E.R. Torre's Blog, page 116

As if 2017 weren’t nerve wracking enough already…

Really scary news found on the Telegraph and written by David Lawler concerning…

U.S. woman killed by superbug resistant to every available anti-biotic

Though not directly related, I’m reminded of Newton’s famous third law of motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In the case of anti-biotics, they have saved countless lives and helped the sick get well.  Unfortunately, their broad usage has had unintended side effects.  Using another famous scientist’s ideas, Charles Darwin’s in this case, it would appear when you create anti-biotics to kill “bugs”, you also, perhaps inevitably, leave behind the bugs most resistant to these anti-biotics.  Thus the bugs survive via a form of natural selection.  While we kill all the bugs we can, those that survive are more and more resistant to the drugs used against them and the big fear is that they will not only live on, but multiply.

The only good thing to be gleaned about the above report is the following:

According to the CDC, “pan-resistant” bacteria are very uncommon, and “infection control contact precautions” are important in such situations, meaning patients will be isolated.

A different superbug was found in at least four patients in the US last year. It was found to be resistant even to colistin, considered the last resort among antibiotics because of its harmful side effects.

Fortunately that bug, known as mcr-1, was not found to be highly contagious.

So these highly resistant bugs are uncommon and, it appears so far, not highly contagious.

The big concern is: What if that changes?

And you thought having a President Trump was your biggest concern.

The Jackal (1997) a (very) belated review

Way back in 1973 there was a thriller released to theaters and adapted from a best-selling novel by the name of The Day of the Jackal.  It starred as the mysterious “Jackal”, a highly skilled and deadly killer for hire who is charged with eliminating Charles de Gaulle, the president of France.

I loved the film.  It had a near documentary presentation and despite the fact that the “Jackal” was clearly a nasty, nasty man, you couldn’t help but admire how he pieces together the elements of his plan while the law slowly, inevitably, nip at his heels.  The climax of the movie was incredibly gripping and audience manipulation at its finest: You root for the good guys to stop the “Jackal” even as a dark part of you wishes, after witnessing all this planning and activity, he actually finish the job.

Here’s that movie’s trailer.  Pardon the “Harry Palmer Movie Site” lettering…this appears to be the only available YouTube listing featuring this trailer…

Many years later and in 1997 a powerhouse cast consisting of , , and would star in a remake of that film, entitled The Jackal…

I saw the film years before, though I doubt in theaters when it was originally released, and recalled not thinking all that much of it.  Again, I loved the original film and this remake felt so very…inferior.

The years pass -as they inevitably do- and The Jackal was on cable last night and I started watching it almost from the very beginning (I think I missed the first few seconds or, at most, about a minute of the very start) and found myself curiously drawn to it.

Seeing the film again from essentially the beginning to end and with the memories of The Day of the Jackal not being quite as strong as they were when I first saw this remake, I found myself far more engrossed in this film than I was before.

Mind you, the film remains far from “great” but my feelings for it have moved up quite a bit.

The plot of The Jackal is essentially the same as the original film, though it does sport some big differences.  You have a shadowy group of people who hire the Jackal (Bruce Willis) to kill someone and his target is…well, I won’t get into spoilers here but let’s just say that reveal is part of the story versus the original film which gave us who the target was from the beginning.  We then have, like the original film, a “split” movie, alternating between the Jackal and his preparation(s) for the kill and our heroes’ attempts to find him.

On the good guy side, Sidney Poitier plays FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston.  His character is in league with Russian Major Valentina Koslova (), a tough as nails operative, and when they get wind of the Jackal and the fact that he plans to commit a very high level assassination, they get in touch with Richard Gere’s Declan Mulqueen, an IRA “terrorist” currently in prison and the only person they know who has had contact with the Jackal.  After a bit of bantering, they offer him vague promises of a better/lighter prison term to help them hunt him down.

Turns out they really do need him as Mulqueen reveals he has actually seen the Jackal and, in their group, is the only person who can identify him by sight.  Later still it is revealed Mulqueen isn’t interested in hunting down the Jackal just to reduce his prison sentence.  He and the Jackal have a history…and Mulqueen has very good reasons to want the Jackal taken down.

So, returning to my overall view of the film this time around: The Jackal entertained me far more than it did the first time I saw it all those years ago and, as I stated before, it could be because my memories of the original film have faded over time and therefore I’m not comparing both films head on anymore.

