BBC's Sherlock(is this supposed to be added to the Drama thread instead of a new thread? I thought because Holmes is the insipiration for House, it might be deserving of its own thread but of course, whatever the mods think is best.)
So, have any of you seen the new
Sherlock series from BBC? The pilot aired on PBC last week. Brits probably saw it ages ago. It was created by Steven Moffat of
Doctor Who fame and Mark Gatiss, also from
Doctor Who, among other accomplishments (Gatiss is also the author of a trilogy featuring bisexual 19th century detective Lucifer Box).
The big change with this series is that Holmes and Watson are in modern London. I wasn't crazy about this idea at first. The gaslight, the hansom cabs, the telegrams, the frock coats and walking sticks all seem to be an indispensible part of the Holmes mythology. But I was pleasantly surprised; the pilot was awesome!
Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, whom I recognize from the British miniseries
Fortysomething (he played Hugh Laurie's son). Cumberbatch was a candidate to replace David Tennant as Doctor Who, and I think he would have been amazing, but he declined the role. Watson is played by Martin Freeman who was on the British comedy
The Office. Freeman was just cast as Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming
Hobbit movies. I've always found Freeman to be incredibly sexy and I am glad to see a smart, good-looking man cast as Watson after so many depictions of a fat, bumbling incompetent. Conan Doyle did intend him to be the more handsome of the duo but somehow that idea was lost over the many different screen adaptations.
It is rather amazing that 20th-century Watson can still be accurately portrayed as a shell-shocked veteran of Afghanistan, just as he was written more than a hundred years ago. I think the writers have done a great job with depicting the PTSD; not enough was known about this in the 19th century for Conan Doyle to really explore the idea.
I also love that Watson is portrayed as having nerves of steel and thriving on danger and excitement and adventure. That is indeed how he was written. If he craved the quiet life, he could have stuck with his medical practice, but the fact that he was willing to drop it and run off with Holmes at a moment's notice illustrates where his true loyalty lies.
Holmes is portrayed as arrogant, asocial, and not entirely likeable, and not really good-looking in a conventional way, which is refreshing. Conan Doyle's original description of him makes him sound somewhat unattractive, but Benedict Cumberbatch doesn't have a beaky hooked nose, prominent chin, and thin lips. He's just unusual-looking, but I still find him sexy (mostly because he is playing Sherlock Holmes!)
Mycroft Holmes and Lestrade make their appearances; Moriarity is alluded to and Billy is briefly referenced but of course street urchins aren't as common nowadays as they were in the 19th century. A running joke is that Holmes and Watson are mistaken for a couple, largely due to Holmes' asexuality being interpreted as homosexuality. I thought this was cute but it is possible some might be offended by the jokiness of it all. It is never alluded to in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge sort of way (a la
Three's Company) but rather as an understandable misinterpretation that is not intended as an insult. Cumberbatch and Moffat have stated that
they are not gay and it's just a bromance.
There are some clever additions to the series that appeal directly to Holmesians: text messaging replaces telegrams; the discrepancy between Watson's leg/shoulder injuries is mentioned, nicotine patches replace the pipe and cigarettes, cell phones replace pocket watches as a source of intimate information about their owners. Holmes jabs his correspondence through a jack knife into the fireplace mantel, in an attempt to tidy up for Watson. Even the tiny, obscure bit of trivia about "Mrs. Turner," incorrectly referred to as Holmes landlady in "A Scandal in Bohemia," is mentioned as Mrs. Hudson's next-door-neighbor. That shows real insight into the Canon and Conan Doyle's slip-ups, and nice little details strictly for the benefit of die-hard Conan Doyle fans. I am hoping the bartitsu, boxing, stick-fighting, or some other martial skills will be demonstrated in future episodes.
Anyone else have thoughts about it? Perhaps cloak your spoilers if you are across the pond and have seen all the episodes already, unless the mods decide this thread should be UK-paced.
