DVD Reviews

Sherlock: Season One - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Nov 10, 2010, 11:48 GMT

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 ...more

Some things change whiles others remain the same.  Mark Gattis and Steven Moffat took the train (posing ala Sidney Paget of course) and on those long trips they decided to bring Sherlock back to the small screen and give it a modern gloss not gaslight.  Does it work?  The answer is elementary. 

Mark Gattis and Steven Moffat were both working on Doctor Who and the duo would arrange to take the train together.  During those trips the conversation would turn to their two loves.  Doctor Who (of course!) and Sherlock Holmes. 

The duo came to the conclusion that their favorite onscreen Holmes series was the one with Basil Rathbone from the 1940s.  Those films placed Holmes in a World War II time period instead of the usual Victorian settings. 

The two speculated that Holmes and Watson could be adapted for modern times and wouldn’t it be grand if somebody was to do that.  Eventually they decided why don’t we?  The BBC agreed and three 90 minute episodes were afoot. 

A Study in Pink: Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) has been wounded in Afghanistan and has returned to London.  He’s morose, has a limp deemed to be psychological, and his therapist has been trying to get him blogging about his troubles.  He comments to a friend that nobody would want him from a roommate and the friend mentions that is the second time he’s heart that today. 

The friend introduces Watson to the eccentric Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the two move into the 221B Baker Street rooms of Mrs. Hudson (Uma Stubbs).  Holmes is a brilliant, but difficult, consulting detective.  Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) has a case of murders that are made to look like suicides and soon the game is on with Watson in tow. 

The Blind Banker: An old college chum calls Holmes in to investigate how some graffiti ended up in a locked office.  Holmes discovers that the graffiti was a warning message to a broker in the offices whom is later found dead. 

When a journalist is killed and the same symbols appear Holmes and Watson must decipher both the connections between the men as well as what the symbols mean.

The Great Game: Holmes is bored, but not so much that when his brother Mycroft (Mark Gattis) asks him to find some missing missile plans he refuses to take the case.  Watson decides to take it however. 

Holmes’ ennui is sated when a mysterious criminal mastermind reveals himself and challenges Holmes to solve five cases before the innocent victims who are enlisted as pawns to contact Holmes are detonated. 

Sherlock Holmes is brought into the modern age and finds that it fits.  Watson no longer writes magazine articles about his roommate but blogs about it.  Holmes still uses his powers of deduction to ferret out the mysteries, but is also addicted to texting. 

Watson is even wounded in Afghanistan as in the original stories.  Gattis and Moffat have taken all of what made the original stories so interesting and found creative ways to bring them up to date, brilliantly so. 

They’ve also cast the leads magnificently in the forms of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.  Freeman is about to hit it big in the Hobbit, but is a quality actor and adds depth to Watson, not making him the bumbler of Nigel Bruce.  Cumberbatch is an annoying, odd eccentric, in other words just like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary creation. 

The combination of the two makes the show and I’m glad that a second season is coming.  It’s a delight for both the Holmes fan (though they’ll probably get the most out of it) as well as the casual viewer used to CSI type shows. 

Sherlock is presented in a 1080i high definition transfer (1.77:1).  Special features are presented in high definition.  Disc one contains a commentary on A Study in Pink with producer Sue Vertue and writers/executive producers Mark Gattis and Steven Moffat. 

Disc two has a commentary on The Great Game with Gattis, Cumberbatch, and Freeman.  You also get the 32 minute “Unlocking Sherlock” making of and the 55 minute original pilot version of A Study in Pink. 

We’ve jettisoned the moors and the foggy London streets, but all of the deduction and mystery that made Sir Arthur’s stories so cool have been given a modern shine.  Happily it all works and the show is impeccably cast.  Prepare to be drawn in.

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