 Tagline: A new sleuth for the 21st Century Disc 1: A Study in Pink (88 minutes [1:28]) Disc 1: The Blind Banker (88 minutes [1:28]) Disc 2: The Great Game (89 minutes [1:29]) A contemporary take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories, Sherlock is a thrilling, funny, fast-paced adventure series set in present-day London. Co-created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Coupling) and Mark Gatiss, Sherlock stars BAFTA-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking, Amazing Grace) as the new Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman (The Office, Love Actually), as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves plays Inspector Lestrade. The iconic details from Conan Doyle's original books remain - they live at the same address, have the same names and, somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting for them. And so across three thrilling, scary, action-packed and highly modern-day adventures, Sherlock and John navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers to get at the truth. Storyline: In this modernized version of the Conan Doyle characters, using his detective plots, Sherlock Holmes lives in early 21st century London and acts more cocky towards Scotland Yard's detective inspector Lestrade because he's actually less confident. Doctor Watson is now a fairly young veteran of the Afghan war, less adoring and more active. Written by KGF Vissers 1.00 Unaired Pilot - Invalided home from the war in Afghanistan, Dr. John Watson becomes roommates with the world's only "consulting detective," Sherlock Holmes. Within a day their friendship is forged and several murders are solved. 1.01 A Study in Pink - Wounded in Afghanistan while in the Army, Dr. John Watson returns to contemporary London and though a mutual acquaintance becomes the flatmate at Mrs. Hudson's house at 221B Baker Street with brilliant if eccentric private investigator Sherlock Holmes. There have been three identical apparent suicides, and Inspector Lestrade asks for Sherlock's intervention over the fourth, the suspicious death of Jennifer Wilson. As she lay dying she wrote 'Rachel' in the dust and Sherlock deduces that this was not only the name of her stillborn daughter of many years earlier but the password to her mobile phone. Jennifer sent a text to her killer to give a clue as to their identity. This leads Sherlock to a meeting in a deserted college with a terminally ill serial killer, slaying people for kicks, to show superiority over the rest of society and determined to make Sherlock the next victim. --- The police investigate the deaths of a series of people who all appear to have committed suicide by taking a poisonous pill. They turn to their unofficial consultant, Sherlock Holmes, who deduces various elements pointing to a serial killer. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes is introduced to John Watson, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, and the pair immediately move into a flat in Baker Street. John Watson slowly gets to know and trust Holmes despite police officer Sally Donovan warning him that Holmes is a psychopath and will one day be responsible for murder. Sherlock's brother Mycroft, at first not revealing his identity, kidnaps Watson and asks whether he'll spy on Sherlock for money, but Watson refuses. After a series of incidents, the person responsible for the deaths, a taxicab driver, reveals that his victims took their own lives by playing a game of Russian roulette with two pills: one fatally poisonous, the other safe. Watson shoots the cabbie, who reveals as he dies that Moriarty was his sponsor. (Loosely based on the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.) 1.02 The Blind Banker - Banker Eddie Van Coon and reporter Brian Lukis are both shot dead in identical slayings, in rooms locked from the inside. Chinese museum employee Soo Lin tells Sherlock Holmes that, as a teenaged orphan in China, she ran drugs for the Black Lotus crime syndicate, for whom the two dead men also worked. She too is then murdered, the killer being a human fly who can scale buildings. The gang mistake Watson for Holmes and capture him and his new girl-friend, requiring Holmes to come to the rescue. --- Holmes is hired by an old friend to investigate a mysterious break-in at a bank in the City. He discovers that symbols spray-painted onto an office wall are a coded message intended for an employee of the bank, who is later discovered dead in his flat. The next day, a journalist is killed and the same symbols are found nearby. Holmes and Watson follow a trail of clues that link the two dead men to a Chinese smuggling ring, who