Elementary, "Dead Clade Walking"
New episode out now! We cover the season two episode of Elementary “Dead Clade Walking”, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as a modern-day Holmes and Watson living in New York City. We talk about this version of the duo compared to the books, and how the characters and their dynamic were adapted to become a CBS procedural. We appreciate the show’s treatment of addiction and how it affects the characters in short and long term ways, and discuss how in this particular episode the mystery was almost secondary to Sherlock’s struggles and growth as a sponsor. We enjoy the realistic and thought-out mannerisms imbued into the characters, think the wardrobe choices are excellent, are relieved by the lack of romance, and love that Sherlock remains a drama queen. Katy brags again about her single semester of geology, Carrie thinks paleontologists can’t be attractive or it’s suspicious, Maddy makes a great Lord of the Rings joke no one catches, and Mack shares his fossilization grift. We also reveal our family’s version of the Irish Goodbye, discuss the nonsense within but occasional necessity for academia, learn about dinosaurs and their relative time within the geological world, and get judgemental about shallot cutting techniques. Listen for more about learning languages, Sue the T. rex, trepanation as a metaphor, John Noble’s filmography, cyclops myths, and the legacy of Styrofoam. Enjoy!
TW: Drug addiction and recovery, autism spectrum, early taxidermy
Show Notes:
2017 Scientific American article “Dinosaurs and the Anti-Shrink-Wrapping Revolution”
2013 Atlas Obscura article “An Overstuffed Taxidermy Walrus Comes Home” about the Horniman Walrus. The museum’s object page is linked here.
2024 Discover Magazine Article “One-Eyed-Looking Mammoth Fossils May Have Inspired Origins of the Cyclops”
From Wikipedia: “The Lion of Gripsholm Castle is a notable example of a poorly performed taxidermy located in Gripsholm Castle, Sweden. The lion is badly stuffed and is considered to have a comically deformed face”.
2011 Mental Floss article “The Lion of Gripsholm Castle”
2011 Buzzfeed article “Hilariously Bad Lion Taxidermy”
