Sherlock

Preface the forthcoming mind leak with the fact that I know nothing about Sherlock Holmes except the compulsory: he's a slick detective and he has a friend named Watson. The only real Sherlock Holmes product I've ever consumed are episodes of The Next Generation and the aptly titled RDJ vehicle, Sherlock Holmes. So why was I so incredibly pumped for the modern BBC interpretation?

I could feel the raw wave of awesomeness permeating through the Internet like the creeping intensity of the Inception foghorn. Taken me subconsciously, I actively sought out information on Sherlock and, the horror, watched a trailer for the show. This is an absolute first. In a day where I rarely view commercials and the only time I watch a new show is well after it's been proven - i.e. signed for a second season or reached critical mass - watching a trailer for a television show was a foreign concept for me. And the trailer rocked.

But I was scared that because it was the BBC, I would never be able to see this show. Thank you Internet! I watched the trailer and was pleasantly surprised to see the show starting in just a few days. The reverberation must have been strong, as this show exploded onto scene, and I downed it like a litre of chocolate milk.

The best part of the show is the quality, of course, of everything. Of most note is the length of each episode: an hour and a half. During this time we get more intimate with the characters; we get a more well-paced story; we get hooked, and I don't let go. It's sad to say, but this is a show that I never found myself reaching for the second screen. If you have an iOS device, you know exactly what I mean. And it's sad because this happens so frequently with other shows, and it's great because it did not happen with this show. At a proper length, the show becomes the event Lost used to be. I sit down, excited, with a bowl of snacks and a tall glass of sugar by my side. I get slightly giddy, and saddened (because it's no longer with us) how great Lost would have been had it clocked in at least an hour every episode; not forty four minutes, but a true hour or more.

The modern aspect of this adaptation is played out very nicely: even in today's techno-savvy world, there are still clues to be found and deducted upon (inducted?) without the use of lasers and image enhancement. Watching Holmes hop, skip, and jump to conclusions with only five minutes spent with a dead body is an amazing spectacle. And when it all gets explained you can help but feel that oomph as you ask yourself why everybody misses these obvious clues when they are right under their noses. But, that's the magic of the character.

Text messages and cell phones are used in abundance in the show, and when somebody does receive one, or a phone call, the message spills to life on the screen in an organic way, just as the Panic Room titles showed us it's OK to have on screen text stay in the fourth wall. Holmes uses the Internet on his phone all the time: while he may be incredibly brilliant, he's a master at the Internet search, proving that relevant the web is when you know how to use it.

The series is only three episodes long, but is still quite a bit of show to take in. It is definitely worth your time.