I almost missed this show. Let me say that again; I almost didn't see this! Can you believe that? This is so up my alley it's not even funny. The only reason I heard about it was because I was checking my email and once I signed out I came across a link for new TV on Canadian channels, and there it was. And of course, I was intrigued, and immediately marked it on my calendar so I wouldn't miss it.
That show is Sherlock, a BBC series that aired across the pond earlier this year and has now made it's way onto Showcase here in Canada. The premise is that it's the Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson we all know and love, plus other familiar characters like Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson and Mycroft Holmes (plus a certain notorious villain), but their adventures are set in 21st century London instead of 19th century London. A modern retelling if you will. So we have Holmes practicing his deductive skills amidst the practices of forensic science and during the height of the information age.
And while that sounds like a total gimmick, it works so well. So well. Our two heroes call each other John and Sherlock now, because nobody calls their friends by their last names these days. The John Watson presented here is still a veteran of Afghanistan, but the war he fought in was the war on terror instead of the second anglo-afghan war. Plus he still writes about the adventures he has, but on a blog.
As for this Sherlock Holmes, he is a modern man in every sense of the word. He makes full use of texting and the Internet and posts a website on the art of deduction, but he can still read a crime scene or a person with just his eyes and a magnifying lens and make it look like he has ESP or something (a notion he would find laughable). The modernness never feels forced, I think because Holmes himself was always a modern man, even in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.
The first episode, and there are only three 90 minute episodes, so I don't know if that counts as a series, is called "A Study in Pink", and as you may have guessed it's an update on "A Study in Scarlett" the very first Holmes story written. Many of the same elements are there, including Holmes and Watson meeting and forging their immortal partnership. The entire 90 minutes was so gripping I couldn't dream of turning it off. There was action, a great chase scene, intense stand offs, and a surprise twist regarding one character that I never saw coming. And the two leads fantastically embody their characters. Benedict Cumberbatch (great name) perfectly portrays Holmes' energy, eccentricities, humor and cool demeanor. Plus he's fairly easy on the eyes, which I can always appreciate. And Martin Freeman, who I recognized from the BBC's The Office and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, nicely pulls off the more down-to-earth counterbalance to Holmes, while keeping Watson a smart, resourceful, funny man-of-action that he is.
Can't wait to see what else is in store, and I'm so glad I came across that article. Funny how fate comes along and brings a new obsession.
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