason I thought she was a villain in Iron Man 2, which obviously I haven't seen, so I was surprised to see her as one of the heroes.

Quippy Quotes:

Steve Rogers/Captain America: I've been asleep for 70 years. I think I've had enough sleep.

Bruce Banner/Hulk: I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.
Thor: Take care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother.
Natasha: He killed 80 people on two days.
Thor: He is adopted.

Steve: Is everything a joke to you?
Tony Stark: Funny things are.

Steve: Doc, I think now is the perfect time for you to get angry.
Bruce: That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry.

Stan Lee (in a cameo): Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break.

Grimm: Happily Ever Aftermath

And they lived happily ever after... That isn't the end, it's only the beginning.

Grimm finally tackles the most popular fairy tale, Cinderella. But in this Grimm version, Cinderella already married the prince. This version turns the Cinderella story on its head and makes the steps the good guys. Cinderella, or Lucinda, is literally a bat out of hell.

The beginning of the episode doesn't look like an episode of Grimm. Everything is so bright and opulent.

The stepmother owns a company called The Perfect Slipper.

I don't know if I would look under the bed if I heard any weird animal sounds. Especially in a world of Wesens.

Juliette is so nice to do research about Nick's parents' deaths for him. She's already the perfect wife. She just has to say yes to Nick and marry him. It's strange that they never mention the proposal or the rejection. It's like everything is still hunky-dory.

Lucinda has a godfather instead of a godmother, and he's a Wesen. The kind of Wesen who killed the step-mother. The same type of "bat out of hell" as Lucinda.

If Renard is a Reaper, why hasn't he killed Nick already? I like Renard. I want to keep liking him. I want to think he likes Nick. I'm sure that's not the case, but I want to think it is.

It's great scene when Spencer confesses to being a Wesen with Hank in the room. I liked seeing Nick's discomfort. Hank, of course is oblivious to what Spencer is saying.

Poor Arthur. Cinderella never loved the prince.

I love that Monroe comes to the rescue with the contraption to catch the "bat out of hell."

The godfather tries to save Cinderella by killing her.

Quotes:

Lucinda: Thinking's no fun this late at night.

Nick: I should tell you about my nightmares more often.

Lucinda: I love you too, Arthur, but this is family.

Tiffany: Get a hold of yourself and put the vodka back in the freezer.

Nick: Do you want to do it?
Monroe: Oh man, so bad.

Monroe: Am I too late? No I can't be too late, you're still alive.

Alec Baldwin on Mitt Romney

On Lawrence O'Donnell's MSNBC program on Tuesday night, Alex Baldwin said, "Romney is as out of touch with the average American as we coud possibly find on the meter today. In terms of being in touch with the average American, we'd be better off with Gingrich than we would with Romney—in terms of his personal wealth and his attitude about lifestyle and such."

I don't necessarily disagree with Alec, but I think it's funny coming from a millionaire actor. I don't think Alec Baldwin is anymore in touch with the average American than Mitt Romney.

Good thing he isn't running for President.

Grimm: Leave it to Beavers

The Reapers have come - the kind who cut off the heads of Grimms. Their target: Nick.

Nick knows that he is in danger after hearing about other Grimms who have met their untimely end at the hands of Reapers. He asks Monroe to help him prepare to meet them "head on."

It's great to see what weapons Nick has found in Aunt Marie's trailer. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of those weapons.

The shot of the woods at the beginning of this episode is stunning. The forest is very "fairy tailish." I wouldn't mind taking a walk into those woods.

Doesn't it seem like only Wesen commit crimes in Portland? It would be interesting to see an episode where the criminal isn't a Wesen, but a Wesen (other than Monroe or Rosalee) helps Nick and Hank solve the crime.

Great shot of Nick shooting a melon with the face of a troll on it. Oh, and Nick is a great shot.

