I watched the first DVD of the BBC series, Sherlock, this weekend, and on the producers’ commentary, they kept referencing a pilot. I take it this was not the first episode that aired. Do any of you know anything about this pilot (plot, title, etc.) and if it was ever aired in the UK and/or if it will be made available on DVD?
I found the show very fun and charming (and Martin Freeman is adorable, how did I not notice this before?)…is there any news about how the second season/series is coming along? When is it going to air?
Noooooo. I want MORE! Do you know which mysteries they’ve adapted?
I was feeling bummed that I missed this show when it aired and therefore missed the timely discussion, but now I’m relieved I don’t have to wait (quite) so long.
I’ve watched Sherlock a bunch on Netflix Streaming. Then I had Netflix (soon to be Quickster(?)) send me the DVD’s. They include a “making of” feature, comment tracks on 2 episodes & the original pilot–that was never aired. (I don’t think it was intended as a pilot–it was just the first episode; but it’s called the pilot now.)
The pilot is called “A Study In Pink”–like the first episode. But it’s only an hour long & has cheaper production values. Pretty good, but BBC decided to fund 1.5 hour “features.” The series we saw uses more expensive cameras, has a fuller soundtrack (with more real instruments) & more interesting directing choices. Sherlock has a more expensive wardrobe & Benedict Cumberbatch changed his performance quite a bit. (For the better, I think.) The extra time was used to develop the characters more fully.
The next series wrapped at the end of August & is in in post-production. It should be seen in the UK “early” in 2012 & is scheduled for the US in May. Still only three episodes: "A Scandal in Belgravia, " “The Hounds of Baskerville” & “The Reichenbach Fall.”
Thanks – I haven’t received the second DVD from Netflix yet, so I guess my first question was premature.
But we have to wait until May for the second installment? Woe. But the Hounds of the Baskervilles?! Yay!
I thought “A Study in Pink” was well-adapted and well-written – I appreciated how they got across Sherlock’s leaps in logic and the use of visuals to indicate how quickly his mind works – up until the moment when the audience is allowed to catch up to him and know something he didn’t. I don’t know if it was the sudden change of roles or pace or whatever it was, but when the identity of the killer was so obvious to us and still unknown to him…it felt like a real stumble. I wish the writing hadn’t done that. Otherwise, it was great. I appreciated the oscillations in Sherlock’s demeanor from icily cold when he was “on” to effusively delighted when he was right. He felt like a real, believable human being and not a projection of an archetype. Well done, Benedict Cumberbatch. (I’ve just learned he’s Timothy Dalton’s son, too, which is neat.)
I didn’t think “The Blind Banker” was disappointing or anything, but it did feel like it was missing the spark of the first episode. If the third episode is as good as the first, it will be a treat.
I thought the first and third episodes were amazing, while the second felt like it had wandered in from a distinctly inferior series. An older one, too - perhaps penned by one’s racist uncle. I practically expected Holmes to begin expounding in learned tones upon the “yellow peril.” Still had good moments, but while I rewatch the other two eps every four months or so, I never touch the second.
And it’s shown here on PBS–so no ads are added. (Although, if it were on BBCamerica, we might get it sooner. Except that WGBH Boston is a co-producer.))
It should be shown in the UK early in 2012–but I don’t think there’s a date. And I know there are alternate methods of getting it before May–but, last time, the DVDs & Blu-Rays were available in the UK about a month after broadcast. So–multi-region player or Blu-Ray…
Maybe they will make more episodes when Martin Freeman finishes filming The Hobbit. It looks that is going to be released as two movies.
Oops. I just checked the credits and Benedict Cumberbatch is in The Hobbit also and he is scheduled for some other TV series also. I wouldn’t hold my breath for more Sherlock episodes after the next 3 come out.
Of course there are; it’s a US cable station. So, when it runs BBC productions like Doctor Who–commercials are added.
PBS has no commercials, so it runs the BBC stuff (like Sherlock) without ads, although some cuts may be made to fit into the schedule. Downton Abbey is an ITV production, so it ran with ads in the UK; on PBS, it ran without ads & the shows were rearranged to fit into the Masterpiece time slot, with very slight cuts. The* Daily Mail* ran an article claiming huge cuts had been made to suit the idiotic American audience. It appears that paper is not 100% reliable; at any rate, the next series of Downton Abbey will be run uncut here.
Martin Freeman will be in almost every scene of The Hobbit, so that’s who has to come back for the series to continue. Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of Smaug and has another minor role, but he’ll only be needed on set for a few weeks at the most, so he has free time to pursue other projects while Martin Freeman is busy. Which will be for at least the rest of the year.
