Passing Through BERLIN STATION

Article first published as BERLIN STATION Review on Seat42F.

Premium movie service Epix joins the original scripted world this weekend with two new shows. One, a drama, is called BERLIN STATION, a slow-burn spy drama set in the city of Berlin, Germany. Created by novelist Olen Steinhauer, the series has shades of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and hops onto the current trend of espionage television programs, but with more international flavor than most. It boasts a cast that includes many well-knowns, so it seems ripe for success, but is it good enough?

The plot will seem pretty familiar to anyone who pays attention to the news, though it’s not really based on a true story. An Edward Snowden-like man named Thomas Shaw is leaking the covert activities of the American CIA office in Berlin, exposing the identities of local sources. Agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage, The Hobbit, Robin Hood), who is from Berlin but has been working elsewhere, is called home to investigate. Knowing there is a mole in the CIA station itself, everyone is on edge as Daniel attempts to find and stop the leak, and early indications are he’s good enough at his job to do so.

Who is the mole within the organization? Is it station chief Steven Frost (Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under, Olive Kitteridge), who is having an affair with his secretary, Sandra Abe (Tamlyn Tomita, Teen Wolf)? Maybe it’s the woman who brings Daniel in, Valerie Edwards (Michelle Forbes, The Killing, True Blood), trying to deflect attention, although she does seem awfully upset when one of her contacts is burned. Or perhaps it’s Daniel’s former partner, Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans, Elementary, The Amazing Spider-Man), who likes the seedy night life of the city? Or even agent Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser, Ray Donovan, Taken), who gets less character development in the pilot than those above?

BERLIN STATION makes the interesting choice of not leaving the viewer in the dark very long. While many series in this genre would keep the identity of the turncoat for a season-long mystery that must be solved, this one doesn’t, at least for those following along at home; it’s less certain how long it will take Daniel to figure things out. Which is a bold decision that will change how many view the story.

But is it a good idea? That, I’m not certain of. Part of the draw of a spy series is the unanswered questions, putting together the clues, and the suspense of figuring things out. BERLIN STATION takes that away early on, so it must rely on other elements to keep the viewers tuning in.

There are some great elements in this show. The cast, as listed above, is terrific, and I like the other characters, too, the German counterparts and enemy agents. The setting is cool, as the show is actually filmed in Berlin. The quality of the production and direction is pretty high. The stakes are real enough, and the plot feels familiar without being repetitive.

However, I also found the show boring. I like a good spy drama; The Americans is probably my favorite currently on the air, and Homeland is good, too. But I didn’t care for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because I found the film too slow, not really holding my interest. BERLIN STATION seems to follow that format, and without even leaving the identity of the bad guy a secret, I really don’t have any interest in continuing past episode one.

If you’re a fan of this particular subgenre, though, and enjoyed the Gary Oldman-fronted movie, then this is likely to give you what you’re looking for, a regular weekly show in a particular format.

BERLIN STATION premieres tonighton Epix, and the network is allowing anyone to sample the first two hours free of charge on its website now.

ELEMENTARY Has Good "Enough" Characters

Article first published as TV Review: 'Elementary' - 'Enough Nemesis to Go Around' on Blogcritics.

I’ve almost given up watching CBS’s Elementary on multiple occasions. It’s not that the show is bad; I do find it enjoyable. It’s just that it far too often is a case-of-the-week procedural, something CBS airs a lot of. When the story plays out basically the same week after week, I get bored and lose interest, especially with the plethora of high-quality programming on cable networks, and a limited amount of time to watch television. I tend to prefer writers that stretch themselves and tell an original story.

The reason I stick with this series, however, even when there’s a string of repetitive drivel, is because the characters and the actors playing them are just so darn good. Few would dare criticize Johnny Lee Miller’s take on the emotionally damaged, brilliant, socially challenged detective. Perhaps more surprising, though, is Lucy Liu’s version of Joan Watson, who at first seems gimmicky, but has grown into a solid part on her own that deserves equal billing with the great Sherlock Holmes. Add to that some wonderful recurring characters boasting complex relationships with our leads, especially Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft (Rhys Ifans), and it’s hard to turn away from the show.

