468 replies to this topic

[Jim Ware]

They've definitely been filmed. I bumped into Martin Freeman and Mark Gatiss on set a couple of months ago.

[Stefancos]

They were making out?

[Elmo Lewis]

So finally I got around to seeing BBC's Sherlock. I don't think I need to explain why I thought it was so phenomenally addictive and all-around successful at this point. The chemistry between the main cast, the scripts, the plots, the tone have all been properly praised before.

Even the flaws I thought the pilot had (Sherlock's interaction with a realistic environment was inevitably very similar to recent incarnations of the myth like House than Sherlock Holmes, and I also thought that guiding the audience through Holmes' deductive process with superimposed texts as he explored the lady's corpse was a cop-out) disappeared in subsequent episodes. So much care, intelligence and, unlike other BBC productions, showmanship behind this.

My only complaint would be Andrew Scott's Moriarty. Not the way he was written, of course, but the way he was performed -- it was like channeling Ralph Fiennes' over-the-top Voldemort sans the gusto, as if he was forcing his psychopathically playful mood swings. It never once looked, to my eyes, as if Scott was having fun with his material, but as if he was trying to hit all the notes at once. In any other production, this performance might have been more than acceptable. In Sherlock's outstanding caliber, it happens to stand out a bit more.

[Chaac]

I loved that Moriarty!

Something I didn't like was the cab driver in the first episode. He felt like an actor instead of a character, and the character as a whole the way it was written reminded me I was seeing just fiction and took me out of the episode. Otherwise it was a great episode.

[Stefancos]

I agree with Elmo that Holmes' atitude in Sherlock is very similar to that of House.

Moriarity was a bit too obvious though. Like a Doctor Who villain.

[Stefancos]

New Sherlock CD coming beginning of nest year.



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sherlock-Original-Television-Soundtrack-Music/dp/B006K1WGQY/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1323885114&sr=1-4

[Jason LeBlanc]

I'm still waiting for word on when Season 2 will air!

[Stefancos]

he second series of "Sherlock" will air on BBC 1 on New Year's Day.

"A Scandal in Belgravia" will be shown on Sunday, Jan 1st, 2012 at 8:10 pm.

The other two episodes in this series of three will be: "The Hounds Of Baskerville" and "The Reichenbach Fall".

http://filmscoremont...mID=7&archive=0

[Jason LeBlanc]

Great, thanks!

[Stefancos]

Pity that each season is only 3 eps long. Before you get a chance to settle into it, it's already over.

[davros72]

I'm still waiting for word on when Season 2 will air!

Since Amazon.co.uk lists the Series 2 DVD release as January 23, 2012, one would think during the first half of January. IIRC, some tweets and such I've seen have sort of hinted at a possible New Year's Day premiere? Maybe?

...Yep:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...1/sherlock.html

http://www.tvovermin...-details/111731

EDIT: D'oh! Beaten to the punch by Stefan! Oh, well, another chance to stare at my lovely avatar of Karen Gillan... <drool>

Edited by davros72, 14 December 2011 - 07:01 PM.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Pity that each season is only 3 eps long. Before you get a chance to settle into it, it's already over.

Aren't most British shows 6 episodes per season? This is basically 6 episodes length, presented as 3 double-length episodes, in a way

[Stefancos]

Depends. Doctor who typically has 12 or 13 eps. Top Gear the same, though they split them in 2 parts.

[Richard Penna]

Great news about the soundtrack.

Arnold had hinted about it, bit it had disappeared into the ether somewhat.

While I liked the music as a whole, there's one cue I want to see - the time-lapse shot where we see the security guard on the bank of the Thames. It's short and synthy though, so I'm not confident.

But if each episode has say 1 hour of score and we get a full CD, that's potentially half of each episode's score.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Clips from season 2:

http://www.huffingto...795.html?ref=tv

[Jason LeBlanc]

SAE has the track list for the Season 1 OST

http://www.screenarc...il.cfm/ID/16888

[Jason LeBlanc]

I'm excited for the Season 2 premiere tonight! Though, we probably won't get to watch it until tomorrow night.

