Being an internet refuge for Graeme McMillan
Also, Carlos Valdes (currently on Broadway in Once) has been landed the series regular role of Cisco Ramon, an engineering genius and the youngest member of the team of scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs. Per some DC lore, this handy lad may be fated to become the Justice Leaguer known as Vibe.
Finally watched some of CBS’ Elementary after being told numerous times that it’s as good as/better than the BBC’s Sherlock, and… well, I’m not convinced, to say the least. The CBS series lacks the humor, self-awareness and smartness for me that I love about the BBC show.
That isn’t to say that it’s not fun in and of itself, because it is – it’s a broader confection, something closer to Fox’s Bones or ABC’s Castle, both of which are fine shows for what they are but are nowhere near the same level of Sherlock. Now that Elementary has been bought by Hulu, I’m sure I’ll catch up at some point, but still.
I’m now thinking about the impulse that drives people responding to mention of Sherlock to say that Elementary is “better.” The idea of competitive television viewing, if that makes sense, is an interesting one, and a frustrating one, as well.I need to think this through a little more.
Yet the next logical question to ask is why, then, the show hit the ground running with so many boring characters and stories that pigeonholed things into bland action-adventure standalones, particularly if the producers had so thoroughly planned out the season that they knew what the last image of the season one finale was before starting serious work on the show. (Over-planning is often a problem on first-season genre shows, which want to have a firm set of signposts in line, without realizing that the narrative pace of television is blistering.) And it’s not as though TV can’t do exciting action-adventure standalones, though Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. might make you believe it impossible.
How And Why tells the story of Goodman Hesselman (Hawkes), who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works but is clueless about life. After losing his gig hosting children’s science show How And Why, he tries to start over with a new show in a little TV market in the middle of nowhere when he encounters the supernatural world. Cera plays Mendelson, Goodman’s new boss at the studio. Even though they legally cannot use any part of How And Why, Mendelson is confident they will replicate the show.