The Sherlock Sensation


Sherlock Holmes. You see, but you do not observe.
Sherlock Holmes. The pioneer of the science of deduction, the mysterious detective genius with a brain that could explode like a cannon, the man with inane powers of cane fencing, wrestling and baritsu, the aloof; friendless human being who finds a chum and colleague in Dr. Watson, the man with an equally worthy arch-enemy. When he created the character of Sherlock Holmes in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle unleashed a tale of fiery awesomeness that has us captivated even today. With every story accompanied by a gripping plot and intense character development, he wove magic with words. For a book (series) that was written in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, it is still as un-put-down-able as a Michael Crichton, Stephen King, John LeCarre, or an Alistair MacLean. And when it seemed that this was just about how good it gets to be, it was Steven Moffat who created a BBC TV series by the name Sherlock, that has set a new benchmark for riveting television.

 Dr. John Watson. Expert blogger.
Steven Moffat, instead of just re-creating the character of Sherlock Holmes as painted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has attempted to picture how Sherlock Holmes would live and operate in today’s world. And this blend of an old character grappling with the tools of today has proven to be fascinating. So the new Sherlock instead of smoking cigars, wears three nicotine patches. Instead of sending letters, he unlocks his iPhone and sends a text. When he needs to scout for some location, he pulls up his notebook and looks at a Google Map. When a case involves leg-work, he sends his “best man” Dr. Watson, and takes a gander at the crime scene from John’s laptop on Wi-Fi. Dr. Watson, who has a penchant for documenting their cases writes a blog, which Sherlock hates.



Irene Adler. The woman.
All of these aids do not lessen the impact of the science of deduction in any way however, and he only uses them as extensions to his ability of astute, logical reasoning. The reason that this series blows you away is the cast. Sherlock Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who was previously seen in the movie Atonement. Benedict Cumberbatch is so magnificent as Sherlock Holmes that he makes Robert Downey Jr. look like a puppy with brains. The diction that he lends to the role is incredible and is comparable to Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Martin Freeman plays Dr. John Watson and movie maddies will remember him from the movie Love Actually.






Jim Moriarty. Daddy's had enough now.
The best surprise of this series is the character of Jim Moriarty. The consulting criminal, as he calls himself is perhaps one of the most refreshing villains of all time. Andrew Scott is incredible as Jim Moriarty. Lara Pulver has done an amazing Irene Adler and Mark Gatiss plays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder brother. With two seasons having aired and 3 episodes per season, Sherlock already has a rating of 9.1 on IMDB. Friends has a rating of 8.9. The popularity of the show has a lot to do with the elegance with which the series has been shot, and the amazing script with which the fine cast have done justice to their roles.


Every episode of Sherlock is like riding the top of a wave. And the wave never dies down..

Comments

  1. Sumeet SaurabhJune 24, 2012 at 12:28 PM

    :) You know I was just watching s02E03 and then I saw your post! Andrew Scott deserves an Emmy.
    Btw, do download Danny Boyle's Frankenstein (which stars Cumberbatch)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abhishek KulkarniJune 24, 2012 at 6:59 PM

    Sumeet - there are no coincidences. i was meant to write, and you were meant to watch. :P yeah, he so does! btw, he can play fine villains in movies as well.
    yeah, while you were a lucky pig to have watched it live in Mumbai, we lesser Punekars have to turn to our holy grail, the still-thankfully-working torrents.. :|

    ReplyDelete

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