Shots: Fairly standard for McGuigan

Set & costume: Sarah's flat and dressing gown.  John still in same clothes as night before.  John's on couch, but they had wine the night before.

Lighting: Pretty standard practicals.

Acting: So what is the relationship between Sarah and John?  He's not sure either.  How long is this from TBB?  (Just looked at the blog--is it just me, or is there an entry missing about Sherlock going to Minsk?  There's the comment telling John to book him tickets, but I thought there was one where John says that Sherlock left and that has all the notes about them being missing?) 

And the Holmes brothers reunited.  Snark and more snark.  Everybody so tightlipped and British.  Sherlock's smile when John is sarcastic to Mycroft.  Mycroft's teeth hurt.

Lines: Sarah saying that John can kip at the end of her bed and him asking what after that.  Her mentioning breakfast and then slamming him by saying he can fix it himself. 

When John runs up the stairs to see if Sherlock is alright, Sherlock says "What?"--you know, the giant explosion.

Mycroft's hints--Korean elections, legwork.  The sofa banter and poor John confused (Gatiss being too lazy to tell us the details).  "Pals" "Never bored."

"Don't make me order you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Fuck you" impromptu for violin.

"Oh, sibling rivalry; now we're getting somewhere."

Given the way they left it the night before, "I'd be lost without my blogger."

Music: None, which is interesting until we get the transition shots in the cab.

Sound: The television telling us about the Vermeer.

Questions: When we get the flashback to Westie on the tracks (still kills me as my last name is West and I can't imagine someone calling my father or me Westie).  His head is clearly not smashed as we would expect if he were hit by a train.

Shots: Again we get signature Mcguigan shots--a pan in to Sherlock's profile with gunshots heard over the black.  Sherlock's profile loving lit to best advantage (seriously--I think the director of photographer was in love with him--the female and/or homosexual gaze at its finest).    We also get John's profile that really shows the purse of his lips.  And the shot from the head's POV inside the fridge!

Set & costume: The beautiful dressing gown, but the t-shirt on inside out (I still wonder if that was deliberate--seems hard to believe it's accidental, yet such things happen), possibly to show Sherlock's carelessness combined with some vanity.  John in casual shirt, untucked.

Lighting: We get more practicals so when Sherlock sits forward on the couch, his face is in partial shadow.

Acting: Really a great summation of their relationship a few months in.  John is annoyed but takes it in stride.  Sherlock is imperious but makes a sort of yield to John's sensibilities (see below).  Fantastic mannerisms from both of them (the fact that this was filmed first is just amazing to me.)  Sherlock's face when he says BORED, his dramatic sulk (flopping onto couch in a rather amazing move), toes wiggling (BC acts with his toes), walking over table, his face when he looks out the window (possibly at John departing--in slashers' hearts, possibly just as he says to see London), his grin when he knows that the bullet holes and graffiti have annoyed Mrs. H, and his grin at his own work.  John's *facepalm*, the wave of his arms when he sees the mess on the table (again!), the struggle to explain "spectacularly ignorant" and his final decision to leave Sherlock to it.  I love to that Sherlock just drops the gun into John's hands.

Lines: Oh, Lord, so many--like the drug's bust scene--just perfect.
The wall had it coming (and with that wallpaper, yes it did)
After Sherlock says that the Minsk case wasn't worth his time, John says very quietly, "Ah, shame."
Then when John comes back from the kitchen after seeing the head, Sherlock says, "You don't mind, do you?"  A funny little question--for John's feelings? 
Wrote up taxi driver case (dismissive of title)
J: What did you think?
S: No!  Spectacularly ignorant in a nice way.  (I wonder what John was going to say to defend himself?)
Hardrive (marvelous reference to canon)
Round and round the garden (he's just talked about deleting things, but he keeps nursery rhymes)
Stop inflicting your thoughts.
Mrs. Hudson: A nice murder, that'll cheer you up.  (She understands him so well)

Music: None, which is interesting

Sound: In addition to the gunshot, we actually hear John slamming the door--which Sherlock surely hears and doesn't care or shoots deliberately.  And the end of the scene--BOOM!

Transition: Go to black again and start to hear John stretching.

Questions: Where is John coming from?  Work?  In such a casual state?  Does he expect to eat at Sarah's?  What is his relationship with Sarah now (more in next scene)?  What the hell is the time line on the blog?  ASIP happens on New Year's Eve (really?  And they don't run into revelers?), but it takes John a month to write it up, then it takes a month and a half for Sherlock to notice it and comment?

