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Sherlock Holmes – A Scandal in Belgravia

Posted on January 1, 2012
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Sherlock Holmes – A Scandal in Belgravia (Series 2, Episode 1 of 3)

So let me get this straight – oh where are my manners, happy new year everyone – according to Dr Watson, yes he of Sherlock Holmes fame (BBC One HD) all one has to do is begin a blog, write about crime, speckled blondes and such like, offer my services as a private detective and the hits will come? Simples! So here I am then, I’m now standing back as I watch a wave of adoring fans enter the blog, virtually of course – as I don my deerstalker hat for anonymity! Welcome one and all, you can of course contact me in the usual ways or if you prefer a one on one – I do charge of course – then I can be found along with my non deerstalking companion – Dr Watson – at 221B Baker Street. Series 2 is now available to pre order.

Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman has once again returned to our screens in the UK, once again showing what the BBC does best – drama. Following the plaudits from series one it was always going to be hard following up such a successful debut but Paul McGuigan (Director) and his team have triumphed, makes no bones about it this is a classy performance.

A case of blackmail threatens to topple the monarchy itself, but soon Sherlock and John discover there is even more to it than that. They find themselves battling international terrorism, rogue CIA agents, and a secret conspiracy involving the British government.

But this case will cast a longer shadow on their lives than they could ever imagine, as the great detective begins a long duel of wits with an antagonist as cold …

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The House of Silk – Sherlock Holmes by Anthony Horowitz – Book Review

Posted on November 3, 2011
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THE GAME’S AFOOT… It is November 1890 and London is gripped by a merciless winter. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker Street. He begs Holmes for help, telling the unnerving story of a scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent weeks. Intrigued by the man’s tale, Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from the gas-lit streets of London to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston.

As the pair delve deeper into the case, they stumble across a whispered phrase ‘the House of Silk’: a mysterious entity and foe more deadly than any Holmes has encountered, and a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society itself… Sherlock Holmes is back with all the nuance, pace and powers of deduction that make him the world’s greatest and most celebrated detective.

Many years ago, my father introduced me to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – not in the flesh mind, I’m not quite that old – and his famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. As an impressionable teenager I lapped up the adventures of the pipe smoking, slipper wearing, Stradivarius playing detective and his loyal companion and biographer Dr John Watson. I couldn’t get enough. Who could ever forget The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and my favourite A Study in Scarlet.

A few years down the track my father – yes, he introduced me to a lot of things as a kid! – sat me down one winter’s day and we watched a double bill of Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) and the comedic genius of Will Hay, it was a real father/son moment. I have …

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Sherlock “The Great Game” episode 3 summary / review

Posted on August 8, 2010
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Slick as you like, Sherlock’s third and final episode (of this series) called “The Great Game” was a triumph of detection and intrigue. Sherlock has 12 hours to solve a riddle or an innocent woman dies. But who is behind the bomb threats?

If you’ve missed any or all these magnificent episodes then you can catch up by ordering the DVD or Bluray discs out on the 30th August – pre order now

Sherlock Holmes is bored! Sitting in his flat at 221b Baker Street Sherlock and Watson have a heated discussion about Watson’s blog and his report of the taxi case. Watson dubbed the case “A study in Pink” and Sherlock took a dislike to how he was portrayed in the blog,

“Sherlock sees through everything and everyone in seconds, what’s incredible though is how spectacularly ignorant he is about some things”

Watson leaves the flat and we are introduced to Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) a little earlier in this episode when she comments on Watson’s walk out

“You too had a little domestic?”! Two minutes later an explosion rocks Baker Street and a new case is born. The bomber sends Sherlock a pink iPhone and verbal contact is made through the woman strapped to a bomb in a car park.

Molly’s attempt to forget Sherlock fails dismally when her new “office romance” turns out to be gay who leaves his telephone number for Holmes in the vain hope of the great detective calling him.

It turns out that the case is related to a cold case from twenty years ago, a case Holmes tried to get the police involved but they weren’t interested. A champion swimmer named Karl Powers drowned in a school pool; everyone thought it was a tragic accident. Everyone bar Sherlock Holmes. …

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Sherlock – The Great Game Episode 3

Posted on August 3, 2010
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Sunday sees the third (The Great Game) and final episode in the current Sherlock series, brought to you by the BBC. The Sherlock DVD which features all three episodes is out later this month.

Episode 3 Summary Here

Very little information regarding the final episode is currently available but I’ll be bringing you another episodic review following its transmission on Sunday night (BBC One and BBC HD) at 21:00. The one and only repeat planned this week is on the HD channel at 0035 in the early hours of Monday morning so don’t forget to set SKY+!

