Several weeks ago I was trying to pick which film to recommend and came across a couple that made me think, "That one is pretty good" or "that one isn't too bad". I suddenly realized what lame and half-hearted praise that was. I'm sure you can find mediocre entertainment without any help from me. I didn't recommend either of those films to you and I decided for the first time since I started this weekly feature it was time to add something to my list of "Laura-Lee's Requirements". If I am not actually anxious to tell you about a film and equally anxious to know what you think of it (in short), if I'm not "jazzed" about sharing it with you, then it's simply not good enough to share with you. So as you read down my list of requirements you will find a new, highlighted one.
The film I'm recommending this week I am quite anxious for you to see. I've been checking and searching for it on YouTube for more than a year and finally someone has uploaded it. It is the 1997 British film, "Mrs. Brown" which portrays the story of the days of extended grieving of Queen Victoria after the death of her beloved husband, Albert in 1861. Her family and certain members of the royal court, hoping to shake the Queen from her grief and encourage her back to her public duties summon John Brown, who was the groom and trusted servant of her late husband. However, they may get more than what they wished for when it appears Mr. Brown may have more influence over the Queen than anyone could have imagined.
It is beautifully made and wonderfully acted by all, especially the two principal actors, [Dame] Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. And also the first film role for Scottish actor Gerard Butler, who plays John Brown's brother Archie.
Gerard Butler
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend. Sincerely, Laura-Lee
LAURA-LEE'S REQUIREMENTS:
Good Story
Appeals to BOTH Men & Women
Funny
Witty
Good acting
Plot Twist
Evokes "warm fuzzies"
Motivates snuggling
No Graphic Sex, Violence or Swearing
Leaves you with good feelings/thoughts
'Jazzed' and anxious to share it
Available on the Internet right now for FREE (so you can watch it Immediately)
An extra photo of Gerard Butler because he's so very, very pretty. (L-L)
Since I have so many new readers at this blog AND the "Church Lady P.I. Mystery" is still getting almost 100 new readers a month over at the "Master's Peace Theatre" Blog simply from 'word of mouth', I thought I would recommend it again for those who may have missed out on it the first time. Or for those who might like to give it a second read for something to do on this long Canadian "Thanksgiving" weekend. I hope you like it and remember I LOVE comments and feedback! Sincerely, Laura-Lee (Rahn)
Finally "The Rapture" is depicted through this well made Drama/Thriller/Tear-Jerker.
Based on the Christian belief that millions of Christians from around the world will suddenly and bodily disappear when Jesus "kidnaps" them is seen through the eyes of four main characters simultaneously.
Filmed around the world: L.A, Tokyo, Buenies Airies and Hawaii helps gives this film an authentic feel. But what sets this End of the World movie above the rest is the superior acting of it's international cast.as you are "caught up" in the characters' plights as they search for the truth to the disappearances amidst all the theories and trying to survive the chaotic aftermath.
You might not believe in Jesus by the end but you'll KNOW you've seen a good movie.
But, as is usually the case, the Book version of this story is better. (From the Bible).
No swearing but some violence makes it a PG.
I give it 8 Golden Christian Fishes. (It probably deserves 9 but I'm judging it on a harsher scale because I'm trying to overcome my own Christian bias)
**NOTE: Several different languages spoken in this film, so if you want it ALL translated into English, just turn on the SDH or English Subtitles or CC. Almost every film has "audio" (dubbing) & "subtitles" settings attached to them these days On TV's made in the past 20 years there is the CC/Text "channels" on them. Having everything I watch written in English at the bottom of my screen is a habit I picked up several years ago.
