The second season of
Sherlock picks up where the first left off, literally. Then we transition to three more wonderful episodes. Cumberbatch and Freeman never miss a beat, and if anything. are even more comfortable in the skins of their classic interpretations.
In the first story "A Scandal in Belgravia" (a take on "A Scandal in Bohemia" of course) we meet Irene Adler, a dominatrix who has embarrassing photos with royal interest. Sherlock and Watson are to get these back, but quickly learn there is much more at stake. "The Hounds of Baskerville" is a simply brilliant spin on classic and exceedingly familiar but in fantastically surprising ways. A young rich man comes to Sherlock to help him solve the twenty-year gone murder of his father by a giant hound and Sherlock and Watson find themselves investigating a government laboratory filled with mutant animals. "The Reichenbach Fall" (based on "The Final Problem") brings all of the stories to stunning climax when Moriarty returns to wreak his revenge on Sherlock, and that's enough said, save that the story begins with an assault on the Crown Jewels no less.
These are well-crafted television shows, with clever camera work and scripts which sing out with character. As it turns out, Sherlock Holmes as a modern man who texts and is adept with all things technological is still the character Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created so long ago. He was a modern man then in the waning days of Victoria's England and he became one again in the final years of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
NOTE: This is a Dojo Revised Classic Post.
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Another great series and Holmes/Watson team, but towards the end of the run, it disintegrated into what I thought was over the top, even for this Sherlock.
ReplyDeleteHaving just watched the series through again, I agree. The show lost its punch as it rumbled along. They set the bar high to surprise but had to cling to evermore outlandish premises to do so. That said, they had some fantastic villains in the series right to the end. Still though, even weakened Sherlock was pretty darn good.
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