Posts tagged "Sherlock"
The Year in Television 2012

The Year in Television 2012

Since we’ve been talking so much about television this week, why not go all the way and do our annual recap? Truth be told, it was a slightly off year on the small screen, the first plateau in quality that I can remember in about ten years. A number of the top-drawer shows experienced something of a “downturn”, e.g. Justified and Louie, and new contenders were not quite as numerous. Which isn’t to say there hasn’t been plenty worth watching and commenting on. God no:

Top Twelve Television Series of 2012

12. Game of Thrones. I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical after…

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Another Week Ends: Dumb Smart People, VeggieRemorse, Pixar Tips, Transfigured Authority, Profanity Laws, Fiona Apple and Mad Men

Another Week Ends: Dumb Smart People, VeggieRemorse, Pixar Tips, Transfigured Authority, Profanity Laws, Fiona Apple and Mad Men

1. You’ve probably heard the classic arithmetic question, “A bat and ball cost a dollar and ten cents. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?” If your kneejerk response is in the double digits, well, think again. Jonah Lehrer kicked off his new post at The New Yorker with a couple of terrific new pieces. “Why We Don’t Believe in Science” was the first and “Why Smart People Are Stupid” is the latest, and it in particular warrants some excerpting here. Another cogent reminder that self-knowledge (or knowledge in general) is not…

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The Modern Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes and the Limits of Rationality

The Modern Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes and the Limits of Rationality

Perhaps I’ve just been ignorant of British television, but it seems that the BBC is enjoying the same golden age as so many US channels right now. Downton Abbey has already received a great deal of much-deserved praise from pretty much everyone, but I want to draw attention to BBC’s Sherlock. If you haven’t seen it, this remake of a classic character is better than any crime drama on TV today. The show takes the old Sherlock stories (“A Study in Scarlett”, for example) and updates the plot for modern times. But just like the original, the most interesting aspect…

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