Shots: Ah, the magic of McGuigan.  We start with the dark screen and then pan into the room.  We then cut to a shot of the two men in silhouette.  We see their breath throughout the scene

Set & costume: Sherlock's fur collar, barely seen

Lighting: Practicals of the window only illumination on the sides of their faces

Acting: Well, Sherlock at his snarky, sarcastic, condescending best.  (see questions below)

Lines: Sherlock's snark provokes the prisoner into revealing his temper

Music: Slightly eastern European charm over the entrance

Transition: Sherlock's smirk and cutting remark--cut to the music of the credits

Questions:  Why have this scene at all?  It has nothing to do with the rest of the episode.  To show Sherlock can be a cruel bastard at times?  We knew that.  To shw that he has other cases in between?  Could have had a simple line from John. 

Why is Sherlock so pedantic about the grammar?  Just because he is?  Or just to provoke the suspect?

And what was a Brit doing being arrested in Minsk?

Well, we've made it to the end of "The Blind Banker."

There are seven weeks until Christmas, when we have every hope that the new episodes will start to be aired in Britain.

Due to me, we don't have time to finish "The Great Game" before then.  Does this bother anyone?  Should we move forward anyway?  I'm looking forward to some scenes in "The Great Game," but I don't have time to do a post twice a week. 

Let me know.

We have some interesting shots here.  Starting with sherlock and John in the kitchen from the sitting room and then from the hall.

Outside Shad Sanderson--Sherlock knows because of the soap.  John is puzzled.

Shot of Amanda USING the hand-cream.  Did Sherlock see the pin originally or does he just know that there was a gift?

Cut to John with Seb writing check.  Love John's line--nail a plank over it--yeah, on a glass and steel building.  LOL.

(The shooting script didn't split these scenes--better this way).

Cut back to Amanda and Sherlock.  Lucky she wore the pin everyday.

Ok, maybe it's me, but why does she lose her marbles when she finds out its value?  It's not like she's going to get to keep it.

Cut to John hearing her--nice narrow shot.

John and Sherlock at breakfast, focus on horrible headline pun.  John's eating breakfast, Sherlock's...eating his pride.

Sherlock has his dressing gown on over his shirt, not pjs. 

I believe that John should realize that the code can be changed by using a different book.

John sees graffiti.  Should he tell Sherlock?

Shan's communcation with M.  Last part--text over her face, nice.  Then the laser scope.  (Where is the shooter?  But I wonder that all through the next episode.)

We have the mood lighting of the flames casting shadows on John's face as he comes to and we see Sarah next to him.  A nice long shot of the tunnel.

Shan takes off her glasses (wearing them in the dark).  We get the little payoffs of her mistaking John for Sherlock (but really, if they'd really been watching, they'd have seen who was collecting the data).

Why did Sherlock need the map to find them?

Shan ups the stakes by making it Sarah's life--needs John alive.  We get the big payoff of the whole crossbow scene.  Love the detail where she says that it's by the moonlit shores of the NW1.

Sherlock arrives and kicks over the light.  He rushes to Sarah and tries to untie her.  Why not just move the chair?  Leaving him open to be strangled.  So then why doesn't he lash out and knock over the chair?

But then we get John's moment of awesome.  I liked Telford's acting there--trying to accept her imminent death. 

Fortunately the bow hits the assasin and not Sherlock!!

Something that has always intrigued me is the fact that Sherlock tries to soothe Sarah.  Seems odd given his contempt for her or for such human emotions.

And John cracks a joke!

But Sherlock realizes he's lost Shan. 

Fade to Sarah in blanket with John comforting her and Sherlock congratulating Dimmock.

***
Trivia--BC sounds stuffed up in the A-Z scene but not stuffed up when he calls out to John in the tunnel.  I suspect that those were looped over later.

***
There are a number of differences in the script, mostly unneeded.  Shan tells John that he's her "pinup," and shows him all of the photos that she was taking.  And has some more taunting and Chinese proverbs.

Sherlock calls out that he's much more "pompous-with a U" rather than enigmatic, etc.  Seems rather self-deprecating of him.  Glad it changed.

Sherlock mocks her for still having her her glasses on.

She fires after the fire goes out and the bullet nearly hits John.

Instead of saying that the second date will be better John says "I don't suppose there's a chance of a second date some time?"  I like the filmed version--more confident John, even if self-mocking.

