Elementary: A Burden of Blood
January 15, 2016 7:02 AM - Season 4, Episode 8 - Subscribe
Holmes and Watson investigate a homicide in which the victim was murdered in a manner reminiscent of crimes committed by an infamous and already incarcerated serial killer. Meanwhile, Bell gets tutored by Joan and Sherlock for a police sergeant's exam that could lead to a promotion and a post at another precinct.
This police department is so so sloppy on procedure. I'm not even gonna touch siphoning money to Bell('s Mom) (and of course it's unfortunate that he can't earn more money without getting a promotion that he doesn't want, etc.).
However, I'm really starting to hate the whole procedural show accuse-people-as-a-way-of-getting-info-and-making-a-show thing. Of course they should account for the special chemical before settling on and/or accusing a suspect. Of course they should find out if the real estate agent has a connection to the serial killer dad before accusing other people. And so on and so on more and more egregiously for about a thousand other episodes of a hundred other shows.
This kind of thing happens in these shows all the time and I can't help but wonder how many police recruits, potential jurors, and so on grew up watching this kind of thing. I didn't see any of these until relatively recently, so maybe it seems less normal to me.
posted by amtho at 9:52 AM on January 15, 2016
However, I'm really starting to hate the whole procedural show accuse-people-as-a-way-of-getting-info-and-making-a-show thing. Of course they should account for the special chemical before settling on and/or accusing a suspect. Of course they should find out if the real estate agent has a connection to the serial killer dad before accusing other people. And so on and so on more and more egregiously for about a thousand other episodes of a hundred other shows.
This kind of thing happens in these shows all the time and I can't help but wonder how many police recruits, potential jurors, and so on grew up watching this kind of thing. I didn't see any of these until relatively recently, so maybe it seems less normal to me.
posted by amtho at 9:52 AM on January 15, 2016
Which crime show is the most accurate police procedural?
posted by filthy light thief at 12:54 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
Dennis Farina not only played a police detective on Law & Order, but he also served for 18 years on the force of the Chicago police department. When asked about what TV show he thought was the most accurate about being a police officer, he picked out the police sitcom Barney Miller as the most accurate, because it was the only show that realistically depicted all the paperwork that cops had to fill out.The "accuse a string of people based on limited evidence" is a pretty common trope in the realm of police procedurals, which creates exciting drama.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:54 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yea, I get that, and I get that real life is maybe not interesting enough for TV, but it's really starting to bug me. Maybe I just hate art :)
posted by amtho at 1:17 PM on January 15, 2016
posted by amtho at 1:17 PM on January 15, 2016
And by art you mean manufactured drama? I get what you're saying, and maybe some of that was why the b-story was more interesting (or maybe just because I'm more invested in the core characters and the plot-based characters didn't grab me).
posted by filthy light thief at 2:58 PM on January 15, 2016
posted by filthy light thief at 2:58 PM on January 15, 2016
Yes. Also it seems that being falsely accused of murdering one's friend,sibling, spouse, or even employee would be horribly traumatic and would affect one's life profoundly. Even if it was only for a short time in a police interrogation room, officially.
posted by amtho at 6:40 PM on January 15, 2016
posted by amtho at 6:40 PM on January 15, 2016
I am the tiniest bit bummed that Watson and Bell weren't sleeping together.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:57 AM on January 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:57 AM on January 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Did Marcus really throw the envelope with the check in it into the trash in the closing scene?
posted by xtine at 3:46 PM on January 16, 2016
posted by xtine at 3:46 PM on January 16, 2016
Did Marcus really throw the envelope with the check in it into the trash in the closing scene?
No, he put the envelope in his jacket pocket, he threw out the book he was carrying already, presumably it was something to do with the sergeant's exam?
posted by oh yeah! at 4:07 PM on January 16, 2016
No, he put the envelope in his jacket pocket, he threw out the book he was carrying already, presumably it was something to do with the sergeant's exam?
posted by oh yeah! at 4:07 PM on January 16, 2016
So why was the fertility doctor so pissy and shoot that look at Watson. And Watson sure had no issues getting into the clinic's file system. Hmmm...
posted by Freedomboy at 10:26 PM on January 16, 2016
posted by Freedomboy at 10:26 PM on January 16, 2016
Did Marcus really throw the envelope with the check in it into the trash in the closing scene?
No, he put the envelope in his jacket pocket, he threw out the book he was carrying already, presumably it was something to do with the sergeant's exam?
Yeah, we had to re-watch that scene to realize it wasn't the envelope. If you look closely, it's the book he was studying for the Sergeant's exam earlier, indicating that he's abandoning the plan of unwanted-promotion-for-a-raise.
posted by JiBB at 1:22 PM on January 25, 2016
No, he put the envelope in his jacket pocket, he threw out the book he was carrying already, presumably it was something to do with the sergeant's exam?
Yeah, we had to re-watch that scene to realize it wasn't the envelope. If you look closely, it's the book he was studying for the Sergeant's exam earlier, indicating that he's abandoning the plan of unwanted-promotion-for-a-raise.
posted by JiBB at 1:22 PM on January 25, 2016
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With that serious question out of the way, I liked the episode, maybe more for the B-story. The main story was a decent plot, but I got more out of the Bell's effort to bypass Sherlock to avoid the talking-to, and how Joan and Sherlock got Bell to get some extra money for his mother by his own deductive and procedural skills.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:06 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]