Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman
Creator: Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss
Genre: Crime, Drama
Rating: A+
Doctor John Watson (Freeman) is an ex-army doctor who was injured in Afghanistan. Through a mutual friend he meets the eccentric Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch), whose home at 221B Baker Street he moves into. Holmes is a much disliked freelance investigator for the police - many of whom see him as a psychopath who will one day snap. This view is actually really easy to see, but over the course of the first season Sherlock and Watson really begin to develop a friendship, of sorts, as Watson begins to help Sherlock with his cases - or at least go along with them.
Possibly my favourite part about the show, however, is the fact that Sherlock very clearly sets out to be more than simply a buddy cop type show or just another procedural. Each of the three episodes in the first season take elements of inspiration from the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, although only the plot of the first episode, "A Study in Pink" is an adaptation of a Conan Doyle story, in this case A Study in Scarlet - this is different in the second season, when all three episodes are based on the original Sherlock Holmes novels, in order A Scandal in Bohemia, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Final Problem. I really like that they've done this; there's no dicking around with elements from the novels that people know and love, there's no hinting at them, there's no allusions. Well, there are allusions but not in a way that leaves you hanging and wanting more.
The thing that really makes this show absolutely amazing, however, is the cast. The supporting characters are great - from the cops like Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) who think that Sherlock is psychotic to Sherlock's brother Mycroft (Gatiss), to Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) who is just pure awesome - but the two leads are even better. I'm really not sure which I like more, the cold, Aspergerish Sherlock or his much more down to Earth and reasonable friend, Watson. The dynamic between the two of them is superb and the fact that you really see the influence that Watson has on Sherlock - and that Sherlock has on Watson - is awesome. I think the idea of a procedural where the main character is someone who doesn't fit into conventional society is my favourite form of the procedural, but when taken with Sherlock it becomes even better. You can see Sherlock just as easily being the bad guy as he is the good guy, and it's only through his relationship with people like Watson and Mrs. Hudson that keeps him from going over that edge. In a way, he's kind of like Sheldon Cooper meets Temperance Booth with a British accent and amazing cheek bones, but neither of them really has the balance that Watson provides. It's great. I can't wait for season three, even if it isn't coming out until 2014.
Doctor John Watson (Freeman) is an ex-army doctor who was injured in Afghanistan. Through a mutual friend he meets the eccentric Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch), whose home at 221B Baker Street he moves into. Holmes is a much disliked freelance investigator for the police - many of whom see him as a psychopath who will one day snap. This view is actually really easy to see, but over the course of the first season Sherlock and Watson really begin to develop a friendship, of sorts, as Watson begins to help Sherlock with his cases - or at least go along with them.
Possibly my favourite part about the show, however, is the fact that Sherlock very clearly sets out to be more than simply a buddy cop type show or just another procedural. Each of the three episodes in the first season take elements of inspiration from the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, although only the plot of the first episode, "A Study in Pink" is an adaptation of a Conan Doyle story, in this case A Study in Scarlet - this is different in the second season, when all three episodes are based on the original Sherlock Holmes novels, in order A Scandal in Bohemia, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Final Problem. I really like that they've done this; there's no dicking around with elements from the novels that people know and love, there's no hinting at them, there's no allusions. Well, there are allusions but not in a way that leaves you hanging and wanting more.
The thing that really makes this show absolutely amazing, however, is the cast. The supporting characters are great - from the cops like Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) who think that Sherlock is psychotic to Sherlock's brother Mycroft (Gatiss), to Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) who is just pure awesome - but the two leads are even better. I'm really not sure which I like more, the cold, Aspergerish Sherlock or his much more down to Earth and reasonable friend, Watson. The dynamic between the two of them is superb and the fact that you really see the influence that Watson has on Sherlock - and that Sherlock has on Watson - is awesome. I think the idea of a procedural where the main character is someone who doesn't fit into conventional society is my favourite form of the procedural, but when taken with Sherlock it becomes even better. You can see Sherlock just as easily being the bad guy as he is the good guy, and it's only through his relationship with people like Watson and Mrs. Hudson that keeps him from going over that edge. In a way, he's kind of like Sheldon Cooper meets Temperance Booth with a British accent and amazing cheek bones, but neither of them really has the balance that Watson provides. It's great. I can't wait for season three, even if it isn't coming out until 2014.
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