Last spring’s finale ends on quite the cliffhanger when Sherlock accepts a job in London, presumably leaving behind his partner and housemate, Watson. This week’s premiere, “Enough Nemesis to Go Around,” picks up months later. Watson is now working independently as an investigator for the department, and is none too pleased when Sherlock shows back up, a new protege named Kitty (Ophelia Lovibond, Titanic: Blood and Steel, in which she was also named Kitty) in tow.

The way Liu plays Watson in this episode is extremely impressive. This is a hurt Watson, deeply betrayed when Sherlock leaves without a word. You can understand her desire to have nothing more to do with him, ever.

But even through that, she still has compassion for the broken man she’s played a huge role in putting back together. She sets boundaries so that Sherlock knows what he does is wrong, making him take responsibility for his actions. At the same time, she allows him to come back to work at the department, albeit not as her partner, unable to turn him back out on the street. Liu is able to convey the inner turmoil and layers of this duality and make it look easy.

Joan’s sympathy likely stems from the fact that Sherlock is brutally honest with her. He admits why he left, why he replaced her with Kitty, and why he has come back. He isn’t trying to manipulate her. He really exposes his vulnerabilities, and that gets to her. He still doesn’t deserve everything going back to normal, and you cannot blame Watson for refusing to let that happen. However, she leaves the door open for him, and should Sherlock work valiantly to repair their relationship, which he will because he needs and misses Watson, then some day, they can be friends again.

Given how fond CBS shows usually are of the status quo, this will likely happen sooner than it should. I give it three episodes, max, before Kitty is out and Joan is back to working with Sherlock. It should be more like ten, but for now, I’m trying to just enjoy the delicious drama and tension Elementary is delivering.

Part of why Joan is able to stay as strong as she is, not giving into Sherlock’s demands, is because he helps make her who she is just as much as she has helped him. She is a bit adrift when she first comes to stay with Sherlock. By “Enough Nemesis to Go Around,” she has things so together that she’s become an invaluable police asset on her own. It’s telling that Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) only allows Sherlock to return to work with Watson’s permission. Part of that is because Joan has formed close bonds of friendship with Gregson and Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill). However, emotion would not override talent, and Watson has proven herself quite capable at her job.

At the same time as Joan soars, Sherlock is at his weakest, able to figure out why he is the way he is, but unable to fix it. It’s funny that he tries to mold Kitty into the new Watson, not understanding that what he has with Joan is not something that can be copied. There is an ineffable quality to their relationship, and in typical Sherlock fashion, he only concentrates on the quantifiable qualities, which is why he fails to bond with Kitty in the same way he has with Watson. One day, he will have to learn better.

Elementary would be smart to remember how good the dynamic is between Sherlock and Watson in “Enough Nemesis to Go Around.” Their chemistry is ever-changing and they play very strongly off of one another. These are two personalities that belong together, but aren’t yet a perfect fit. The character-study aspect of the series is one of its best elements, beautifully developed. With Liu and Miller helping shape them, this is a duo I’ll keep watching for years to come.

Elementary airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

ELEMENTARY Best When "Diabolical"

Article first published as ELEMENTARY Best When "Diabolical" on TheTVKing.

CBS's Elementary has improved a bit in its second year. While it still kowtows to a dumb case-of-the-week format, the writers have begun working in more ongoing character arcs, which are most welcome. Sherlock's brother, Mycroft (Rhys Ifans) stuck around for awhile, and his story is unresolved. Detective Bell (Jon Michael Hill) is healing from a bad bullet wound and nursing a grudge against Sherlock (Johnny Lee Miller). Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) is unhappily separated from his wife. And Watson (Lucy Liu) is searching for a soul mate. All of these make the series a little deeper, and a smidgen more enjoyable.

