Review: ‘Sherlock’
It has been a very good year for producer Steven Moffat. He took over [[[Doctor Who]]], hired Matt Smith (after rejecting him for Watson) to replace the incredible David Tennant and kept the show high in the ratings. He has proven exceptionally versatile with the recent [[[Jekyll]]] miniseries, wrote the script for [[[The Adventures of Tintin]]] for Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg and now has updated [[[Sherlock Holmes]]]
Arthur Conan Doyle’s indelible detective has survived pastiche, parody, and endless retellings of the classic stories. Moffat and Mark Gatiss took all the trappings and characters bringing them to the 21st Century. Dr. John Watson arrives after a tour in Afghanistan (some things never change) and meets Holmes, moving in with him at 221B Baker Street. Instead of a journal, Watson blogs about their cases and marvels at Holmes’ disinterest in the extraneous, even things like who is the current Prime Minister.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a strong Holmes, with an intense gaze and unshakeable focus making him reminiscent of another famous figure who stands apart from humanity, a certain Spock. He’s fortunate to be matched with Martin Freeman’s even-keeled Watson. They make a very enjoyable duo.
His intellect needs to be constantly engaged or he fears slowly going mad, using Watson as his tether to the world he seeks to protect. Watson craves a normal life, dating Sarah (Zoe Telford), a doctor, and making a respectable living. As a consulting detective, Holmes continues to take on cases, earning him the respect of DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves). The only downside to the updating is that by placing Holmes in 2010, it oddly echoes [[[Fox’s House]]], which is directly inspired by Holmes with both figures driven and detached from mankind.
The three episodes that aired on the BBC over the summer and just completed a run on PBS are now available on a two-disc set from Warner Home Video/BBC Video. The roughly 90 minute stories give all the characters plenty of room to breathe while letting Holmes investigate his mysteries. Behind all three is the invisible hand of Moriarity, who finally reveals himself in time for the finale. The good news is that a second season of three episodes will arrive in fall 2011.
The stories, including “A Study in Pink” written by Moffat, are involving and enjoyable, requiring you to keep up and pay attention. The discs are complemented by the original 60 minute pilot, which was produced in January 2009 and was so well received by the BBC that they ordered 90 minute shows requiring them to rework and reshoot the story. It’s an interesting comparison. There’s also a 32-minute behind-the-scenes look at production of the trio of stories which is interesting. You can watch “A Study in Pink” with commentary by Moffat, Gatiss and Sue Vertue, while Cumberbatch, Freeman and Gatiss can be heard during “[[[The Great Game]]]”.
The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides teaser one-sheet debuted on 
Kenneth Johnson set out to produce a television miniseries with allegorical elements to the way humanity surrendered to the forceful appeal of the Third Reich – except for an underground resistance that proved to save the world for freedom. His initial[[[V]]] miniseries on NBC was filled with memorable characters, some spooky reveals and was quite effective. The sequel mini wasn’t bad but then Johnson was gone but NBC wanted a weekly series and that was a train wreck. Since then, Johnson and the networks have danced around reviving the story of humanity’s struggle to control its destiny in the face of overwhelming alien forces. When it was clear the creator wasn’t going to see things his way, he turned his premise into a turgid and frankly, not very good novel while Warner Bros. moved ahead without him and that may have been for the best.
Objective: CTU is recruiting the most diehard 24 fans! To celebrate the DVD release of 
Not only did we get a brand new Doctor for the fifth season of the BBC revival of [[[Doctor Who]]] but we also were treated to a changing of the creative guard as Russell T. Davies gave way to Steven Moffat. Obviously, any sort of substantive change means the finished product will have a different look and feel and this new season feels exactly like that.
Continuing writer Garth Ennis’ successful longstanding working relationship with Dynamite Entertainment, the publisher today announcde the newest hard-hitting series from Garth entitled Jennifer Blood.
One the most pleasant developments with Warner Premiere’s line of animated movies featuring DC Comics’ heroes has been the addition of [[[Showcase]]], shorts based on the lesser known characters from the countless characters lingering in the library. To date, we’ve been treated to [[[The Spectre]]],[[[ Jonah Hex]]], and[[[Green Arrow]]] with two of them proving more satisfying than the main features. Now, the three have been collected, along with a fourth, all-new feature in the just released [[[Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam]]].
DC Comics had grand plans for its 75th anniversary but most of them were shelved when the company evolved into DC Entertainment and the mandate was to look ahead, not back. Still, there’s the mammoth book coming from Taschen and this month we’re being treated to the documentary [[[Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics.]]] Narrated by next summer’s [[[Green Lantern]]], Ryan Reynolds, the 90 minute feature explores the company from beginning through today but given the wealth of subject matter, at best, this is a surface study.
In celebration of The Goonies‘ 25th Anniversary, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution is releasing the exciting adventure film on iTunes for the first time with EXTRAS (including all new bonus content).
