The Revamp of Sherlock Holmes

"Get out. I need to go to my Mind Palace."

When I was a child, my father passed along to me his copy of the full collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. I haven't made it through all of them yet, but it's a book I've held on to for years. The stories themselves have become classics, both for their intrigue and for their intriguing characters.

Welcome to the 21st century...where Sherlock has been modified and put up onto the big screen (a'la Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law) but also, more importantly and less well known, to the small screen via the BBC (starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman).

If you're at all familiar with the stories, the picture above needs no explanation; you know exactly whom is whom. Cumberbatch, on the left, plays one of THE BEST Sherlocks I've seen in any adaptation. Freeman, on the right, plays Watson. And to his credit, does a phenomenal job of playing a strong second fiddle.

I caught wind of this series sometime last year and thought "well...maybe it'll be good." It wasn't good...it was absolutely phenomenal. The first episode, "A Study In Pink," is a contemporary play on the original "A Study In Scarlet" and besides giving the viewer a fun detective case, also does a nice job of introducing Holmes to Watson and vice versa. There's a history behind both men that gets explicated (a little more on Dr. Watson's side) so that the viewer comes away knowing more about each persona.

Cumberbatch truly encompasses the brilliant ADD-ism of the Holmes character while keeping himself pleasantly aloof of all the normal emotions found in people of normal intelligence (see: Dr. Watson). He portrays the character perfectly, blending acute perception with just the right amount of ire-inducing wit and commentary. You simultaneously love him while hating him. He is written and acted perfectly.

Freeman has been casted fantastically as well. While not nearly as perceptive as the Holmes character, Watson has always been the great foil; more compassionate, more understanding, more tact. Freeman's Watson is the perfect anti-thesis to Cumberbatch's Sherlock. The two show a dynamic onscreen that Downey Jr. and Law lack (though come close to).

What is most fascinating about this current revamp isn't the the incredibly strong acting, but the fun and inventive ways of showing the viewer what exactly is going on inside Holmes' brain. In the most current episode ("The Hound of Baskerville"), Holmes kicks Watson and another doctor out of a lab so that he can visit his "Memory Palace." What follows are pictures and texts in regards to the clues that he has acquired throughout the previous hour of the show (each episode lasts about an hour and a half without commercials). In the first episode ("A Study In Pink"), we see Sherlock flipping through mentally flipping through weather broadcasts, train schedules, appraising jewelry on the victim and ultimately leaving the viewer to come to their own conclusion about what's going on.

Whether you've read the stories or not, this show is truly one of the best things on television right now. Watch it, download it, get it from a friend, whatever...this is amazing television and I don't say that about much on the boob tube. The writing is solid and does a very serious justice to the original stories. The casting is damn near spot on and the payoff...my god. Two hours of Sherlock Holmes in a contemporary setting?

You'd be daft not to be into it. Just keep the pipe and hat at home...this ain't your daddy's Sherlock Holmes.

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