Sherlock - Series 1 Review
Sherlock Holmes, world famous detective, has been seen in all different forms throughout the history and television and film. I'm sure the version people are most familiar with are either Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of the character or this one: Benedict Cumberbatch's. Ever since this show first aired I have been hearing rave reviews and people telling me who are fans of the series and characters to check it out. Well it took me awhile to get around to it everyone, but today we look at Series 1 of Sherlock Holmes. Now we must go, the game is afoot!
One thing that sets Sherlock apart from other television seasons is that there's only three episodes a season! Every episode feels like a short movie, and connect together very well. While one collective story is not told throughout the entirety of these three episodes, the first and third episodes do seem to be a part one and two of an arc, while two takes its on separate investigation that somewhat links. I liked this format, as a character like Sherlock doesn't focus on just one case at a time and he is the perfect character for a crime drama type show. Allowing him to focus on different mysteries gives the audience a wider view of Sherlock's talents.
Speaking of Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant in this role. Exactly as you'd imagine someone so cocky about their mind to be, Sherlock is a recluse who really doesn't have any friends and drowns himself in his work. The thing is though, Sherlock doesn't mind it and Cumberbatch plays that so well. Whether it be his rambling to find a probable cause or his quick analysis of a person to understand who they are, the character just feels right and that is all because of Cumberbatch. The only other main character this show has is Dr. John Watson, played by Martin Freeman, and he is equally as excellent. Honestly, the portrayals in this show she even be in question as these are two extremely high class actors. The whole reason this show has such short seasons is because these are very busy men and they come back to do the show when they choose to.
The filming of Sherlock is also extremely well done. The way the scenes show his mind at work, or the quick cuts to show how he's processing a crime scene, its just perfect for this character and these stories. Along with this the story itself is fantastic. We all know Sherlock's biggest villain is the mastermind Moriarty and while he doesn't play a huge part in this first series, he is represented well. The mystery behind who he is is also a major cog in the season and kept me on the edge of my seat. Along with this, seeing Watson and Sherlock hit it off from the get-go was great, as I didn't want to spend an hour of the 4 and a half hours of the season watching these two argue with one another and debate right from wrong. This allowed the story to my right along, and helped my enjoyment quite a bit.
Sherlock is a fantastic show. I've never truly been into crime dramas, but knowing Sherlock I felt this would exactly fit my tastes in a genre that I don't necessarily seek out. With a duo of very talented actors at its head I couldn't help but fall in love and get invested in these characters and this story. No part of this show was bad by any sense of the word and I can't find any flaw that makes me feel this show deserves anything less than an outstanding rating. Check out Sherlock Series 1 whenever you can!
