Mark Spoils: Mark Watches 'Sherlock' - The Blind Banker

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Mark Watches 'Sherlock' - The Blind Banker

Over at 'Watches' the review for 'The Blind Banker' should be up soon. Let us hope it calls out the terrible orientalism and that no one argues that it's 'okay.' Yeah. I can dream.

Spoilers (and A Study in Time) below.

I love the internet. Only on the internet would someone come up with the GENIUS that is this.

Comments (17)

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+10 Vote up Vote down

Medli 141p · 744 weeks ago

You know what? I am seriously not in the mood to try and finish this one, I'll just read Mark's review to see what happens and then watch Great Game if I feel like it.

On a more pleasant note, I was reading Diana Wynne Jones' novel Hexwood, and a sick girl living near an old farm forty miles outside London has an interesting theory about what goes on there: that it's a hideout for gangsters, and she's "sure there was gold bullion or sacks and sacks of drugs - or both - stored in its cellar". My mind immediately said "Oh yeah, it's drugs, that's Rose's drug ring operating there."

THE MEME THAT WILL NEVER DIE

6 replies · active 743 weeks ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

__Jen__ 99p · 744 weeks ago

Now I have this running in my head: It is the meme that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends. Some people started posting pics, not knowing what they'd done. And we'll continue posting them forever just because...

With variations like: It is a fact that Rose loved drugs, yes more than all her other loves... AND ON AND ON.

What has this done to my brain???

+8 Vote up Vote down

psycicflower 114p · 744 weeks ago

THE MEME THAT WILL NEVER DIE

BECAUSE ROSE'S LOVE OF DRUGS WILL NEVER DIE!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

+4 Vote up Vote down

Openattheclose 99p · 744 weeks ago

Beautiful <3

+5 Vote up Vote down

Dragon Elexus 124p · 744 weeks ago

Amazing. *sniffs*

I'm sure that this meme shall come to flourish in Mark Does Stuff, no matter what series we watch.

+1 Vote up Vote down

helle · 743 weeks ago

Hexwood! One of my favorite Diana Wynne Jones books ever (and by extension, one of my favorite books ever). Is it the first time you're reading it?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Medli 141p · 743 weeks ago

Yeah, it's my first time through. :D It's a bit confusing so far, but I'm really enjoying it anyway, as I expected to. It is DWJ, after all. It's been on my "to-read" list for a while now.

+7 Vote up Vote down

__Jen__ 99p · 744 weeks ago

That video is BRILLIANT. :O

I'm pretty positive that Mark won't ignore the blatant orientalism in this ep (as there isn't much in this episode that isn't touched by it), but yeah, I'm not really holding out much hope for all of the comments to agree. :

ETA: I won't be around for the post/comments at Mark's :( , but I just have to throw this out there. The main thing that boggles my mind with this episode is that the works it was based on had nothing to do with China or orientalism or anything like that. I wouldn't be surprised at them not removing those themes if they were present in the original work- that happens all the time, but to add them in where they didn't even exist before? IT MAKES NO SENSE.

+6 Vote up Vote down

psycicflower 114p · 744 weeks ago

I love that video and am now sad that it isn't real.

I'm trying to remain positive and hope the comments go well. I mean the orientalism is so blatant and undeniable it'd be hard for anyone to try and say it's okay.
I'm probably going to wait to see what Mark says before writing most of my review but my episode notes are so random. I swear I spend half of them going on about museums and collections.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Kaybee42 91p · 744 weeks ago

...
I liked the bit when Sherlock said "I was chatting to your secretary..." instead of how he really knew.
And, um... something else? Maybe? No that was just about it. oh no- i liked john having an argument with the self serving machine and the chip and pin machine! See i like MULTIPLE (2...) things about it!
Fortunately i loved ep 1 and 3 enough to forget this one happened.

2 replies · active 744 weeks ago

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psycicflower 114p · 744 weeks ago

I also liked Sarah beating that guy up with a stick at the circus performance and noticing some of the symbols had already been translated. And Sherlock freaking out for no reason about the symbols being gone because John, being the practical one, took a photo of them. Em ... yeah, I think that's about it.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Calimie · 744 weeks ago

I like the girl's eye make-up. And Sarah.
I'm rewatching now and see if I can find more things.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Hypatia_ 99p · 744 weeks ago

The whole thing with the "evil Chinese people" was just so...eugh. Also, there was simply no plot reason they had to be Chinese. The original source material uses those sorts of ethnic stereotypes, but it was written in the 19th century and thus has an excuse. There's no excuse in this day and age.

As for that vid...WHY ISN'T THIS REAL?

1 reply · active 744 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Dragon Elexus 124p · 744 weeks ago

Already said tonnes on the racism, so, yeah 'STUDY IN TIME'. That is such an epic video. After it, I spent ages trying to find a good Sherlock/Doctor Who crossover. I just want to see Sherlock being completely perplexed by the clues that only a 900 year old time traveling alien could give him.

+6 Vote up Vote down

psycicflower 114p · 744 weeks ago

I love Mark's rage. He never disapppoints. I'm happy that so far everyone seems to be in agreement about the episode. Fingers crossed it lasts.

+4 Vote up Vote down

echinodermata 118p · 744 weeks ago

Just finished reading the comments on Watches, and can I just say that I was expecting more fail. I guess, congratulations? Not that I'm particularly happy about it, since thinking about this episode depresses me, and I'm physically tired after a long day.

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swimmingtrunks 92p · 744 weeks ago

=( It's so quiet here! Has Sherlock shushed us, or is it just the end Mark Watches Doctor Who? >_> Probably for the best, for me, as I was doing mental calculations last night of how much I need to get done over the next six months. BUT. I would be lying if I said I didn't really enjoy all of your company and discussion as a distraction.

In Doctor Who stuff- I've been kind of worried about S6 having seemingly such a dark tone. I think S5 was partially so enjoyable to me because it was also somewhat light and warm-hearted, and I'm just really afraid of the Moff pulling the typical "oh let's make everything awful and gritty because that's better entertainment!" style of storyline, and we will return to the angsty lonely Doctor. Reading part of an interview this morning (this is also a problem. You guys are the nicotine patch to my Doctor Who spoiler-seeking smoking habit! Without you I slip.) I was somewhat relieved by this bit:

Steven Moffat on a darker Doctor: "There’s some extraordinary stuff coming from Matt this year. When he goes dark – the Doctor should never be that dark, he’s not a dark man – but when he goes dark it’s properly tingly, properly exciting. We’re certainly seeing sides of him and parts of his behaviour and some of his heart that we haven’t seen in the previous year."

Source

I've also developed a bit of a theory based on what's come out so far about what's going on this series- but I hope to god I am wrong because I want to be surprised, goddamnit.

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