BUT--important.  rather than John having his arm around Sarah in the shock blanket going off, the script has him standing with Sherlock when Sherlock speaks to Dimmock.  Watson abandons his "wife" again.

I don't know about you, but if I were Sarah, I wouldn't have followed them to the police station, let alone back to the flat.  She must really be into John.

Sherlock's expression when Dimmock asks what was lost!  So pissed that he doesn't know.  Then his little smirk of pride when Dimmock says that Lestrade thinks highly of him.

Back at the flat--Sarah asks if she should stay or go--John and Sherlock answer together (tiny note--John starts a breath after Sherlock, old actor trick).

Sherlock is so annoyed that she's there, and proposes eating--boring.

How did Mrs. H know to bring up the tray?

Then when Sarah watches Sherlock--great moment when she points out the word--the music stops on a beat and when Sherlock looks up semi-impressed it starts on a different tone.  Oh, and how could Sherlock miss the words--Mr. Detective? 

Again I ask, when did Soo Lin start to translate since she was hiding under the table?

Sherlock speaks German.

The German just lets a what, 20 pound book go.  I'd be a bit more insistent if I were visiting London.  I also find it funny that even native Londoners need the A-Z.  But having been there and living in Boston I do understand.

Ok, big question.  Sherlock ran out of 221b, jogged half way to the right corner, then back to the Germans which means he's what, 50 feet from the doorway and JOHN AND SARAH ARE TAKEN OUT BEHIND HIM?

What's funny is that we cut from John saying that he doesn't come to Sherlock for dating advice to him walking Sarah up to the circus.  Some nice cuts here, for a little visual interest.

They get their tickets--John's face when he hears Sherlock's voice!

The scene on the stair, just to make John even shorter.  "Behave, Sherlock!" What an amusing command.  Then Sherlock is clueless why John would be more engaged in Sarah than the mystery.  He rolls his eyes when she walks up.

(Did she hear John say that he wanted to shag her on a first date?)

Nice pan down from the ceiling.

John's face when he says, "This is art..." as though it were a disease.

The two of them standing back to back while Sarah tries to figure out what the hell they are doing.

Love that Sherlock grins when he sees the crossbow!  Won't be grinning later.

Sherlock snoops around (noisily).

Then John saves Sherlock's bacon and Sarah comes to the rescue, hoorah!

The music is used quite nicely here, from silence during the act, to the rising music.

John asleep on the job.  He and Sarah flirting.


Pretty standard over the shoulder shots.


I will comment on how I like how the costumer dressed Sarah in soft, neutrally colored clothes.  Sort of a contrast to spindly Sherlock?


Sherlock still trying to find the right book.  It makes me laugh that he tries the Bible--how many editions of the Bible are there?  My mother has about 20.


Then the immortal lines:


"I have a date...it's when two people who like each other go out and have fun."


"That's what I was suggesting."



"No, it wasn't, at least I hope it wasn't." 

They come into the flat, and interestingly the camera focuses on John not Sherlock.  In the script it says that John is visibly shaken by the death of Soo Lin.

Does Sherlock realize it before John.  It almost seems that he doesn't.  The script calls for a flashback to Soo Lin saying that her brother came to her which was not used.  It also says that the flashback should be to the shape of the vases in the luggage, instead we see the shot of the vases being delivered.

Sherlock ethereally lit by the laptop.

We get more over Sherlock's shoulder to focus on John. 

Poor Dimmock as errand boy.

In the script it says that Dimmock "wants to be part of the gang."  Then "Dimmock slopes out.  Not one of the gang."

I like the shooting version where Sherlock dismisses him and John gives the little shake of the head--commiserating? discouraging?

We also get a couple of comments in the script that are not in the show:

 

"It would never be the same book twice."  So why would they still be using the same code to speak to the gang?

 

At the end of the scene:

 

S: The thing about a book code -- it has to be a book that all of the gang members own.  And one that they all have access to...

J: Can't run around town with the works of Shakespeare in your pocket.

 

I also liked the script prompt about the words being found.

 

Nothing significant.  The word is always something innocuous like 'and' or 'the'. 

Or occasionally something saucy like 'bum'.

 

I also noticed that two of the books are Transition by Iain Banks, and Freakconomics.

Transition is a book about, in the author's own words, "I don't think it's about America per se; it's more about power and the way that it is wielded in general".