A strange clue in an empty room, a blood-soaked car, a priceless Old Master, a deranged bomber. With the clock ticking, the curtain rises on a battle of wits between Sherlock, John and the shadowy stranger who seems to know all the answers…

Will Sherlock prevail? You’ll have to tune in to find out!

Episode Reviews Available:-

A Study in Pink          Review

The Blind Banker        Review

Full Cast Listing for “The Great Game”

Benedict Cumberbatch … Sherlock Holmes

Martin Freeman…       Doctor John Watson

Rupert Graves …         DI Lestrade

Una Stubbs     …         Mrs Hudson

Loo Brealey    …         Molly Hooper (as Louise Brealey)

Zoe Telford     …         Sarah

Vinette Robinson…     Sgt Sally Donovan

Jeany Spark     …         Homeless Girl

Doug Allen     …         Joe

Haydn Gwynne…       Miss Wenceslas

John Sessions  …         Kenny Prince

David Ryall     …         Lord Huxley

Deborah Moore…        Crying Woman

Lynn Farleigh  …         Professor Cairns

Lauren Crace   …         Lucy

Rita Davies     …         Blind Lady

San Shella       …         Alan West

Caroline Trowbridge…Mrs Monkford

Di Botcher      …         Connie Prince

Matthew Needham… Bezza

Alison Lintott …         Julie

Kemal Sylvester…       Tube Guard

Stefano Braschi…        Raoul

John Lebar      …         Golem…

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Sherlock’s “The Blind Banker” Episode 2 review

Posted on August 2, 2010
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It’s all about the Orient! From the very beginning, you could tell “The Blind Banker” was going to be another slick episode of Sherlock Holmes from the Oriental tea making to Watson’s troubles with the self-shopping aisle hurling abuse at the machine when faced with an annoying automated voice. The Sherlock DVD is going to be unmissable.

“Item not scanned, item not scanned, please scan item again”, Watson slightly embarrassed at his lack of shopping experience replies “can you please keep your voice down?” and to top it off when he finally manages to scan his last item of shopping  the machine has another go….

”Card not authorised please use an alternative payment method, card not authorised please use an alternative payment method” to which he quips “alright I get it” and storms out without his shopping! All the while Sherlock is back at Baker Street fending off a masked swordsman hell bent on killing the detective!

Ratings for episode 2 follow this review.

If you missed tonight’s episode then catch it while you can on the BBC iPlayer in HD.

On his return to the flat he informs Sherlock he failed to get the shopping telling him he had a row with a chip and pin machine! Haven’t we all Watson, haven’t we all!

The real story begins when Sherlock and Watson visit a high end bank in the heart of London. One of their offices has been broken into overnight and the intruder has left a calling card of yellow graffiti. Nothing appears to have been stolen. Sherlock investigates in a way only he can. Following on from “A study in Pink” Benedict Cumberbatch gives a stellar performance with his amazingly quick dialogue. How this …

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BBC’s Sherlock, episode 2 “The Blind Banker”

Posted on July 28, 2010
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Following a highly successful opening with “A Study in Pink” Sherlock Holmes returns to the BBC this Sunday with the second of three episodes, this one called “The Blind Banker”.

FULL EPISODE REVIEW HERE

The second episode is written by Stephen Thompson and produced by Sue Vertue; Steven Moffat’s wife. Once again Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the enigmatic Sherlock Holmes with The Office star Martin Freeman. If you missed the first episode you can still catch it on the BBC iPlayer but hurry,  it won’t be there forever!

A mysterious cipher is being scrawled on the walls around London. The first person to see the cipher is dead within hours of reading it. Sherlock plunges into a world of codes and symbols, consulting with London’s best graffiti artists. He soon learns that the city is in the grip a gang of international smugglers, a secret society called the Black Lotus.

So what are we expecting this time around? More slick dialogue, great acting and a decent storyline? If the first episode is anything to go by then the answer to all of the above is a “hell yeah”! Sherlock has received wide acclaim and is fast becoming one of the biggest hits the BBC has had on its hands for quite some time.

As estimated 7.5 million viewers watched A study in pink which closely followed Conan Doyle’s A study in scarlet and to be frank I’m expecting an increase in viewers this time round now that word is out.…

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BBC’s Sherlock a huge ratings winner

Posted on July 27, 2010
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A claim by tabloid newspaper “The Sun” has given the latest indication on the popularity of the new Sherlock series to hit UK scenes. BBC one’s (and HD) modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes pulled in a reported 7.5 million viewers on Sunday for the first episode “A Study in Pink”.

Sherlock represents a huge ratings improvement for a Sunday night and the BBC are unlikely to lose a winning formula with the viewers who are still keen, after his invention by Doyle, to soak up anything Sherlockian!

