The show “Sherlock” is an impressive display of talent in acting, writing and production. While the recent movies are technically more accurate in following the original stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, they also take place in the time period that Doyle wrote them. “Sherlock” is a modern adaptation inspired by the original writings, built to reshape the characters to fit today’s society.

The visuals lead us to treat each episode as separate artworks that reflect a similar style and message. Several factors influence how each episode has its own unique feel yet still forms a cohesive series that suggests they come from the same mold.

The first is the fact that each episode is long enough to be a short feature film, about an hour and twenty minutes without commercials. Therefore each episode could stand on its own as an accomplished work, but they come together in a small franchise, creating a mini-phenomenon.

“Sherlock” also features a directing technique that other British shows, such as “Doctor Who,” use that producers in the U.S. are beginning to use. The technique uses a different director for each episode, though directors can and do direct more than one.

A different style is created with each director and gives each episode a sense of uniqueness. However the series still feels cohesive. There are two types of glue holding the series together. The first is the relationship that the production staff has with “Doctor Who.” Every director and all three writers have experience in working on “Doctor Who,” which ties all of their styles together after having spent time in the system and, in some cases, with each other.

The extensive use of close-ups and unique angle shots creates the show’s interesting atmosphere. Fast cuts and numerous camera distortions create the sense of the titular character’s “mind palace,” which allows the audience glimpses of his deduction skills and memory techniques. The production crew does a fine job of bringing us into the mind of Sherlock Holmes.

Secondly, the episodes are all written by the same three men, two of whom are the co-creators of the show. Some of the episodes are also co-written. With the writers on the same page, the directors can only influence the interpretation of the script.

Speaking of the writing, it is as clever as Sherlock Holmes himself. Not only does the series take after some of the greatest mystery stories in history, they are also adapted to make sense in today’s world. The writers even create new mysteries to modernize Sherlock Holmes.

Each plot line is exciting and unique, but the writers purposely throw in cliches just to turn them upside down. For example, Sherlock, a sociopath and an intellectual above relationships, is given a love interest. This is quickly turned on its head as Sherlock exploits the girl as part of the case he was working. Of course we never believed it for a second anyway.

The writers also employ exceptional wit in the dialogue between the characters, especially that of Sherlock and John Watson, his friend. The series is centered around Sherlock’s mind and everyone else’s inability to follow the path he takes to get to his conclusions. This is where the wit comes in, as he has to explain his deductions for which he gives Watson flack. Watson later returns the favor in situations where Sherlock has no standing: relationships and human emotions. 

The dialogue is beautifully acted by the talented cast. Benedict Cumberbatch, perhaps the most enjoyable name in acting, plays the title character. Acting as a drug addict and crime solver is difficult in itself but becoming a highly functioning sociopath is an extraordinary feat. Cumberbatch has to portray a sense of disassociation from normal human emotions while at the same time maintaining a sense of humanity.

He also expresses a sense of intellectuality that comes across as condescending and disconnected, since he lacks functions in the right brains such as emotion and creativity. He is able to decipher an array of information to solve a crime, yet he cannot appreciate art or connect to others.

Playing Sherlock’s best friend and assistant John Watson is Martin Freeman. Freeman does a fine job of acting innocent or as a damsel in distress, something that proves to be far more valuable than everyone but Sherlock and his brother realize. Much of the show is centered around Watson’s complex emotions stemming from his military tour in Afghanistan. Freeman is also known for playing the similarly docile yet dangerous Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit” series.

The supporting actors are all equally talented. Notably, Louise Brealey, who plays Molly Hooper, was originally only supposed to appear in the first episode, but the creators of the show thought she played the part so well that they decided to make her a reoccurring character. One of those said creators is Mark Gatiss, who portrays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. He does an impeccable job of displaying the same traits as Sherlock.

The most impressive performance, however, comes from Andrew Scott, who plays one of Sherlock’s most dangerous enemies Jim Moriarty. The balance he is able to project between sociopath and psychopath is uncanny. Perhaps his incredible talent comes from his work on stage, where he is most known and where it is harder to establish a character for the audience to believe.

The series is currently in preproduction stages for a fourth season of episodes. The third ended with Moriarty’s face on television once again, after the audience believed that he had killed himself. I see two possibilities for how this is possible.

The first is that Moriarty faked his suicide just as Sherlock had faked his at the end of the second season. It is all a game to Moriarty, and his initial appearances concentrated on finding someone skilled enough to play along with him. Now the real game begins.

The second, and I believe more likely possibility, is that Colonel Moran, Moriarty’s most trusted man in the criminal web, is taking Moriarty’s place. After Sherlock took out the rest of Moriarty’s criminal associates Moran is out for revenge and to take his own stab at defeating the great Sherlock Holmes.

5/5