Sherlock

I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, so made sure to watch last night's premier of BBC's new Sherlock. For those who aren't aware, the series sets the Arthur Conan Doyle characters in modern London. I liked it, and I reckon 8 out of 10 would be a fair score.

Spoiler Warning. Don't read past here if you haven't seen it yet and were planning to do so.

The episode 'A Study In Pink' started off by following Sherlock's opening story 'A Study In Scarlet' very closely. Watson is an army doctor recuperating in London due to problems with his nerves (or post-traumatic stress disorder as they call it nowadays). When he first meets Holmes, Sherlock is battering corpses in a morgue trying to determine if you can bruise a body after death. I think in the novel Watson only hears about this second hand, but I was pleased to see it in the programme. They agree to share a flat, and soon come across a body with 'Rache' written next to it. After this 'Pink' diverges from 'Scarlet', which I admit did disappoint me a little but was probably the best option for the writers to take. While I'd enjoy seeing how the writers manage to crowbar the story into modern times, most viewers won't have read the original fiction and will just want the best story possible, which is fair enough.

Benedict Cumberbatch (great name) is Holmes and Martin Freeman plays John Watson. They both play the roles well, and although I loved Nigel Bruce in those old Holmes films with Basil Rathbone, I'm glad Watson is played as a much more capable adventurer in his own right. I remember that Watson was always packing his revolver in the books, and was never shy of letting off a shot at the villains. Still the bit where Watson shot the murderer was a bit of a surprise, and then Holmes tortures the dying man to get him to talk, Blimey! I don't think Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes would have done that, but it actually fits the character if you accept that he's a sociopath. I'm quite comfortable for the writers to take sensible liberties with the characters if it adds to the story.

I was also glad to see Mycroft appear. I always thought he was underused in the stories. I'd rather it wasn't Mark Gatiss who played him though. Not sure why, he's never done anything to me, but I just don't like him in straight roles.

As Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss created and wrote the series, I'm sure there'll be lots of comparisons between Sherlock and Doctor Who. The main characters are both brilliant men, fighting evil who don't really fit in with human society. The good Doctor has always had a streak of Holmes in him anyway, for example the Master was specifically created to be the Doctor's Moriarty way back in Jon Pertwee's time.

I did have couple of issues with the episode. Why didn't Holmes just take the pill he chose down to the lab at the end to see if he'd guessed right, rather than chuck it at the murderer in a sulk when he wouldn't tell him. I was also disappointed with the revealed solution, seemed a bit simple really. Still, like I said, 8/10, and I'll be watching next week.