Hey, I just caught the tail end of Masterpiece Mystery! with a new modern Sherlock Holmes. I guess that's the one Veronica traveled to England to see.

I just caught the end of that with my mother! She saw almost the whole thing, and she thought it was really good. I enjoyed what I saw also. We hadn't been expecting it or anything, so were we right in thinking that was the first episode?

I think the one with Pink in the title is the 2nd one?

I just finished watching it. It was great! My favorite adaptation of Holmes ever ( sorry Laurie King). There are a few quibbles about the way they handles the police aspect. Its always a gamble translating something into a modern setting. But the actor who played Sherlock brought out his quirky genius perfectly.

The gold standard for Holmes so far is Jeremy Brett in the earlier PBS/Granada version. If this comes anywhere close, I will be very happy! Unfortunately, we don't have PBS in HD on our cable service, and I just can't bring myself to watch Standard Definition for anything I really care about. So, I might need to travel to London like Veronica! :0)

Episode titles:


1. A Study in Pink
2. The Blind Banker
3. The Great Game

It's currently available online at PBS. And it seems that Jeremy Brett was a family friend of the current Holmes.

I liked the treatment given the new Holmes and Watson, and enjoyed the episode.

Jeremy Brett was great, but this guy gives a different take on the character. That can work, there's no problem with that.

Here's the 1st ep:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1619685888/

Enjoyed the show - had recently read the first Holmes novel as an adult and liked how they worked Dr Watson in this new TV series.

In the Novel Watson was an War Vet who had been wounded in an Afghanistan war. He took months to recover from his wound which he did by hanging out in London by himself, living off of government pay until he got to the point that he needed a roommate.

In the the TV series they gave Watson the exact same background. It was refreshing to see the modern take on it and to remember that Watson was a young soldier when Holmes and he first met - not the stuffy overweight middle age man he is so often portrayed as in TV and movies.

I love this show! At first I was weary of the fact that it was a modern take, but love that they kept it close to the original, as much as they could anyway. Afghanistan, Stanford, 221B Baker, etc...

But why oh why is it only 3 episodes? I was getting used to the fact that UK shows have 6 eps in a season, but this has 3? Strange. They are 1+ hours each, but still...

Good news, everyone! Dr. Watson has been cast as Bilbo in The Hobbit.

Better news! Peter Jackson thinks Sherlock is so awesome that he's going to work the film schedule so Martin Freeman can do season 2.

He was good in Love Actually. :)

I'll always think of him as Tim from the original Office. But you know, being Arthur Dent, Dr. Watson and Bilbo Baggins has to be the best geek filmography since Harrison Ford.

Don't forget the Ali G Indahouse movie and the cameo in Shaun of the Dead. I really hope I'm thinking of the same guy...

All three shows have aired in Canada now and i give them an 8 of 10. Loved the actors, the neat use of cgi text to show what they are reading, and the stories were well adapted to tv. I'm not a tv or film guy but I think what I didn't love was the editing. I think that sometimes the pacing was too fast, sometimes too slow, and it gave the shows an uneven feeling. But that is a quibble. Can't wait for the next three.

Sean wrote: "I'll always think of him as Tim from the original Office. But you know, being Arthur Dent, Dr. Watson and Bilbo Baggins has to be the best geek filmography since Harrison Ford."

and in real life he is a Motown fan and afficianado, another plus.

It's interesting to hear comments in the podcast about how short the season of Sherlock was. It was made by the BBC who have always produced short TV series. A typical series lasts 6 episodes here and has done for as long as I can remember.

The BBC took a gamble on Sherlock, not much of a gamble in my opinion given that the creative team all came from Doctor Who and Torchwood, but a gamble all the same. This type of program is very expensive to make and the BBC only have limited funds, paid for by the UK TV license. They are under extreme pressure at the moment to keep their production costs low so decided to produce a short run of Sherlock to test the waters. Thankfully the reaction to the series was overwhelmingly positive and they got the green light for 3 more episodes.

Wierd. There's this show on pbs called Fortysomething from 2003. It has the guy from House but with a british accent, still playing a doctor. And one of his sons is the new Sherlock actor.

Tamahome wrote: "It has the guy from House but with a british accent, "

That guy from House is British -- English actors find our barbarous colonial accents easy to immitate. Fans of BBC comedies know him as Prince George/Lt. George from the last two seasons of Blackadder, and Bertie from Jeeves & Wooster.

Sean wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "It has the guy from House but with a british accent, "

That guy from House is British -- English actors find our barbarous colonial accents easy to immitate. Fans of BBC comedie..."

Hugh Is a really week known character this side of the pond and originally came to prominence on Tv here as part of a comedy partnership with Steven Fry. their show, called ' A little bit of Fry and Lawrie' was very good . He appeared in every series of Black Adder as various characters and was brilliant in the last series, Black Adder Goes Forth, as George, a foppish army officer who shared a trench with Capt. Blackadder. The final episode of that series is, to my mind, the most moving final scene of a comedy series ever produced. For those American readers here, I beg you to look it up and prepare toe amused and moved at the same time.