I am sorry to say that I have come upon some difficult times and my Internet is about to be shut off. I lost my cable TV some time ago and that was very harsh because for the first time I’ve had to face life without the CBC. [Gasp!] In the “olden” days when you couldn’t afford cable you still got TV signals through the air. So we still received at least the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) and CTV (Canadian Television). Now with this new way of transmitting: No box; No TV. Now my Internet is going too. I’m not sure how life will look like without that. So much of our business is done on the Internet. But I’ve been in this position before and knew that God would restore me to the Internet if He wished me to be on it (and He put me back on it for 3 more years). Also, without TV, in the extra quiet time, I have been able to hear Jesus say all sorts of things. (I wonder how much God says that we don’t hear simply because everything else is turned up too loud?) But I must admit that I have missed watching a few TV shows. Especially Masterpiece (Downton Abby and The Paradise) on PBS and The Mentalist on CBS and the new show, Hostages. And of course the sermons of Charles Price (Living Truth), Charles Stanley (In Touch) and David Jeremiah (Turning Points). Sunday just hasn’t been the same ! But as to “The Mentalist”, I have written much on the identity of Red John and just as we are about to learn his identity, I am shut down. (Although, I'm certain I already know who Red John is - and I'm sticking to my theory. It's not over until the series is ended ... and they start filming a Mentalist Movie).
However, I don’t want my faithful readers to suffer, so I have asked Hal Cull (who is responsible for all the great Red John COMMENTS) to continue posting on this blog as a “resident guest writer”. Hal will continue to summarize episodes of The Mentalist and give us his keen insight as to the identity of Red John which has made my viewing of the show much more enjoyable. I know you will all appreciate what he has to say and give him a warm welcome. I have never bestowed the privilege of “ resident guest writer” to anyone on ANY of my blogs, so that should tell you how much I value what he has to say. Thanks to you Hal for making my Mentalist viewing more interesting and entertaining because I could share it with you. Go get ‘em. I have been watching TV and movies since I was in diapers. It is truly my most enjoyable pass time. But I warn you to remember to NOT settle for anything sub-par. You vote for what you want by what you watch, listen to, read and especially what you spend your money on. If you don’t accept garbage, then they will stop making it! “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) Love Laura-Lee Rahn
(The Mentalist Writers vs. Joe Public for the best conclusion.)
I’ve been writing since I could first use a big, fat pencil in grade one. I’ve been crazy about TV shows and movies since before that. I cannot count how many times my mother and I would discuss the potential ending of a show (especially mysteries) and come up with an ending that surpassed the actual ending. We’d walk away feeling let down and saying, “We should be the ones writing stories!”
I have accidently deciphered ( I believe) whom the creators of The Mentalist have chosen as Red John. (see my original post “True Identity of RED JOHN”). After stumbling onto the answer, I started looking around the Internet to see if anyone else had come to the same conclusion. Somewhere among the hundreds of theories, I discovered many amazing conclusions. In creating a huge amount of hype around the question, “Who is Red John?” the makers of The Mentalist may discover they can NOT come up with an answer that is better than what the Public has created. The Mentalist writers definitely have their work cut out for them. They may end up “red faced” and the show may go down in history as the most disappointing series finale, ... ever. It’s not enough just to get millions of viewers interested. Once you’ve got them, you’ve got to leave them satisfied and “wanting more”.
~~ Laura-Lee BELOW: LINK to original Post on Red John Identity
**NOTE: Do a search at this blog for “Red John” and/or “The Mentalist” to see all the posts involving those topics. Remember to click on the COMMENTS section. You can leave your opinions/theories there (even anonymously) and read what others have to say about the topic.
In my last book review (Revealing Jesus: a 365 Day Devotional) I mentioned that there were two types of books that I don’t like very much. The first was the “tie-in” book and the second was what my mother always called the “name exchange” book. That’s when an author, usually of romance novels, tells basically the same story, but simply changes the names of the lead characters. When I picked up “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock to read and review from Graf-Martin, I suspected it might be another “name exchange” book. I am rarely so happy to be so wrong.
