How Did Sherlock Survive? (And More Importantly, Why Does Watson Have A Moustache?)

This isn't a review, but more of a prequel to Season 3 of one of my favourite TV shows, 'Sherlock'. The teaser trailer is out:

Amongst other things Watson (Martin Freeman) is rocking a glorious moustache. So obviously the big question is...

WHY DOES WATSON HAVE A MOUSTACHE?

1) Time- If the show is following the books, it is three years since Sherlock was presumed dead. Therefore, the moustache might be to signal that time has passed, and make him appear older.

2) Grief- If it is only a couple of months since Sherlock as died (which I think is more likely), Watson might have grown the moustache in order to feel like a 'new man' and attempt to move on from his life with Sherlock (I realise that makes them sound like lovers).

3) Homage to the Books- As shown by Jude Law's Watson, in the books Watson does have a moustache.

'Sherlock' has referenced the books before with Holmes' famous deerstalker hat, so this is a possibility. 

4) Movember- One of my friends cleverly pointed out the moustache could be for Movember. Watson seems like the kind of guy to give to charity, doesn't he? And it is predicted that the first episode will be broadcast on October 31. 

Anyway, there are a few of my theories. And, as important as Bilbo's moustache is, there is an even more important matter at hand to discuss...

HOW DID SHERLOCK SURVIVE? 

There are a lot of elaborate fan theories on the internet, but I am just going to point out a few things I think are relevant in how Sherlock managed to fake his own death. I've tried to find a video online showing the detective's 'death', but could only find dramatic fan edits with a super indie soundtrack. Picture Sherlock falling gracefully in slow motion through the air, intercut by Watson wailing and dramatically running, all to a haunting Lana Del Rey song. Great stuff. Anyway, Sherlock had to throw himself off the building in order to stop everyone he cares about (eg. three people, which made me laugh, and also a little sad for him) getting assassinated. Watson saw Sherlock fall, got hit by a bike, ran towards his body, and felt his pulse before Sherlock got whisked away on a stretcher. Whilst we didn't see Sherlock's face, there was blood spreading out on the pavement from the back of his head. Here are a few factors I think are worth considering:

1) Truck- There is a clear white rectangular outline drawn on the pavement below Sherlock, which a garbage truck then parks in. I am almost 99.9% certain Sherlock somehow fell on purpose into the garbage truck, and then either rolled out and pretended to be dead (see below), or somehow managed to arrange Moriaty's body on the ground and made it look like him. They were both wearing very similar outfits and both had head wounds, which would have made it easier. 

2) Bike / Watson's Emotional State- Watson never sees Sherlock hit the ground. He sees him falling just before the level of the garbage truck. Then, a 'youth' on a bike comes and knocks him over. After that, Watson is incredibly disorientated, as emphasised by the spinning camera movements. He is also in shock. I think his emotional state means that he couldn't have possibly felt Sherlock's pulse properly, and therefore got an inaccurate reading. Also, how about this...the guy on the bike was hired by Sherlock, and sprayed him in the face with the HALLUCINOGENIC GAS from the previous episode ('The Hounds of Baskerville'). This gas makes you see the worst thing possible, that which you are most afraid of (sounds like something off 'Harry Potter'). Wouldn't the dead, broken body of Sherlock be what Watson was most afraid of in that moment? Sherlock could have engineered this to elicit a genuine emotional response from Watson and therefore trick the assassins, and also to give himself time to escape (I also think the 'paramedics' arrived suspiciously quickly...could Sherlock have arranged them?)

3) Molly- Sherlock asked Molly to do something for him. Did he ask her to make the hallucinogenic mask? Did he ask her to give him a drug that would slow down his pulse and make him appear dead? Did he ask her to make him a mask of his own face to put on Moriaty's body? Also, given Moriaty tricked Molly into being his fake girlfriend, she has reason to help Sherlock foil him / bring him down. 

4) Fall- Sherlock was kind of methodically waving his arms around when he was falling, and with his feet pointing downward he seemed to be aiming for something. Was he trying to slow his fall down in some way? Had he practised? Was Sherlock going to fake his own death anyway to make Moriaty think he had won? Or had he planned an escape route? Basically, was he always going to jump off the roof? QUESTIONS. 

I think Sherlock must have had some kind of inkling of what would happen with Moriaty, because even though he is a super genius, I don't think he could have figured out how to fake his own death and survive a roof plunge in five traumatic seconds. I guess we will find out soon, stay tuned for recaps of 'Sherlock' Season 3. 

Arrested Development Season 4 (Or: Funniest Season? No. Most Innovative and Ambitious? Hell Yes).

I decided to let Season 4 of Arrested Development fully sink in before I reviewed it, but its been available on 'Netflix' (eg. the best thing ever invented) for a while now, so lets review! For those of you who see this post somewhere and fleetingly wonder, 'what is this Arrested Development?', boy are you missing out. I was a late arrival to the show; I only started watching this year. It is hilarious. The pilot is the best pilot I have ever seen. I love the intricacy of the jokes, the characters, the plot. Sure, Season 3 was kind of rubbish, but still. Its so brilliant it has maintained, and built, such a dedicated fan base since it ended in 2006 that a fourth season has been made! Yeys all around! I'm not quite sure what to make of this season, it confused the hell out out of me. I decided to do lists of the good and bad points. I did think about recapping every single episode minute by minute in one go, but decided not to. (JK I never thought that I don't have the attention span, my fingers would start hurting from all the typing and it would be bad for my eyes; take a break from the screen every 10 minutes kids!). Anyway, here is my review! 