[Richard Penna]

Samples for the CD:

http://www.amazon.co...445476&sr=301-1

[Jim Ware]

I trust that everyone is now following TheWhipHand on Twitter?

[Quint]

Is this where people tweet a running commentary whilst watching something "together"?

[Stefancos]

The whip hand?

Sounds like wanking!

[pixie_twinkle]

Indeed.

Great episode! I'm glad to see series 2 appears to be maintaining the high quality of writing, acting and overall sophistication of season 1. Moffatt is very good at the tear-jerker endings lately.

[KK.]

Loved this episode! And the love theme David Arnold wrote is indeed quite lovely!

[Marian Schedenig]

Wow.

I really liked the first season and was looking forward to the second one, but I didn't expect it to be this fantastic.

[Chaac]

Still have to see it. No time. Ugh.

[Jason LeBlanc]

I thought it was fantastic as well! Really with this show each episode is better than the last. Can't wait for next week's!

[Incanus]

Well I have seen the first two episodes and think the show is pretty terrific translation of Sherlock Holmes into the modern era. The show has a nice contemporary edge but leaves a lot of room for Holmes' ingenuity and sharp observations with modern technology keeping in the sidelines and not ruining the detective work of this unusually intelligent man.

Holmes is here excellently portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch whose performance is really a careful one, part almost ice cold genius, part mad visionary, part very humane and loyal friend. There is something very analytical in his stance almost all the time and he is usually either ignoring the outside world with gusto as he goes about his investigations or is completely still while composing his thoughts. It is wonderful how Cumberbatch shows the rather manipulative side of Holmes who can be charming and nice when he wants something but there is a slight detachment to the outside world in his eyes when interacting with people. His slight jealousy over Watson when a female doctor appears into his life is delightfully comedic at times and his impatient genius ego when dealing with people who can't keep up with him is a great touch so very much in the spirit of the character. The writers are also being quite faithful to the original nature of the character, Holmes being a mix of brain and brawn where the intellect still outweighs the muscle but he can still handle himself in a tight spot very well. He is also not all-powerful hero but gets bested in physical combat from time to time.

Martin Freeman as Watson is also an excellent mix of comedy and genuine everyman feel, the good doctor being in part a loyal admiring friend, part a frustrated colleague who gets excluded and feels a bit of resentment for that. This is quite funny in the second episode The Blind Banker when Watson is literally shut out behind the door from the action on more than one occasion while Holmes sleuths and faces adversaries. Still when things get serious Watson can handle himself much in the same way that he did in the old stories. Freeman has a very innocent and average guy feel about him which enhances the dynamic duo's personalities extremely well.

The whole series sports a fine cast thusfar. The performances are quite impressive and the material is suitably dramatic but also allows excellent moments of subtlety. I liked the 2nd episode's slow piecing together of the clues and disparate elements to form a whole and it was all done pretty fluidly, keeping the pace of discoveries and new mysteries and clues brisk and engaging.

So I am definitely checking the last episode of the 1st season and going to watch the 2nd one with great anticipation.

[KK.]

In my opinion, the first episode of the 2nd season is he best one so far (followed the season 1's finale). To be honest, I felt the very first episode was "okay" at best, but from there it just went up. This latest episode handled the plot brilliantly with intelligent dialogue and arguably Cumberbatch's best performance in the series.

I can't wait to see how they handle my favourite Holmes story for the next episode, The Hound of Baskervilles.

In terms of music, I felt the score for the first season wasn't that great. I enjoyed Zimmer's Sherlock score better (since both scores were coincidentally rooted in the same sound...maybe more than a coincidence ). Yet I really liked what David Arnold did with the most recent episode, especiallythat love theme.

[fommes]

I enjoyed Zimmer's Sherlock score better

I gather you're not feeling to well. Get better soon!

[Marian Schedenig]

The first Zimmer score was quite nice actually, and probably more entertaining than the mostly "background" music of Sherlock's first season. But Zimmer's sequel score was, at least partially, horrendous. "Updating" Don Giovanni with RC orchestrations is on the same level as Justin Bieber doing a cover version of the Imperial March.

