Sherlock

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch (13 episodes), Martin Freeman (13 episodes), Una Stubbs (13 episodes), Rupert Graves (13 episodes), Louise Brealey (13 episodes), Mark Gatiss (12 episodes), Andrew Scott (9 episodes), Amanda Abbington (7 episodes), Jonathan Aris (7 episodes), Vinette Robinson (4 episodes), Tanya Moodie (4 episodes), Lindsay Duncan (3 episodes), Tom Brook (2 episodes), Lars Mikkelsen (1 episode), Gemma Chan (1 episode), Zawe Ashton (1 episode), Russell Tovey (1 episode), Toby Jones (1 episode)
Directed by: Paul McGuigan (4 episodes), Nick Hurran (2 episodes), Coky Giedroyc (1 episode), Euros Lynn (1 episode)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2010-2017

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Summary: Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman) investigate a series of unexplained mysteries and crimes in London.

Review:

Tim: Sherlock is interesting to me. When the first series was released, it immediately became one of my favorite television series. Updating Sherlock Holmes to modern times, the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the stylistic telling of the mysteries, it was all so incredible. I loved it and was enthralled by what I saw. The second series built on the first, as it quickly became one of the highest rated BBC shows in history. Somewhere in the third series, though, things started to shift for me. The overly long episodes (at 90 minutes, these are each technically movies) wore me down. The stories all felt repetitive. Characters like Mary grated on my nerves. I lost all momentum with the series. I actually didn't watch the last two episodes until several years later. I had to force myself to do it. While the final episode was much better, it's odd to me how a show that was once so beloved became so commonplace.

I want to spend most of this review, though, talking about the positives. That's how I choose to remember this series. It all comes down to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. They've both moved on to have big Hollywood careers (Cumberbatch more than Freeman, but his career is still quite respectable). They were simply the perfect pairing here. Cumberbatch fully embraces the shocking intellectual nature of Sherlock and Freeman exudes the bristling warmth that makes Dr. Watson his famous partner's equal. The banter between these two was simply outstanding. Cumberbatch gives this sharp edge to Sherlock- he exists in a different intellectual world than the rest of us. He can be cold because of that heightened intellect. He's brilliant, but a mess. Cumberbatch embraces all of this and makes Sherlock the complex, fascinating character come to life. He had great source material to work with, but it's rare to see this famous character feel so alive on screen. Freeman's role can't be overstated. He's the perfect partner for Cumberbatch. Freeman brings raw humanity and emotion to the role of Watson. He's a doctor and military man, but he's our conduit into this world. His character balances Holmes' out perfectly well, and Freeman brings a wonderful energy into the mix. The pairing of these two fantastic actors is what makes the series so wonderful.

The supporting cast is strong, too. Co-creator Mark Gatiss works exceedingly well as Mycroft Holmes. I never liked his character, but that was the point. Rupert Graves always gave strong performances and made an outsized impact given his limited screen time. Louise Brealey was excellent as Molly- I just wish she had more screen time. Now, Una Stubbs did always feel a bit overrated to me. She's good as Mrs. Hudson, but her performances always feel so amped up that they become too over-the-top. I didn't care much for Amanda Abbington's performance as Mary. I never connected with or cared about her character. The parts of the series where Mary had the biggest role were most of the worst episodes. I thought she had zero chemistry with Freeman and I never believed their relationship. Andrew Scott was a very unexpected Moriarty. I can't say I loved his performance at first, but he absolutely grew on me as the series progressed. By the end, I was a fan- he certainly won me over.

As I said, I loved the early series. The mysteries, the character development, the reveals- it was all so incredible. I've read many of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories and I loved how this series updated them to the modern era while keeping the heart of the mysteries alive. It was fun, entertaining, excellent. At some point, I did grow tired of it. It felt like the characters had been fully developed. The mysteries all started to feel similar. There became too much predictability in the plots. Yes, we only have 13 episodes, but they are each quite long. I think the show ran out of gas before the fourth series concluded. I know there's been talk of another series for several years now, but the busy schedules of the stars has prevented that from occurring. I'm okay with that. If they did another series, I'd definitely be there and it would be fun to see them reprise these roles. But, we got a lot of time with this version of the characters and it was time well spent. If this is the actual end of Sherlock, this is still a series that should be celebrated.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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