Sherlock - The Hounds of Baskerville

On Sunday January 8 the second episode of the current series of Sherlock was aired.  This one was based on the story the Hound of the Baskervilles.  Personally this is my favourite of all the Sherlock Holmes stories and I can say I was a bit worried about how this would be done.  The story line was different to the original but the tone was a bit similar even if the motives behind everything was different.

The episode starts with Sherlock being very bored and wanting a new case.  When Watson says he should check his email he ridicules the case that he found about a girl who wants him to find Bluebell her rabbit who went missing after glowing in the dark.  Luckily Henry Knight comes to see them and brings with him the story of his father’s murder by a huge hound in Dartmoor.  Sherlock in his usual fashion disregards the whole thing apart from the fact that Henry used the word hound.  

The story line of this episode did detract from the original quite a bit but then I don’t see how they could have kept the original story without seeming outdated.  In this story Baskerville is not the name of the affected family but rather a secret military research base.  Anyway Sherlock and Watson go to Dartmoor, which honestly is really beautiful while being totally creepy at night, to investigate Henry’s claims.  

I have to say that the way the characters handled everything added to the eerie feel of this episode.  The scene were wonderfully done as we with you feeling nervous and a little scared for everyone without being terrified out of your mind or bored.  I did feel bad for Watson in this episode because Sherlock was kind of freaking out and was really mean to him.  

There are a host of wonderful scenes in this episode that are just really amazingly done.  The creepiest for me was when Henry is at home and his outside light keeps going on.  Russell Tovey was unbelievable in this scene and you really felt for him.  

All in all this was another wonderful episode from the Sherlock crew.  There were twists because I seriously thought that it was either Henry’s therapist or the doctor who makes animals glow.  There were also good moments between all the characters.

Sherlock - A Scandal in Belgravia

On New Year’s Day Sherlock returned to our screens on BBC 1 and what a return it was.  Honestly I have been waiting for a year for this because Sherlock is excellent.  The first episode was based on the story a Scandal in Bohemia.  When I say based I should probably say loosely based as the characters have been changed to suit the new modern Sherlock look.

That aside the story was once again wonderfully done.  You have to give it to Steven Moffat who wrote this episode.  Not only did he bring in the story of the Scandal in Boehemia but also other storylines only found in Sherlock like the continued appearance of Jim Moriarty and Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes. 

I like how the episode picked up directly where the last, The Great Game, left off.  That is with the stand-off between Sherlock, Watson and Moriarty.  I have to say that I love how Moriarty is portrayed in this show as this mastermind who is a little quirky.  The perfect enemy for Sherlock really.  So Moriarty gets a phone call in the middle of a stand-off which is a little funny because all of them are like sure you can get that.  

Sherlock seems a bit lost after this.  I love how when Sherlock is lost he solves cases and dismisses others.  Unfortunately for Sherlock John’s blog is doing really well and they are now celebrities and we get a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch in the iconic Sherlock Holmes hat.  I have to say he pulls it off rather well.  

The main story of this episode is that a female member of the royal family has been seeing a dominatrix, Irene Adler, who now has compromising pictures of the person.  The government obviously wants the picture to ensure that the royals can’t be blackmailed.  They send Sherlock to get the picture back but he becomes a bit involved with Adler as she escapes when he tries to get the picture.  

Benedict Cumberbatch was again excellent as Sherlock.  He seems to have this ability to bring out the genius in the character while still being someone that is so completely strange to those around him.  I feel that you can really connect with the character even though you most of the time do not get his thought patterns.  In this episode the way he portrays Sherlock’s interest in Adler is wonderful.  He didn’t go down the route of smitten but it was more subtle and you really got to see progression in Sherlock’s character.

Martin Freeman was also wonderful as Watson.  I love how he doesn’t know what Sherlock is going on about but sometimes does understand Sherlock anyway.  Martin Freeman also seems to capture the fact that Watson completely trusts Sherlock without him seeming to have no thoughts of his own. 

Lara Pulver who plays Irene Adler was a great actress for this role.  She is domineering yet approachable at the same time.  I also love how she shows that Adler is interested in Sherlock but at the same time not.  

The characters were unbelievably portrayed and the story was written very well.  There never seemed to be a time when you thought okay where is this all going.  There were a few twists that you really don’t see coming.  I personally like the fact that someone one ups Sherlock and he doesn’t feel stupid about it but rather accepts that there is someone who can match him.  

Overall I would have to say that A Scandal in Belgravia definitely lived up to what I was expecting.  The only problem was that the episode had to end.