This week's winter return, "The Diabolical Kind," opens with Watson on yet another failed date, while Sherlock's voice-over ruminates on the foolishness of such an exercise. While Sherlock would have one believe that it's logic and science that have soured him on monogamy, I believe his mindset is more solidly based in pain over the betrayal by the woman he loves, Irene Adler / Moriarty (Natalie Dormer).

Thus, we have layers to examine, and room to grow. Will Sherlock ever find a way to come around to Watson's viewpoint? Certainly not with Moriarty, who will never change, but perhaps with someone else? Or will Watson side with Sherlock, finally giving up on her quest for love? One thing that appears certain is that Watson and Sherlock won't find it with one another.

Instead, Watson represents something else to Sherlock, a fitting companion and professional partner. Watson is an enigma that is hard to figure out, intelligent, yet also emotional. She bridges the world between the work that they do together and the personal element. While in most series this would lead to a couple, as the two move close to one another, Sherlock and Watson have a collegial relationship instead, despite their differing genders, and their chemistry just does not have a feeling of two people who want to have sex. I like this a lot.

Sherlock isn't the only one fascinated by Watson's apparent contradictions. Moriarty resurfaces in "The Diabolical Kind," and as she does so, she reveals an obsession with Watson, an x factor Moriarty didn't count on during their last encounter with her. Moriarty admits to being drawn towards Watson because she's a puzzle that isn't easily solved, but one day Moriarty expects to figure her out, and when that happens, Watson will be of no use to her.

Moriarty is wicked enough to tell Watson that Sherlock feels the same, although viewers (and hopefully Watson) will understand that it's not true. Through Watson's influence, Sherlock has developed a number of interpersonal relationships, including with Gregson and Bell, though the latter is in need of repair, and Sherlock has come to see these as valuable. She is responsible for leading him to this conclusion. This indicates he won't be abandoning Watson just because he might come to understand her.

I am one of the few, it seems, pleased by the fact that Moriarty is Irene Adler. It is really cool that Sherlock's greatest love is also his greatest foe, and it makes sense that he would be attracted to someone so complex. She represents an enigma in him and his feelings for her, and I love how the show progresses when they get together.

Although these levels and intricacies are what draws me into Elementary, they (sadly) are not the main point of the installment. Moriarty's daughter is kidnapped by an old associate, and she assists the police, who don't immediately realize the girl is Moriarty's, in trying to get the child back. Sherlock is reluctant to seek Moriarty's help in a limited fashion, but to save the girl, he agrees to work with her, which leads to not only a successful rescue, but a greater comprehension of his feelings for Moriarty.

This is all well and good, but the abduction could have taken place in any episode. The clues that the main characters follow to save the day could also have played out similarly should Moriarty not be connected to the case. Which makes that part of the episode too similar to other crime genre programs, and a bit boring. Even the twist that the girl is biologically Moriarty's is predictable from the start.

Ramses Mattoo (Faran Tahir, Warehouse 13) also represents wasted opportunity. Here, we have someone carefully selected to be Moriarty's jailer. Yet, we see very little in him that makes him equal to the task. He recognizes ten different ways she might escape, but makes no effort to guard against those. And when it becomes clear she is about to flee, he spends a lot of time examining blood on the floor rather than acting. He should be a much more competent, interesting character than he comes across as.

More interesting is how Moriarty and Sherlock relate to one another, and the game Moriarty is playing with the system. This continues their dynamic from last spring's excellent finale, and the door is left open for it to pick up again soon. The more Elementary focuses on this, the better.

One thing I wondered while watching "The Diabolical Kind" is if Mycroft might be behind the kidnapping. When last seen, he mentioned wanting to go after Sherlock from a different angle. Could this be his doing, forcing Sherlock and Moriarty back together for some unknown purpose? I hope that various threads are pulled together down the road, revealing a larger story arc.

