“Sherlock” is Holmes brought into contemporary times by Stephen Moffat, the fellow who co-wrote Spielberg’s new Tintin movie and currently serves as showrunner of “Doctor Who.”
The British get to see it before Ameican PBS viewers, who will presumably see the second season later this year. Here’s a review of Sunday’s season premiere by “BookManFilm”:
Sherlock – A Scandal in BelgraviaIt happens to the best of fellows, sooner or later, a woman comes along and everything changes.
We have waited a long, long time for this second season of the re-imagined Sherlock. Worth the wait? Totally!
After a quick recap of the last season we are off and running with not one, but, by my count, seven mysteries. Sherlock dismisses them all – ‘boring!’ Until along comes Irene Adler, beauty, mystery, dominatrix.
Over the course of 90mins we are treated to a series of verbal and visual duels between Irene and Sherlock who are clearly attracted to each other yet trapped in their own minds by their towering intelligence(s).
To recap the plot would take pages and pages, keeping track of it as a viewer was demanding and exhilarating- both notably absent in most tv programmes these days. Twist upon twist, trick inside trick and riddle met and matched with mystery and misdirection.
The joy of this series is watching Sherlock communicating with people who are ‘beneath’ him but so important to him. This is raised by the addition of Ms. Adler who comes and goes throughout the episode; each appearance revealing information and adding another layer of confusion and maddening detail.
Watching Sherlock and Adler battle and bat their eyelashes at each other has been the highlight of a very, very sparse television offer over the holiday season in the UK.
Like the best of dramas and relationships, not everything is tied up neatly in a bow – the last two minutes is a delight and the best use of a phones ringtone since one appeared on Jurassic Park 3.
My favourite character from television is Susanne Modeski from X-files. She appeared twice but I remember every second of each appearance. Adler is the same, maybe a one off, but never forgotten. Brilliant.
BookManFilm
