Sherlock Homes in the 21st Century

Sherlock Homes is officially the most filmed character in fiction.  Since 1905 that famous consulting detective has been making appearances at the cinema. Throughout the 1920s until the 1990s Sherlock Homes was taken up by some of the most talented men of the time. Basil Rathbone, Ronald Howard, Peter O'Toole, Jeremy Brett, and Matt Frewer all had a hand in creating the Sherlock we know today. The role has also hosted some icons such as Roger Moore, of James Bond fame and Tom Baker, better known as the 4th Doctor. Sherlock has even charmed his way in to the heats of children with The Great Mouse Detective (1986) Played by Basil Rathbone and the 1999 TV cartoon entitled Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century. 

    

In most cases Sherlock Homes appears in Victorian England with some small deviations much like our newest Hollywood Sherlock played by Robert Downey Jr. There have been some modern interpretations, one of these being my favourite of the classic detectives, Basil Rathbone. Basil appeared as Sherlock in 1939 at the beginning of World War II and that is where his Sherlock is set. In this Sherlock Homes Sherlock and Dr. Watson are involved in car chases and solve crime using 1940s forensic techniques and technology. 

It is in this tradition that my favourite of all Sherlock Homes interpretations is based, a new BBC TV series simply called Sherlock. In this adaption Sherlock homes is living in modern London and Dr. Watson has just returned from the was in Afghanistan, which as those of you how have read the original books know is parallel to The Second Anglo-Afghan War in the late 1800s.

Sherlock is obsessed with texting and both he and Watson keep a blog, which you can actually read on the Internet at www.thescienceofdeduction.co.uk/ and www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/. however despite Sherlock’s setting in the digital world it retains the gritty Victorian feeling of previous period adaption’s the music, like most BBC dramas is composed through an orchestra. In Sherlock the music focuses on string giving it a gipsy fiddle felling that we associate with 19^th century England. The lighting is dark and the filming is edgy. At one point in the Study in Pink, Sherlock and John chase a taxicab through the back alleys of London. Thanks to a combination of genius directing, lighting, and music as well as the timeless look of some parts of London it is easy to forget that this is a modern interpretation and not a period one.

There are also those ingenious touches that the BBC so often throws into their shows. In Sherlock. When someone gets a text the words simply appear on the screen rather then cut to a close up of the phone and when Sherlock walks in to a crime scene the camera flashes over every object in to room in an ADD like encompassing of the situation.

Now that I’ve trumpeted the talents of the mostly unsung creators of the show I should spotlight the people everyone wants to hear about, the writers and actors. Sherlock was written and produced by writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Moffat is currently the head writer of Doctor Who. Before he took that position he wrote The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library, and Forest of the Dead  for Doctor Who and a susessful sitcom called Coupling. Gatiss wrote Victory of the Daleks, The Idiot's Lantern, and The Unquiet Dead also for Doctor Who. You’ve heard my opinion on Doctor Who and you're sure to hear more about Moffat. So, needless to say these are some kickass writers and it’s their genius that pulls this show together.

I’d also like to commend these men for their choice in leads. Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Sherlock not only has a truly awesome name but is also looks perfect for the role. He is tall gangly with both boyish and hawk-like features, Arthur Conan Doyle could have modeled the look of Sherlock of this man. He also has a talent for acting both adorable and aggravating at the same time, as many people have pointed out very doctorish trait. This could have something to do with the involvement of Doctor Who's head writer Moffat but it could also have something to do with the fact the Doctor is practically Sherlock in space their characters parallel in many, many way which I will not go into now. 

Like the Doctors companion’s John Watson played by Martin Freeman is the perfect foil to the eccentric genius. without appearing stupid he reminds Sherlock to explain his deductions. While he is often astounded by Sherlock’s brilliance he is not afraid to contradict him and tell him off for being arrogant. He adds a human aspect pulling the compassion out of Sherlock cold exterior.

This three part first season can only be described as a masterpiece and and fans of the show can only eagerly await a continuation of Sherlock in the future.

Minerva