In the Prologue this story creates it’s foundation. An elderly lady entering an abandoned old country lodge with her young grandson, goes rummaging through the attic in search of a mysterious box. It appears like their task will take quite some time, so Eve’s grandson talks her into telling the story of the last time she was in the old lodge and why it’s so important for her to come back to retrieve an old box. That’s our cue to settle in for a trip to the past via the small town of Mercy, where Eve first came to live as a 17 year old in the early 1930’s.
Suddenly the cobwebs melt, the dust disappears, a breeze stirs her memories and all is fresh and new again as Eve remembers the summer she first came with her parents to live at the “Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge” owned by her father’s brother, Cyrus Marryat.
Eve’s father, in the midst of the depression and laid off work, accepts his brother’s offer of a job at the Marryat Lodge on the outskirts of the town of Mercy. For Eve it is a safe haven to escape the gangsters and corruption that had taken over the streets of St. Paul Minnesota which were also responsible for Eve having witnessed a brutal murder that continued to haunt her. Thinking she has found the next best thing to the garden of Eden, Eve settles in to her job and new life in paradise unaware that her past, her fears, first love and adulthood are all just around the corner and completely inescapable.
With the scene set, Ann Tatlock breathes life into a period of history that few of us know much about by making it as familiar as our own neighbourhood and as current as our own teen years. And Tatlock doesn’t hesitate for a moment from inundating us with words and references that went out of use and style decades ago, but jump off the page with potency at the merest touch of her story telling talents.
A time when men wore pomade on their hair, fedoras on their heads, lived in Podunk towns, rowed punts, drove a jitney, shantytowns prevalent, the poor were willing to do a days labour for a plate of food, Rudolph Valentino was the big movie heart throb and people were fox trotting to “Keep a Song in Your Soul” by Duke Ellington with "some kind of dynamism"(*1).
The plot moves along at a steady clip, we get to know characters both interesting and recognizable and are educated about a time in history where prohibition was the law, the Volstead act was enforced and politicians’ pockets were lined with money from gangsters and rum runners.
But the best thing about Ann Tatlock is the way she seamlessly weaves history and fiction together, describes scenery so vividly that you know you’ve been there and does it without wasting a single word. She doesn’t subject us to long descriptive paragraphs when she can simply interject, “ a small steel bridge humped like the back of a frightened cat”(*2) to instantly draw a mental picture. Or a quick reference like, “ that life seemed far away like the torn edges of an early morning dream”(*3) to allow us immediate access into the heart of our heroine.
But Ann Tatlock’s techniques and talent aside, at it’s core “Sweet Mercy” is the quintessential coming-of-age story told at it’s best. We meet Eve when she is vulnerable yet passionate and about to cross the line from carefree childhood to the adult life of difficult choices and joyous sorrows.
But what Ann Tatlock truly excels at is all the feelings we have when we are first in love. The feelings of inadequacy, worry about never seeing the object of our affection again, a attraction so electric you can barely speak, floating instead of merely walking, those happy sighs and "this sense of connectedness, however fragile and brief, a blessed reprieve from solitude."(*4) and to be "lovelier than I might have imagined."(*5) But if I could describe “Sweet Mercy” with one word it would be “infectious”. (Infectious as Eve's new friend, Marlene). But this is the kind of infection you will want to catch. It is the perfect book for a summer read. You will relate to the hot days by the water, the warm tender evenings, games, laughter, family vacations, barbecues and new summertime friends. But you’ll want to keep this book handy, because right about the time the cold winds come, when the snow is piled high, you have to dig out your car and you keep checking your furnace to see if it’s still working, the town of Mercy will be a wonderful place to visit again for your winter holiday.
A solidly written; thoroughly enjoyable read. I happily give it an 8 out of 10 Golden Christian Fishes.
Once again that lovely publishing company “Graf-Martin” has asked me to review a book, which I am always happy to do.
As you know by now, I am an avid reader. Going way beyond the “Bookenitus Wormochious” classification. I love to get a new book with it’s clean, smooth white pages (which I will immediately change when my pencil and highlighters come out). Then I get the joy of finding out how another human being thinks. Feels. Processes their world. [sigh] It makes me feel so privileged.