The GOOD

1) The Build Up- This was some GOOD marketing. As well as the hilarious twitter account, my favorite two things were 'Insert me Anywhere' (http://insertmeanywhere.biz/#/home) and THIS:

2) Format- Everything about the format of the fourth season blew me away in its innovation, intricacy and ambition. First of all, releasing all the episodes on 'Netflix' at once to see if people binge watch TV now (I could only manage two episodes at a time; they are longer than the previous ones). Secondly, the fact the plot must physically resemble a giant, incredibly complicated and subtle spider web. Characters paths crossed at the strangest, most random points, sometimes only for a second, such as when G.O.B. drove past Michael standing on the sidewalk. Plot points (such as G.O.B. in a limousine) weren't explained till 4 episodes later. It created an entire Arrested Development universe, and added an unexpected level of depth to the programme. 

3) G.O.B.- G.O.B. deserves his own section. I love Will Arnett, not just because of his incredibly cool, gravelly voice, or the fact he has hamster cheeks. I also love G.O.B. As well as his catch phrases ('It's an illusion', 'I've made a huge mistake'), there is a touching naivety and sadness to his character, which adds a depth necessary when being the focal point of two episodes. He is a hilarious actor, and G.O.B.'s episodes were my favorite, especially the one with the 'Get Away' song in it. Every time the Simon & Garfunkel from The Graduate came on made me laugh. A lot. Also, the bit with Steve Holt. 

4) Other Characters- Lucille, Buster and George Senior were all on top form. Buster's episode killed me. Lucille remains the most insane, diabolical character on television. And also the best. 

 THE BAD

1) People Change- If that subtitle sounds philosophical, it isn't meant to. I just mean...people change. As in PHYSICALLY change. What happened to Lindsay and George Michael?? When did Michael Cera start looking like that?? I'm not saying they look worse, they obviously look older, but they look so DIFFERENT! Seriously! Its like they are different actors! It changed how I viewed their characters as well. Would Lindsay really ever cut all her hair off?

2) Too Much Tobias- This feels like blasphemy. Tobias, I love you, and I am so sorry. But...you were kind of irritating and boring this season? There were funny moments, and he is still a gem of a character, but I got so bored of the Fantastic Four plot, and DeBrie. I wish one of his episodes had been given to Buster instead. Man, that criticism took a lot out of me. I'm feeling blue. 

3) Quinceañera- Okay, I'm assuming this is the right word. Considering this was the focal event of the entire series, I thought it was a stupid one. While this may be betraying my ignorance, I honestly had no idea what a Quinceanera was and it confused me. Visually, I thought a more interesting, dynamic setting could have been used than a bay covered in rubbish and lit up with some fairy lights. I also didn't understand why all the characters ended up there. It felt a bit contrived. 

4) Some Characters Couldn't Carry Their Episodes- I always thought of Arrested Development as an ensemble show, and I found it disappointing that the characters weren't often in scenes together. I get it is because of the actor's scheduling conflicts; they are all pretty successful now, and its admirable they got together to do the show again at all. However, I just thought that certain characters could NOT carry their episodes. This is in a different way to Tobias; Tobias is still a very engaging, funny character who has presence. His problem is that he is better in smaller doses. What I'm talking about now is a whole different ball game. The characters pictured below just aren't charismatic or engaging enough to be the focal point of an entire 40 minute episode (sometimes two). They are the straight characters, the sensible ones, the ones the crazy characters such as G.O.B., Buster, Lucille and Tobias bounce off. Here's looking at you...

Maebe looks how I felt when I was watching the episodes with these characters in. I don't know what you are smirking at, George Michael, it isn't funny. Also, a guest spot to...

TOO MUCH ISLA FISCHER. I like her, but seriously, how much screen time does one random supporting character need? I wish she had given John Krasinski half of it (don't even get me STARTED on how little John Krasinski was in it).

5) Michael's downward spiral- Of all the character developments I have ever seen, ever (including the entire cast of Gossip Girl) this one made the least sense. 2003 to 2006 Michael was all:

But fast forward to 2013 Michael:

2013 Michael is mean! He is selfish! He is homeless for a while! There was an incredibly depressing scene with him and a vulture in it! Look, I get that Michael was the staple that held the Bluth family together, and they needed to send the characters down their individual paths. But couldn't the writers have found another way to explain it, instead of a completely insane 180 degree personality change? The final scene consisted of George Michael finding out that Michael was sleeping with his girlfriend (Isla Fischer, step on up), and punching him. SADNESS. On the other hand, unresolved conflict and an unresolved MURDER mystery means there will hopefully be another season, or at least a movie. 

I know I have been pretty critical, but there were so many great things about this season as well. I just hope that next time the characters are all on screen together more, and that 2006 Michael gets transported to the future by a time machine, and that 2013 Michael gets transported back to the Middle Ages so we never have to see him again, and we can pretend the whole 2013 Michael disaster never happened. In other news, is this format the future of television? I'm not sure. Either way, it shows the brilliance of the Arrested Development team that they keep coming up with ground breaking ideas, time after time. High five!