Sherlock is a modern take on that age old sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is a BBC show primarily written by Steven Moffat, (who also writes much of the popular BBC show, Doctor Who, of which I am quite fond) and Mark Gatiss. Gatiss co-stars in Sherlock as Mycroft Holmes, and he also has written some episodes of Doctor Who.
The show stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as John Watson, along with Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes, Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Rupert Graves as DI Lestrade, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper, and Andrew Scott as James Moriarty.
Originally, the creators of Sherlock had completed an hour long version of the first episode "A Study in Pink," but then the network decided to change the show to an hour and a half slots, for which I am quite thankful. So they redid the episode, and aired it on July 25, 2010 in the UK, but not until October 24 in the US. The show has just recently released season three of this show, with some plans from the writers for season four already. The original pilot episode is now available to watch as a special feature on season one.
Episode list:
Season 1: A Study in Pink, The Blind Banker, and The Great Game.
Season 2: A Scandal in Belgravia, The Hounds of Baskerville, and The Reichenbach Fall.
Season 3: The Empty Hearse, The Sign of Three, His Last Vow, and a mini episode which falls in- between seasons two and three entitled, Many Happy Returns.
Summary: In this nine episode series, Sherlock and his companion live in modern London England. They often use smart phones and computers, as well as a modern laboratory. The series kicks off with the introduction of the detective's famous companion, Dr. John Watson. It does not take long for Watson to be introduced to Sherlock for the first time, by their mutual friend, Mike Stamford. Their relationship takes off flying and they are thrown into a case, which Sherlock describes as, "Christmas!"
After they have that case under their belt, the genius and the doctor are definitely a team. Throughout the series they battle the most brilliant minds of all time, the highest of those villains being James Moriarty, affectionately dubbed Sherlock's nemesis. They save lives, recover important government files, put away dangerous villains (of course), and John even gets married!
My Opinion: I think I should start off by saying that this is my favorite show of all time, followed very closely by Doctor Who, which to those who know the shows should be no surprise. As much as I want there to be more episodes for me to watch, it is a good thing there isn't because I wouldn't be doing much else. Sherlock has absolutely outstanding acting performances by the stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, as well as the other main characters. Even the extras are good actors. The cinematography is like nothing else, and quite outstanding. Of course the writing talents of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (and Arthur Conan Doyle, for that matter) are certainly to be praised, and the show would not be the same without them.
I think what makes this show so amazing, is that everything is well done. There are plenty of shows and movies that may have good cinematography, but bad writing. It may have fabulous writing, yet bad acting, or maybe visa-versa. Even films and shows with good acting can be spoiled by just one bad actor. But Sherlock does not fail in any of these aspects, and then it takes "good" to a whole new level.
This is obviously a serious show, but it is not without its humor. Far from it in fact. In this take on Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock is often quite rude and oblivious of people, which is just plain hilarious. Though each episode has its share of humor, The Sign of Three was, I think, more so then the others. There were hardly two minutes at a time as I watched this episode that I wasn't laughing hysterically.
That said, I couldn't pick a favorite episode to save my life, they are all so good.
Some of the themes in the show are good as well, for instance in the first episode Detective Inspector Lestrade says "Sherlock Holmes is a great man, and I think one day, if we're very very lucky, he might even be a good one." And as the show progresses, though subtle, it seems as though John Watson's influence is in fact making Sherlock a "good man."
The way they run the show is brilliant yet maddening at the same time. Each season is comprised of three, hour and a half long episodes making them more like three films. What makes this maddening is the creators make a season, release all three episodes very quickly, and then it stops for quite some time until the next season. Its like getting a sugar rush, and then being tired for the rest of they day. Except this day is months long. So like I said, maddening because it leaves you wanting more NOW, but brilliant from the business perspective of the show. Each season also has quite a cliff hanger (which I won't tell you what they are so I don't spoil it). Thankfully this last season wasn't quite so bad of a cliff hanger as the others were for me though.
Now I haven't said one thing in this review so far that was negative. That's because there is nothing I can possibly complain about, with the greatly unfortunate exception of content, which brings us to none other than the content section.
Content: The rating of Sherlock is TV 14, which is parents strongly cautioned, which I think is appropriate. Sherlock contains relatively frequent and often severe innuendoes including homosexual references. Even though the relationship between Sherlock and Dr. Watson is strictly a friendship, the show makes jokes about them being gay, even though they are not. The words H***, D*** and B****** are used relatively often. B**** P*** A** and C*** are used sometimes as well as british profanities like "bloody". D**k and T** are used a few times, however in the home of this show, the UK, the words have different meanings. God's name is frequently used in vain, and in many forms. In "The Empty Hearse", using clever scene cuts they slip in the F-word without "technically" saying it, but they might as well of, because it was so blatantly obvious. The entire theme of "A Scandal in Belgravia", is painstakingly sexual. Irene Adler at one point enters completely naked, and even though due to cinematography it isn't explicit, the overtones of the scene are obviously sexual. Sherlock at the beginning of the episode is in nothing but a sheet, however the tone of that is not sexual, but rather humorous. I think that "A Scandal of Belgravia" has what I would consider the worst content of all, and it may be favored for the viewer to skip the episode. You will at least want to watch the beginning though, because of the cliff hanger they leave you with at the end of season one. In "His Last Vow", Sherlock has developed a drug habit, however it is in pursuit of an important case, and not pleasure. If you are going to watch Sherlock, I would just expect some things they will make you feel a bit uncomfortable.
Conclusion: Now obviously I greatly enjoy this show, and so it is a great shame that there is so much bad content. So I certainly would not recommend this show for children, nor teenagers who are susceptible to negative influence from media. For those of you who do choose to watch Sherlock, I think you will be of like mind with me, and realize that it is in fact a masterpiece.
So that being said, if you have seen Sherlock, what did you think? If you have any questions or comments leave a comment below. So this is me, your reviewer John Watson of all people, wishing you all happy watching.
-John Watson-
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