Sherlock wraps up its too-brief, three-episode run tonight on PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery! with another strong entry, “The Great Game.” Based on an Arthur Conan Doyle short story, the adventure has Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes chasing after a terrorist who straps explosives to innocent people and has them deliver cryptic messages to our hero, with deadlines for him to solve the clues before the victims go ker-blooey.
The episode includes a clever call-back to the series’ first episode, with Holmes chiding Martin Freeman’s Watson for writing up their first adventure on his blog as “A Study In Pink.” (Holmes scoffs at the title, of course.)
Sherlock works so well because its modernization did not throw away the playful yet intricate plotting that makes Doyle’s tales so enduring. That, and the fact that Cumberbatch and Freeman are a truly inspired Holmes and Watson — Cumberbatch letting loose with just the proper amount of arrogant foppishness, and Freeman delivering priceless sighs and double-takes in reaction to Holmes’ ceaseless deductions.
The good news is that a second series of Sherlock adventures is scheduled to be broadcast in Britain this fall, and if PBS has any sense, it’ll schedule them here as soon as possible after that. Meanwhile, the DVD of this first season goes on sale here on Nov. 9, and it includes the pilot episode, which didn’t air either on PBS or in England.
So: Would you want to see another season of Sherlock?
Twitter: @kentucker
My husband and are are really loving these! I hope there will be more episodes, though we will have to wait until next autumn’s Mystery series to see them.
Its next autumn ie 2011 not 2010 – we have ages to wait
The first two were outstanding, I cannot wait for the third. I think the actor playing Sherlock should be cast as a villain in Batman.
Cumberbatch is an amazing actor. Sexy too
mmmm… Ditto that!
I cant wait to see Cumberbatch in War Horse and Tinker Tailo Soldier spy
Benedict Cuberbatch’s performance is one of the greatest I have ever seen
There’s only 3 of them?????? ACK!!! The wait is going to kill me. Cumberbatch and Freeman are to die for. These are the Sherlock stories I’ve waited all my life for.
Loved this series. the first episode was brilliant, the second what not as good (meaning, it was still better than 95% of most TV) and the third was just as good as the first. I hope to see more of this. Great chemistry between the leads, good humor, and good character exploration. And Moriarty is shaping up to be just one bad-ass arch nemises.
You’re not kidding about Moriarty. That “no you won’t!” still tingles delightfully in my brain, and I saw them months ago!
YES!!!! And thanks for the info about the unaired pilot.
I am in total lust over Cumberbatch
The unaired pilot was supposedly not very good (which is why they didn’t air it!) but I love this show so much I’ll definitely watch it and not hold it against them. I am amazed they could pull off such a sophisticated series with only 1 failed pilot. Each episode seems more like a film than TV.
The original pilot is awful!! I think the best decision they ever made was to reshoot the whole thing because the aired pilot is very well done.
Absolutely! It’s the best crime show currently on TV and that’s saying a lot. I’d love it if only for the fabulous name of the star. Splendid in every aspect.
Cumberbatch would have made an awesome Riddler
I would totally watch this as a weekly series. Great casting!
I adored the first episode. The second one wasn’t quite as good, but I have high hopes for the third. And I am very excited for a second set of episodes. I hope they air soon on PBS.
The 3rd episode is the best of all 3
I agree…the second ep was so-so (the girl is chinese so of course she’s involved with the chinese triad?? oh there’s martial arts too!). But the 3rd was very good and left me desperate for the next season.
I have already seen the third one and it is soooo good! It actually scared me a little bit; lots of tension with a fantastic ending. Hasn’t the BBC already decided to make three more movies? I hope they do before Freeman starts his work as Bilbo in The Hobbit!
They worked around Freeman’s Sherlock schedule. Otherwise, he would have turned down the Bilbo role. Nice to see his priorities
Benedict Cumberbatch is incredibale and really makes this series something special.
