I have been a fan of mysteries since I was a kid. I grew up reading about the adventures of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and of course, Sherlock Holmes. So when I read about the new BBC series, Sherlock, I just had to watch it.
I was pleasantly surprised at the modern spin they gave on the well-loved classic. Sherlock loves texting, John Watson maintains a hugely popular blog (www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk), creepy James Moriarty is now called Jim, the very flamboyant consulting criminal and Irene Adler is now a — get this — dominatrix. You can follow her on Twitter, you know. @thewhiphand How cool is that? 😉
The formerly Victorian world of Baker Street now has modern conveniences like cellphones, internet and electricity!
Even with all these high-tech stuff everywhere, the modern day Sherlock never relies heavily on them. Sure, he texts a lot and that is a very welcome change from sending tons of telegrams a day. He uses his laptop on a regular basis (or sometimes, he “borrows” John’s) to check emails or update his website, The Science of Deduction (www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk). But, you know his methods 😉 He uses his powers of deduction for about 95% of the time. Because if he just let the machines solve puzzles for him, then it is no longer Sherlock Holmes and they should just rename the series to CSI: Baker Street.
The dialogues no longer use funky worlds and grammar and the characters’ clothes are refreshingly up-to-date. Sherlock, in particular, looks very dapper in his suit. I read somewhere that sales of that particular style of suit shot up when the series became popular. Well, you can’t blame some men for wanting to look like Benedict Cumberbatch — he is so sharp and handsome, I can’t stop fangirling. And I thought I stopped fangirling 3 years ago!
What I really loved about the BBC production are the tie-in websites for the show. Somehow, Sherlock’s website, John’s and Molly Hooper’s blogs makes one feel that it’s all real. That these characters really do exist, and that Moriarty really hacked into John’s blog. ^_~
I have finished re-reading all of the Sherlock Holmes stories — this is after watching seasons 1 & 2 three times. Today, I finished watching season 2 for the 6th time, while comparing the stories with the canon. Addicted much? 🙂
Benedict Cumberbatch – I never expected Sherlock Holmes to look like Josh Groban and sound like Professor Snape. Benedict was not in my radar until this series and now I am a big fan. He was made for the part: brilliant, deadpan, cold. Blink? Blinking is dull. Eat? Eating slows down his mental faculties. And don’t even get me started on his beautiful voice. I love everything about Mr. Cumberbatch and I really cannot wait for the 3rd season to see more of him. In the meantime, I am on the hunt for episodes of Fortysomething, his TV sitcom with HUGH LAURIE. Gawd, two brilliant actors in one show. (And another Sherlock, come to think of it. Dr. House was inspired from Holmes, right?)
Martin Freeman – the perfect John Watson. I love how he plays off the energy from Benedict, his timing always impeccable. Martin does not need a lot of wordy script. His facial expressions show a whole range of emotions from joy to amazement to exasperation to fear and he is always effortless at it. Now I realize why the casting team had a difficult time choosing someone for the role. Had the role gone to a lesser actor, John would have been quite…lame. I don’t know how else to put it. The series needed a John who can match and complement Sherlock in all aspects. It’s funny how even Martin’s height was written into the script (season 2, ep 1 “A Scandal in Belgravia”)
The whole idea, this entire production is pure genius and Sherlock fans all over the world (like me) will forever be grateful to creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who also played the role of Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft).
Now if you will excuse me. I think I hear “A Study in Pink” calling me again, for the 7th time. ^_^