Overall, Elementary still lingers in the procedural land that plagues too many otherwise good shows, keeping it ever on the list of shows I consider dropping when my TiVo gets full. But more of this character stuff could save it, and though the show is on CBS, which makes it even less likely to turn into something better than it is now, the hope still lingers that it might.

Elementary airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

Another "Step" For ELEMENTARY

Article first published as Another "Step" For ELEMENTARY on TheTVKing.

The following review was posted before the episode aired, and so is mostly spoiler free, dealing with relationships and generalities, rather than details of the case. Enjoy!

The second season premiere of CBS's Elementary, airing tonight at 10 p.m. ET, is called "Step Nine." For those not familiar with the twelve-step program that Alcoholics Anonymous and other addiction treatment programs like to implement, the ninth step is to make amends. This makes sense, as Sherlock Holmes (Johnny Lee Miller) flies across the pond to help out former colleague Gareth Lestrade (Sean Pertwee, who used to co-own a production company with Miller, Ewan McGregor, Jude Law, and Sadie Frost), intending to right past wrongs.

I call Lestrade a "colleague" because, as pointed out in "Step Nine," Sherlock doesn't have friends. That is, until he meets Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) last year. Before Watson, no one could see past Sherlock's abrasive attitude enough to care about him and help him out. This informs very much Sherlocks' relationship with both Lestrade and the authorities on the other side of the pond.

Sherlock feels guilty for Lestrade's down slide because he allowed Lestrade to take credit for Sherlock's work repeatedly. This suited Sherlock's purposes, as well as Lestrade's, but gave the latter a yearning for the spotlight that didn't serve him well when he no longer had anyone feeding him the answers. It's an interesting thing for Sherlock to regret, as one could argue it was a mutual relationship that wronged no one, but it also makes sense as a thing to make up for, as Sherlock does feel above everyone else, and that he had influence over the other man's actions.

While in London, Sherlock and Watson encounter Sherlock's brother, Mycroft (Rhys Ifans, The Amazing Spider-Man), who has moved into Sherlock's old flat, replacing the detective's possessions with his own. This riles up Sherlock, believing it to be a symptom of their longstanding rivalry. Yet, Watson sees something else in Mycroft, and works her way closer to him in order to gain greater insight into Sherlock.

This relationship is actually a two-way street because Mycroft quickly realizes that Watson has that special connection with Sherlock that no one else can ever have, similar to his own. These are two people who see a side of Sherlock that no one else does, and by combining what they know about him, they can form a fuller (yet still not complete) picture. This is definitely a couple of characters I want to see encounter one another again.

Mycroft has a secret that he isn't sure how to tell Sherlock. It's changed the way he feels about his brother, and spurs him to reach out. The way in which Mycroft does so is surprising, but feels right for someone who is kin to Sherlock. I'm hoping that Mycroft succeeds in beginning a new chapter with his brother, though given how Sherlock likes to keep things close to the vest, we won't likely know for sure if he's been successful for quite awhile.

That's what's disappointing about Elementary, though. There are rich characters and fascinating stories, but they are routinely pushed to the back burner for cases-of-the-week. Miller's talent is wasted in a standard procedural, and if it's not a sweeps-month episode, each installment tends to be numbingly boring, the same thing from week to week. The brilliant scenes are positively stunning, and everything else is drivel by comparison.

"Step Nine" is a good example of this. As excellent as the Mycroft and Lestrade bits are, much of the hour is given over to catching a singular criminal. This isn't strictly necessary; Elementary could have Sherlock just go over for a visit, or make sure that whatever he needed to do was dealt with quickly. They could even have made this a two-parter, leaving Sherlock in London long enough to have more interaction with the men from his past. Sadly, this is not to be.

And now, even though the opening of "Step Nine" is exciting and there are wonderful moments within, I wonder how long it will be before the next episode of the series deserving of praise airs. It likely won't be next week.

Elementary airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.