I heard Hobbit’s filming from January till the summer, then they go on break. Then Sherlock films through the summer, finishes up, and the Hobbit Part 2 starts up in the fall… Mr Freeman’s gonna have a pretty busy year, it seems!
But all the better for fangirls like myself who love to watch his adorableness in various awesome literary roles! <3
I love this series. Didn’t know if a 2010 Sherlock would work, but it does, brilliantly. Only question, will the US dvds contain the uncut versions originally shown on BBC?
They’re uncut. And there’s the un-aired pilot (which actually has some bits I prefer to how they did it in the aired episode, like the restaurant scene), and a “making of” special.
I can’t wait for the next season to start whenever it does. I know they renewed it, i just don’t know when the episodes will come out. But I have already seen this episode and I will be watching it tonight again!! Tonight’s episode is amazing!! Everyone should watch!!
I cant wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch star in Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein at the National Theatre.
I envy you! I’m in Western Canada and the best I can hope for is that they televise it.
Catalina – if you mean Frankenstein, it’s going to be part of the National Theatre Live series and will air sometime in March I believe in select Cineplex theatres across Canada. You can find info about airings on the cineplex website under the events tab. I’m Canadian too and am looking forward to seeing it that way!
I’m planning a weekend trip from Washington to London to see Frankenstein. Can’t get enough of Cumberbatch.
Dove: I read Netflix is rolling out in Canada as we speak.
Over here in the UK, this series was a massive success. It was actually only scheduled to be a three-part mini-series, but since it garnered over 7 million viewers each week (which equates to ‘massive success’ over here, but probably wouldn’t in America) BBC has decided to turn it into a full series and has ordered a second season! I had no idea they were even airing these episodes in America! That’s pretty cool.
With the way the rating system is set up in the USA 7 million viewers now-a-days isn’t too bad, better than some Fox shows, most everything on NBC and way better than everything on CW.
There’s less people in the UK than there is in the USA, so therefore more people who can watch tv and add to viewing figures. 7 million over here in the UK probably equates to 14-15 million in the states
Just did the math – actually it works out to about 35 million in the US!
Actually in total it got over 9 million
on the “big 3″ – ABC,CBS, NBC, 6 million is kind of the cut off for pass/fail – a lot of this falls new shows were getting 5m+ yet still got yanked
Fox will allow low 5m and debate cancelation
while CW would hire Moriarty to get a show 3 million viewers
Yes I would love more. Since Mad Men ended my boyfriend and I have turned Sundays into Sherlock night. Bummer its over so soon, great show.
Same! I miss that show so much, but Sherlock has been an excellent replacement.
I can’t wait for more episodes. My only reservation about Martin Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit, is that it might delay future episodes.
We didn’t get the pilot in Scotland either.
I totally cheated and saw the last episode online–it’s so amazing! It’s got an incredible cliffhanger ending and I absolutely cannot wait for more from this great series! It’s such a ride!
I totally agree about the cliffhanger ending. I couldn’t sleep for hours last night trying to figure out how they were getting out of that mess!
Ken: ‘England’ is not the same as the ‘UK’. Sherlock was shown in the ‘UK’.
The first was amazing, the second wasn’t. I really wish there were more episodes, but I see them as three great movies a year, nothing is wrong with that.
BBC picked up the show for a second 3 episode run, however that is for NEXT fall, fall 2011, and not this fall.
I’d absolutely *love* to see more of Sherlock. I was, to say the least, hesitant when I first heard about it several months ago, as I am a big fan of the original Doyle stories. But I became curious when I learned that Steven Moffat is behind it (along with Mark Gatiss), who I already knew as a fantastic writer from Doctor Who. And then Martin Freeman was announced as Bilbo Baggins, so I set aside my reservations. Am I glad I did! It’s absolutely great fun, and, if I may say so, faithful to the characters. This is one I’m going to look for on DVD, and that’s saying something.