It was only last week that I was introduced to a television show which had been first aired in the UK in the summer of 2010; Sherlock – a modern take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic British detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (Who also plays Mr Holmes, the older – Mycroft), starring my newest ‘crush’ Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson, this series is sheer brilliance. Filmed across London and Cardiff, two seasons have only just been aired on BBC One and lord bless the video pirate Vasu who put them all on a flash drive and handed them to me! In the past few days, I’ve noticed that they have become a rage, with critics ogling at the brilliance and BAFTA handing Martin Freeman (our own Bilbo Baggins from Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’) the award for Best Supporting Actor.
The episodes are a reinvention of the Conan Doyle originals – several things have remained unchanged, such as 221 B Baker Street, Sherlock’s long black trench coat, Victorian-style stone paved roads and the foggy London skyline. Holmes is pictured as slightly eccentric with a mop of blackened hair, parchment-pale skin and liquid eyes taking on a look that is most definitely transfixing. Adding on to that, he uses an iPhone and texts like a pro! Essentially an exceedingly good-looking sociopath with unmatchable English humour. Accompanying him, Doctor Watson is not just another sidekick – the chemistry between the two is almost perfect! Moriarty is creepier that usual, but the makers add their touch by using “Staying Alive” as his ring tone, during a tense stand-off with his nemesis. Rupert Graves also makes an impression as the helpless Detective Inspector Lestrade. The stories are loose riffs of the actual titles with a 21st century twist – A Study in Scarlet was adapted as A Study in Pink, A Scandal in Bohemia became A Scandal in Belgravia and The Adventure of the Speckled Band was cleverly turned into The Adventure of the Speckled Blonde!
The previous weekend, I began to watch an unaired pilot and was rooted to the spot for the next four hours! The entire experience revolves around the fact that barely a minute passes without a line that’s worth making a note of, not to forget the innumerable times one is laughing their heads off! Sherlock ends up in Buckingham Palace in nothing but sheets, steals an ashtray and leaves viewers astounded at his solution at the end of the Irene Adler episode!
In addition to electrifying performances and great writing, the whole thing is filmed with such invention that it makes me generous to share – anyone who’d like to watch let me know please! The writers have treated the characters with all the loving respect that an author could wish for and served up an adaptation which re-imagines everything that Conan Doyle put into his plots and yet delivered something very close to to their original purpose and effect. What a way to start the year.