Holmes, Sweet Holmes

In 2010, the BBC bought a pitch from two writers associated with Doctor Who to create a TV series updating Sherlock Holmes to modern times. It seems like it's maybe been longer ago than that, because when I heard the lavish critical praise for the results, I immediately put into my Netflix all three 90-minute movies that made up the "first season" -- and I waited for what seemed like an eternity through the "Very Long Wait" for disc one to arrive.

I knew within two minutes of watching the first episode, "A Study in Pink," that I should have simply gone out and bought the DVDs. It made an immediate impression on me, one that did not diminish as the rest of all three movies unfolded, and I'm certain I'll want to watch them again.

Sherlock is a brilliant adaptation. I can't say this as any kind of scholar of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original writing; I've long wanted to read all his stories, but thus far have only managed a few, and a passing familiarity with the plot of some others. I do know that the first film discards a fair amount of the material from the original novel, A Study in Scarlet. Furthermore, the following two films, "The Blind Banker" and "The Great Game," aren't adaptations of any particular Holmes story, though they do incorporate elements of a few of them.

But it feels like a brilliant adaptation all the same, because it feels totally authentic to the Holmes stories as I understand them. Classic Holmes adaptations I've seen seem to get caught up in deerstalker caps and cobblestone streets and the trappings of the stories, not the content. Sherlock feels to me like what Doyle would have written, were he alive today to do so. The relationship between Sherlock and John Watson (and other recurring characters, for that matter) is perfect and entertaining. Meanwhile, the way modern settings and technologies are woven into the story seem effortless and logical.

And the acting is exceptional. I could go on at length and talk about how perfectly countless parts in the movies have been cast, but it really all begins and ends with the two men in the key roles. Benedict Cumberbatch is Sherlock Holmes. He even has a name you'd imagine a portrayer of Sherlock Holmes to have. He serves up an incredible embodiment of a "high-functioning sociopath," and nails every facet of the character from his thrill at tackling a worthy puzzle to his disgust at the gnat-like dullards to which he must explain himself. Martin Freeman (best known for The Office, though in the not-too-distant future, likely to be known better still as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit) is equally authentic as John Watson, able to believably endure the not-so-occasional barb from Holmes, prove his own worth at other times, and perfectly convey the odd form of friendship that brings these two together.

I don't think I need to put any kind of qualifier on my recommendation of this series. I don't think you have to like the Holmes stories specifically, or even mysteries in general. It's a strong enough character drama all on its own. Were I rating the episodes as actual films -- and at their length, you reasonably could -- each one would receive an A. I eagerly await the production of a second season, said to be on schedule for later this year.