Sherlock

Channel: Nine
Day & time: Sunday, 8.30 p.m. (not screening now until February 2011)
To watch full episodes of Sherlock, CLICK HERE

Sherlock Holmes is the greatest (or at least most well-known) private detective in literary history. However, his star has waned like the embers fading in his pipe. Apart from a rather questionable Hollywood film starring Robert Downey Jr. (aka Iron Man: 1800s Edition), we haven’t seen too much of the gentleman crime-solver. You could say he’s lost his relevance in modern culture, what with the plethora of paperback crime novels and CSI duplicates. That was until somebody green-lighted a mini TV series that would re-imagine the master for a new generation. And there’s only one word for it — brilliant.

It all came about as a joint effort between Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. The two have worked on a number of Victorian-era works, such as Jekyll and episodes of Doctor Who. It was while travelling to Cardiff, where the latter is filmed, that they struck upon the idea of a Sherlock TV series. The challenge was, of course, translating the characters and plots of Conan Doyle’s work into the present day. Without a doubt this has been meticulously achieved, the creators paying great respect to the original works, all the while making sure that it feels fresh. There’s a lot at work that helps to build this superb, if short, television spectacle.

The cast is the number one element that had to be pitch-perfect - and it is. Benedict Cumberpatch plays an eccentric, sociopathic, but still likeable Sherlock. Benedict has a knack for playing over-the-top characters, and absolutely nails a modern day Holmes. His skills of deduction confound the audience (and those on screen) with the obscurity and mad progression, but make perfect sense at the end of his calm rants. He’s arrogant to the extreme, but not bad-mannered. And of course, where would Sherlock be without his trusty Watson? Here played by Martin Freeman, this John Watson is a returned soldier who provides the grunt and level-headedness to Holmes’ manic style. Beginning the series from his perspective not only works as a clever reveal, but is in line with the books also coming from Watson’s point of view.

The supporting cast does a fine job too, with a motherly Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs), a reluctant D.I. Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and Mycroft (Mark Gatiss himself), Sherlock’s squabbling brother. Everything’s played at just the right level, and the confrontations (because around Sherlock that’s what conversations become) are a delight to behold. If anything, some may find the quirky nature of the main characters a little grating, but it all leads to the marvellous crimes.

The writers have adapted a number of Holmsian tales, re-envisioning them with creative slants. The evil masterminds are devious to the extreme, but the route of logic that Sherlock follows always catches them in the end. More so than the simple use of forensics or dogged hounding of other crime shows, it is the brain of Sherlock that is the super-computer. When he does figure it all out, it fits so smoothly it’s as if we share in his smarts. But Sherlock does his work for the police as a hobby—he relishes the challenge to his genius. This is a major part of the hook. Some of the police don’t like having Sherlock around. He’s clearly a little kooky, and their fear is that one day he’ll commit a crime. But while the police may be less accepting of his work than in the original, it’s good to see that sub-plots, like his hinted homosexuality, are more generously understood. These are definite themes you don’t see in your average crime show. The balance between down-right sociopath and purveyor of justice is one the audience will teeter between.

There are also the little touches. Having text messages appear on screen is a clever method to reduce distraction. The editing itself is excellent, with some visually satisfying cuts. The camera work doesn’t confuse, and effectively keeps the pace going at a steady rate. It seems that the BBC put a lot of effort into all departments, as they didn’t want this to flop.

The only odd decision would be the length of the series. Ninety minute episodes do allow for more robust, individual mysteries, but having only three for now is just teasing. This is compounded by the ‘finale’ having the biggest cliffhanger in TV history. A second series is planned for next year, but is that too long to wait for a satisfying resolution? For now the DVD, including pilot, will have to suffice.

It’s odd that a British crime show aired on Channel 9 and not the ABC, but given the departure from your typical Midsummer Murders set-up, and the premium talent behind the series, it makes sense. It carries the risk of being too smart for its own good, but the tempo and intrigue can’t be ignored. Like Moffat says, “Other detectives have cases; Sherlock has adventures”. Should you join in on said exploits? The answer is elementary, my dear reader.

Thomas Wilson