TV Review: Sherlock Holmes – A Study in Pink

It must be fantastic to be Steven Moffat right now. His first season as Executive Producer of Doctor Who has been exceptionally well received; he’s the writer for the Steven Spielberg produced The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and last night, his new show Sherlock started on BBC One.

Sherlock, an update of the classic Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as our eponymous sleuth and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. Last night’s first episode, A Study in Pink, was an update of the very first Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. The update looks so effortless; one imagines it involved a great deal of blood sweat and tears from Moffat. Using key elements from the original story, Holmes is called in by Detective Inspector Lestrade (a put-upon Rupert Graves) to investigate four apparent suicides. Each victim has taken their own life by poison pill, none of them knew each other, but the similarities are far too much to be coincidence. The early sequence of Lestrade holding a press conference, with each of his statements being repudiated by texts to the members of the press from Holmes, shows a playful intent. This Holmes is exactly as maddening as Conan Doyle’s original, a brilliant mind, possibly cruel, not driven by social niceties.

Meanwhile, Doctor John Watson, back from Afghanistan, suffering from PTSD and possible a psychosomatic limp, finds himself in need of a flatmate. Immediately intrigued by Holmes, he finds himself drawn in, almost against his while, to the detective’s work. His pre-credits statement “Nothing ever happens to me” is rebutted before he can even blink. Clearly intrigued by Holmes powers of deduction, and in need of the spark of adventure that being in a warzone. “Seen a bit of trouble then?” asks Holmes. “Want to see more?” “Oh god yes” is Watson’s immediate reply.

As ever a show based on Holmes stands or falls on the portrayal of the great detective. Cumberbatch has big shoes to fill, but has an otherworldly air about him, very similar to Jeremy Brett. While not fitting into the Brett/Rathbone/Cushing mode, with prominent nose and deerstalker (not even a pipe!) he is so out of step with the rest of the people around him that you’re automatically drawn and dazzled. Of course, not everyone is as entranced and Watson is warned off by Sgt Sally Donovan, who calls him a psychopath and suggests that one day Holmes will be the one committing the murders. Indeed one of the small bugbears I have with the show is that the characters who dislike Holmes, Sally Donovan and Anderson, the snide forensic scientist (played by Jonathan Aris) are so deeply unlikeable themselves. Moffat’s audience aren’t stupid, we don’t need such broad brushstrokes, we can see for ourselves that this self-labelled “high functioning sociopath” is not going to be popular with everyone.

Less irritating, and much more interesting, halfway through the episode is the introduction of an uncredited Mark Gatiss as a mysterious stranger who claims to have Holmes best interests at heart. With his hair a brutally dyed shade of brown, Gatiss is in his element here. Clearly a role he approached with relish, he manages to refrain from some of the over-acting that marked his performance in Doctor Who a few seasons ago. Moffat has said that:

Conan Doyle’s stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they’re about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that’s what matters.

With A Study in Pink, which uses modern tech, has an opening tilt-shift sequence and utilises cute text idents, this is a beautifully English, Holmesian CSI experience. Moffat has not been slavish in his reconstruction of the story, indeed at one point he turns an original plot point on its head. The word “Rache” found next to the body of the fourth victim, is pointed out by Anderson rather pompously to mean “revenge” in German, Holmes shoots him down. “It’s Rachel, not Rache, it’s a name…”

Director Paul McGuigan ensures interesting angles and close shots, while the David Arnold/Michael Price score is a thing of beauty. Yes, it’s a romp, ultimately, more fun than menace, yet Holmes ruthlessness shown at the denouement hints at much darker things.

An excellent hour and a half of television, without doubt, with excellent cast and great flair. The question has to be, after Jekyll and Sherlock, what classic piece of Victorian fiction will Moffat choose next?

Similar Posts:

• Stephen Moffat’s ‘Sherlock’ – Airdate announced
• Steven Moffat’s ‘Sherlock’ – First Trailer
• First Look: Stephen Moffat’s ‘Sherlock’
• Teaser poster and synopsis for season two of ‘Sherlock’