The Jackal was a good suspense film but, as I also stated before, not quite great.  There were several problems with the overall story, things that happen that make no sense or aren’t adequately explained.  For example, the Jackal at one point paints a van with a removable white paint and, using a high pressure hose, times how long it takes to wash that paint off.  This is an intriguing bit of plot and, if memory serves, it was used in the original film, but in The Jackal the use of the wash-off paint is pointless.  I won’t spoil things but when the Jackal finally does wash the paint off, it is for no real reason and, given what happens, it might have been smarter for him to just leave the original paint!

Later on in the film, toward the climax (MILD SPOILERS), we have Richard Gere’s Mulqueen chasing the Jackal through the streets and eventually into a subway but its never really explained why his character would think the Jackal went that way.  Given the large amounts of people running to and fro, it strains credibility to think he would spot his target among so many people.

Another problem with the film, at least to me, was that the movie’s makers got a little too pleased with showing off Bruce Willis in various disguises.  While the idea of him changing his looks made sense, after a while it felt like overkill.  Perhaps that’s just me.

Still, the movie nonetheless moves nicely and the star power gathered together is fun to watch, as is spotting cameos by some then up-and-coming actors in early roles ( and both appear in the film and you can spot them, if you look hard, in the trailer above).

The bottom line: While no classic, I came away with the impression The Jackal was a better film than what I originally thought, though it still doesn’t quite reach the levels of a really great suspense film.  If you’re in the mood for a decent action/suspense film with some major star-power, you could do worse than watch The Jackal.

Corrosive Knights Book #7, a 1/11/17 Update

Yesterday George R. R. Martin announced, via his blog, that the latest book in his HUGELY popular Game of Thrones series might well be released this year.

Some fans were very quick to note Mr. Martin’s said similar things before and, while I can certainly understand the frustration of these readers who no doubt are very eager to get to the books before the HBO series finishes off (which it will do in the new season, beating Mr. Martin’s final novel in the process and potentially spoiling material he may have been building towards), I have quite a bit of sympathy -perhaps even more- for Mr. Martin.

For you see, though my novels aren’t nearly as popular (or well known) as Mr. Martin’s, I’ve “been there” with books in the process of being written which I’ve thought would be ready at a certain time and, alas, they simply were not.  In fact, my most recent Corrosive Knights book, Foundry of the Gods (#6 in the series) I originally thought I could finish by February of 2016 but didn’t get it done and released until November, nine full months later.

Trust me when I say I would have loved to finish the book in February and be nearly a full year into Book #7 of the series rather than a little under two months.  Sadly, sometimes it takes longer than you’d like to finish something and, while my novels don’t feature the virtual army of characters present in Mr. Martin’s series, the story I’m laying out in Corrosive Knights is intricate and requires many pieces to fit together.

Rushing Foundry of the Gods’ release would have done no one any good, neither me -I would have been very disappointed with the book- nor those who have read it, who no doubt would have been just as disappointed reading what amounted to a “rush job”.

So for those impatient for Mr. Martin’s latest Game of Thrones novel, I urge patience.  Hopefully the book(s), when they are eventually released, will prove worth the extra wait.

Having said that and as should be obvious by the header above, I’m presenting an update on Book #7 of the Corrosive Knights series.  As should also be obvious, this book follows Foundry of the Gods and, more importantly, is the conclusion to the Corrosive Knights series.

Perhaps it is because the book finally reveals/focuses on events I’ve had swirling in my mind for many, many years that the writing of this novel has progressed quite well.  Even though I had little chance to write for most of the end of December (vacation and daughters come home and enjoyable distractions abound!), as of today I’m roughly 33,000 words into this book.  As my novels tend to run around 100,000 words, it means I’m in/around 1/3 of the way through this story, an incredibly quick pace compared to other works.

Even more thrilling is the fact that yesterday I laid out the outline for the material that fills the remaining 2/3rds of the novel, which means that for much of that material I simply have to write it out and not sweat the plot details.

That’s not to say, however, that the book is “just about” finished.

There are still story gaps to be dealt with, specifically in the middle section of the book.  This, by the way, is very typical of the way I work.  While some writers have trouble finishing a novel (a complaint I’ve heard often of the books of Stephen King) or beginning one, I seem to have the least amount of difficulties coming up with my novel’s start and finish.  It is the middle sections, the glue that joins my story’s beginning and end, that tends to cause me the most “hard” work.

