I really enjoyed this show, though I wasn't a fan of series four, which probably accounts for my not watching the rest of it in so long. I remember when I first heard that there was going to be a modern adaptation of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories: I rolled my eyes. I assumed that it was going to be terrible... much like the show Elementary was/is. In case you were wondering, I'll never be reviewing that show. Having seen and liked Sherlock, I decided to give Elementary (which was made to capitalise on Sherlock's popularity) a chance. I lasted a few episodes... by that time, not only was Watson a woman, but Holmes was a self-tattooing mess who consorted with a steady stream of prostitutes, and- oh yeah, Mrs. Hudson was transgender. I guess the show also dealt with some mysteries, but all I can remember is the characters' angst-y dysfunction. No thanks.
We had been planning on getting back to a regularly scheduled movie night after a hectic holiday season, starting last night. Unfortunately for these plans, there was an afternoon/evening snow storm which then turned into freezing rain, and this precluded our get together. I got home around suppertime and the roads were a mess, so I put on some soup, made a pot of coffee, and gave some thought as to what to watch on my unexpected free night. There was no way that I was going to subject myself to the woke-fest otherwise known as the Golden Globe awards, though I hear Ricky Gervais' monologue was worth tuning in for. I"ll watch a video later on of his clips, with all of the actors' smarmy virtue signalling cut out. I couldn't think of anything streaming that I wanted to watch or, like the new series of The Crown, I'm waiting to watch with a couple of my sisters. I then perused my DVD collection and my eyes lit upon my set of Sherlock series 1-4. I haven't seen the first series in probably four years or so, so I decided to pull it out and watch the first episode A Study In Pink. I really enjoyed this show, though I wasn't a fan of series four, which probably accounts for my not watching the rest of it in so long. I remember when I first heard that there was going to be a modern adaptation of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories: I rolled my eyes. I assumed that it was going to be terrible... much like the show Elementary was/is. In case you were wondering, I'll never be reviewing that show. Having seen and liked Sherlock, I decided to give Elementary (which was made to capitalise on Sherlock's popularity) a chance. I lasted a few episodes... by that time, not only was Watson a woman, but Holmes was a self-tattooing mess who consorted with a steady stream of prostitutes, and- oh yeah, Mrs. Hudson was transgender. I guess the show also dealt with some mysteries, but all I can remember is the characters' angst-y dysfunction. No thanks. Circling back around to my original point, I had no great expectations of Sherlock and didn't watch it when it first aired. After seeing a few clips of the first episode on YouTube, however, my interest was piqued and I watched the first series- and loved it. As a whole, the show has its highs and lows- as previously mentioned, I don't much like season four at all- but it gets a lot right. The writing is clever, the update to modern times works surprisingly well, and the chemistry between the two leads is great. The show's creators, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, successfully made a show which is rich in moments from the original stories, delighting lovers of the literary Holmes, yet is able to be viewed and enjoyed by people who have no knowledge of Conan Doyle's works. It's a very fine line, but it is skillfully tread in these episodes. The first episode A Study In Pink is, of course, a very loose adaptation of A Study In Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes novel, and it is a great introduction both to the characters and the world they inhabit in Sherlock. I won't say anything further about the plot here, as I would like to review the show as a whole when time permits me to do so. Suffice to say, it's worth viewing and, even better, searching out the source material.
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