However, … there are a few exceptions. And one of them is the “tie-in”. You know what that is. When one thing makes money and everyone at Corporate Headquarters gets together in a big board room and tries to figure out how to milk more money out of the first idea that already made a bunch of money. In most cases it works for them. They make a bunch more money. But the next item they “crank out” is merely a pale image of the original.
Being a Christian for many (many) years, I already know about Darlene Zschech. The Australian singer who brought us one of the most famous worship songs ever: “Shout to the Lord”. (I’ve sung and worshipped by it very often).
But for those of you not “in the know”, as I am, let me give you a quick idea who Darlene Zschech is.
She is an Australian singer/song writer/ worship leader who has been involved with the Hillsong Church in Sydney for many years. She has travelled all over the world singing many songs, giving many concerts, winning many awards, making many Cd's, meeting and helping many people and now lives in lovely New South Wales with her handsome husband, Mark, as they minister as Senior Pastors at the Hope Unlimited Church and live out their happy life together.
And since her in-concert CD/DVD called “Revealing Jesus” did so well, the 'Corporates' got together and said, “how do we make more money from this?” The Darlene Zschech T-Shirt? Handbag? Paperweight? I know. Darlene Zschech action figure. Then some Board Member got the brilliant idea that Darlene could maybe ‘whip off’ a 365 Day Devotional. That way people would think about Darlene Zschech every day of the year. Who ever had that bright idea … [pause], I think I will owe a lot some day.
Now you know the attitude I have for tie-ins and the of frame of mind I had when I cracked open my copy of “Revealing Jesus: A 365 Day Devotional” by Darlene Zschech.
This is my first time reviewing a daily devotional and it presented me with a problem. I didn’t have 365 days to review it and a devotional is not meant to be “crammed” into my brain as fast as possible. You take it a little at a time and let it sit with you for the whole day. So what I decided to do was not worry if I got through the entire thing. I reached for it 3 times per day, reading from different times of the year. Then, even if I didn’t have an entire day, at least I would have several hours to mull things over. I didn’t make it all the way through, but I think I know enough to give you an adequate review.
Even though the book is called, “Revealing Jesus” it also reveals a great deal about Darlene (which is why I call her by her first name now). As most of you know, my mother died at the end of March, so I am still deep in the grieving process. Plus my mother lived a life of excessive suffering for which I had a front row seat. So the first things I realized about “Revealing Jesus” and what Darlene had to say is that she is familiar with suffering. The ‘up close and personal’ type of familiar. But also she is familiar with Jesus. The ‘up close and personal’ type of familiar.
The Devotional is designed that each day equals a page. And each page begins with a small portion of the Bible. One or two verses at most. Then Darlene tells us her thoughts and revelations about that portion of Scripture and at the bottom of the page you will find a prayer. These elements are meshed together to lead you to the Bible, to prayer time and ultimately, to Jesus.
This book is a bit of a misnomer because, although Darlene does reveal much about Jesus, what she does most is lead you to Jesus, where he reveals himself. It almost felt as if each day Darlene would show up, encourage me herself and then take my hand and lead me to the only person who can truly heal my wounds and guide my future. I suspect that was her intention all along.
I’m not sure if it’s her Australian heritage, but I’ve also noticed she approaches the Bible in a unique and interesting way. She uses Scripture verses that not many people talk about (who spends days delving into the book of Philemon?!) and she brings my attention to things I’ve never thought of before. When she quotes from the Scripture, she has deeply considered the frame of mind and circumstances the person writing was experiencing. It not only demonstrated her extensive knowledge of the Bible, but also added dimensions to the verses. It encouraged me to think beyond the page and outside the box. Which is usually when you begin to know the real Jesus. We can only begin to know him when we except that we will never know ALL of him while still on this earth in our limited state. But by “revealing Jesus” Darlene gives us the sense of how all encompassing Jesus is. A taste of the “splendor of his majesty”. People usually discover this truth through music and worship mostly, so it doesn’t surprise me that Darlene knows all about God’s ‘bigness’.