It was funny to see how uncomfortable Nick and Monroe are when Juliette invites Monroe over for dinner. The conversation is hilarious, and Juliette's expression as Nick and Monroe try to explain how they met without saying that Monroe is a Wesen and Nick is a Grimm is classic. It can't be long now before Juliette demands to know what Nick is hiding from her.

I love that Monroe drives a yellow classic VW Bug. And it's interesting that Emma in Once Upon a Time also drives a yellow classic Bug. From one Beetle owner to two others - nice wheels!

Bud is so proud to say that Nick, a Grimm, is his friend. It was great to hear Nick call him brave. I think Bud is my second favorite Wesen, next to Monroe.

I love how ones of the Eisbebers, a Wesen, says they have to stand up to the monsters. Of course the Eisbebers aren't not going to see themselves as monsters.

Message to the Reapers: Don't mess with Nick Burkhardt, he has killer weapons, and he knows how to use them.

Quotes:

Nick: I told you to meet me, not eat me.
Monroe: Hey man, we're not playing paint ball out here, okay. You want to practice your Grimm skills, you gotta be ready for anything. Now, could you get off me, please. I'm finding this a little, you know, awkward.

Nick: I can't shoot everybody.

Monroe: Slowly squeeze.
Nick: I know how to shoot.

Nick: Monroe, think about this for one second. What would we possibly talk about? 'Oh, gee guys, how did you two meet?' 'Well honey, it all started when I found out Monroe was a blutblad, and that was right after I found out I was a Grimm, and by the way, did I tell you that I can see things other people can't?'

Monroe: In my experience, the best lies are sort of the truth.

Bud: The Hassliches, they have a thing for bridges. They think they own them.

Bud: We have to pay the Troll, so to speak.

Bud: If Arnold's hiding, I might know where. If I'm right, I'll come to your house and carve a small series of numbers on the porch steps. The odd numbers will mean that--
Nick: Or, just call me.
Bud: Yea, yea, yea. That will work too. I'll call you.

Juliette: Monroe is one of the stranger people I have ever met, but he did save my life. And I think I love him.

Bud: I don't want to tell you what to say, although I guess I already have.

Nick: They're going to keep coming for me until I'm dead, aren't they?
Monroe: Yea, I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

Smash: Tech

This episode of Smash started out so good that I had hope for the rest of the show. Some of it was good, and some not so good.

I loved the opening number. It was a great arrangement of "Another Op'nin, Another Show," with a great montage of everyone going to Boston for the out-of-town tryout. The scenes at Grand Central Station were great, but as someone pointed out, trains don't go to Boston from Grand Central Station. Ah, television.

The back stage scenes were great. Hopefully there will be more great back stage and on stage scenes now that the season is almost over.

Talking about over, Karen and Dev may be over, Ivy and Derek may be over, but Julia and Frank are back together. How do we know they're together? Frank is helping Julia flip pancakes. That's a sure sign of recociliation. But when did they get back together? I wish we could have seen it, and I wish it would have happened with Frank singing a song. I know, I keep saying it. I'm going to keep saying it until it happens.

I want to hear the duet that Tom wants Karen and Ivy to sing. Next week, I hope.

If this is tech week, why is everyone in costume? Tech is all about the set and lights, just like Derek said. They usually don't run the show during tech. They run the technical cues. Dress rehearsal is when you get to costumes.

I love the HollywoodLand sign, but "land" was removed from the sign in 1949. Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio met around 1952. Picky, picky. Research is a good thing.

Rebecca has a pretty nice (and big) dressing room. Are all stars dressing rooms that nice in the theatre?

Ellis catches Ivy eavesdropping. That's pretty funny. So, why doesn't anyone catch Ellis eavesdropping?

Sam's parents don't support his choice of theatre as a career. Ivy's mother doesn't support her choice of theatre as a career. Karen's parents don't support her choice of theatre as a career. Do anybody's parents support their kid's choice of theatre as a career?