Taking the following quote with a pinch of salt, we are talking “The Sun” here

“To say the top brass are made up by the Holmes ratings is an understatement,” a source told The Sun.

They really want to do more so the question is not really if, but how and when can we do them.”

Robert Downey Jr begins shooting Sherlock Holmes “2″ this October.

Episode 2, “The Blind Banker” airs this Sunday at the earlier time of 2030 (BBC One) and 2130 (BBC HD) witha HD repeat at 0100 Monday.

Credits

Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman)
Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs)
Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey)
Sarah (Zoe Telford)
DI Dimmock (Paul Chequer)
Soo Lin Yao (Gemma Chan)
Director (Euros Lyn)
Producer (Sue Vertue)
Executive Producer (Steven Moffat)
Executive Producer (Mark Gatiss)
Writer (Stephen Thompson)

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Sherlock’s back and means business “A Study in Pink” review

Posted on July 25, 2010
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Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Sherlock Holmes is back on tv, slicker, quicker and better than ever – well he doesn’t match Basil Rathbone but Benedict Cumberbatch certainly held up the Holmes tradition in brilliance.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the series but what a brilliant 90 minutes of BBC drama. Slick, full of one liners and amazing delivery the cast fronted by Cumberbatch didn’t disappoint. The BBC have a hit on their hands and I can definitely see another series emanating from this tri factor.

As I mentioned yesterday, the first episode is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A study in Scarlet” (if by the way you get chance to read the book, I would advise it, only one of four full length novels it is, like Holmes a masterpiece!

Watson has returned from Afghanistan and is looking for new digs. A friend of Holmes introduces the pair and the detective immediately figures out Watson’s past from a 30 second introduction – the rest as they say is history. The pair meet the following day at 221B Baker Street and we, the viewers, are introduced to “Housekeeper” Mrs Hudson played by Una Stubbs.

Tonight’s episode, A study in Pink, sees Holmes and Watson chasing a serial killer hell bent on playing a dangerous game of kamikaze suicide which has DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves) in a quandary, unsure of which direction the suicides are taking him.

Holmes has a problem with Anderson (the on-site forensic guy) – in fact I’d go as far to say that Anderson annoys the hell out of Holmes and as we see on more than one occasion the “amateur” detective has no time for the policeman! While raiding 221B Baker Street on a trumped up drugs raid …

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A study in Pink – Sherlock on the BBC

Posted on July 24, 2010
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The waiting is nearly over, the long awaited Sherlock mini-series will  hit our screens tomorrow on BBC One and BBC HD at 21:00. (Repeated 0030 on Monday on BBC HD) – A study in Pink Review – Did you like it ? Let me know

With the pilot scrapped and turned into a mini-series, fans of the illustrious detective are in for a treat on Sunday when Sherlock and Watson meet and strike up a partnership. Check out the trailer.

A war hero (Watson), invalided home from Afghanistan, meets a strange but charismatic genius who is looking for a flatmate; it is London, 2010, and Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes are meeting for the first time. A string of impossible suicides has Scotland Yard baffled – and only one man can help.

The first episode in the series is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, first published in 1887. Holmes and Watson meet when When Dr John Watson takes rooms in Baker Street with the amateur detective, he has no idea that he is about to enter a shadowy world of criminality and violence.

‘A Study in Scarlet‘ is a book in two halves. The first works out who the murderer is (and told by Watson in the first person), the second takes us to foreign shores and looks at how the case ended up where it did and the aftermath. Both halves have a different feel and it will be interesting to see how Moffat has managed to re-tell this story.

Did you know that Conan Doyle wrote the novel at the age of 27 in less than three weeks?

Cast and Crew for Sherlock 2010

Sherlock Holmes ……… Benedict Cumberbatch
Dr John Watson ………..Martin Freeman
DI Lestrade ………………Rupert Graves

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Sherlock’s coming to the BBC (trailer)

Posted on July 17, 2010
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Originally commissioned as a pilot, a further three episodes were ordered in 2009. The series will debut on Sunday 25 July 2010, though the original pilot will not be shown (according to the Sun). Great news for HD fans, it will be shown simultaneously on BBC One and in HD at 9pm for 90 minutes.

Sherlock was filmed in and around Cardiff and on location in London. Although the events of the books are being transferred to the present day, existing elements are being incorporated into the new characters to “ground the forthcoming tales in reality, and appease ardent fans of the classic tales”; for example, Martin Freeman’s Watson will be returning from the war in Afghanistan.

Co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the new Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves plays Inspector Lestrade.

The iconic details from Conan Doyle’s original books remain – they live at the same address of 221b Baker Street, have the same names and, somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting for them. Sherlock Holmes has received somewhat of a resurgence following Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal.

Steven Moffat says: “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.”

This three part series starts on 25 July. Fansite for the series here


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