Still, there’s reason for optimism and while I cannot guarantee the book will be finished before year’s end, I can absolutely guarantee that if it isn’t done by the later part of 2017 it will be finished and released by early next year.

Let’s see how things go.

It ain’t sexy…

…but I really enjoy checking out recommended products presented in the various websites under what used to be Gawker.  Personally, I tend to check out i09.com or Gizmodo.com or Deadspin.com (a sports related website) but, as stated, they often check out/review products available on the internet and offer their recommendations…especially when said products are on sale.

Over at lifehacker.com (another of their websites), they offer a year end review of the products they’ve recommended and which ones sold the best…

The 16 Most Popular Products of 2016, as purchased by you

While the vast majority of the products listed I did not buy, there is one I would heartily offer an endorsement to, one that I didn’t even consider until seeing the review on one of those sites above and being intrigued if the product is as good as the reviewers stated.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Delta 75152 Shower Head:

Again, we’re not talking about “sexy” new products or anything, but seeing this shower head and hearing what it does intrigued me.  If there’s one thing I like when showering it is a strong stream of water and the reviews stated this shower head offered a great stream.

So I ordered the Delta 75152 when it was on sale (I believe it was on sale for something like $17.  Its normal price is a little north of $20), got it, installed it (you can do this with your own two hands), and…wow.

At first I thought “Well, its an improvement but not really that big a deal” but as I used it more and more I realized: This is one hell of a shower head.  I wound up liking it so much I ordered a second and installed it in the guest bathroom!

So, again, we’re off the beaten path for things I usually discuss here but if you’re looking for a new shower head, one that delivers water in a strong, steady stream, check out the Delta.

You won’t be disappointed.

David Bowie’s finale…?

Yesterday, January 8th, would have been the 70th Birthday of David Bowie.  Last year tomorrow, on January 10th, Mr. Bowie passed away.

Last year Mr. Bowie released his final new album, Blackstar, on his 69th Birthday.  For his 70th Birthday, No Plan, a four song EP, was released to mark his passing and give fans the last music the artist worked on before he passed.  Though the songs aren’t really “new” -they can all be found on the Lazarus soundtrack and the actual song Lazarus, the fourth on the EP, was part of the Blackstar album- this is the first time you can buy them on their own and outside of that Broadway soundtrack.

Since I truly didn’t care to buy the entire Lazarus soundtrack -sorry but I like to hear David Bowie singing David Bowie- I didn’t bother getting the Lazarus soundtrack but jumped at the chance to buy the EP (for those wondering why I didn’t just buy the other songs on their own, the three “new” songs could not be purchased separate from the full soundtrack).

Anyway, the EP was released, I believe, on Friday though the Amazon listing states its release is for tomorrow, January 10 (I guess they wanted to keep with the David Bowie birthday theme).

I picked up the EP yesterday and, if you like Blackstar, you’ll like the three new tracks presented.  It’s hard to point out which of the three is the best (and if I were to consider all four, I’d probably tilt toward the already released Lazarus, a song that feels like an eerie coda to David Bowie’s life and then upcoming passing).

Of the other three, No Plan is pretty damn good.  So much so they even made a video…

I suspect in the near future we’ll see more “unreleased” David Bowie material appear.  There is apparently quite a bit of it -excluding, of course, the vast amount of live shows that were surely recorded.

I know I’ve written before about some of the better never “formally” released David Bowie songs (at least songs that weren’t part of any of his actual albums), but of those songs I’m familiar with my favorite remains the alternative version of the song Candidate…

As can be seen in the graphic, this song was created for what eventually became the Diamond Dogs album.  Originally, Mr. Bowie intended to create a musical version of George Orwell’s 1984 but the late author’s wife refused to give him permission to make the album and therefore he was forced to make some changes (no pun intended) and, viola, Diamond Dogs.

There are still hints to the unmade 1984 album in Diamond Dogs, including…

There’s a Big Brother song as well and the Sweet Thing/Candidate medley (very good stuff but I have to say, I prefer the unreleased version of Candidate to it!).

Anyway, those who are fans of David Bowie, the bottom line is this: There’s a “new” EP out there and you get one more taste of what David Bowie was up to just before his untimely passing.

Perhaps other buried treasures will be found among his previous recordings and “new” and interesting Bowie songs will also appear in the near future.

