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The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Review, Bookish: Sherlock creator cosies up to crime
*** IT hardly takes Holmesian powers of deduction to see that Mark Gatiss is deadly serious about his latest creation being a hit. Besides writing and taking the lead, he has enlisted a cast of well-kent faces to tell the tale of an enigmatic sleuth operating in postwar London. To top it all, there is a dog in the cast. That's one star in the bag without lifting a paw. Gatiss plays Gabriel Book, a genial sort who runs a secondhand bookshop when he is not helping the local constabulary solve cases. The latter is his 'little hobby'. Blessed with brilliant recall and a nose for a wrong 'un, the Tolstoy-quoting Book is a handy man to have around. Not every copper is pleased to see him turn up when a body is found, but he has a letter from Churchill which gives him special access. It is one of several clues suggesting Book is not a man to be judged by his cover. This being bombed-out London two years after the war, finding bodies is not a rare occurrence. Just as well Book has a new assistant, Jack (Connor Finch), who has come out of prison that very day. Jack wonders why Book has welcomed a stranger, and an ex-con at that, into his home and given him a job. Book's jolly wife Trottie (Polly Walker, Bridgerton), who runs the wallpaper shop next door, is just as welcoming. Besides a fondness for William Morris prints she is also into crime, so to speak, as is the young woman across the road, an orphan like Jack. All four are looking into an apparent suicide that turns out to be a murder. The case takes two hour-long episodes to solve, which is fair old chunk of anyone's time, particularly when the budget can only stretch to a handful of the same streets and interiors. Gifted TV operator that he is, the writer of The League of Gentlemen and Dracula brings on the dog at just the right time. Not just any dog, mind you, but one that carries messages in a special container attached to his collar. As an idea it could catch on (have you seen the price of stamps?). With a long list of suspects, Gatiss keeps the pot boiling nicely while Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), and the rest of the cast do their stuff. The humour, in keeping with the general vibe, is gentle to the point of laid back. Best of all is Gatiss's character, a chap who is highly skilled at uncovering people's secrets, perhaps because he has one or two of his own. What is in that letter from Churchill, for instance, and who was that man he met on a bench opposite Parliament, the one who seems to think he is owed a favour? More of an afternoon drama than evening fare, but worth a look, if only to see that clever dog (named 'Dog' by the by) in action.
The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Bookish review - Sherlock's Mark Gatiss cosies up to crime
*** IT hardly takes Holmesian powers of deduction to see that Mark Gatiss is deadly serious about his latest creation being a hit. Besides writing and taking the lead, he has enlisted a cast of well-kent faces to tell the tale of an enigmatic sleuth operating in postwar London. To top it all, there is a dog in the cast. That's one star in the bag without lifting a paw. Gatiss plays Gabriel Book, a genial sort who runs a secondhand bookshop when he is not helping the local constabulary solve cases. The latter is his 'little hobby'. Blessed with brilliant recall and a nose for a wrong 'un, the Tolstoy-quoting Book is a handy man to have around. Not every copper is pleased to see him turn up when a body is found, but he has a letter from Churchill which gives him special access. It is one of several clues suggesting Book is not a man to be judged by his cover. This being bombed-out London two years after the war, finding bodies is not a rare occurrence. Just as well Book has a new assistant, Jack (Connor Finch), who has come out of prison that very day. Jack wonders why Book has welcomed a stranger, and an ex-con at that, into his home and given him a job. Book's jolly wife Trottie (Polly Walker, Bridgerton), who runs the wallpaper shop next door, is just as welcoming. Besides a fondness for William Morris prints she is also into crime, so to speak, as is the young woman across the road, an orphan like Jack. All four are looking into an apparent suicide that turns out to be a murder. The case takes two hour-long episodes to solve, which is fair old chunk of anyone's time, particularly when the budget can only stretch to a handful of the same streets and interiors. Gifted TV operator that he is, the writer of The League of Gentlemen and Dracula brings on the dog at just the right time. Not just any dog, mind you, but one that carries messages in a special container attached to his collar. As an idea it could catch on (have you seen the price of stamps?). With a long list of suspects, Gatiss keeps the pot boiling nicely while Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), and the rest of the cast do their stuff. The humour, in keeping with the general vibe, is gentle to the point of laid back. Best of all is Gatiss's character, a chap who is highly skilled at uncovering people's secrets, perhaps because he has one or two of his own. What is in that letter from Churchill, for instance, and who was that man he met on a bench opposite Parliament, the one who seems to think he is owed a favour? More of an afternoon drama than evening fare, but worth a look, if only to see that clever dog (named 'Dog' by the by) in action.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watson Premiere Recap: Did You Miss Sherlock Holmes in CBS' Medical-Drama-With-a-Twist?
