Unlike the more ambitious and big budget TV series' that are coming out of the US by storm these days, UK based efforts are modest affairs. One area in which the UK is left way behind by comparison is in the amount of episodes churned out per season. Blockbusting US titles can typically number around 12-24 movie-quality episodes per season whereas we with a tighter budget can usually muster up about 6, if we're lucky. With Sherlock we get three! Thankfully, if you want to give this series a whirl right now, you can at least get two seasons worth - and that means six; six 90 minute episodes that really do a good job in grabbing you by the balls.
Sherlock Holmes, as we all know from Arthur Conan Doyle, loves to solve crimes and the makers of Sherlock have made their eponymous hero no different. In fact, if he is not able to engage in this particular activity for a lengthy time, he starts to go a bit mental. Episodes are given the same titles that were given to the Conan Doyle stories but are given an up-to-date twist and all take place (with the exception of "Hound of the Baskervilles") in good ol' London town. In addition he's placed right in the 21st century with modern technology to boot.
Menu screens and episodes are all wrapped up with an appropriately anthemic and sweeping soundtrack giving you that sense of anticipation that you're going to be watching something special and it's a catchy enough tune that you'll be humming it often.
Each episode involves a "crime of the week" type scenario which is too tricky for mere police to handle but not so for the supremely brilliant Sherlock whose keen powers of observation and deduction go beyond the super-human. This man can stare at a person or a corpse for just a few moments and then state virtually all of the pertinent facts about them in the blinking of an eye; rattling off the details like a man possessed. Simple clues like hairs on trousers, stains on the clothes, scratches on a phone or marks on the shoes or an item of jewelry are enough to inform him of such details as the person's exact whereabouts for the last 48 hours, what issues they have with rival siblings, who was looking at them on the train or where they went on holiday. This skill was well executed and proved an impressive party-trick at first but the novelty does start to appear contrived after the seventh or eighth time and does start to wear thin - although it's still interesting to follow.
Benedict Cumberbatch, then, does a fine job as the enigmatic Holmes and his machine-gun dialogue and quick-fire wit gets rattled off as smooth and as crisp as a cold bar of chocolate out of the fridge on a summer's day. But that's not to say that the sun permanently shines with such glistening radiance out of his bulbous proverbial. He is also a flawed character in that his passion for solving crimes and his driven attitude means that he has no time to form friendships; even John Watson, who he recruits as a room-mate, is seen more as an acquaintance and a sort of helper than a friend. Also, you can't help notice his immense arrogance, and it's his faith in his intellectual superiority that he has over everyone (with the possible exception of Moriarty) that makes him feel the need to utter put-downs at every opportunity. Still, these qualities, although negative, help to fill out the character of Sherlock and actually add to our appreciation of who he is and what he's about.And of course make us keep watching and coming back for more.
The pacing of the show is fast and gallops along at a quick tempo. Consequently there is no filler and the action never seems to drag like it can do in the epic that is Lost. As mentioned it's the crisp dialogue that partly accounts for this but the tight plot lines and the fact that every scene is germane also explains why the adventures are gripping. There are six stories to get your teeth into, all hinting at the ever-present spirit of Moriarty who seems to be responsible behind all the evil goings-on. The part of Moriarty himself (played by Andrew Scott) is hammed-up to extremes with the intonation in his voice going haywire to reflect his insanity but I guess an arch-nemesis of such caliber has to be played in such a wacky way. Of all the episodes, I'd say only the second episode of the first season ("The Blind Banker") falls short of the high quality of the rest.
Martin Freeman (as Watson), Una Stubbs (as the landlady, Ms Hudson) and Mark Gatiss (as the brother, Mycroft Holmes) all put on stellar performances but it's the straight-faced performance of Gatiss that is a stand out for me.
16
20 (VERY GOOD)
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