Sherlock

Sherlock
BBC Series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman

Season 2 of this amazing series has started airing in the United States on PBS (FINALLY!!!), with the first of a three episode series airing yesterday.  It is one of my favorite shows, and in my opinion one of the best TV shows ever made.  In all aspects and perhaps in large part due to the cinematic quality of the show.  They are really like films shown on television.  I've always been intrigued and delighted by TV shows that push the boundaries of traditional television content, shows like Community, another favorite, which is not at all a traditional sitcom.  But where Community sometimes must sacrifice quality for quantity I believe, Sherlock doesn't have that problem because the focus is only on quality.  The scripts are tight and well-written, intellectual, fast-paced and witty; the actors/characters (I guess Sherlock is not real...)  are amazing, believable, emotional or not as it applies, anchored in their reality, funny and well-rounded.  And even the directing and camera -work is inventive and contributes to the storytelling.  Visual storytelling is taken to new heights on this show, with the camera not a window through which we watch the story unfold, but a canvas where different parts of the screen can be used to tell the story.  It's unique (I think) and utterly brilliant, as the intricacy of the details of the plot can be conveyed quickly.

The first season was an amazing start, and it is with even more amazement that I find the second season continues to build on the characters and the story, with more innovation and skill.  With every episode, I think 'Okay, this is my favorite one' until the next one comes and surprises and delights me.  Although I firmly feel that the last episode of the second season has to be my favorite one now - it is such an emotional rollercoaster, with each segment so perfectly pitched.  I would recommend to anyone who has not seen this show, that if they had to watch one, it should be The Reichenbach Fall, but it would dull the overall effect if they didn't have the previous five episodes in which to watch and experience the emotional buildup.  Everyone on this show should win all the awards for this.  Even if the story isn't everybody's cup of tea, I think the technical skill showed in all aspects of the show should be recognized.  And as a modern update to somebody as famously iconic as Sherlock Holmes, this show more than surpasses any expectations.