Sherlock: A Must See

Sherlock
5 out of 5 Stars!

I know, I know. This is a book review blog, so what's a TV show doing on here? Well, every so often something comes along so full of awesomeness, you just have to share it with the world. You know, like Hula Hula Macadamia ice cream or getting front row tickets to Adele (I wish). Trust, this is one of them.

So back to Sherlock. My friend recommended it to me, and I was kind of skeptical, but I thought, "Hey it's free on Netflix why not?". So I gave it a shot. Man am I glad I did. This is what I love about BBC. Even with the phenomenal Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law playing the crime solving duo on the big screen, they still manage to take something recently well done AND MAKE IT THEIR OWN. To be fair, its creators did have the brilliance of Dr. Who behind them, so was anything they did really going to suck?

To recap for all those who haven't experienced the joy that is Sherlock (So jealous btw). This TV series is a modern retake on Sherlock Holmes. Everything's modernized, and not only does the indomitable Sherlock use his brilliant, analytical mind to help crack the cases, he uses modern technology as his tools.

This does something to the viewer. It brings it home. Cuz' anyone that's ever read or watched the books/movies has always felt this suspension of reality. Familiar when it was written, we're no longer connected to the late 1800's. That way of talking, technology, and politics of the time are now completely foreign to us. Although we can appreciate it, we have no connection. So every time we read the books/short stories or watch the movies we escape into a reality entirely different from our own.

Sherlock changes that. Yes, there's a suspension of reality; and yes there's the knowledge that Sherlock doesn't exist in the real world, but by setting it in present day time it changes things. Now, when you're watching it there's this enchanting notion that all of this could be plausible. There could be an antisocial insanely, brilliant investigative consultant, there could be a war veteran crazy enough to friend him, there could be a sociopathic criminal consultant who gets off on cat and mouse games. By surrounding these characters with the familiar and modern, Sherlock becomes vibrant and alive to the viewer in a way it couldn't originally. It adds dimension and depth on the already complex layers of the first. In a word: Brilliant.

However, Sherlock couldn't shine so brightly on just this alone. The writing, acting, and chemistry has to be there too. And it is. Though I had my reservations, the acting is impeccable. Not many people can keep up with the brilliance of Sherlock, even when they know what's coming. Benedict Cumberbatch does it so seamlessly it looks effortless. And Martin Freeman, I cannot get enough of him. His self-deprecating Watson tone's the show down and keeps things light when you know they could be way darker. Really everyone in this show is brilliant (notice my Brit-speak keeps trying to come out bahahaha). Also the writing! It takes lightning sharp turns from dry wit to emotional tension, only to be cut through with lethal sharp moments of action. Fantastic.

Honestly, I cannot say enough great things about this show. I want to go back, erase it from my mind, just so I can watch it again. Yea. It's one of those.