Tamahome wrote: "Wierd. There's this show on pbs called Fortysomething from 2003. It has the guy from House but with a british accent, still playing a doctor. And one of his sons is the new Sherlock actor."

Like the others have said, Hugh Lawrie is English. He is no relation to Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Sherlock Holmes.

I know Hugh is English. I just thought it was interesting seeing him play a doctor in an English show (sans scraggly beard). Benedict plays his son in the show.

Sean wrote: "Hugh Is a really well known character this side of the pond and originally came to prominence [..] here [in the] show 'A Bit of Fry and Laurie'[..]. He appeared in every series of Black Adder as various characters.

All of " A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Black Adder" are available to stream on Netflix. "Jeeves and Wooster" is only available on DVD. Go watch my American cousins.

Finally got to see Sherlock. I'm a trucker, so usually have to wait until I get home and download shows, or get them on DVD to watch them. Really enjoyed them. Just 2 quibbles about the show, the Black Lotus general seemed like she was shaking in fear, nearly crying for most of the episode, not how I'd imagine a big, bad Tong leader to act. And then there was Moriarty, they played him great until the actor opened his mouth and spoke. Double-take, huh?

Snokat wrote: "And then there was Moriarty, they played him great until the actor opened his mouth and spoke. Double-take, huh? "

Aw, I loved Andrew Scott's Moriarty so much that I flew over to London to see him at the Old Vic.

Kate wrote: "Snokat wrote: "And then there was Moriarty, they played him great until the actor opened his mouth and spoke. Double-take, huh? "

Aw, I loved Andrew Scott's Moriarty so much that I flew over to Lo..."

I gotta say that I loved him too. Both Sherlock and Moriarty are spot on for me. Brilliant!

I actually find Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes to be far better, far more loyal to the source material, and far more modern than Cumberbatch.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/

The current show's refusal to deal with Holmes' drug addiction is revisionist, politically correct BS.

Lepton wrote: "I actually find Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes to be far better, far more loyal to the source material, and far more modern than Cumberbatch.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/

The ..."
Interesting point Lepton. I think however that moving the character to modern times makes it right that not everything that Holmes did in the 19th century would be done by a 21st century Holmes.
The 19th century Holmes experimented with drugs because he was a curious and fearless investigator. the evils of drug addiction was not nearly so well understood in those days and I am in no doubt that the old Holmes was seeking new experiences and possibilities for enhancement of his faculties.
A Holmes today however would have grown up knowing only too well the benefits and drawbacks of opiate and cocaine use. I think it a first rate decision for the programme makers to take this into account without losing sight of Holmes essential character.

Lepton wrote: The current show's refusal to deal with Holmes' drug addiction is revisionist, politically correct BS.

What? In a Study in Pink when the police turn Sherlocks flat upside down a drugs bust it's made pretty clear that he's a former user, though he claims to be clean at the time. Isn't that enough for you?

To the point of what Holmes' essential character is, I think the new show misses the mark entirely.

Doyle's Holmes is a man burdened by his gifts and his insights into human nature. Holmes is what some might call a highly functional person with near sociopathic tendencies. Holmes lacks compassion or empathy. His use of opiates was meant to assuage the burden of his all-encompassing intellect and curioisty. I take it more as a self-medicating individual with bipolar disorder and a touch of the savant.

Doyle's Holmes is neither a romantic character nor one for which, I think, we are meant to muster much compassion, whereas this new Holmes is merely a kind of neurotic, obsessive nerd. Far more relatable and likeable than Doyle's Holmes.

Cumberbatch's Holmes is a geek sex-figure like a latter day Spock whose secret pain every women wished to soothe, whereas Doyle's Holmes is the epitome of the asexual detective.

Essential character indeed.

Kate wrote: "Lepton wrote: The current show's refusal to deal with Holmes' drug addiction is revisionist, politically correct BS.

What? In a Study in Pink when the police turn Sherlocks flat upside down a drugs bust it's made pretty clear that he's a former user, though he claims to be clean at the time. Isn't that enough for you?"

I don't have the episode on hand but I do recall at some point Holmes stating something to the effect that he wouldn't be so stupid as to take drugs. This irked me at the time and it is what I do remember, perhaps in error.

Two points though:

1. Holmes' drug habitat is not first witnessed or discussed until The Sign of Four, not A Study in Scarlet, so the episode to my mind is not faithful to the source material in that sense as well as the dismal of existence of the drug problem.

2. Doyle makes it a point that Watson recount how he weens Holmes off of cocaine in "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarte” and that it was a continuing addiction for Holmes.

My recall of the episodes is that the notion of Holmes being an addict is passed off as a joke and as a kind of a wink and a nod to the audience that this is not going to be the Holmes that you know.

Lepton wrote:

I don't have the episode on hand but I do recall at some point Holmes stating something to the effect that he wouldn't be so stupid as to take drugs. This irked me at the time and it is what I do remember, perhaps in error.