CBS, the longtime home of Elementary, is hoping the game is afoot once more with another Sherlock Holmes-inspired procedural drama: Watson, which premiered Sunday after the NFL's AFC Championship Game. (It'll settle into its regular time slot on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 9/8c.) But did the new series from Elementary's Craig Sweeny scratch your Holmesian itch, even without Sherlock present? We'll want to hear what you think in a moment; first, check out a recap of the premiere. More from TVLine Paradise's Massive Twist Caps a Highly Satisfying Premiere - Read Recap and Grade the Episode Super Bowl LIX Teams Set: Chiefs and Eagles to Face Off (Again) for NFL Title Night Agent Boss, Star Talk [Spoiler]'s Return in Season 2 Finale, 'Dangerous Position' Peter Is Now In for Season 3 We meet John Watson (Morris Chestnut, The Resident, Rosewood) as he's running to Sherlock Holmes' rescue in the woods; both men wind up in a river that dumps them over a waterfall. Watson wakes up in a hospital with his head bandaged and a man named Shinwell Johnson (Ritchie Coster, Tulsa King) telling him that he's had a traumatic brain injury. 'Wait, what happened to Holmes?' Watson asks. Shinwell gently tells him that while three men — himself, Holmes and James Moriarty (aka 'the man we've been chasing,' per Watson) — went over the waterfall, only one survived. 'You were the best friend Mr. Holmes ever had,' Shinwell reassures an upset Watson, promising that they'll properly memorialize the man later. And while they're on the topic: Despite living a rather simple life, 'Did you know that he was loaded?' Holmes' financial planning involved funding a clinic for Watson to run and for Shinwell to assist with. Six months later, Watson has established a bespoke diagnostic medical clinic in Pittsburgh. He's doing well, physically and mentally, though the details about Moriarty and the weeks before the accident are blurry. He can recall that Moriarty has fused fingers A young pregnant woman named Erica rushes out of her ultrasound appointment when she starts to see faces morphing into disturbing shapes. She's so unsettled that she leaves the building, runs into traffic and gets hit by a car. When Erica is brought to Dr. Watson's attention by the facility's medical director/his ex-wife, Dr. Mary Morse (Rochelle Aytes, S.W.A.T.), they learn that she hasn't slept in several days. As Watson takes Erica's medical history himself — a point of pride for him — we learn that he's a clinical geneticist and internist. She tells him that fatal familial insomnia runs in her family, and that while she fears she's going to die, 'I don't want this baby to die, too.' She tearfully asks him to keep her alive until she can deliver her baby girl safely. Watson quickly consults his team: Dr. Sasha Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann, So Help Me Todd), brothers Dr. Stephens and Dr. Adam Croft (Peter Mark Kendall, Chicago Med, plays both twins), and Dr. Ingrid Derian (The Night Agent). They figure out that there's not a strong genetic argument that Erica has FFI, and that it's likely her belief that it runs in her family that is causing her ongoing anxiety. There's no test for FFI, but Watson and his team decide to lie to Erica and say that they've used a cutting-edge, newly developed diagnostic to determine that she does not have the disorder. When Mary gets wind of the deception, she rushes down to confront him and winds up overhearing him telling Erica how his desire to go on one more case with Sherlock was the breaking point for their marriage — and he regrets it. As he's talking, Erica falls asleep (yes!), but that doesn't assuage Mary's anger when he exits the room. He makes it clear that while he's sorry about a lot of the choices he's made, he's not sorry for lying to Erica. TV's 15 Best Cliffhangers of All Time, From Game of Thrones, Sherlock and More View List The next morning, though, Erica wakes up blind and she can't smile, yadda yadda lab conversation she has boy in the bubble syndrome and needs a new immune system. Soon, Erica's cousin, Autumn, shows up and is sick with the same thing that Erica has. Watson posits that both women have songbird fever from handling dead birds killed by Erica's cat. But Mary stops by later to say that while Autumn does have songbird fever, Erica doesn't. And what's worse: The version of the fever Autumn has is resistant to antibiotics; she's very close to going into septic shock. As Watson observes the women, he realizes that they both have webbing between some of their toes. Using that clue, and another trait (wide-set eyes) lead the good doctor and his team to realize that Erica and Autumn are actually half-sisters who share the same biotinidase deficiency. Long diagnosis short: A simple supplement will fix them up in a jiffy… unless they're Erica, who is foaming at the mouth and convulsing in her bed. Erica has abscesses near her liver, and since the resident surgeon can't get to the hospital because of some bad storms, Mary steps in to perform the operation. Everyone survives! At the end of the episode, Watson comes to get his remaining belongings from Mary's place and surmises that she's seeing someone. 'Is he anyone I know?' he asks, a little testily. 'You never met her,' she says. But she's got bigger stuff to tell him: He's a better doctor for spending time with Holmes, 'but the old us is never coming back.' Elsewhere, Shinwell is riding one of Pittsburgh's funiculars when a man starts talking to him. He shrugs it off at first, but when the man starts talking about how vulnerable the city is, Shinwell pays more attention. The man is Prof. Moriarty (Randall Park, Fresh Off the Boat). 'I was expecting someone different,' Shinwell says. Then he drops a case at Moriarty's feet. 'There you go, the samples you wanted,' he explains. As Moriarty opens the case, we see his fused fingers, just like in Watson's recollection. 'I'm watching,' Moriarty promises, pointing to the logo on his polo shirt, which seems to indicate he has access to a surveillance system. 'Always and everywhere.' Now it's your turn. What did you think of the premiere? Grade it via the poll below, then hit the comments with of your thoughts! Best of TVLine Mrs. Maisel Flash-Forward List: All of Season 5's Futuristic Easter Eggs Yellowjackets Recap: The Morning After Yellowjackets Recap: The First Supper
