So, series two of Sherlock has started. I’m not going to post any spoilers as I know a few people who haven’t seen it yet. In fact I’m not going to write much about it at all, I’ll probably type up a full review when all three episodes have aired. I’ll just say that I am very glad that it is back.

This is a clip from Sherlock, dubbed into various foreign languages. I found it disproportionately hilarious!

Good news! Steven Moffat is saying that Sherlock will return for series two on January 1st 2012. I am very excited for that, and they seem to have picked some interesting stories…. So with Doctor Who on Christmas Day and Sherlock on New Year’s Day, I may just make it through the holidays with my sanity intact!

Edit: Argh, I just realised I left my DVD of Sherlock back at my flat before I came home to stay with my parents for the holidays. So I may not be able to rewatch it before then. Grrr.

Recently the BBC were repeating Sherlock and I was very tempted to watch it when I saw it on iPlayer, even though I own it on DVD and had seen it twice already. Instead I decided that I would wait and watch it again closer to when they would be showing the second series, which for some reason I thought would be later this year. However then the BBC announced that it would not be airing series two until 2012. So I decided that I would just go ahead and watch the DVD now! I’ve written about it twice before (see here and here) so I won’t go into much detail here, I still stand by everything I wrote previously. This time around I watched the audio commentaries as well (I watched all three episodes, then the first and last ones again with the commentary on) and I enjoyed that too, there were some interesting observations from the cast and crew. If anything I am now even more excited to see the next series, which is more frustrating than I had intended it to be!

I loved Sherlock when I first saw it earlier in the year (see my first review for more detail) and I rewatched it again this weekend as I received the DVD for Christmas. I think I liked it even more the second time around, and even though I knew all the plot twists it still stood up well to a repeat viewing. I even spotted a few references to the book canon that I must have missed the first time around. (I considered watching the unaired pilot which was included but I opted not to, as this review satisfied my curiosity on that front. I may listen to the commentary though, as I am prepared to be that much of a nerd about it!) In my mind you can’t beat the Jeremy Brett series for proper Sherlock Holmes, but because this show takes a different approach it manages to produce something almost as good, and creates a new and exciting take on an old favourite. It really is an excellent adaptation. My only complaint - damn that cliffhanger ending!

I was a bit apprehensive about Sherlock, the BBC modern day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. A large part of my concern about it was due to the fact that I’m a bit of an obsessive Holmes fan, and I can be too serious about it at times. That’s the reason I still haven’t seen the recent Guy Ritchie Holmes film yet, because I’m certain that it’ll not conform to my view of Holmes and the Holmes canon. Apart from the books, which I’ve read countless times since I was a kid, the only screen adaptation that I really consider to be the ultimate version of Holmes is the 1980s Granada television series starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. But, despite all that, I was willing to give this new show a chance, because a) it’s made by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, both of whom have proved themselves to be excellent writers and producers; and b) it’s a modern day adaptation, which is something I have a weak spot for, and also because it allows a greater flexibility with canon. Despite my misgivings about this though, it proved to be an excellent show and I really ended up loving it, which was a bit surprising. The show manages to stick to the books in terms of the initial meeting between Holmes and Watson, while updating the mystery and the setting appropriately for the 21st century. I liked all the little nods thrown in for those familiar with the books, such as the Rache/Rachel plot point, and the nature of Watson’s wound (leg or shoulder). They show also did a pretty neat thing with the on-screen text, which is something I hadn’t seen before and I thought it worked really well, both for phone messages and for showing Holmes’ thought process at the crime scene. I thought that both Benedict Cumberbatch (who has a charmingly ridiculous name) and Martin Freeman did a great job as Holmes and Watson (sorry, Sherlock and John), and the characterisation was pretty good, though I’m still interested in seeing how it’ll be developed further. Overall, I really loved it, which was surprising on one hand, but probably utterly predictable on the other, and my only disappointment is that there are only three episodes so far. I’m looking forward to the next episode…