DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SERIES
News, Reviews and Previews
Welcome to the reviews and previews section on International Hero. I've been asked several times by people writing in to me about what books, comics and DVDs I'd recommend checking out. I'm not sure why anyone thinks my opinion is more valid or interesting than anyone else's, but since people have persisted in asking, I'm going to start a semi-regular reviews section where I cover the odd new release, as well as the odd older gem that takes my fancy. I'll warn readers now that anything I review here is probably going to get a positive review, simply because if I don't like something, I'm unlikely to buy it or waste my time writing about it. As ever, comments below are my opinion only, and your feelings may differ stuff about the stuff I like or dislike.
DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SERIES
Available on DVD November 22nd.
Check out the Official Site.
Own it on DVD!
Though touted as the 6th series of Doctor Who, and long-time fans (myself included) would tell you it's actually the 32nd series, what's probably more important is that this is the 2nd series for current show runner, award-winning lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (of Press Gang, Coupling, Jekyll, Sherlock and Adventures of Tintin fame, to name but a few of his more memorable credits) and for the current regular cast, 11th Doctor / BAFTA nominee Matt Smith and his travelling companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams). All of them had a strong first year, and this year builds on that admirably. With a stronger story arc than ever before permeating the season, it's perhaps less accessible to first time viewers than past series, but in contrast to that it rewards regular viewers far more - and I figure that if you are considering buying this DVD then you'll either already be a fan or else will have tested the water with prior series first. The 6-disc set includes the 13 episodes of the series, plus the 2010 Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, a cracking yarn taking full advantage of the potential time-travel offers the Doctor (and not a little similar in concept to Moffat's Dr. Who prose short Continuity Errors) as the Time Lord rewrites curmudgeonly guest star Michael Gambon's history to save hundreds of lives. The sixth series proper starts with a two parter, The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon, setting up the mysteries that will run through the rest of this year's episodes, reintroducing recurring guest star River Song (Alex Kingston) and introducing new villains the Silence, aliens with a unique and terrifying premise. Two strong scripts with Moffat's trademarked humour and scares are enhanced further by stand-out guest stars, father and son William Morgan Sheppard and Mark Sheppard, playing the elder and younger versions of the Doctor's newest ally, FBI agent Canton Delaware III. It's an impressively strong run of episodes overall this year, though special mention should go to Neil Gaiman's The Doctor's Wife, with the title character stunningly portrayed by Suranne Jones; A Good Man Goes to War, where the mystery of River Song's identity is resolved (Spoilers!), the Doctor rounds up several allies who deserve their own spin-off shows and proves just how dangerous a foe he can truly be; The Girl Who Waited follows, which provides Karen Gillan a chance to show off her acting chops, and ends with the Doctor at his most ruthlessly pragmatic; and series finale The Wedding of River Song, an episode so packed with twists, turns and plot resolutions that it's hard to believe it's not feature length.
As ever with Dr. Who sets, there are numerous cracking extras, including the two mini-episodes Space/Time produced for Comic Relief 2010, 5 prequel mini-episodes, 4 Monster Files (featuring Cybermats, the Gangers, the Silence and the Antibodies), all 14 Dr. Who Confidentials (but see next sentence) and 5 "Night and the Doctor" scenes shot specially for this DVD release, as well as the more standard commentary tracks on several episodes. Sadly, it doesn't include the mini-episode shot for Dr. Who Confidential, Death is the Only Answer; I'm hoping that oversight will be corrected in a subsequent release. And, both disappointingly and annoyingly, it doesn't include the Dr. Who Proms 2010 (which included a sketch of Matt Smith in character) that was included in the single DVD release of A Christmas Carol - so if you want that, you'll need to buy it separately.
Despite these last two absences / minor gripes, this set (and Doctor Who in general) remains highly recommended.
YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON ONE, VOLUME TWO
Available on DVD October 25th.
Check
out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!