are trying to retrieve a valuable item that one of them stole. Holmes eventually cracks the coded message based on Suzhou numerals and a book cipher, but not before Watson and a female friend are kidnapped by the criminals. Holmes rescues Watson's friend but the leader of the gang escapes. After escaping, the leader of the gang is in communication with her superior, who is identified by the initial "M". She is then shot by a sniper. (Loosely based on the short story The Adventure of the Dancing Men.) 1.03 The Great Game - Mycroft wants his brother Sherlock to investigate the murder of civil servant Alan West and theft of the Bruce-Partington missile plans. Sherlock, however, prefers to assist Lestrade following a massive bomb blast. The sadistic bomber abducts a string of hostages, who will be released after Sherlock has solved a series of puzzles, including a twenty year old murder, an insurance scam and the alleged forgery of a long lost painting. --- Holmes is commissioned by Mycroft to investigate the suspicious death of a government employee, who was working on a top-secret defence project: the Bruce-Partington Project. After apparently rejecting the case and handing it over to Watson, Holmes begins to be taunted by a criminal who puts his victims into explosive vests and sets Holmes deadlines to solve the apparently unrelated cases, which include a twenty-year-old cold case involving the shoes of a drowned boy, the disappearance of a businessman, the death of a TV personality, and the assassination of a guard of an art gallery by the "Golem". As Holmes solves the cases, he finds links between them. After clearing up the original case of the civil servant, Holmes tries to force his unseen adversary to reveal himself. Near the end of the episode, Holmes and "Jim Moriarty" reach a standoff, where Jim reveals that he is responsible for the crimes. In the final seconds, Sherlock Holmes points his gun at a bomb on the floor that was strapped to Watson. (The episode's storyline is essentially original, but elements of the plot are drawn widely from the works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.) Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on November 16, 2010 -- Brilliant! Yes! Four serial suicides, and now a note. It's Christmas! --- Count me among the popcorn-stuffed masses who actually enjoyed Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes earlier this year. The plot itself was fairly inconsequential, sure. The end result was an exercise in style over substance, no doubt. But it was just so much... fun. Still, after watching Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's sharp, savvy BBC modernization of the Holmes mythos, I can see why Ritchie's critics were in such a huff. Series stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman give Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law a run for their money, Gatiss and Moffat's reimagining is far more cohesive and absorbing, the characters are more fully realized, and the captivating mysteries at the heart of Season One's three 90-minute episodes outclass their Big Screen competition in every way. Frankly, it's enough to make a writer consider updating an old review... Sherlock doesn't waste much time introducing Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch), now a self-proclaimed 21st century Consulting Detective whose deductive prowess and arrogant antics don't sit well with the local police, to Dr. John Watson (Freeman), a matter-of-fact military physician who returned from Afghanistan with a bullet wound and a psychosomatic limp. The legendary duo's first case, "A Study in Pink," comes when Detective Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) has difficulty closing a rash of strikingly similar suicides. Murder, you say? Indeed. In the course of a single episode (which actually amounts to a feature-length film), Gatiss, Moffat and director Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push) deliver convincing origins for Holmes and Watson, effectively develop the pair's partnership, and serve up a taut murder mystery, a creepy serial killer (who's apparently watched The Princess Bride a few too many times), a shadowy puppet master (three guesses who), a strong cast of supporting players and a cerebral adventure worthy of Arthur Conan Doyle's titular heavyweight. But the truly incredible thing about the series' debut is that every aforementioned aspect of the episode hangs in such a near-perfect balance. The showrunners' introduction of modern elements into the framework of Doyle's 19th century novels is unobtrusive and organic, their Holmes and Watson are inspired incarnations