Sherlock

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss direct this modern update of Conan Doyles' famous Sherlock Holmes. This British series was released in 2010 and it has already ended it's second season which tell the story of the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in the 21st century London.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman is Dr. John Watson and Mrs. Hudson is interpreted by Una Stubbs.

The series is made of rather long chapters and short seasons, being each season of only 3 chapters, yet every one of these chapters is 90 minutes long. One can watch the chapters as separate 'movies' because they're auto conclusive cases. The connection between the chapters is made by the background story of the characters and the progressive apparition of Sherlock's nemesis: Jim Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott.
What can be said about this series other than it's perfect? It goes better by the season and the biggest problem is the long time between the release of them.
The worst chapter would be the first one "A Study In Pink". The plot of the case is rather easy to crack and it annoyed me no end the fact that Sherlock Holmes -  the most intelligent detective and so on - only solved it on the second go. Yet one has to understand the circumstances: being this the first chapter of the season, there has to be a somewhat deep presentation of the characters and setting.
The characters are very complex and their relationships intense and somewhat diffuse. The principal duo does an extraordinary job.

[Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock]

Benedict Cumberbatch manages to arise real hatred in the viewer and only thanks to the second season one gets a glimpse of the human feelings inside his cold genius self. During the first season - brilliant as it may be - one sees in Sherlock an inhuman, know-it-all jerk, who cares very little about what others need, think or want. He's some kind of machine that solves crimes. The second season changes in that respect, but we'll get there later.

[Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson]

During the first season it's Dr. John Watson who tends to get the sympathy of the audience, as the viewer can identify himself with this character. Martin Freeman   does also a great interpretation and reflects very good his inner struggle between being Sherlock's friend and punching him in the face. Has he himself says: "I always hear 'punch me in the face' when you're speaking, but it's usually subtext." [S02E01]

Another amaizing character in this series is Jim Moriarty, who appears as a shoadow through out all the first season and doesn't show himself until the las chapter. 

 

[Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty]

He's a criminal mastermind that equals Sherlocks intelligence and unscrupulousness. Their power-game reaches its first peak at the end of the first season which ends with an extraordinary cliffhanger and the second one is at the apotheosic ending of the second season. 
Andrew Scott impersonates Moriarty and does a wonderful job showing with ease his multiple faces and cunning character. Moriarty performs some shiny tricks on screen, but the true genius is shown in the script, with his way of playing with all the characters around him to get whatever he wants. 

*******

The story is set in modern London and turns around an injured ex-army-doctor, John Watson, who starts living with Sherlock Holmes as his roommate in 221B Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes is a detective consultant, to whom the police goes when they're clueless. 

The first season has three chapters, as I said before, from 90 minutes each. 

1. "A Study in Pink"
• When asked for help to solve several identical apparent suicides by Inspector Lestrade, Sherlock drags his new roommate, John Watson, into the investigation of the first of many cases they will solve together. 
• As I said before this case is rather easy to solve and the lateness of the brilliant and eccentric Sherlock in solving the crime was rather annoying, but understandable as they had to present the characters and start creating the friendship between the main characters. 
• Watson is repeatedly warned against the friendship with the lonely Sherlock, but he refuses to listen and ends up tangled in the succession of events that unfolds in the next chapters.
2. "The Blind Banker"
• A banker and a reporter a both shot dead in identical slayings, in rooms locked from the inside. Meanwhile a Chinese museum employee tells Sherlock Holmes and his friend, John Watson, that the responsible for these deaths is the Black Lotus crime syndicate. 
• The difficulty of this case is a lot greater than before and the clues are perfectly hidden, so that in the end they all click together perfectly. 
• The development of the main characters friendship is shown as one that Watson sees in both ways: as appreciated and exciting, and as somewhat annoying and difficult to maintain in balance with his private life. 
3. "The Great Game"
• A sadistic bomber abducts a string of hostages, who will be released after Sherlock has solved a series of puzzles, including a twenty year old murder, an insurance scam and the alleged forgery of a long lost painting. 
• The rhythm of this chapter is extraordinary and it gets on ones nerves from minute one. The danger is clearly portrayed and the script and acting excel themselves. 

The second season has also three chapters of 90 minutes each:

1. "A Scandal in Belgravia"
• Dominatrix Irene Adler has incriminating photos of a royal princess which Sherlock is engaged to retrieve. However, having engineered a meeting with Irene, Sherlock realises that she has far more dangerous evidence in her possession, sought by rogue CIA agents, which cause her to fake her death and pass the facts, encrypted in her camera phone, to Sherlock.
• Here appears very clearly the rivalry between the main character and his brother, Mycroft Holmes, which was only hinted in the first season. Also Cumberbatch's acting shows some humanity - not much - but some, and it also hints - vaguely - to a great interest from the mastermind to the Dominatrix. This interest which tends to sexuality on Irene's side, seems profoundly rooted on an intellectual interest on Sherlock's. 
2. "The Hounds of Baskerville"
• Twenty years earlier a boy saw his father torn to pieces by a monstrous creature at Dewer's Hollow near their home. Now the boy has seen the footprints of a huge beast and suspects that the nearby Baskerville government research station is breeding mutant animals. Using fake I.Ds the main characters infiltrate Baskerville to investigate the truth behind the story. 
• This chapter also helps building the humanity of the detective. And Cumberbatch interpretation of a scared-to-death Sherlock is extraordinary.
3. "The Reichenbach Fall"
• Moriarty comes close to stealing the Crown Jewels to prove it might be done but allows himself to be caught. Sherlock gives evidence at the trial where Moriarty has scared the jury into acquitting him and later visits Sherlock, camply taunting him with his superior computer skills, seemingly capable of any crime and tells Sherlock he "owes him a fall", setting in motion a dangerous game in which he trys to destroy the detective. 
• Freeman's acting is heart wrenching. Being the first and the last few minutes of the chapter the most emotive of all the series.

The montage of this series is fresh, original and very intense, every shot carefully planned. The script is interesting and has not the strange irregularities of Moffat's Doctor Who. The characters are all perfectly acted and developed. The setting into modern times is extraordinarily well done and it is very plausible, showing both Sherlocks genius and his troubles to fit in a society that's simple, boring and has no respect for greatness. 

SHERLOCK TRAILER

I highly recommend this series, even if you're not a great fan of Sherlock Holmes.