I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Tunnel Tree no more…

The Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, is one of the more fascinating things you could find in a state park.

Sadly, past tense.

Here’s some very old photographs of it, the first from before she was fully hollowed out in the 1880’s…

Here’s another, different century…

And finally, a more recent shot…

Well, as I stated above, the tree is no more.  Recent bad weather caused the tree to finally fall (article is by Hudson Hongo and found on gizmodo.com)…

After more than 100 years, California’s iconic Tunnel Tree is no more

The NFL playoffs begin…

…so why not have a little fun with the 5 Worst Plays of All Time?

I have to say, as (in)famous as that Garo Yepremian “throw” is, and I will fully grant you it may be the Miami Dolphin fan in me, but how does a botched -and I’ll grant you hilariously panicked/botched- throw following a blocked kick equate to some of the terrible plays presented beforehand?

The infamous “butt fumble” (#5) or the Indianapolis Colt’s bizarre formation (how did the coach, or anyone on the field and playing for Indianapolis for that matter, not see this would be a disaster?!) for my money are far worse plays.

Here is another batch of bad plays, this one from this past season…

Anyway, its Friday and the weekend is within sight.  All’s good!

Train to Busan (2016) a (mildly) belated review

Train to Busan, a South Korean production, immediately made my list of films I intended to catch after their theatrical run (in this film’s case, I don’t believe it played in my area).

The few reviews of it I read were glowing and intriguing, noting the film was a high-tension zombie film set, for the most part, on a train traveling from Seoul to, you guessed it, the city of Busan.

So I waited and, after a while, the film was made available for purchase,  I found it via VUDU on sale one day and, rather than wait for Netflix to get it, gave in and outright bought the film.  Yesterday I finally had a chance to see it and I’m pleased to say I don’t regret the purchase one bit.

Train to Busan’s two main characters are Seok Wu (

When the workday is done we see him in a garage talking on the phone to his wife, who lives in Busan, and whom he is in the process of divorcing.  She tells him their daughter wants to come to Busan to see her and essentially begs him to do the right thing on her birthday (which is the next day) and allow her to come to Busan for a visit.

Seok Wu doesn’t care to do so and tells her.  When he reaches his apartment and gives his daughter her birthday gift, a Nintendo Wii game system, his daughter’s reaction isn’t what he was expecting.  He asks her why she isn’t impressed with this gift and the daughter points to the Wii system she already has and which he gave her as a gift for “Children’s Day”.

Feeling guilty over this and noting it is clear his daughter wants to see her mother, Seok Wu agrees to take his young daughter on the train to Busan.  He figures to miss only half a day of work and be back at the office by the early afternoon.  Together they drive to the station but along the way see fire trucks roaming the streets and a big fire taking up an entire floor of a high rise.  They don’t stop to dwell on the tragedy and instead drive on, reaching the train and boarding it.

We are presented with a larger cast of characters on the train, some of whom will be a part of the story.  Not one of them notices a distressed woman with mysterious bite marks on her leg board the train.

Very soon, pandemonium begins.

Train to Busan, as I noted above, very much lived up to my expectations.  It is exciting, action filled, and tense as hell.  It also knows when to slow down and give us character moments…along with building up the tension for the next action/horror scene.

For those adverse to gore, the film does not dwell on or show much of it, which I didn’t mind at all.  Sometimes, particularly in zombie films, gore becomes the way to give audiences doses of horror but in a film with this giddy amount of high tension, it wasn’t necessary to have much of it.

Though I ultimately loved the film, there are a couple of minor negatives worth noting.  For example, the film’s characters were just that, more “types” than “real” people.  Given the fact that the central core of characters is fairly large and the movie has only so much time to present them and then put them in danger, I didn’t mind though some others have pointed this out as a negative.

A little more problematic is the fact that this is a fairly low budget film.  Granted, outside of Hollywood “blockbusters”, most films made in foreign lands don’t have anywhere near the money the bigger Hollywood films require.  Nonetheless, there were some scenes in Train to Busan which I suspect the film’s makers would and could have made far larger and impressive had they the budget to do so.

Regardless, these two negatives are at best very minor.  Train to Busan is an exciting, action/tension filled zombie film that easily sits atop the list of the best of the genre.

Well done and recommended!