Treasure Island Sky 1

On New Year’s Day and January 2^nd Treasure Island was shown on Sky 1.  I was really looking forward to this show because the trailers looked really good.  Now I have to admit that I have never read the book so I didn’t really know the whole story before watching.  That I feel should not have been a problem at all but I found that I seemed to be missing things along the way.

The first episode started off well with the whole story of why Long John Silver only has one leg and why they need to get to the island.  The problems started shortly after this.  Now that we were off the boat there was an inn or a tavern place.  This is where we meet Jim the boy we saw in the trailers.  Now in stumbles one of the pirates from the opening scene but if they told us how long after the whole ship scene this is I missed that.

Anyway the pirate is staying at the inn that Jim and his Mother own.  He seemed a bit mad and people try to kill him.  They don’t really tell us why he is there or why Jim is so buddy, buddy with him either.  In the end I found his death a bit anticlimactic.  

In the first episode the story progression was kind of slow but does pick up near the end.  Now this may just be the way the story is or a ploy to get us to watch the second part.  To me the second part of the miniseries was better than the first.  That could have been because more was happening and the first episode was to build up the characters and story line.  

While the story was a bit slow I have to say that the acting was rather good.  Eddie Izzard did a really good job as Long John Silver.  He was bad but in a way that you could still see him as good, if that makes any sense.  The way he portrayed the different sides of the character was excellent as he moved from being the manipulative pirate to the cook and friend that Jim likes.  

I had never heard of Toby Regbo before but he was actually a very good Jim.  The fact that he was able to show how Jim goes from a naive young man to someone who knows what’s going on was unbelievable.  Unfortunately the character himself often annoyed me but I can’t fault Toby Regbo for his performance. 

Elijah Wood was as usual brilliant in his portrayal of Ben Gunn.  My one problem was that he simply wasn’t in the show enough.  Each time I see Elijah Wood I notice how versatile as an actor he is.  At first Ben Gunn is just a follower but when we see him next he is a little crazy from spending way too much time alone.  I didn’t know that Elijah Wood could pull crazy off so well.

The other cast members were also very good.  Philip Glenistter played Captain Smollent very well.  He captured what it would be like to be a captain on this kind of mission.  Rupert Penry-Jones was unbelievable as Squire Trelawney.  He really got the whole better than you attitude and the decent into insanity that this character seemed to go through.  

All in all the show was okay.  I feel the slow pace of the story may have let it down a bit but then maybe the book is like this as well.  The cast was magnificent and really captured the emotions of the characters. 

New Year TV

So it is officially 2012!  What does that mean for us really?  Well it means that there is new TV coming up!  A lot of shows are starting today and in the next week or so.  Let’s take a look at all the new shows starting on New Year’s Day.

Sherlock

This is actually something I’ve been waiting for all year and now it is here!  So this is the second season of the show and like the last will only have three episodes in it.  The first is A Scandal in Belgravia which is based off A Scandal in Bohemia.  This will air at 8:10pm on BBC1.

Treasure Island

You may have noticed all the trailers and ads for this show.  It looks quite good from the ads and it has Elijah Wood in it.  The first of two parts will be shown tonight at 7pm on Sky 1.  

Got to Dance

Another season of this wonderful dance competition is here.  I really like this show because I know that the judges know what they are talking about.  The panel consists of Ashley from Diversity, Adam Garcia and Kimberley Wyatt, a former Pussycat Doll. This show is on at 6pm on Sky 1 tonight.

 

So that’s the line up for New Year’s Day so what is coming up in the following week?

Celebrity Big Brother

On Thursday another season of Big Brother is going to start with Celebrity Big Brother.  I still don’t know who is going to be in the house but I hope there is more action than last year.  On a good note there will be limited live feed which is good but I wish there was complete live feed.  The launch will be on Thursday 10pm on Channel 5.

New Girl

This new show is coming to us on Friday 6 on Channel 4.  It’s about a girl who moves in with 3 single guys and what they get up to.  I hope it’s going to be as good as the trailer makes it out to be.  

Stella

Also coming on Friday is Stella on Sky 1 at 9pm.  This is a show set in South Wales so I feel it should be good as the Welsh seem to come out with good shows (that I’ve seen).  It looks like it will be quite funny and we always need some good comedy shows.

Take Me Out

Next Saturday at 7:30pm Take Me Out is back with the third season.  This is a dating show where 30 see if a single man is someone they would want to date.  This rather odd dating show is hosted by Paddy McGuinness who adds a bit of comedy to the whole thing.

So that is what we can look forward to tonight and the rest of the week.  Hope all the shows are as good as they seem.