# Sherlock (BBC) question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848 "2011-09-19T18:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/1 "2011-09-19T18:12:56Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/2 "2011-09-19T18:17:37Z")
I don’t know if the pilot was aired or is officially available. I do know that it is… unofficially available. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/3 "2011-09-19T18:28:38Z")
Ah, I see. Was it titled simply “Sherlock pilot” or does it have an official episode name? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/4 "2011-09-19T18:29:11Z")
Second season was filming a month or two back, so there will definitely be a second one. Another whopping three episodes, I believe. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/5 "2011-09-19T18:41:57Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Second season was filming a month or two back, so there will definitely be a second one. Another whopping three episodes, I believe. > > -Joe And it just got moved to 2012 instead of November of this year. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/6 "2011-09-19T18:44:57Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > And it just got moved to 2012 instead of November of this year. Soon they’ll need to solve the “Conundrum of the Slain TV Executive”. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/7 "2011-09-19T19:41:34Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Another whopping three episodes, I believe. 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. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/8 "2011-09-19T19:52:12Z")
Don’t have ‘pilots’ in the UK, at least not in the sense you mean. The first tranche was 3 x 90 minutes (probably 2 hours with adverts). The middle one was the weaker - written by a newcomer. That’s it so far. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/9 "2011-09-19T19:55:54Z")
Yeah, I wasn’t aware of any earlier episodes before the three that made up the series. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/10 "2011-09-19T19:56:32Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/11 "2011-09-19T20:01:26Z")
> [@3trew](#): > > I don’t know if the pilot was aired or is officially available. I do know that it is… unofficially available. It’s on the DVD boxset. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/12 "2011-09-19T20:25:24Z")
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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/13 "2011-09-19T20:39:27Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/14 "2011-09-19T20:41:47Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Well done, Benedict Cumberbatch. (I’ve just learned he’s Timothy Dalton’s son, too, which is neat.) That would be pretty damn cool, but sadly, he really isn’t. His father is an actor called Timothy [Carlton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Cumberbatch), rather than Dalton. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/15 "2011-09-19T22:26:54Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Don’t have ‘pilots’ in the UK, at least not in the sense you mean. > > The first tranche was 3 x 90 minutes (probably 2 hours with adverts). The middle one was the weaker - written by a newcomer. That’s it so far. Nitpick - it’s a BBC production so no adverts. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/16 "2011-09-20T01:35:16Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Nitpick - it’s a BBC production so no adverts. 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… ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/17 "2011-09-20T03:26:59Z")
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. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212722/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212722/) It looks like a lot of actors from LOTR are coming back for **The Hobbit**. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/18 "2011-09-20T08:13:54Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Nitpick - it’s a BBC production so no adverts. There are no adverts on BBC America? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/19 "2011-09-20T08:41:37Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > There are no adverts on BBC America? 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. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848/20 "2011-09-20T09:27:24Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > 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. 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-bbc-question/596848.md?page=2)