This book was not ‘whipped off’. It is the culmination of a lifetime. A life spent meditating on God's Word, living out her faith, learning through experience (much of it painful) and simply and deeply loving Jesus through it all. I’m grateful to Darlene for sharing what she knows and sharing intimate parts of herself with the rest of us. She will indeed be with me throughout the year. Daily nudging me to go to Jesus, learn from his humble and loving ways and allowing him to be revealed through me as well. I believe that with the launch of this devotional, a crop will be planted that will see Jesus revealed in all sorts of places and circumstances. Wonderful things will happen when we take our faith “out of the box” and reveal Jesus to a desperate world that’s hungry, lonely and afraid.
And if all that isn’t enough for you, let me tell you this. Even though I also love Jesus dearly, this season of grief has left me much of the time in a lonely place where it feels like the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. But Jesus used this devotional to refresh me, comfort me and to speak to me. If He has given this book a “good review”, how can I do less?
It receives my highest. 10 out of 10 Golden Christian Fishes.
And by the way, if someone could get me the name and address of the person who suggested this book to Darlene, I owe him/her at least a “Thank You” card.
Keep scrolling down to get the LINKS you’ll need to discover more for yourself.
Love Laura-Lee
P.S. FYI. If you wish to purchase either the book or the CD/DVD combo, click on these Christian Book Distributors (CBD) Links below to get a wonderful bargain (just because you came to "Laura-Lee Was Here"). But I've also added the Links to the "Revealing Jesus" pages at Amazon (Canada) and Amazon (USA).
From the original songwriter of dozens of today's most performed songs comes a live worship project that seeks to make Christ known to all! Featuring guest appearances from Michael W. Smith, Kari Jobe, Israel Houghton and others, Revealing Jesus includes "God Is Here," "All That We Are," "Best for Me," "Victor's Crown," and more. CD/DVD edition includes audio and video of the performance, captured at the Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama.
A few months back I told you that I had inadvertently stumbled onto the identity of Red John, the serial killer in the TV Show “The Mentalist”. Several people wrote to me to say I was “arrogant” and “full of it”, but I still didn’t reveal anything, not wanting to ruin the surprise for anybody.
But you may also know that my mother, who was also my best friend, died a month ago. I have no idea where I’ll live or what will happen to me next or even how much longer I’ll be able to keep my blogs going. And keeping the secret of “who Red John is” is NOT at the top of my priority list right now. So I thought I would let YOU decide if you wanted to know. But part of me feels that not telling you is unfinished business I need to take care of. So I'll tell you, but I must warn you, if you don’t want the surprise ruined, STOP READING NOW.
I must admit that it does take some of the thrill out of the show once you know who it is. And once you do know, it becomes so obvious you will wonder how you could have missed it. And once you know it, you can’t UN-know it. So, if you don’t wish to know who Red John is, you’ll have to stop reading right now. (I know you’re probably thinking I have no idea who he is, but do you want to take that risk and perhaps ruin the surprise for yourself ?) So here it goes. One last chance for you to bail out and just be content to not know.
For those of you who are continuing to read, … you asked for it.
Let me start by telling you how I figured it out.
I have a talent for philology. Which is the study of language. That also means I am able to discern different aspects of speech.
It was during the first broadcast of the episode “The Crimson Hat” in which Patrick Jane meets Lorelei that I found the answer. Through Lorelei, Jane meets up with a man he thinks is Red John, sitting in the backseat of a car.
I was quite excited and very attentive at that moment. Patrick Jane and Red John were finally going to meet. Up until then Red John had been frustratingly out of reach. You think they’re going to get near him, but he has so many people working for him that he's too isolated to get close to. It reaches the point where Jane actually kills someone, believing him to be Red John, and it turns out not be him at all. I figured that since Patrick Jane is the only one that Red John has any respect for, he'll be the only one Red John will allow to get near him. The only one who has an intellect equal to Red John. Patrick Jane is the perfect nemesis for Red John.