of the classic characters, and the performances are exceptional. Unfortunately, Sherlock's second case stalls; a somewhat distracting issue considering Season One is comprised of three episodes. In their second outing, Holmes and Watson struggle to solve the murders of two seemingly unrelated victims, decipher the meaning of several strange symbols and determine how the disappearance of a young museum worker factors into the crime. To be clear, "The Blind Banker" isn't a failure by any means, and still held my attention from beginning to end. It's merely disappointing compared to "A Study in Pink" and "The Great Game." Holmes tends to stumble across clues rather than discover them (at least for the first two-thirds of the episode), a pack of bland second-string criminals dominate the proceedings, director Euros Lyn (Doctor Who) isn't as sure-handed as McGuigan, and Gatiss and Moffat only inject one exciting new ingredient into the mix: Watson's charming girlfriend, Sarah (Zoe Telford). Misgivings aside, those familiar with Doyle's works will be pleased with the showrunners' faithfulness to the original text -- particularly when it comes to Watson's emerging role and characterization -- and the thrill of the reimagining is fresh enough to propel the series forward. It's just a shame Gatiss and Moffat didn't take the opportunity to really stretch their characters and push things to the next level. By contrast, "The Great Game" stands atop the rest, all but solidifying the series' hopefully bright and prosperous future. While tracking down a stolen flash drive loaded with top secret missile codes, Holmes and Watson are put to the test by a devious fiend hellbent on their destruction. I doubt the villain's identity will be much of a mystery for the fledgling detectives among you, but I'll keep my lips sealed rather than risk spoiling things for someone new to Doyle's mythos. However, said villain is given as thorough and intriguing a treatment as his deductive nemeses, and his inevitable, oh-so-eccentric reveal is an absolute blast. Yes, the episode's mad-bomber plotline is a wee bit familiar -- Die Hard: With a Vengeance anyone? -- but such pesky trivialities are easy to overlook in light of the punch it packs. What lies in wait? Brisk storytelling, rat-a-tat dialogue, sizzling performances, some fantastic third-act sleight of hand (involving dear Dr. Watson), and smart solutions to several daunting riddles, all courtesy of Gatiss, Moffat, McGuigan, Cumberbatch and Freeman's most stirring efforts yet. My only complaint? It all comes to a startling, open-ended conclusion; a crackling cliffhanger so maddening that late 2011, when the series' second batch of episodes is scheduled to arrive, can't possibly come quickly enough to satisfy this convert. So take the plunge, dear readers. Smaller releases like Sherlock may not attract the same attention as a multi-million-dollar Hollywood blockbuster -- say, Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes for instance -- but in many ways, Gatiss and Moffat's three-part first season is more engrossing than its cinematic counterpart. Ignore the fears associated with the word "modernization." Cast off any preconceived notions of what the series might be. Shed your doubts and ready your intellect. Sherlock is the real deal and deserves the kind of buzz and word-of-mouth generally reserved for high-dollar theatrical releases. Sherlock: Season One is a well-conceived, exquisitely constructed three-part opening volley that, second-episode imperfections aside, stands far apart from other literary modernizations and reimaginings. And its Blu-ray release? Worth the investment. With a striking video transfer, a decent Dolby Digital audio track and more than four hours of supplemental content, series fans and newcomers won't miss a penny of the cash they shell out. Enjoy! The game is truly afoot... [CSW] -5.0- I saw the rented DVD version on 09/13/2012. They finally got everything right so I purchased the Blu-ray version. Cast Notes: Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes [7 episodes, 2010-2012]), Martin Freeman (Dr. John Watson [7 episodes, 2010-2012]), Una Stubbs (Mrs. Hudson [7 episodes, 2010-2012]), Rupert Graves (DI Lestrade [6 episodes, 2010-2012]), Loo Brealey (Molly Hooper [6 episodes, 2010-2012]), Mark Gatiss (Mycroft Holmes [5 episodes, 2010-2012]), Andrew Scott (Jim Moriarty [4 episodes, 2010-2012]), Vinette Robinson (Sgt Sally Donovan [3 episodes, 2010-2012]), Tanya Moodie (Ella [3 episodes, 2010-2012]), Jonathan Aris (Anderson [3 episodes, 2010-2012]). IMDb Rating (12/04/16): 9.2/10 from 527,046 users
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