Do you know the feeling when you’ve discovered another absolute fine example of entertainment, a movie or a game or a book that completely enthralls you, that makes you forget all the crap you had to wade through to get to it and reminds you why you bother in the first place. Well, this was how I felt after watching the first episode of this mini-series from the BBC. Really, the first episode was everything I hoped it to be. Excellent characterization that managed to make Sherlock look mostly as brilliant as we expect from him, but cleverly showed the limits of Sherlock’s intellect (like the scene where Sherlock tried to deduct something about Watson’s life). But what really sold the episode to me was the strong characterization of Watson. Watson stood his ground against Sherlock, he was not just a bumbling fool that allowed Sherlock to shine, but a fully realized character with his own unique strengths.
Sadly, the two later episode went back to the well-known formula of Sherlock as a the clearly superior and Watson following like a dog his master. Sure, Watson also followed Sherlock in the first episode, but the dynamic was completely different. If the upcoming second season manages to recapture what made A Study in Pink such a strong episode, the show might be saved, but if it delivers just more of what episode two and three of the first season did, then it’s just another variation on the well-known TV-Sherlock formula of past series (something nobody needs). At least there’s a sequel to the 2009 Sherlock movie in 2011, which had an equally strong Watson character.
The Entropy Pump 