Then I heard the voice of Red John in the back seat of that car and my Philology “kicked in” and I realized the truth. Patrick Jane IS Red John!
My mind had never even considered it before that moment. But when I heard “Red John’s” voice I thought, “Hey. The actor portraying Red John has the exact type of cadence of speech as Simon Baker.” Then all the pieces of this mystery quickly fell into place in an instant. Also, in my area that same episode was rebroadcast only one hour later, so I got to listen to his voice again right away. I’ve heard Simon Baker with a British accent, a Southern American states accent, his regular American accent and, of course, his normal Australian accent, but even as talented as he is, he cannot disguise the cadence of his speech.
The next thing I thought was, “Maybe they just didn’t have the money to hire another actor and just got Simon to do it. Or maybe the actor who was supposed to do it got sick that day and they asked Simon to fill in.” I dismissed both those excuses immediately as pretty stupid. But I simply didn’t want the mystery to be over. Because once you know Red John is Patrick Jane, it is VERY obvious. It’s like the example of the magician that I often use when discussing the plots of “The Mentalist”. Once you know how the magician does a trick, then he can’t trick you the same way anymore.
I think they are going to conclude the show by saying that Patrick Jane has Multiple Personality Disorder. They have already alluded several times to him being in a mental facility and seeing a psychiatrist before he came to work at the CBI. The writers have left a lot of open doors so they don’t write themselves into a corner, but I’ll leave all of you to try and figure out the minute details.
But the fact remains that if Red John is so isolated that even the people working for him don’t know who he is, then he definitely can be Patrick Jane. And now that you know, it will become obvious to you too.
In the episode following “The Crimson Hat”, when Patrick breaks Lorelei out of prison, there is a HUGE clue to the identity of Red John. (I gave you a hint in a previous blog post but I don’t think anyone picked it up). Lorelei says to Patrick that he has shaken hands with Red John. And for several episodes since then Patrick has been trying to remember all the people he’s met and shaken hands with. BUT that wasn’t the actual clue. What Lorelei said in it’s entirety was, “You and Red John are exactly alike. I don’t know why you didn’t become friends as soon as you shook hands.” As a good magician would do, the writers made us look at the “Shaking Hands” part of that statement so that we wouldn’t notice the line about, “You and Red John are exactly alike”. And really, if Patrick shot a man thinking him to be Red John, how does Lorelei know she's been with Red John at all. In fact, she hasn't been. She's just been another one of Patrick Jane's "agents" that he hires and assigns duties during the times he believes himself to be Red John. That's the reason Red John is too smart for him. He is him. (Actually it's quite brilliant writing)
But you don’t have to take my word for all this and I don’t have to prove it to you anymore. I’m attaching a video with the conversation in the car, so that you can hear it’s Simon Baker as the voice of Red John.
Also, as you watch the next episodes (and especially watch the reruns) you will see that the writers have it written so that Patrick Jane is Red John. However, it’s not as obvious in the first two seasons of the show because they may not have completely decided it would be Patrick Jane yet.
So now you know. I hope it doesn’t ruin the show for you too much. It’s still a good show and worthy of watching even now that you know.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this. It was my one piece of business on the Internet that felt I needed to resolve before I left. But it’s been a long time since a television show has kept me interested and guessing for several years. Well done “Mental People”.
Sincerely, Laura-Lee
P.S. Now that you know who Red John is, it might be interesting for you to go back and read my previous posts on this topic. They may make more sense to you now.