Cinematic trash, 2016 version

Over on Slate.com, Amy Nicholson offers a fine article which focuses on some of the more dubious cinematic features released in 2016…

Raise a glass to the finest cinematic trash of 2016

If the article’s headline doesn’t make it obvious, Ms. Nicholson’s article defends some of what many perceive as the worst of 2016, be it films like The Brothers Grimsby, Gods of Egypt, or Warcraft.

She also states this about The Nice Guys:

Ryan Gosling’s 30-second pants-cigarette-gun-newspaper-bathroom door shuffle is better choreographed than anything in La La Land.

Here’s that scene:

It seems like only yesterday (well, it was actually two days ago) that I noted The Nice Guys was one of the most disappointing films, to me, released in the past year.  While I didn’t hate it, the plot was nonsensical, the action was muted (our dubious heroes never felt like they were in any real danger), and while there were some truly hilarious moments in the film, it seemed all of them were encapsulated in the movie’s trailers.  Including the scene above, which I agree with Ms. Nicholson was a thing of beauty.

While I may not entirely agree with Ms. Nicholson’s love for The Nice Guys (or, indeed, the other films she feels were unfairly trashed as…uh…trash in 2016), the reason I pointed out her article is because it reflects how people nowadays are becoming way too judgmental about other people’s opinions.

Once again: They are opinions.  Works of art, by their nature, can turn on person A while simultaneously turning off person B.  I may love movie X while the vast majority of people hate it…and its OK.  My liking the film does not negate your not liking it, just as surely as my not liking a film doesn’t negate your liking or loving it.

Yet this simple statement isn’t reflected in online comments.  Indeed, in her article Ms. Nicholson concludes her first paragraph, in which reveals she gave The Brothers Grimsby a “thumbs up”, by defensively stating:

Even so, when I filed my thumbs-up review, five weeks into a new job I adore, I sucked in my breath before clicking send. Sticking up for trash isn’t a fireable offense, but it does guarantee that for the next two years, any time I write a less-than-rave review of the latest DC gloommerung, some egg on Twitter will rebut, “Yeah, but your clearly a moron for liking Brothers Grimsby.” (Misspelling intended.)

I totally see her point here, even as she indulges in the same finger pointing (“DC glommerung”?).

Once again: So freaking what if she liked The Brothers Grimsby or Gods of Egypt or Warcraft or any of the many other films released last year that many panned and even more stayed away from?

Seriously: So what?

Even if the films are, at best, a “guilty pleasure”, if you’re getting enjoyment out of something, why does it become such a crime?  Many people hated Batman v Superman (you knew I’d get there eventually, didn’t you?), some almost hysterically so.  I’ve read many of the more even-keeled posts from people who state, point by point, the things they don’t like about the film and, in many cases, can’t fault their logic.

It didn’t stop me from nonetheless enjoying the hell out of the movie.

There were waves of biting comments regarding the new Ghostbusters.  It was “sexist”, it wasn’t funny.  It was stupid.  It was insulting the studios would dare remake such a beloved cinematic treasure.  Seriously?  I mean, I can see people being bothered by a remake of, say, Casablanca or Citizen Kane but Ghostbusters?

There was even an early preview review of the film, posted on YouTube, in which the person who saw the film ravaged it for its sexism (he felt the ending in particular and the use of the power weapons pointed to this) and the fact that it was just not funny at all.

I saw the film, hoping for the best but expecting the worst and, you know what?  It wasn’t bad at all.  Was it the Best-Damn-Comedy-Ever-Made™?  No.  Not by a long shot.  But it was an enjoyable time-killer with some very funny scenes and effects that weren’t anywhere near as “terrible” as some stated.

The point I’m making (over and over again) remains this: It’s fine to love or hate or anything in between a film.  Or a song/album.  Or a book.  Indeed, anything artistic.  It’s perfectly legitimate to have an opinion on it.  Just as its perfectly acceptable for others to have the same or opposite one.

The problem lies when people seem to feel their opinion is fact.

In the arts, it never is.

Sherlock: The Six Thatchers (2017) a (almost right on time) review

I really like the / Sherlock series.  The show, which first premiered in 2010, just started its fourth season.  This season, like the others, features only a few “episodes”, in this case four.  The first episode in the fourth season, The Abominable Bride, premiered, if you can believe it, exactly one year before this episode, on January 1, 2016!  Though there are few “episodes” per season, truth be told each one is more like a full feature film.