That's more or less the opposite of what happened. John implies that he thinks Sherlock is too cerebral to be a druggie and Sherlock is slightly annoyed at the assumption

John: Seriously this guy a junkie? Have you met him
Sherlock (trying to shut him up): John
John: I'm pretty sure you could search this flat all day and you wouldn't find anything you could call recreational.
Sherlock : John you really want to shut up now.
John: Yeah but come on. [Pause, looks at Sherlock, eyes widen] noo
Sherlock: What?
John: You?
Sherlock: Shut up

Where the series diverges from the books isn't really of interest to me.

Lepton wrote: "Kate wrote: "Lepton wrote: The current show's refusal to deal with Holmes' drug addiction is revisionist, politically correct BS.

What? In a Study in Pink when the police turn Sherlocks flat upsi..."

and as I've said, a modern day Holmes must have a different attitude to hard drugs than a Victorian one. It is utter nonsense to expect otherwise.

Yeah, I rewatched the episode and it is indeed addressed there. I was wrong. I'll be interested to see how the show in later episodes addresses the issue since in the canon it continues to be an substantive aspect of the character.

Just so you know Sherlock is back with Season 2:

1.A Scandal in Belgravia 1 January 2012
2.The Hounds of Baskerville 8 January 2012
3.The Reichenbach Fall 15 January 2012

I seen the first episode, and I must say the wait was worth it ;)

I watched it last night, too. I have to say I was completely blown away. I love how they are referencing the original stories (in jokey ways, such as the titles that Watson is giving to his blog entries, as well a the episode titles) and more subtle ways, and I think they are keeping very true to the spirit of Conan Doyle while riffing on the stories and updating them. I know some people will be annoyed at how Irene Adler's character is portrayed - but to be fair, all the portrayals of the relationship between her and Holmes (and, indeed, Moriaty and Holmes) are based on a tiny appearance in the original works so are concerned more with the emotional impact in the stories rather than the volume of their appearances. I personally thought it worked rather wonderfully.

And I have to say, I though it to be one of the best written pieces of TV I have ever seen.

UK or US?

Tamahome wrote: "UK or US?"

It premiered yesterday in the UK

Sorry, raising your hopes. I'm sure you'll get it soon.

I believe there is a special streaming service that has it. (Just kidding.)

It'll come out in April, I believe, on PBS here in the US. Of course... There are ways... For those of us who know... *Cough*

Personally, I loved last night's episode. Sometimes with long-form TV shows I think, "When is the episode over?" others get it just right but with Sherlock I keep wondering, "how much time is left? That much? Nice!" I almost wish they were full-length movies instead of this almost-movie-TV-show-homunculi-thing.

The worst part is that this one, as stated, is only three episodes and we'll have to wait until the end of the year (if not then than it will be in early 2013) to see the next set.

Doug wrote: "It'll come out in April, I believe, on PBS here in the US. Of course... There are ways... For those of us who know... *Cough*

Personally, I loved last night's episode. Sometimes with long-form TV ..."

Sorry to disappoint, but it took a 1 1/2 years for this series to pop up. I guess between writing Doctor Who and his recent movie work with Tintin is keeping Stephen Moffat pretty busy.

Saw the episode a few hours ago and absolutely loved it. Sure the portrayal of Adler was pretty different, but there wasn't a great deal to go on with from the original story. They managed to keep the important bits and captured their relationship pretty well I thought. Looking forward to the other episodes with more than a little enthusiasm.

I know they had to delay it at one point as it was supposed to air in Oct/Nov of 2011 or some such. I'm hoping that they get back to the originally intended schedule, which is late-Fall releases. Then, it's hard to tell with the BBC. In the US we're pretty dogmatic about when things will air but the BBC doesn't' seem to be as concerned.

It's been so long since I read the books that I'd forgotten about her character entirely. I'm glad they're starting to work in more of the fact that Holmes was actually something of a martial arts expert in the books. The movies made full use of that talent but I don't remember it being as prominent in the show.

I'm guessing that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch filming the Hobbit will be a large consideration to the schedule for series three

Paul 'Pezter' wrote: "I'm guessing that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch filming the Hobbit will be a large consideration to the schedule for series three"

Part of me thinks, "Damn, you're right." Then I remember that it involves The Hobbit. So, yeah.

Dunno how big Cumberbatch's role will be. I mean, his character barely gets more than a mention.

Doug wrote: "hey guys, good luck to us all."

In the first film... then we get full on dragon action!

and, as you say, it's the GODDAMN HOBBIT!

I loved every second of the latest episode. I'm sure my flat mate was annoyed by my periodic squeaks of delight.

What a take on Irene Adler!

I think "Sherlock" is the greatest Holmes television adaptation ever. I hope it runs for years and gets easier to find on American t.v.

According to the PBS Masterpiece Mystery website it should air 1/15' 1/21' and 1/28 2012 so we don't have to long to wait!