From Sher-locked to Ben-addicted!!

Details: Category: Articles by Members; Written by Monita Sharma

I think it would be utterly criminal on my part if I don’t write anything about the breathtakingly well-shot, superbly directed and brilliantly written & acted BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ – a modern day Sherlock Holmes' adaptation which has been released in two seasons so far and each season comprises only three 90-minute episodes. The moment I saw the modern Sherlock, I was like..umm..oh well..so, he’s the ‘Sherlock Holmes?!...ordinary..’ but by the time I finished the first two episodes, I found myself having this ‘Big-School-Girly’ crush on an eccentric but equally charming Sherlock! I was introduced to this brilliant stuff by my teacher/ex-boss/mentor who couldn’t stop talking about it every time I met him. So, here I am presenting to you my review of BBC's Sherlock. Well, to be very honest, it’s not a review, but a humble request to everyone who reads it, to download/purchase the DVDs/watch it online, and trust me, you won’t be able to thank me enough for it ;)

P.S: On Indian BBC entertainment, the second season of Sherlock just got aired (in July itself), so my review isn’t that late I suppose. J

From Sher-locked to Ben-addicted...

My Review:

A concoction of splendid cinematography, brilliant writing, breath-taking performances, incredible direction, and phenomenal background music- BBC’s Sherlock is undoubtedly, one of the best things to have happened to the television industry in the recent times.

A modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ departures from the Victorian era to land in the modern day London and makes use of the hip technology to solve the murder mysteries, along with of course, his very much perfected ‘science of deduction’. Instead of the canonical cigar pipe and the celebrated ‘deerstalker cap’, this 'high-functioning-sociopath' (as he likes to call himself) finds his mind functioning better with the aid of nicotine patches and devoid of any ‘head covering’. This in fact, goes a long way in enhancing his allure by giving his female colleagues a chance to fancy running their fingers through his dark & curly locks. Perfect evidence of this is in the form of the pathologist Molly Hooper – a character who springs up quite regularly in the show and someone who goes into a swoon for a second or two, every time her eyes meet the gorgeous blue peepers of Sherlock Holmes.

With the creative geniuses of Steven Moffat (who’s also the current producer of ‘Doctor Who’ - another famous BBC tele-serial) and Mark Gatiss behind ‘Sherlock’, the show is a pure delight for the thriller-lovers as well as the fans of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman - who have undeniably given outstanding performances to their roles as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson respectively.

Sherlock-john

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock is a maddeningly intelligent sleuth who’s given a murder mystery to solve when the police runs out of its depth, a phenomenon that occurs almost ‘always’, according to him. And not to mention, the more puzzling the mystery is, the more interested he becomes in unraveling it. Reading someone’s entire career through the kind of haircut one adorns and blurting out the exact details about a woman’s adulterous escapades by a mere glance at her jewelry, are a few examples of what it takes this Sherlock to become completely indispensable to the police that otherwise, loathes him tons for his blunt and arrogant nature. Oozing oodles of energy, Sherlock’s mind works like an ever-thinking machine, bereft of any emotion and feelings. Eccentric, dynamic, extremely sharp and enigmatic, he is a man who least bothers about social graces and won’t take a minute to insult you if your intellect doesn’t matches his. And there comes Doctor John Watson, a retired army man, his flat-mate and the only close pal that he has, who keeps making earnest attempts in order to humanize this machine every so often.

If Cumberbatch is incontrovertibly the best Sherlock Holmes ever, then Freeman’s Watson is the one who holds the show together. Without his flinches, cringes and cute smiles, the show is definitely incomplete. The duo’s ‘bromance’ is what is to be watched for, and trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Another important factor that makes ‘Sherlock’ a must-watch detective show is the brilliant casting of the characters of Jim Moriarty (Sherlock’s arch enemy) and Mycroft (the brother of Sherlock). Played by Andrew Scott and Mark Gatiss (who’s also the co-creator of Sherlock) respectively, these characters make sure that you’re always on the edge of your seats while watching the series.

All in all, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that BBC’s Sherlock is pure brilliance and trust me, this is the best thing that I’ve seen for a long time ‘on-screen’ be it Hollywood, bollywood or Indian or International television. Each 90-minute episode (of total six – 3 in the first season and 3 in the 2^nd one) is a treat to the eyes, and a ‘benedict’ion to the soul. A highcheek boned and blue-eyed ‘Benedict Cumberbatch’ has entered the skin of the world’s most popular fictional character, so beautifully, that it is now impossible to separate him from Sherlock. He has undoubtedly, given the best face to our modern-day Sherlock and even a million words of appreciation won’t be enough to describe the talent that this 36 year old Brit actor possesses. Hats off to this extremely kind, good-looking, humble and well-grounded (you gotta watch his interviews to know how great a human being he is) actor who’s got every female in the world, (who’s watched his ‘Sherlock’) going crazy for him!

Here’s what has been aired so far:

Season 1

1.A Study in Pink: As for its review, the more you say is less. Besides the serial-suicide mystery, this episode will be long etched in the minds of the audiences across the continents, because of various other reasons. The way all the characters are introduced, how Sherlock meets John, the streets of London, the unkempt rooms of 221B Baker Street, Mrs. Hudson who’s the proud land lady and not the ‘housekeeper’, the sorry state of inspector Lestrade, the speech of Anderson that ‘lowers the IQ of the entire street’, the crush of Molly and the cute & funny Mycroft- and so much more! I have watched this episode about 5 times by now.

2.The Blind Banker- This one was more like a movie than an episode…something similar to the movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s book- Angels & Demons, the only difference being that the latter was a pure disaster while the Sherlock’s ‘Blind Banker’ was edgy, pacy, and thrilling. It was quite an elaborated one and required the viewer to make note of many bits and pieces splattered across the entire episode and finally, put together all to get a sense of what actually was happening. Perhaps, this is the reason why many found it a far- too- stretched and intricate. I personally, enjoyed it a lot but had to watch it twice to understand it fully. J

3.The Great Game: This was full time ‘paisa wasool’ coz it encapsulated five different cases in just one episode. In spite of having so much to handle, the show doesn’t falter one bit. The viewers are kept on the edge of their seats throughout the show-thanks to the brilliant piece of writing, superb dialogues and the great Sher-John chemistry. The best about this episode was the much-awaited revelation of the dreaded Moriarty and the cliffhanger in the end, which left the viewers desperately waiting for the next season to air..!

Season 2

1.A Scandal in Belgravia: Watch it to see the deadliest enemy of Sherlock confronting him right in his face in the form of ‘love’ and how he uses his intelligence to escape from it. ‘Irene Adler’ played by Lara Pulver comes across as a perfect match to the great mind that Sherlock has, and impresses him to the extent of ‘almost’ beating him in his own game. A sensually-thrilling episode to say the least!

2.The Hounds of Baskerville: He escaped from one of his enemies in the previous episode but here’s another one ready to stun him again out of his senses. Sherlock experiences ‘fear’ in Baskerville and the man who had always kept himself distant from feeling, goes through a shocking experience in this one. This episode’s cinematography is heavenly and therefore, makes it another must-watch!

3.The Riechenbach Fall : I can go on and on and on and on and on…..to write about it. But I fear I might blurt out what’s not to be revealed. It makes a lot of sense for me to just shut up on this one and let all of you go through this experience all by yourself…..I think it’s the best and the most frustrating one of all.. Decide yourself.. J

The first season came out in May 2010 and the second was released on BBC One (in England) in January 2012. The third season is tentatively scheduled to air anytime during summers 2013.