Sherlock - Season 2

If ever I thought that nothing could surpass the perfect rendition of Sherlock Holmes by Jeremy Brett, I have to admit that this Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) is extremely close. I did have to get used to the first season, a Holmes with a smartphone whapping, pinging or texting throughout London and solving cases in this century. But once caught, stays caught. I am absolutely in love with this modern, contemporary Holmes. The rendition of Sherlock Holmes by Cumberbatch is convincing in every way. Clearly anti-social and cocky, he solves cases in a similar way as his compeer did 100 years before.

Especially the way he goes to Buckingham Palace in a Holmes way is hilarious. Particularly when he meets Irene “The Woman” Adler (Lara Pulver) in a nearly similar way, makes the moment complete. Irene Adler; the only woman who is or was equal to Holmes, draws attention with her first acquaintance with Holmes. She does not only convince Holmes of her brilliant brain, but also us as a viewer. “A Scandal in Bohemia” is a brainteaser for Holmes right away. Watson (Martin Freeman), a faithful companion who keeps track of everything in an Internet blog (really?), is as ever the more down-to-earth and more social antagonist of Holmes. Therefore, he wins the (temporary) trust of Adler. She even calls Holmes & Watson a couple. It's a nice reference to the years of speculation about the real relationship between Holmes & Watson.

“The Hound of the Baskerville” is a very modern version of the original story. Luckily, it doesn't bore us viewers for a second and the energy of Holmes is very contagious. The mystery is well worked out with nice special FX and CGI. As always, Watson is used as a test object and as always, Holmes gets away with it. Sometimes the faithful friendship of Watson surprises me. Maybe any other person would have run away screaming. But the fascination Watson has for Holmes also infects the viewer. Wow, how rude, but how efficient.

And then there's “The Reichenbach Fall”/“The Final Problem” where Holmes has to deal with his criminal antagonist Moriarty (Andrew Scott). Despite the fact that I, and most Holmes fans with me, know how this will end, I was still captivated by how the two brilliant archenemies fight for their lives in a confrontation. The tension drips from the screen and makes you wonder whether it will end as it should. But here too is the convincing play of Holmes and Watson and their sorrow and pain is almost tangible.

The second season exceeds the first one. The characters are in their rightful place and make clear that they are who they are. Everyone is convincing, even Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) and DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves) manage to grab your attention. The concept, lets put Holmes in the 21st century, is perfect. Even though I was a little skeptical initially, this skepticism has disappeared completely. I really can't wait till they will broadcast three new (probably brilliant) episodes in September. This series will even score high for non-fans of Holmes. Just because of the brilliant play of the main characters and the sophisticated scripts and dialogues with matching sets and special FX.

It's definitely worth a ten (the ones with Jeremy Brett are still a ten plus+ ;-).