For decades DC Comics' heroes have been adapted to the small screen in cartoon format. And especially since the 1990s Batman series, most of those cartoons have been excellent (Krypto the Superdog, not so much). Luckily, Young Justice maintains this high standard. If there's been a failing with DC cartoons (and Marvel ones fall prey to this too), it's that it's tough to stay fresh when you keep making new cartoons based on the same characters. No matter how good they are, reinventing Batman (or Spider-Man, or Scooby Doo for that matter) over and over, especially without a significant break between adaptations, becomes increasingly difficult. How do you differentiate your version from those that came before? The characters are iconic, so there's a limit to how much you can change their look. The answer is, of course, to look to your other characters, not just the same handful over and over again. After all, if you owned 100 cars, it'd be pretty silly to only ever drive one out of the garage. And it doesn't just make creative sense, it's good business too, as the non-comic reading public get to learn about the rest of your properties. Thus Young Justice focuses on a team of teen sidekicks: Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis. While there's been two past cartoons covering the Teen Titans, this one focuses on the slightly different Young Justice team originally written by Todd DeZago, but later developed and heavily associated with top comics scribe Peter David. Obviously this being an adaptation, there's a fair few differences between the comic and the cartoon; several of the team members from the comic are absent, though I presume they might show up as the cartoon progresses, we've got the Wally West Kid Flash instead of Bart Allen's Impulse, Dick Grayson Robin instead of any of Tim Drake, Miss Martian (a Teen Titan in the comics, but not one of Young Justice), Artemis instead of Arrowette, and a black Aqualad, though the original comics Aqualad has not been entirely forgotten (more on that below). The team are mentored by the Justice League, with Red Tornado supervising them as he did in the comic, Black Canary training them to fight, and Batman assigning them "under-the-radar" missions the high-profile Justice League can't undertake.
This being volume 2, the set-up for the show has been largely done - obviously, if you are thinking of buying this DVD, I'd advocate picking up Volume 1 first. The disc includes episodes 5 through 8 of the show, and though that's a small sample to judge the show on, they demonstrate some great characterisation and a nice level of variety. Schooled focuses on the team guarding the disassembled parts of the robot Amazo, so that its creator, Professor Ivo, can't reclaim him, but while that provides the action, it's Superboy's relationship with Superman, or rather the lack thereof, that provides the heart of the episode. For those who don't read the comics, since the 1990s Superboy has been a clone of Superman, rather than his younger self; in the cartoon, Superman has yet to come to terms with someone cloning him without his knowledge, and while Superboy desperately craves his progenitor's approval, Superman finds his presence uncomfortable and avoids him. Thus, when Amazo inevitably gets rebuilt and has to be taken down, Superboy forgets teamwork and risks everyone while trying too hard to show that he is Superman's equal. Infiltrator sees Artemis join the team, introduced as Green Arrow's new sidekick, something his former sidekick, Speedy, is less than impressed about. Somewhat like Superboy, Speedy felt the need to prove himself, so rather than joining his peers in Young Justice, he went solo and has reinvented himself as Red Arrow. He brings Young Justice its new mission, protecting a scientist from the League of Shadows, a mission that is further complicated when the main assassin the League sends, Cheshire, proves to have a connection to Artemis that she'd rather her new teammates not learn about. Denial is arguably the magic-sceptic Kid Flash's episode, as the team is sent to check on the missing sorcerer Dr. Fate, and clashes with Fate's foe Klarion the Witch Boy. Finally there's Downtime, where Aqualad returns to Atlantis, and we learn his background, discovering that the comics' original Aqualad, Garth, is his best friend. Both teens proved their bravery saving Aquaman's life and were given the chance to become his protégés, but Garth turned it down.
If I have any complaints, it's that there are only four episodes on this disc, and no extras to speak of. I've never been a fan of episodic DVD releases - give me a season box set every time. Hopefully one will be released down the line. However, for the more casual fan who just wants something to while away a few hours for themselves or their kids, I'd definitely recommend this DVD.
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, SEASON 2, PART 1
Available on DVD August 16th.
Check
out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!
