Just a few days ago we had the opportunity to
celebrate 160 years since the creation of the character Sherlock Holmes and yet
it is now that the brilliant detective experiences something of a revival. Over
the past few years, his stories became widely watched, read, and discussed
practically all over the world. All the credit is owed to the BBC series Sherlock – the series of a mere (albeit
longer than standard) three episodes per season with a waiting time between
seasons of one to two years and cliff-hangers that make every fan’s fantasy run
wild and write supporting messages in all kinds of places (including the mirror
in the ladies toilet on the ground floor of our Faculty of Arts). Despite these
slight drawbacks, Sherlock managed to
become one of the most popular series of last years. How is it possible? The
answer is fairly simple – quality.
Sherlock is a modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
stories in which Holmes and Watson become Sherlock and John, move to
contemporary London, Watson blogs about their adventures instead of writing
them down manually, while Sherlock gets rid of his characteristic hat – at
least for the most part – and exchanges pipe for nicotine patches. However, it
is not all that simple. Describing it as dressing the old in a coat of
modernity would not be doing justice to the series. While all the main
characters and the main storyline remain unchanged, the individual plots and
circumstances are figments of fantasy of the series creators, Mark Gatiss and
Steven Moffat, who never fail to hide a reference or an inside joke for lovers
of the books in an episode.
However, lovers of the original are not the only ones
likely to take liking in the series. Quite the contrary, many of those who had
never held Arthur Conan Doyle’s book in their hand before or had but did not
manage to get past the first story found themselves so in love with the
detective and his life that they decided to give the books (another) try. Even
those with considerable aversion for most of detective series have a chance of
becoming dyed-in-the-wool fans. (Believe me, I would know!) Furthermore, the
series is praised by numerous critics as well and has been awarded with several
prizes, the most prestigious being BAFTA for Best Drama Series and Best
Supporting Actor for both Martin Freeman (John Watson) and Andrew Scott (James
Moriarty).
Sherlock simply has everything a successful series which aims
to catch the attention of the audience and not let it go again ought to have.
Despite the modern elements, the series manages to capture the original
atmosphere of mystery and suspense and give an insight into Sherlock Holmes’s
mind the likes of which we never had before, cleverly illustrated deductions on
the screen being only one part. The performance of the leading actors Benedict
Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) and Martin Freeman (John Watson) as well as the
supporting cast, which is outstanding, is enhanced by the thrilling, witty and
entertaining script.
That could be about enough praising, right? I believe
everyone got the gist about the brilliantness, resemblances and dissimilitude
of Sherlock by now. What remains,
though, is to say a few words about what actually happens in the series:
John Watson, an army doctor, returns from war and
finds himself missing the danger he became accustomed to. He finds it in the
person of his new flatmate, the eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock
is a man who can tell nearly your whole life story from the way you look and
behave, who spends his time being consultant to New Scotland Yard and
experimenting with human body-parts in their flat and who goes to Buckingham
Palace in nothing but a sheet. While Sherlock gives John the danger he has been
longing for, John in return helps Sherlock develop some of the human qualities
he has been lacking and teaches him the advantages of having a friend. Together
they solve crimes – from missing boyfriends and rabbits to cases of national
importance – and gradually become famous, consequently attracting the attention
of criminals truly worthy of being their opponents, such as Moriarty.
All in all, the series is unique. It is clever,
dramatic, surprising and does not hesitate to make fun of all sorts of things,
including its own fans. Watching Sherlock,
you get a feeling that the show is in fact a homage to Arthur Conan Doyle
with every detail being lovingly crafted and acted out. It was my pleasure to
get “SHERLOCKED” and I would advise everyone to give it a try, if for nothing
else than to get to know one of the classics of British literature and listen
to the pleasant accent of British English. Now is the right time to begin – the
third season has just been aired so you have (at least) one year to catch up!
-
Alena Kvítková
