I’ve never been a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps this was due to watching those dreadful old black and white films as a kid - Basil Rathbone with pipe, deerstalker and cape - meh! I know I attempted to read one of the novels once, but the writing left me cold and I abandoned it (which puts Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into a very select group: authors whose work I have been unable to finish reading - even out of sheer bloody-minded spite!)
Therefore, when a new “contemporary update” appeared on our screens in 2010, it will come as no surprise that I totally ignored it. However, I couldn’t completely ignore all the rave reviews it was receiving - every man and his dog seemed to love it, which surprised me as I know I’m not the only one who finds Holmes a bit of a bore. Then it won a couple of BAFTAs (“Best Drama Series” and “Best Supporting Actor” - for Martin Freeman, who plays Doctor Watson). Maybe, with all this hoo-hah, there was something in it after all? Surely though, if mere popularity were anything to go by, we’d all be eating s**t - on the grounds that fifty-billion flies can’t be wrong!
Eventually, aunty Beeb broadcast the series again and, my curiosity piqued, I watched the first episode.
Then the second…
And the third.

It’s bloody brilliant!

The writing is excellent, the acting is excellent, the photography is excellent… So far, I’ve been unable to find a single thing I don’t like about it - and believe me, I’ve tried. Ok, if pressed I’ll say I disliked the ‘cliffhanger’ ending to episode three - by now I was well and truly hooked, there was absolutely no need to leave me dangling like that!

The second series is currently being broadcast and, two episodes in, is just as good, if not better, than the first.

“A Scandal in Belgravia” is wonderfully involved, with more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing. The mental jousts between Holmes and “The Woman” are intriguing and very amusing; while the scornful deductive tirade Holmes heaps upon poor lovelorn Molly Hooper is cringe-worthy in a style reminiscent of Ricky Gervais in “The Office” - you’re in a hole man; for Christ’s sake stop digging! Special mention must be given to Lara Pulver for her nuanced portrayal of Irene Adler (a.k.a. “The Woman”) and, in case you’re wondering about that scene, yes - she was.

“The Hounds of Baskerville” literally made me jump. They draw you in; closer, closer, just a little bit closer, then BANG! It’s the oldest trick in the book and I can’t believe I fell for it - a couple of times!
I finally managed to find something to dislike in this episode: there’s a scene where Holmes is thinking about something and waving his arms around to organise various significant words that float around him (reminiscent of the bit Tom Cruise did in “Minority Report”, but without the fancy computer screen). For me this went on too long (a minor niggle), but my real gripe was the whole wavy arms thing - I just can’t see Holmes doing that! I would have shot the scene twice, once with Holmes sitting motionless, and once doing the wavy arms. Then I’d superimpose the wavy arms take over the still take with partial transparency, so it was like a ghost image, indicating that this was an internal thrashing about rather than a physical thing and allowing him to maintain his ‘cool’ instead of looking like he was having some kind of fit.

Benedict Cumberbatch seems ideally suited to his role as Holmes, giving great performances; but I’m really loving the work of Martin Freeman. There’s a wonderful subtlety about it that has me both mesmerised and in stitches. It’s those little glances that seem to say “Oh God - he’s doing it again!” or “Stop… Stop now. There; you’ve gone too far - are you satisfied?” and the superb little double take in “Belgravia” that I interpreted as “What? No, don’t tell me… I’d really rather not know!”. BAFTA material indeed.

The final episode of this series, “The Reichenbach Fall” is being broadcast next Sunday and I know what I’ll be doing: watching it, with the ‘phone off the hook, and dreading the ending which, being based on “The Final Problem”, can surely mean only one thing - another bloody cliffhanger!