Wednesday, April 27, 2016

(TV SERIES) Sherlock - Modern Day Adaptation of the Famous Detective

At first, I thought that this is a series set in the 19th century just like in the books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But apparently it was told in the modern day. So instead of seeing Sherlock Holmes using a large magnifying glass, we will see him using his smartphone. Instead of writing books, he writes blogs. and all other modern culture references in the current day London.

Anyway, this series only consisted of 3 episodes in each season. The first season started in year 2010 and each episode has a length of approx 1.5 hours. What I am about to write next would be related to the first season.

Episode 1 titled "A Study In Pink" would introduce us to Dr. John Watson (played by Martin Freeman - as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy), an ex military person who just came back from war. He was advised by his therapist to do normal people's stuff and write about his experience in his blog. While walking by himself, he met an old friend who informed him of his friend looking for a room mate to share the rent. Watson was interested and introduced to this person who happened to be Sherlock Holmes (played by Benedict Cumberbatch - Star Trek Into Darkness, Imitation Games etc).
Needless to say, Sherlock who was able to deduce many things about Watson and made him intrigued and interested. So they both went to the apartment located at 221B Baker Street (for those who has ever read Sherlock Holmes stories would know that this is the address of his home). The landlady was Mrs. Hudson, who Sherlock & Watson sometimes asked her help as if she was their housekeeper.

The first case was about a series of suicides which at first seemed unrelated but Sherlock was able to deduce that they were not suicides and they were done so smartly by a serial killer. Using his power mind, Sherlock was always able to find out things that the normal eyes, coroner or even the lead detective, Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade could not see. These very very quick deduction made by Sherlock would always amazed Watson. He thought it was very fantastic for Sherlock to do those deductions, including in the very early stage where Sherlock gave the explanation of how he was able to find out so many things about Watson so fast. So this episode would be more of introduction to the characters.

Episode 2 titled "The Blind Banker" would tell the story where Sherlock was asked by his old college friend to investigate on the break-in of the bank where he worked at, leaving paint symbols on the wall which at first seemed random. The investigation would reveal something a lot bigger than just the break-in and involved lots of other people.
In this episode, instead of Detective Lestrade, another detective inspector named Dimmock would be the representative from police, whom at first was very skeptical of Sherlock.
We would also see Watson started to be a little irritated with Sherlock's way of doing things by himself including also his remarks about Watson (and everyone else) never use their brain. But ultimately Watson was still very protective of Sherlock and amazed with his deductions ability. 

Last episode of the 1st season, titled "The Great Game" was I think the best of them all. This was a very very fast paced episode. Sherlock was given the task of finding out the fault or crime done by other people with certain hours to complete before a person who was strapped with bombs would be blown up. In total there were 4 cases that Sherlock must solved. Meanwhile, Watson also would help on another smaller case provided by Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes who worked for the government about the missing flash disc contains a secret weapon information. 
This episode would totally blow your mind and strapped you to your seat. With such fast pace, you do not want to miss a scene. And the ending was just crazy and made you want to watch the second season immediately as it ended with cliffhanger. There was also a new character introduced here that would be crucial to future seasons played by Andrew Scott.

In conclusion, the first season of Sherlock was totally great! I really truly enjoyed this TV Series. The portrayal of Sherlock in modern day is such a nice touch that it would made the new generations love this series, while the older generation who have read the books, I am sure would be appreciative of how Sherlock would be in the current situation. Watson portrayal also is very nice, and I can imagine the real Watson would be like this. He was always serious, very English, and charming to the ladies. I believe Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman did a fantastic job in this series. 
Other characters also were very lively and add to the charm of the series, such as Mycroft Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, even Lestrade.

So I am going to give the first season of this series something that I never done before, which is to give it a 5 stars!
This is a very very recommended TV Series. I am just hopeful that the 2nd and later seasons would be as incredible as this one.

Oooh before I forgot. They somehow produced the pilot episode in a shorter version (less than 1 hour), which I happened to watch first and confused why the episode was similar to the 1 that saw next. Apparently that version never aired and I suggest to avoid confusion, better stick to the ones shown (the 1.5 hour long) and only watch this one if you are interested. That one since it was shorter, did not introduce to the important character we would see in the future episodes.

Mike's movie moments rating: 5 out 5 stars

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