Sherlock, a kinda review (spoiler-free)
I'm extremely picky about my Sherlock Holmes. The portrayal of him, I mean. For the longest time only Jeremy Brett would do. However I've been sufficiently intrigued by BBC's new Series Sherlock to try and watch it. It is an updated version of the characters, which helped me, I think.
John Watson is still a military doctor back from a grueling tour of duty in Afghanistan, and Sherlock Holmes is still the world's only consulting detective. He is also all the things that I've come to expect of the character, untidy, asocial, easily bored and utterly brilliant. He's also a younger Holmes, slightly more eager to prove himself.
Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch. (The name sounds like a Harry Potter character, doesn't it?) I didn't know him before this series, but I'm pretty impressed. He does the boredom-to-laser-focus transition very well, the dramatic shift from Holmes without a case to Holmes when the game's afoot.
The danger of playing an iconic character is going through the motions, but failing to make the character come alive. Cumberbatch manages, and that is high praise.
Watson is not the bumbling fool he's sometimes portray as, but a practical and strong man, whose military background is as much a part of his character as the medicine. He is played by Martin Freeman (whom I know from The Office). He is doing a great job, playing an intelligent man with a low-key sense of humor, a lot of war-time baggage, and a bit of an adrenaline junkie too.
The partnership between the two develops quickly into a wonderful friendship, despite their differences, and it is done in a believable way, so that I pretty much considered them 'an item' at the end of the first episode. The 'shippers are already out there. I've seen them.
There are a few humorous jabs at the nature of their relationship (a Soho landlord referring to John as Sherlock's 'date', Mycroft archly asking John if 'a happy announcement' is in the cards), but it is quickly made clear that this is a bromance and not a romance.
The series is the brainchild of Steve Moffat and Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen, among other things). Mark also plays Sherlock's older brother Mycroft, an elegant and wonderfully smarmy take on that character.
Even with the addition of iPhone apps, internet and C.S.I shenanigans, the stories still rely on the same basic premise of deductive reason being the solution to all crimes, without ignoring or downplaying modern advances in technology. Moffat and Gatiss manage to add thse things in seamlessly, and often making very amusing use of something as ubiquitous as text messages.
The original stories are not used, except as jumping-off points for original creations. The first episode, A Study In Pink, contains some references to A Study In Scarlet, of course, but is a very different story. They've largely managed to retain the feel of a Holmes mystery, without covering the same ground again.
The second episode, The Blind Banker is the weakest of a good lot. The antagonists feel pulpy, which I don't mind, and a bit like a Yellow Peril stereotype, which may be a concern. The progress in the case feels a bit random at times, and less like good sleuthing. Despite this, it was very entertaining.
It is a short series with only three 90 minute episodes, though I'm told that more have been commissioned. I'm looking forward to it, as the third episode ended in a nerve-wracking cliffhanger!
John Watson is still a military doctor back from a grueling tour of duty in Afghanistan, and Sherlock Holmes is still the world's only consulting detective. He is also all the things that I've come to expect of the character, untidy, asocial, easily bored and utterly brilliant. He's also a younger Holmes, slightly more eager to prove himself.
Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch. (The name sounds like a Harry Potter character, doesn't it?) I didn't know him before this series, but I'm pretty impressed. He does the boredom-to-laser-focus transition very well, the dramatic shift from Holmes without a case to Holmes when the game's afoot.
The danger of playing an iconic character is going through the motions, but failing to make the character come alive. Cumberbatch manages, and that is high praise.
Watson is not the bumbling fool he's sometimes portray as, but a practical and strong man, whose military background is as much a part of his character as the medicine. He is played by Martin Freeman (whom I know from The Office). He is doing a great job, playing an intelligent man with a low-key sense of humor, a lot of war-time baggage, and a bit of an adrenaline junkie too.
The partnership between the two develops quickly into a wonderful friendship, despite their differences, and it is done in a believable way, so that I pretty much considered them 'an item' at the end of the first episode. The 'shippers are already out there. I've seen them.
There are a few humorous jabs at the nature of their relationship (a Soho landlord referring to John as Sherlock's 'date', Mycroft archly asking John if 'a happy announcement' is in the cards), but it is quickly made clear that this is a bromance and not a romance.
The series is the brainchild of Steve Moffat and Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen, among other things). Mark also plays Sherlock's older brother Mycroft, an elegant and wonderfully smarmy take on that character.
Even with the addition of iPhone apps, internet and C.S.I shenanigans, the stories still rely on the same basic premise of deductive reason being the solution to all crimes, without ignoring or downplaying modern advances in technology. Moffat and Gatiss manage to add thse things in seamlessly, and often making very amusing use of something as ubiquitous as text messages.
The original stories are not used, except as jumping-off points for original creations. The first episode, A Study In Pink, contains some references to A Study In Scarlet, of course, but is a very different story. They've largely managed to retain the feel of a Holmes mystery, without covering the same ground again.
The second episode, The Blind Banker is the weakest of a good lot. The antagonists feel pulpy, which I don't mind, and a bit like a Yellow Peril stereotype, which may be a concern. The progress in the case feels a bit random at times, and less like good sleuthing. Despite this, it was very entertaining.
It is a short series with only three 90 minute episodes, though I'm told that more have been commissioned. I'm looking forward to it, as the third episode ended in a nerve-wracking cliffhanger!