If I were to rate "Sherlock" on a BBC scale of one to ten, with a ten being "North and South" and a one being . . . uh . . . we'll say "Robin Hood" because I can't think of any other BBC shows we have all seen, "Sherlock" would be an eight . . . eight and half . . . or nine . . . no higher than nine point eight. Seriously though, this show is amazing.
It is your basic Sherlock Holmes story, only it takes place in modern day London, so they have things like cars and guns. After returning home from war as a wounded army doctor, John Watson is struggling to live in London with a painful injury and only a soldier's pension. A friend knows of a man looking for a roommate in his "flat" (aren't all those British terms so cool!) and introduces Watson to Sherlock Holmes, the world's only Consulting Detective--he invented the job himself. Thus begins the case solving.
The mysteries are suspenseful and exciting. They give just enough clues to let the audience figure out some things, but then save a few surprises for the end. Though each episode is an hour and a half, the pace is quick enough that it rarely gets boring. The first mystery is about a series of suicides that were committed the same way-so was it suicide? or murder? In the second episode strange symbols are being found along with the bodies of residents in buildings that are virtually impenetrable. The third episode involves a series of tests for Sherlock set up by some maniac who will kill hostages if Sherlock doesn't solve the mysteries in time. When the three episodes were up, all I wanted was more. (Side note, season 2 comes out in 2012.)
So come this Thanksgiving break when we are all back together, we are going to have to find a precious five-ish hours to watch this excellent series. I can't wait for you all to see it so you can love it as much as I do.
