Another series of the BBC’s Sherlock has concluded. This brings the grand total of all the episodes to six. For those of you who have not yet watched this brilliant show it is the modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective stories. Martin Freeman (coming soon as Bilbo in The Hobbit) plays Dr. John Watson, a former army doctor, and Benedict Cumberbatch plays the immortal Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr’s performance in his two films is a terrific and entertaining Holmes, but it is Cumberbatch who best-walks the thin line between genius and smart-ass.
Episodes one and three were, as in season one, the best. Episode one is possibly the best episode of the whole series. A Scandal In Belgravia introduces a new take on Irene Adler. Played by Rachel McAdams in the feature films, Irene is played in the series by Lara Pulver who takes the role to new levels. Irene is a femme fatale in the best ways, and without her presence the rest of the season just cannot compete.
Episode two this time around is a variation on “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. It is a reasonably good mystery, but like its season one counterpart (The Blind Banker) it is heavy on plot and light on the Watson/Holmes dynamic that makes this series so brilliant.
Episode three is the terrific finale The Reichenbach Fall, which fans of Doyle will notice was based on a very important story in Holmes’ history. It gives lots of screen time to the wonderfully insane Jim Moriarty, Holmes is put into plenty of difficult situations, brilliant dialogue is said, mysteries are solved, and once again it leaves me wishing that the BBC made longer seasons.
The Holmes and Watson dynamic has been done so many times (IMDb lists 255 going back to 1900) that you would think it would be worn out. But Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have created a true original with Benedict Cumberbatch (best name ever) and Martin Freeman as the best Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson we are likely to see for a long time.
If you have not seen this series I cannot recommend it enough.
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