The Buzz: 'Vienna Blood', The Secondhand Sherlock

First, there was Sherlock Holmes. Then, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Now, there’s a new beloved detective coming to television, Max Liebermann. Max is the product of the author, Frank Tallis, and his reimagining of Vienna in the early 20th century. In both the novel as well as the television series, Vienna Blood follows the adventures of Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), a student of the new and upcoming Dr. Sigmund Freud, and a police detective named Oskar Reinhardt (Jürgen Maurer). The two initially have their disagreements – particularly when it comes to approaching a potential suspect – but eventually, they manage to work well with one another to solve Vienna’s most puzzling cases. If the whole idea of it sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Leaving the novel series aside, for the televised version, Vienna Blood is akin to a filmed Sherlock fanfic.

From the very beginning, as in the opening credits, the similarities to Sherlock are apparent. Like the theme for BBC’s Sherlock (Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat 2010), the title sequence of Vienna Blood features a quirky tune punctuated by string instruments and drums. While audibly the two themes sound similar, visually, they’re quite different. Vienna Blood’s credits are striking in their deceptive simplicity. Much like the shows’ plot, the credits are comprised of veiled complexity and illusion.

Speaking of plot, the episode’s focus is all on a Jane Doe. A woman (Alma Hasun) is found murdered in room seemingly impossible to exit. The doors and windows are all locked and no sign of any forced entry or exit has been found. Likewise, none of the woman’s neighbors are aware of her identity. Now it’s a desperate search not just to find the woman’s killer, but also her name. Detective Rheinhardt is as frustrated as he is stumped. It doesn’t help that his case is being shadowed by Max, the son of an acquaintance of the police chief. Where Rheinhardt is foul tempered and impatient, Max is constantly considering the mind frame and mechanics of a murderer. He’s an avid learner and student of Freud, a fact that comes up several times to the dismay and apprehension of his peers.

Already, this echoes one of Sherlock’s cases, namely, that of The Adventure Of The Speckled Band. However, the differences between any Sherlock adaptation and Vienna Blood occur in the details outside of the case. The pilot episode of Vienna Blood revolves around supposed specters and the occult. Starting in the mid-1800s and picking up again in the early 1900s, Spiritualism began to rise in popularity, especially amongst the upper classes. This was a fascination and near obsession with death and the afterlife. It was the belief that select individuals, mediums, could communicate with the dead. Without giving too much away, this belief is what helps further the case along. On a more personal level, Max and his family are followers of Judaism. It’s a family fact that is implied to have some weight in later episodes. While records of Anti-Semitism have existed well into the Middle Ages, the early 1900s also saw a period of racism and prejudice against Jewish people.

Vienna Blood is a show that prizes and promotes history. It may not always be the best and brightest points, but it is history nevertheless. With that in mind, this does make it difficult to accept Max’s observations as bearing any real value. Freud is indeed the father of psychoanalysis and helped lay the foundations for modern day therapy, but a lot of his methods and teachings went out of fashion. Not just out of fashion, but full on debunked. He is still taught today in universities and in lecture halls, but there is debate over the validity of his claims, particularly his obsession with latent sexuality. The issue with Freud is that like any other human being, Freud changed and grew over time. As such, a lot of his later theories and postulations contradicted his earlier ones. He became a professor at the University of Vienna in the early 1900s, so it can be assumed that Max’s learnings are the very ones that Freud himself would later challenge. What Sherlock would call the science of deduction is Max’s observations. Vienna Blood is not entirely unaware of this. One scene forces Max to witness the unethical medical practices of old, in short, electric shock therapy. It’s clear that Max is not a fan nor a follower of this route of “remedy”, but it makes his whole-hearted belief of Freud’s teachings amusingly – and possibly even sadly – ironic.

In terms of dialogue and story, the whole episode is rather predictable with the slightest hint of cringe worthiness. Where the writing lacks, the cinematography and staging make up for it. Illusion and spectacle are a main component of the show, and this is reflected in the mis-en-scene. Max and his date, Clara (Luise con Finckh), observe The Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt. Another woman is also looking at the painting. In a point of view shot, the audience can see her scattered and warped version of the painting, the images and patterns twisting until the painted snake appears coiled and ready to strike. It’s not the most advanced of editing techniques in terms of budget, but as far as creativity goes, the scene is wonderfully adept at portraying the woman’s distressed state of mind. Aside from this scene, there is a visual motif of having characters be bordered by frames or moving through geometric patterns such as staircase spirals.

On its own, Vienna Blood is an interesting and quaint detective story. Its main shortcoming is that no matter how hard it tries; it will always be pitted against Sherlock Holmes. Vienna Blood is essentially the younger brother following in its older brother’s footsteps. Successful, but familiar and expected. If one can look past the Freudian skepticism and the Sherlockian connections, the