Sherlock

Sherlock. Most people know his last name – Holmes – although it is really not necessary to mention it. Kind of like Elvis, Madonna, or Oprah – they all have last names, but they are so famous, they are instantly recognizable simply by their first name.  Long before CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Bones, Psych, Monk, Colombo, or any other number of detective shows, there was Sherlock Holmes, who became incredibly popular due to his knack for solving impossible crimes through logical reasoning and the early use of forensic science.

I have been a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes since high school. My girlfriend at the time (who I ended up marrying) gave me a Sherlock Holmes book as a Christmas gift. It contains the first 37 of the 56 short stories published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1891 to 1905. Sherlock Holmes was first introduced to the world in the novel “A Study in Scarlet,” published in 1887. The last short story, “The Adventure of Shoschombe  Old Place,” was published in 1927. I also own a copy of the novel, “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” which may be the most famous story. At any rate, I have always been a big fan of mysteries, and most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works are masterpieces.

Imagine my joy this past Father’s Day when my children surprised me with Seasons 1 and 2 of the new BBC series, Sherlock. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson.

It just so happened that earlier that week, we also purchased the DVD copy of Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, the 2011 movie which stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson respectively.

Let me just say that Game of Shadows is good, but the BBC series, Sherlock, is extraordinary. The BBC version essentially stays true to the original stories from Doyle while updating the setting to London today, and at the same time, they put a fresh twist on the mysteries and mannerisms from the earlier stories. There is still 221B Baker Street and their landlord, Mrs Hudson, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, and of course, James Moriarty. However, the stories are brilliantly adapted to today’s technological advances and societal attitudes. For example, instead of habitually smoking a pipe, he wears multiple nicotine patches. Dr. Watson is still a medical doctor who just returned from war, but instead of serving in the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), he served in modern-day Afghanistan (which ironically is nearly the same, unwinnable war today). Dr. Watson also serves as the scribe and chronicler of their adventures, but instead of publishing them in a magazine, he has his own blog. Sherlock and Watson also use cell phones, texting, X-rays, and all sorts of modern lab equipment. They even note that Irene Adler has her own website and twitter account. Now all of these would be simply amusing if it were not for the exceptional writing, acting, and directing of the shows. The dialogue sparkles, the mysteries are fresh, and the techniques they use to weave in the texting and such are just amazing. My favorite episodes are #3 (“The Great Game”), #4 (“A Scandal in Belgravia”), and the best one is episode #6 (“The Reichenbach Fall”). In fact, I would equate Episode #6 with the second Batman movie, The Dark Knight (2008), in both suspense and excitement.

If you are not familiar with how Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson came to be, I would highly recommend starting out with episode #1 (my wife said it helped her understand a lot better). Sherlock is one of the best TV shows to come around in a while, and I would say probably one of the best adaptations ever of Sherlock, but the only complaint I have is that there are only three episodes per season. I can’t wait for the next installment.

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© Copyright 2012 Jeff, All rights Reserved. Written For: Jeffrey Olsen