Back to Sherlock. The more I think about it, the more I begin to think that the latest episode may be the finest filmed version of Holmes I've seen yet. (Though I know that my experience is somewhat limited... I've seen some of the classic movies, but not a single episode with Rathbone).

[fommes]

While I liked the new episode very much, I didn't think it was as good as the first and third of the first season. It lacked some narrative focus, and at times it was a bit too "hey, see what we're doing here!". I also think they moved a bit fast: the two main characters went from outsiders to their famed selves in a matter of minutes - even despite the brevity of a season, they could have drawn this out a bit (I liked them better as outsiders, for now). Still, it's the best thing on TV by far. Looking forward to episode two.

[Jason LeBlanc]

It was minutes in the episode, but months in their lives. The episode covered from May 2011 to New Years Day 2012 and beyond

[fommes]

You mean films and TV episodes don't tell stories in real time??

[Jason LeBlanc]

I just don't know how more you can draw it out. They only had 90 minutes to work with; What would you have cut to make room for more scenes of them getting famous?

[fommes]

It's actually well done, that montage, don't misunderstand me. But they could be getting more famous through the cases they take on in season 2 for instance. I just thought there were a few more things they could have done with Holmes-as-outsider, but that's more of an overall gripe: there should be more episodes than three-per-season.

[Jason LeBlanc]

I agree. Maybe they would have filmed more this season if they both didn't have to leave to go be in The Hobbit?

And now Sherlock is in the new Star Trek movie as well.... gonna be hard to get them together again.

[KK.]

I enjoyed Zimmer's Sherlock score better

I gather you're not feeling to well. Get better soon!

I felt that the original Sherlock Holmes score was pretty refreshing from Zimmer's all too predictable career. The score may have been filled with his typical mannerisms but it was rather enjoyable. But the sequel score is absolutely horrendous...I was hoping for the same refreshing experience but he delivered something beyond my worst imagination...

I actually rant on about it for quite a bit: http://musicmusekk.w...ws-hans-zimmer/

On another matter, it seems kind of superficial to me that the JW fans here are obligated to look down on Zimmer with distaste. He may have had a really bad run in the last few years, but he's offered some great scores in his career (especially when going back to the 90s). It makes me wonder if the general opinion here is that JW fans can't be Zimmer fans. Zimmer may not be close to Williams' genius (and so aren't a lot of composers) but that doesn't change the fact that he is talented (although his post Batman scores have proved otherwise, with exceptions of course)

[Marian Schedenig]

It's actually well done, that montage, don't misunderstand me. But they could be getting more famous through the cases they take on in season 2 for instance. I just thought there were a few more things they could have done with Holmes-as-outsider,

I'm only just about to re-read the original story this episode was based on, but from what I see so far, the story does depend on Holmes being "famous". Actually, in the story, Watson is already married, something that hasn't (yet) found it's way into the series.

Considering the other two stories we're going to see this season, I can't complain about the choice of sources. It may, however, point to an open decision whether there will be a third season.

but that's more of an overall gripe: there should be more episodes than three-per-season.

That's British TV for you.

And now Sherlock is in the new Star Trek movie as well.... gonna be hard to get them together again.

Well, they're in The Hobbit together...

[fommes]

I'm only just about to re-read the original story this episode was based on, but from what I see so far, the story does depend on Holmes being "famous". Actually, in the story, Watson is already married, something that hasn't (yet) found it's way into the series.

Considering the other two stories we're going to see this season, I can't complain about the choice of sources. It may, however, point to an open decision whether there will be a third season.

The thing is, I would also love to see an original story, one that's not an adaptation.

[publicist]

Back to Sherlock. The more I think about it, the more I begin to think that the latest episode may be the finest filmed version of Holmes I've seen yet.

It's a beaut. It washed away the sour taste of SHERLOCK HOLMES 2, the Downey jr. version. Totally psyched for HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES now.