Sherlock
Series One (aka Season One for us Yanks)
BBC (or PBS for us Colonials)
This will hopefully be another fairly short review, since I opted to review the three episodes that comprise the first season of BBC's Sherlock as a group, instead of separately. I'm also by no means an expert on Sherlock Holmes: I've never read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works, I've never seen any of the Basil Rathbone movies - my only real exposure to the character has been through the 2009 Guy Ritchie film (which I thought was solidly entertaining) and an episode of Wishbone based on The Hound of the Baskervilles (also pretty entertaining, from what I remember). My lack of preconceptions or expectations actually probably makes me the ideal audience for Sherlock, which brings the characters into a modern-day London setting.
Perhaps Holmes purists would consider the updated setting an outrage, but I found it to be a fairly astute move on the part of creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (of Doctor Who fame), as it made the idea of plunging into the classic stories and characters a bit less intimidating. And while it is true that Sherlock's version of Holmes includes texting and nicotine patches, the elements that made Doyle's work so iconic remain the focus - namely, the brilliant dynamic between Holmes and his much-beleaguered assistant, Watson.
British actors Benedict Cumberbatch (no, I'm not making that name up) and Martin Freeman are both fantastic as Holmes and Watson, respectively. The chemistry between the two feels so natural, and their performances provide a sturdy foundation for the show - Freeman's work in the first episode is particularly inspired, and anchors the show through the realness he brings to the role, acting as both a wonderful audience surrogate but also an interesting character in his own right. Cumberbatch (*snicker*) does Holmes to perfection, playing the character as a "high-functioning psychopath" who's just engrossing to watch, and delivering both rapid-fire and one-liner dialogue with an Alan Rickman-esque dramatic flair.
Sherlock also benefits from some clever and efficient scripts, which string the viewer along beautifully with the mystery elements while also allowing for a great deal of subtle character moments. Despite the short length of the first season, Sherlock's Holmes and Watson are more fully fleshed out and developed than many characters that have dozens of hours to work with. Each episode moves quickly and has little time to waste, which makes for some of the genuine pulse-pounding excitement that the best hours of 24 run on. The second episode falters a bit with this, and was clearly the weakest of the three for me, but it was by no means difficult to make it through.
Sherlock ended up providing just what I was looking for in Sherlock Holmes: great characters with chemistry and exciting mysteries. The first season may be short by American standards, but it's executed near flawlessly and left me craving more. Aside from a less than stellar second episode, this is pretty much all I could have hoped for in my introduction to Doyle's characters, and it makes me eager to crack open that Sherlock Holmes collection that's been sitting on my shelf for a while.
I'll leave you with this:............Benedict Cumberbatch. *snicker* Pip pip, cheerio!
Grade: A
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