If you have not seen the new show on CBS called, "Elementary", you are definitely missing out. It is a modern reworking of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories feature super "consulting" detective, Sherlock Holmes. A character first made popular during the turn of the century. (the 1900's, that is)
Jonny Lee Miller & Lucy Liu
In this updated TV version, we meet Sherlock Holmes on his first day out of a Rehab center and the "Sobriety Specialist" hired by his father to ease Sherlock back into into the everyday, working world is Dr. JOAN Watson, a former surgeon who lost a patient and decided to leave her surgical gloves behind. (or has she?)
Sherlock Holmes is played by Jonny Lee Miller , who is originally known to North American audiences for his movie, "Hackers", in which a teenage Miller played next to a teenage Angelina Jolie ... and then married her in real life.
Dr. Watson is played by Lucy Liu, best known for her stints in the Charlie's Angels movies. (back in the "olden days" Watson was Dr. JOHN Watson ). Together, these two actors bring a new and interesting chemistry to the most famous "buddy stories" in Literary history. Rounding out the cast is the always interesting and talented Aidan Quinn. You add writers of an extraordinary caliber, and you have a recipe for special television viewing.
Now, even though I can't believe I'm about to say this, "Elementary" is probably the most complex TV Show I have ever seen. It is brimming with layers upon layers in all the elements it presents.
The Mysteries that drive the episode's plots have subtle clues, but don't worry because, (like a cross town bus) they are in abundance. So if you don't catch one, another clue will come along in another minute, so you still have a good chance of getting to the destination of solving the puzzle.
The vocabulary is surprisingly both fresh and old. I read a LOT and have a rather large vocabulary, but in every episode of "Elementary" there are words I don't know or, at least, haven't heard for a long time and definitely do NOT expect to hear on a TV show. But even though they don't define every "big" word for you, the meaning can usually be gleaned from it's context.
As we pass the nuts and bolts of the mysteries in "Elementary", we enter into the even better parts that make it an entertainment feast. I am referring to the people: Whether it be Holmes, Watson, Captain Gregson, the suspects or the dead person. The writers of this series are able to capture the amazing uniqueness of what it means to be a human being. It is not the unknown perpetrators of crimes that are the greatest mystery in Elementary, it the complexities within the people that is the ultimate puzzle. Not just who killed whom, but why did they do it, who will endure the consequences and how the tragedies of life effect and change us. And it is all done is a manner that does not condescend to the viewers. We are not treated like imbeciles that must have everything spelled out or explained to us with pie charts and finger puppets. But by not serving us the answers on a silver platter, they imply it's perfectly okay not to have all the answers. After all, how many events in our lives are wrapped up in less than an hour?
But as cerebral as "Elementary" can be, it is not afraid to stop for a moment to wink at us, tickle our funny bone and expose it's heart. But it is just for a few seconds. Then we are back on the chase. Thus teaching us to pay attention to everything, because the most important things in life can be extremely fleeting.
I went to a reunion once and after it was over, I ran into someone who had not been unable to attend. He asked me how it had gone. What had happened? Who was there? I told him that we had great food and there was lots of it. The people shared where they had been, how they had been living and what they had learned. There was a lot of hugging and kissing going on. But generally speaking, a good time was had by all who attended. I think that is a pretty accurate description of watching "Elementary".
If you want to continue watching TV shows that say the same thing over and over, that are filled with banality and pap. Shows which give you an escape for an hour but leave nothing behind for you? They require nothing of you but that you sit in a vegetative state ... then this is NOT the show for you.
But if you want a feast for mind and soul, to learn something useful, to feel that an hour was not stolen from you but given to you, ... then it's about time you watched "Elemental". It's more than just a TV show. It's a creation that is greater than the sum of it's parts. It's story telling at it's classic best. So move over MTV, The Kardashians and American Idol. It's time for the grown ups to take over the remote control again. It's Thursday night and I want to watch "my show". Because "Elementary" is 'fundamentally' the best show on Television.
And to those who create "Elementary" ... you had some big shoes to fill but you didn't just fill them, you crafted them into your own.
I think Sir Arthur would be proud, because the game is definitely afoot.
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