In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton's Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn't much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers. It might have been an ordinary day, but the world was about to change. Sherlock Holmes would become the most famous detective in the world. His stories would remain in print nearly 130 years later. Over 100 films would be made featuring the character. There would be television shows and cartoon spoofs. No other character has appeared in more productions. When his creator dared to kill the beloved detective in order to move on to newer stories, his very life was threatened. It would seem that Doyle was on the verge of becoming a victim much like those in his stories. There was only one man who could save him from such a grim fate, and he did just that. It was Sherlock Holmes himself.

Modernizing Sherlock Holmes has been a popular trend in film and television lately. We have seen two slick action film adaptations courtesy of Guy Ritchie, a contemporary BBC adaptation (Sherlock), and now there is Elementary, which transplants Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion Watson from Victorian era England to modern New York.

"Look. There ain't gonna be any cryin'."

Just a couple of years ago the reincarnation of Hawaii Five-O looked to be in a bit of a controversy with some of the cast members who have been with the show from its start. Daniel Dae Kim played Chin Ho Kelly, a character from the original series. Grace Park played Kono Kalakua. They were important characters on the show, but the actors didn't think they were getting paid enough. They believed they should have gotten the same pay as the two actors at the top of the call sheet. CBS declined their requests, and suddenly it became about race, because both actors are Asian. The only trouble with that theory is there are many Asian actors on the series, and this was the wrong show to play the race card against. Both are gone now. New cast members have moved in, and now the show appears to be at its best. The current cast is a strong blend of actors and characters. By the time I was halfway through this ninth season, I was asking myself Chin and Kono who?

"In the 19th century, persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be alienated from their own true natures. Experts who studied them were therefore known as alienists."

The Alienist is a new drama airing on TNT and is the latest in the recent trend of period-piece dramas to populate the television series market. Like many of these kinds of shows, The Alienist relies as much on atmosphere as it does on the actual story being told. The series is intended to attack the senses and obviously elicit some kind of a reaction. Filmed in Budapest, the show takes us back to New York City in the 1890's and truly builds a rather deep and dark environment that you will likely remember far longer than any other element of the show. The series also utilizes a tremendous amount of computer-generated images for set extensions and sometimes complete environments. It's an ambitious undertaking and might well have been the crowning achievement of the series. However, Warner has decided to send the DVD of the series and not their usual Blu-ray for my review. Unfortunately, the bandwidth of a DVD can not do justice to these grand illusions. The entire show suffers from compression issues and an off-putting soft focus that totally distracts from all of this creativity. I wish I could have enjoyed the show in its apparent grandeur, but alas, I can really only speak to the drama itself.

Last month it was officially 50 years since the Manson Family brought chaos into the world with the massacre at Ciello Drive that left a pregnant Sharon Tate brutally murdered along with her friends.  Since then the name Charles Manson has become a symbol of pop culture despite not ever being a part of the actual murders.  Even after all these years, there are so many myths about Manson and his followers, it’s doubtful we’ll ever really know the truth.  Over the period of 50 years there have been countless films about the murders and the Manson family. Most recently Quentin Tarantino put out Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that gave audiences a fantasy perspective of the events of that night and came out to be a successful film over the summer and a contender for numerous awards.  With that being said, there are also films like Manson Family Movies that came out in 1984 and was nowhere near the commercial success.  Manson Family Movies is impressive where it dabbles in the found-footage genre as a recreation of the events that led up to the murders while also recreating the violent crimes.  Unfortunately, despite how ambitious it may be, this looks like it was made with no budget and at times is painful to watch.

One of the first things you’ll notice while watching Manson Home Movies is that it was filmed on 8mm and shot as though these were random videos done by the Manson Family.  There really doesn’t seem to be much of a plot, as we get footage of them around Los Angeles and then shooting at Spahn Ranch.  When a plot is sort of introduced, it’s a bit hard to follow, though we are introduced to the characters as the actors hold up signs for whom they are playing.  Considering there is no dialog, and actors become interchangeable in various roles, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this wasn’t a SAG-sanctioned film.  While this is somewhat a silent film, there is music that plays over the course of the film, and a good portion of it is performed by Charles Manson…yes, you read that correctly.  Getting back to the “narrative” of this film, it wants to introduce bookies and drug deals gone bad to explain why the murders occurred.  Granted we know this wasn’t the case, but hopefully no one is watching this in hopes of watching a true account of the events.

"Everything is always about Sheldon."

Warner Brothers is very familiar with superheroes. That goes double for the character of Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, on The Big Bang Theory. A common thread in the superhero business, of course, is the origin story. With the popularity of The Big Bang Theory, and the Sheldon character particularly, it isn't all that surprising that we would eventually be treated to Sheldon's origin story. But instead of flashbacks on the series, the decision was made that Sheldon's childhood was territory that could be mined for years. Thus is born Young Sheldon. For fans of the original show and character, it couldn't have come at a better time. Parsons just turned down an offer of $50 million for two more years of Big Bang. I can't imagine how it must feel to be able to turn down that kind of money. But faced with doing the series without him, the smart decision was to shut it down. What started with a big bang ends with a tiny little man. The Big Bang Theory has ended. I'm not sure we've seen the last of it in some form or another. Sheldon will live on as a kid for years to come. Not sure what Parsons' paycheck is here, but it requires only his narration.