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cimorenesimply delightful, an episode which contains an excellently-characterized mycroft; fabulous dialogue with him; inspector bradstreet, also quite charming; great dialogue with mrs hudson as well; a charming villain; and a really fascinating case. i personally find it pretty slashy. also, watson gets a good part: some deduction of his own.
holmes is extremely bored, singing in latin with no tune whatever, while watson reads the paper and smokes a cigarette and pretends not to be distracted. looking out the window at a horrid pea soup of a fog, he finally gives vent, and castigates london criminals for not being creative enough to commit murder in the fog, when they could get away with it. he pauses, then finishes that it's a good thing for the community he's not a criminal. watson, who has been reading the paper, and carrying on a conversation throughout, agrees tolerantly without looking up: 'indeed.' oh, h.'s distress! so cute. and then when mycroft's appearance is announced he lights all up and gets lively, while watson remains totally calm. when he appears and takes watson's chair, watson moves and perches on a dining chair at holmes's side. they sort of speak for one another, like an old married couple. present a united front, if on w.'s side a somewhat nervous one. mycroft demands that holmes take the case, as it's of gov't importance; holmes smokes and then says, well, the case does present points of some interest.
when they leave the house of the guy responsible for the afflicted department--he has died as a result--they stand heads close and shoulder-to-shoulder, and w. says, 'that was an unexpected development.' holmes says, 'heart failure? or suicide?' and they hop in the cab for the next destination. it was just so... charming and... sort of married.
then h. visits the department and speaks the the other people who dealt with the missing plans; and then watson appears by cab, and is surprised to find holmes in the shrubbery. he sounds concerned. 'holmes?' but holmes gives a really happy smile, a come-hither smile. 'watson!' watson seems concerned and interested as he strides over (he was waiting for me--what does he want?). holmes turns his back to the window and rests his feet apart, standing very straight, and puts one finger to his lips while watson gazes up at him in some perplexity. he points to the side. 'look at this. the bushes have been broken.' he lifts his chin. 'now look at these windows behind me.' doesn't turn his head, just points over his shoulder and squints at the sky, resting both hands on his cane, as if lost in thought, for a second for watson to look. 'the shutters don't meet in the cent-ah,' he says in the same tone of voice--like a kid listing the presents he's to get for christmas. on the 'er' of center, he sticks his lower jaw out beyond his upper with a little clicking motion and a tiny sucking sound, sort of pursing his lips. 'interesting--don't you think?' he meets w.'s eyes to get his attention, gather him up as it were, and then strides towards the door. ::cim falls over dead::
holmes gets a supah-sekrit letter which mrs. hudson has had to watch over until she could put it in his hands. 'it is from my brother mycroft;' he says. 'he writes like a drunken crab. you'd better read it. doctors are more used to deciphering hieroglyphics than normal humans.' watson takes the letter.
holmes calls watson to a restaurant in the middle of the night--with his medicine bag full of housebreaking tools. when he arrives the chairs are all on the tables and everyone but h. gone. h: 'have you had something to eat?' when it's established he has, he orders watson a drink and tells him to have a cigar. then he says, rubbing his hands together a bit, 'NOW--for our plan of action.' watson smokes the cigar, calm, while holmes is all leashed excitement like a dog, sitting but trembling head to tail with ears cocked. he speaks in an intense, low whisper. he lays out why they must investigate the house. watson balks at the illegality. holmes is very distressed. 'you can watch--i'll do the criminal part!' his little eyebrows wrinkle! 'this is no time to stick at trifles!' he leaps to his feet and says 'we are BOUND to go.' w. takes one more pensive puff, then looks up, meets holmes's eyes and smiles helplessly--wryly at first, then fully. holmes's face lights up and he sort of bounces and goes 'i KNEW you wouldn't stick at the last!' and away they go to burgle. and while they're there, watson finds the pivotal evidence, i.e. some newspapers in the fireplace--which makes holmes very pleased. 'well done, well done, indeed,' he sings, and tersely orders watson to read aloud the rest of the messages (in the personals, called the 'agony column'). see! he doesn't keep all the clues to himself. then he cries for watson and they skip off to the newspaper offices--when it's already past midnight of course.
next morning we see mycroft at breakfast time in h&w's apartment, congratulating a holmes who is digging into breakfast and distinctly afterglowy looking despite having spent, to our certain knowledge, much of the night out. he's disheveled and his collar sticks up on both sides, but in different amounts. very untidy. and very smug. cim: ^.^ hmmmmmmmmmmm.
high points: h&w being mistaken for undertakers. h sending word for w. to meet him at midnight at a restaurant which turns out to be closed. h.'s perpetual delight when w. agrees to break the law for him. catching the bad guys. holmes's disheveled appearance the morning after the housebreaking.
low: eh. none.
the london criminal is a very dull fellow.
watson reading the notice that mycroft is to stop by
listening to the problem
holmes and mycroft
the problem presents some points of real interest.
the (first) dead man's fiancee giving testimony.
watson reading when mycroft's letter listing the foreign agents in london arrives.
holmes runs his hand through his hair, thinking hard, and then succumbs to a 'sudden frivolity.'
at the restaurant, selling burglary
'no, i don't like it.'
during the burglary, peering at the newspaper.
with watson, disheveled at breakfast.
more delicious deshabille.
watson chatting with--was it inspector bradstreet? i think.