Ellis and Ivy are now best friends. That's random.

Megan Hilty has an incredible voice. Incredible! I'm so glad they gave her the big song this week, and not Katherine McPhee (although I like her voice too).

I'm so glad that Dev chose not to cheat on Karen, but you can tell that the way things are going with Karen, the way she's treating Dev, that he's going to feel like its okay to do something he shouldn't do. I really like him, I just don't like what the writers are doing to his story right now.

I'm also mad that Dev might cheat on Karen with Ivy. I was starting to like Ivy again. I liked that she and Karen were getting to know each other and possibly becoming friends, and now that's probably over.

Next week Michael Swift comes back and someone tries to poison Rebecca. The soap opera continues.

Quotes:

Derek: I'm not an idiot, I just mind my own business.

Julia: I'm not going to sacrifice my family, my life, for the theatre anymore.

Eileen: Seven million dollars isn't just money.

Karen: It's not a yes or a no. I'm in tech.

Sam: This is what theatre is, it's joy one day and it's gone the next.

Danny: Top that, Iowa.

Once Upon a Time: The Stranger

This was a great episode of Once Upon a Time, and it almost made me cry.

Henry finally finds the new story that August put in the book. The story is about Pinocchio.

Pinocchio (still a wooden boy) and Geppetto are in the sea during a storm and are almost swallowed by a whale. Pinocchio risks his life to save Geppetto and the Blue Fairy turns Pinocchio into a real boy. She tells Pinocchio "Be brave, truthful and unselfish. So long as you do that you will always remain a real boy."

Later, the Blue Fairy tells Geppetto about the curse and tells him that he's the only one who can save them. He must build a wardrobe from the wood of an enchanted tree, so Snow White can escape with her baby, Emma. Geppetto says he will do it only if Pinocchio can be saved through the wardrobe along with Emma. Geppetto tells Pinocchio that he has to be the one to take care of Emma in the new land. He has to make sure Emma believes in 28 years so she can save them all.

When Geppetto puts Pinocchio in that wardrobe and they say good-bye, it broke my heart. Especially when Geppetto opens the wardrobe again and Pinocchio is gone.

And then in Storybrooke, when August sees his father and his father doesn't know him, it just broke my heart even more.

Pinocchio lands in our world and just a few minutes later, Emma appears in the tree. They both end up in an orphanage, and Pinocchio isn't treated kindly. When Pinocchio/August is given a chance to leave the orphanage, he takes it, leaving baby Emma behind. Poor August is suffering now for poor choices he made as a little boy.

Now that Regina can't keep Mary Margaret away from each other using Kathryn or framing Mary Margaret for Kathryn's murder, she's going to try to seduce David and keep them apart that way. David isn't falling for it. I hope he stays away from her.

August takes Emma out of Storybrooke to the diner where she was found as a baby by a seven year old little boy. He tells her that he was the boy who found her. That he found her in a tree after he came from the land of fairy tales into this world through the same tree. That he is Pinocchio. Emma doesn't believe him. She can't even see that August's leg is turning to wood.

August shirked his duty of caring for Emma when she was a baby. He was selfish. Now he's paying for that, and he may not be a real boy for long. Well, maybe it's time he became a real man. *wink*

August goes to his father's shop and asks him if he can work with him. It's sweet to see August wanting to be with Marco/Geppetto. He says he feels like "fixing things." What a great line with a double meaning.

Emma decides that if she can't get Henry away from Regina legally, she'll just take him away. She picks Henry up that night, and they're on their way out of Storybrooke. Or are they?

Observations:

Doc is attending Snow White when she has her baby. Can she trust a doctor who got his degree from a pic axe?

How many of you wanted so much for Emma to see August's leg as it really was? What will it take for her to finally believe?

Quotes:

Mary Margaret: I don't care what it looks like, as long as it keeps Regina out.

August: You're our only hope.
Emma: Then you're all screwed.