Dr. Watson? No way! That's Arthur Dent, I mean Tim Canterbury
So by happy accident, I stumbled into the first episode of the BBC's new Sherlock Holmes adaptation, Sherlock. The episode, called "A Study in Pink," is very loosely based on the first Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet. The setting has been changed to modern-day London, so the Great Detective is equipped with cell phones, a laptop, and all the normal gadgets of modern life. Dr. Watson has still seen military service in Afghanistan, and the famous greeting, "You have been to Afghanistan, I perceive," is played off nicely.
As for the cast, well, Bernard Cumberbatch does an excellent job capturing Holmes in all his irritating glory and Inspector Lestrade is nicely stolid. There were far more women in "A Study in Pink" than there are in most versions of Holmes, which is I think a good thing, because they add rather than detract to the setting and the stories. Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson is almost certainly the best part of the show, as he provides the everyman sensibility and moral center that he usually does, as well as a much more commanding presence than you would think from a guy that someone thought was perfect for Arthur Dent. I loved the interactions between Cumberbatch and Freeman, which veered from tension to banter smoothly and gave the two characters a modern edge without getting away from who they are as characters. Plus, for all the slashers out there, Ho Yay is thick on the ground, which makes for some funny moments.
There were a couple of things I didn't like, one of which is a spoiler, so I'll get the other out of the way. There was way too much funky camera crap going on. I'm not sure how I felt about the visual representation of Holmes' thought processes-in some cases, you see words on the screen telling you what Holmes is deducing, which is weird, but saves unnecessary dialogue-but I'm sure that I didn't like the odd cuts and scene transitions. You had a perfectly good wheel, you know. No need to trick it up so much.
I noted above that the story was loosely based on A Study in Scarlet, which meant that the cabbie did it, as in the original book. In the original book, Jefferson Hope, working as a London cabman at the end of a long and varied life, hunts down the two men most responsible for the death of his beloved, and offers them a chance to survive, by choosing between a poison pill and a placebo. One dies by pill and one by gunshot, IIRC. In this case, the cabbie, wgi isn't named, kidnaps random people and offers them the choice of the pill. All of them die, and they start out thinking it is suicide. Holmes is intended to be the fifth victim.
The problem is the randomness. Both Hope in the original story and the cabbie in this version have a potentially deadly aneurysm, but Hope's killings have a reason behind them, while these are just random, despite the hints that there's a blackmail theme running through. The crimes have no motives other than the cabbie trying to prove he's smarter than everyone, even Holmes, before he dies. There's a nice bit of characterization where Holmes takes the cabbie's challenge, so he can learn the motive and mechanics, but the motive is so shallow that's it's not worth it. Still, on the whole I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely watch the other two and hope there will be more than just the three episodes.
As for the cast, well, Bernard Cumberbatch does an excellent job capturing Holmes in all his irritating glory and Inspector Lestrade is nicely stolid. There were far more women in "A Study in Pink" than there are in most versions of Holmes, which is I think a good thing, because they add rather than detract to the setting and the stories. Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson is almost certainly the best part of the show, as he provides the everyman sensibility and moral center that he usually does, as well as a much more commanding presence than you would think from a guy that someone thought was perfect for Arthur Dent. I loved the interactions between Cumberbatch and Freeman, which veered from tension to banter smoothly and gave the two characters a modern edge without getting away from who they are as characters. Plus, for all the slashers out there, Ho Yay is thick on the ground, which makes for some funny moments.
There were a couple of things I didn't like, one of which is a spoiler, so I'll get the other out of the way. There was way too much funky camera crap going on. I'm not sure how I felt about the visual representation of Holmes' thought processes-in some cases, you see words on the screen telling you what Holmes is deducing, which is weird, but saves unnecessary dialogue-but I'm sure that I didn't like the odd cuts and scene transitions. You had a perfectly good wheel, you know. No need to trick it up so much.
I noted above that the story was loosely based on A Study in Scarlet, which meant that the cabbie did it, as in the original book. In the original book, Jefferson Hope, working as a London cabman at the end of a long and varied life, hunts down the two men most responsible for the death of his beloved, and offers them a chance to survive, by choosing between a poison pill and a placebo. One dies by pill and one by gunshot, IIRC. In this case, the cabbie, wgi isn't named, kidnaps random people and offers them the choice of the pill. All of them die, and they start out thinking it is suicide. Holmes is intended to be the fifth victim.
The problem is the randomness. Both Hope in the original story and the cabbie in this version have a potentially deadly aneurysm, but Hope's killings have a reason behind them, while these are just random, despite the hints that there's a blackmail theme running through. The crimes have no motives other than the cabbie trying to prove he's smarter than everyone, even Holmes, before he dies. There's a nice bit of characterization where Holmes takes the cabbie's challenge, so he can learn the motive and mechanics, but the motive is so shallow that's it's not worth it. Still, on the whole I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely watch the other two and hope there will be more than just the three episodes.