holmes is extremely bored, singing in latin with no tune whatever, while watson reads the paper and smokes a cigarette and pretends not to be distracted. looking out the window at a horrid pea soup of a fog, he finally gives vent, and castigates london criminals for not being creative enough to commit murder in the fog, when they could get away with it. he pauses, then finishes that it's a good thing for the community he's not a criminal. watson, who has been reading the paper, and carrying on a conversation throughout, agrees tolerantly without looking up: 'indeed.' oh, h.'s distress! so cute. and then when mycroft's appearance is announced he lights all up and gets lively, while watson remains totally calm. when he appears and takes watson's chair, watson moves and perches on a dining chair at holmes's side. they sort of speak for one another, like an old married couple. present a united front, if on w.'s side a somewhat nervous one. mycroft demands that holmes take the case, as it's of gov't importance; holmes smokes and then says, well, the case does present points of some interest.
when they leave the house of the guy responsible for the afflicted department--he has died as a result--they stand heads close and shoulder-to-shoulder, and w. says, 'that was an unexpected development.' holmes says, 'heart failure? or suicide?' and they hop in the cab for the next destination. it was just so... charming and... sort of married.
then h. visits the department and speaks the the other people who dealt with the missing plans; and then watson appears by cab, and is surprised to find holmes in the shrubbery. he sounds concerned. 'holmes?' but holmes gives a really happy smile, a come-hither smile. 'watson!' watson seems concerned and interested as he strides over (he was waiting for me--what does he want?). holmes turns his back to the window and rests his feet apart, standing very straight, and puts one finger to his lips while watson gazes up at him in some perplexity. he points to the side. 'look at this. the bushes have been broken.' he lifts his chin. 'now look at these windows behind me.' doesn't turn his head, just points over his shoulder and squints at the sky, resting both hands on his cane, as if lost in thought, for a second for watson to look. 'the shutters don't meet in the cent-ah,' he says in the same tone of voice--like a kid listing the presents he's to get for christmas. on the 'er' of center, he sticks his lower jaw out beyond his upper with a little clicking motion and a tiny sucking sound, sort of pursing his lips. 'interesting--don't you think?' he meets w.'s eyes to get his attention, gather him up as it were, and then strides towards the door. ::cim falls over dead::
holmes gets a supah-sekrit letter which mrs. hudson has had to watch over until she could put it in his hands. 'it is from my brother mycroft;' he says. 'he writes like a drunken crab. you'd better read it. doctors are more used to deciphering hieroglyphics than normal humans.' watson takes the letter.
holmes calls watson to a restaurant in the middle of the night--with his medicine bag full of housebreaking tools. when he arrives the chairs are all on the tables and everyone but h. gone. h: 'have you had something to eat?' when it's established he has, he orders watson a drink and tells him to have a cigar. then he says, rubbing his hands together a bit, 'NOW--for our plan of action.' watson smokes the cigar, calm, while holmes is all leashed excitement like a dog, sitting but trembling head to tail with ears cocked. he speaks in an intense, low whisper. he lays out why they must investigate the house. watson balks at the illegality. holmes is very distressed. 'you can watch--i'll do the criminal part!' his little eyebrows wrinkle! 'this is no time to stick at trifles!' he leaps to his feet and says 'we are BOUND to go.' w. takes one more pensive puff, then looks up, meets holmes's eyes and smiles helplessly--wryly at first, then fully. holmes's face lights up and he sort of bounces and goes 'i KNEW you wouldn't stick at the last!' and away they go to burgle. and while they're there, watson finds the pivotal evidence, i.e. some newspapers in the fireplace--which makes holmes very pleased. 'well done, well done, indeed,' he sings, and tersely orders watson to read aloud the rest of the messages (in the personals, called the 'agony column'). see! he doesn't keep all the clues to himself. then he cries for watson and they skip off to the newspaper offices--when it's already past midnight of course.
next morning we see mycroft at breakfast time in h&w's apartment, congratulating a holmes who is digging into breakfast and distinctly afterglowy looking despite having spent, to our certain knowledge, much of the night out. he's disheveled and his collar sticks up on both sides, but in different amounts. very untidy. and very smug. cim: ^.^ hmmmmmmmmmmm.
high points: h&w being mistaken for undertakers. h sending word for w. to meet him at midnight at a restaurant which turns out to be closed. h.'s perpetual delight when w. agrees to break the law for him. catching the bad guys. holmes's disheveled appearance the morning after the housebreaking.
low: eh. none.
the london criminal is a very dull fellow.
watson reading the notice that mycroft is to stop by
listening to the problem
holmes and mycroft
the problem presents some points of real interest.
the (first) dead man's fiancee giving testimony.
watson reading when mycroft's letter listing the foreign agents in london arrives.
holmes runs his hand through his hair, thinking hard, and then succumbs to a 'sudden frivolity.'
at the restaurant, selling burglary
'no, i don't like it.'
during the burglary, peering at the newspaper.
with watson, disheveled at breakfast.
more delicious deshabille.
watson chatting with--was it inspector bradstreet? i think.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
completely unrelated question
Date: 6 Jan 2004 01:06 pm (UTC)Re: completely unrelated question
Date: 7 Jan 2004 03:17 pm (UTC)Re: completely unrelated question
Date: 12 Jan 2004 10:13 am (UTC)Re: completely unrelated question
Date: 12 Jan 2004 09:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 6 Jan 2004 02:24 pm (UTC)I also loved Holmes staring out at the fog, bored, complaining that no criminals are at work when they could actually get away with it. And just the way he says "It's a good thing that I'm not a criminal," and Watson's unsurprised "Indeed." heee....
And totally with you on the deshabille. Damn, now I'm going to have to go watch these again.
(no subject)
Date: 7 Jan 2004 03:21 pm (UTC)::dissolves in cuteness::
(no subject)
Date: 7 Jan 2004 07:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7 Jan 2004 10:02 pm (UTC)out of this room (http://www.intimations.org/yuletide/archive/3/outof.html) by dorinda.
(no subject)
Date: 7 Jan 2004 11:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 8 Jan 2004 12:03 am (UTC)