Anyway, what made Sherlock stand out, at least when it originally premiered in 2010, was the fact that it was set in modern times.  This isn’t a new concept, however.  When the original stories were written, of course, they were set in the then “modern” days.  At least one of the well regarded Holmes’ film, 1942’s The Woman in Green, was set in the then present World War II era.

Apart from modern technology and its present setting, what makes Sherlock work so well is the great acting, for the most part great scripts, and the laugh out loud moments.  This is not just a good series, but a great one, in my humble opinion.  The only episode of the run thus far I can think of that disappointed me was, ironically enough, their version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (their version was retitled The Hounds of the Baskerville), arguably the most famous of all of Mr. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.

For about 1 hour and 20 or so minutes of season four’s second episode, entitled The Six Thatchers, I was completely engrossed and delighted by what I saw.  This was damn good television, first dealing (I’ll try to be vague here to avoid spoilers, for now) with a leftover from a crime presented last season and its coverup before settling on the main mystery involving six busts which, you guessed it, are of Margaret Thatcher.

There were plenty of twists and turns and things don’t always make a heck of a lot of sense (only six such busts were ever made?  And they can be traced to the six people who bought it years before and they still have them?!), but the fact is that Sherlock works even when the plot get overly busy…or just plain silly.  Again, its the breezy nature of the show, the witty and at times hilarious banter, that keeps everything moving.

But those last eight or so minutes of the episode…

Ugh.

I’ll now, alas, get into SPOILERS so if you haven’t seen the episode and intend to, please stop reading right now.  I’ll get into this after the trailer…

 

SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

 

Still here?  Ok, I think I’ve offered enough warning.

Between the central mystery, the episode also deals with Watson and his wife Mary () having a child and Sherlock’s (of course) weird reactions/interactions with the child.  As it turns out, the central mystery of the episode winds up involving Mary and, more specifically, her past.

In Sherlock’s reality, the character of Mary Morstan was a highly skilled, super-secret mercenary.  In short, she was a very efficient wetworks officer and part of a group of four who carried on with some very sordid affairs.  She gives this up to be with Watson and has a child but the mystery of the “Six Thatchers” winds up relating directly to her.

In her last mission, things went very bad and Mary thought her fellow mercs were killed.  One was not.  He was tortured for years and, while listening to his captors talk, thought Mary had betrayed the group and therefore he wanted to get her…and get revenge.  I won’t go into more details here, but suffice to say that eventually it is discovered a seemingly mousy secretary was the real culprit and Sherlock and Mary confront her at an aquarium.

Here’s where things get really stupid.

Others show up, including Inspector Lestrade and Mycroft Holmes and several other police.  The woman is surrounded yet she draws a gun.  They talk to her, tell her to put it down, but she’s set off and fires at Sherlock…and Mary jumps in front of Sherlock and takes the bullet intended for him.

She dies.

Christ.

Look, I know the Mary Morstan character dies in the Doyle stories.  Killing off a female, especially one bound to one of a series’ main characters, isn’t a terribly new concept as we then have the characters revert to their original state (check out how many women romance the Cartwright brothers in Bonanza only to either leave at episode’s end or die tragically and be completely forgotten by the next episode of the show).  Boys will be boys and having a “woman” attached to one of the characters can be viewed as problematic to storytelling.

However, the manner in which they kill Mary is so damn stupid.  I mean, is that the best they could come up with?  Have this mousy elder woman completely surrounded by (one has to assume) well armed officers yet she manages to fire off a shot?  In the time it takes her to get the gun out of her purse she could -and should!- have been taken out by either the brainy Sherlock Holmes or the deadly assassin for hire Mary, both of which stood only feet away from her.

Further, Mary “jumping” in front of the bullet also feels dumb.  The way its presented in the episode, she fires and then Mary jumps in front of the bullet.  Sorry, but it just don’t work that way.  The bullet would hit Sherlock well before Mary could react, much less jump in front of him.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

They say familiarity breeds contempt and, granted, we now have several episodes of Sherlock and, perhaps, as a viewer I’m a little more discerning and less forgiving for perceived failures.  Perhaps.

Still, this is the first time an episode ending left me so disappointed.  I’m not giving up on the show, of course.  Even with the terrible (IMHO!) ending, the rest of the episode was delightful.  Let’s just hope the remaining two episodes to come redeem this horrible ending.