What made the first season of Batman: The Brave and the Bold stand out from past Batman series was the sheer diversity of the episodes. That's not to say that past Batman series were formulaic - far from it. Batman: The Animated Series experimented with all sorts of story telling techniques, shifting the viewpoint characters from Batman to his villains to everyday citizens caught up in the insanely dark world Batman lives in, while The Batman used a range of guest stars in later seasons just as Brave and the Bold does. But, more than either of them, more even than the Justice League Unlimited series, what Batman: The Brave and the Bold is doing, is taking advantage of the wild variety that exists in a superhero universe, where magic, aliens, super-science, demons, and basically every fantasy and science-fiction concept is real, and the massive catalogue of characters DC has on its books. The second season keeps up this trend, with stories featuring time travel to World War I and trips to Monster Island, allowing a refreshing change of pace from the Gotham backdrop mostly used in prior series, and the guest cast include not just the standard team-ups with Justice League alumni such as Green Arrow or Aquaman, but also showcases famous heroes, a wide spectrum ranging from non-powered adventurers the Challengers of the Unknown through "standard" superheroes such as Captain Marvel and Booster Gold right the way to the truly unusual and bizarre, such as Detective Chimp and B'wana Beast. As I said when I reviewed the first half of Season 1, I think this is a wise move on DC's part; Batman's star power bring in the wider audience, and the mix of better known vs. more obscure DC guests not only keeps things fresh, but also serves almost as Easter Eggs for the comic fans who know them, and as a way of introducing other "properties" DC has to the non-comic reading public, building those characters' profiles so that some of them might one day graduate to solo stardom.
All the dozen episodes present in this DVD set are good, enjoyable fun and highly recommended, but for me the stand out is episode 11, "Chill of the Night!", which sees the Spectre and Phantom Stranger, two great characters who deserve more time in the limelight, observing Batman's encounter with Joe Chill, the man who murdered his parents. The concept of Batman vs. Chill isn't new, but the episode scores several bonus points in my book by it's choice of guest voices: Batman's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, are vocalised by 1960s Batman Adam West and former Catwoman Julie Newmar, while the Spectre and Stranger are Batman: The Animated Series' Joker and Batman respectively, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold continues from a strong first season and remains an engaging cartoon and worthy addition to any DC cartoon fan's DVD collection.
SCARECROW & MRS. KING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Available on DVD March 22nd.
Check
out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!
It's been a long time since I last watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King. So long in fact that, while I remember that I did watch it intermittently as a kid when it came out, I don't actually recall any specific stories, though I vaguely remembered that I did enjoy it at the time. So I went into watching this DVD set not knowing how well this very 1980s show would hold up; I've struggled with rewatching certain shows from the past, as my more cynical adult eye picks holes in plots and gets bored with spotting all the repeated themes and reused footage used to cut costs and pad things out. Plus, as we all know, some stuff dates terribly. So, how would Scarecrow and Mrs. King fare?
Not too bad at all, I'm pleased to report. Bruce Boxleitner is wonderful in most of the stuff he's been in, and this is no exception. As Lee Stetson, codename Scarecrow, he's a convincing spy and action hero, and winning leading man. The character of Amanda King is ditsy to the point of being annoying, though that's how she is meant to be; Kate Jackson plays her well, but I have to admit that personally I find the character (not the actress) the show's weak point. If I was Scarecrow, I'd never want to work with her. For the most part the show hasn't dated too much; bar some fashion choices, Soviet foes in some episodes, and the odd bit of technology, you could probably run most episodes by a modern audience, and so long as they didn't recognise some the actors and realise they should be older, you'd probably get away with telling them it was a much more recent production. I also have to admit that I was surprised with the production values. When most shows "go overseas" you get the odd bit of stock footage of the foreign location, and then the characters are seen either in studios or on US (or Canadian) streets passing themselves off for the episode's setting. But Season 2 Scarecrow and Mrs. King cuts no such corners, as the first two episodes, set in London and Munich, are very clearly filmed in the actual cities in question, with directors clearly taking great joy in sweeping shots taking in the distinctive background to prove the fact. This extra effort works wonders both in helping suspend disbelief (I love Mission Impossible, but as I rewatch episodes of that, I keep recognising the same Paramount movie backlot streets and buildings trying to pass themselves off as Eastern Europe, constantly pulling me out of the narrative), and with giving the show a sense of grandeur. It's much easier to feel that these are spies dealing with world affairs if they actually get to visit foreign countries!
The box set has all 23 episodes of the show's second season, but no extras whatsoever. However, as I've mentioned below, while extras can enhance a set, its the episodes that you either want or don't want to have. If you are a fan of the show, you don't need me to tell you to buy this. If you are a fan of light hearted spy fiction like Chuck, then it's also worth checking out.
SCOOBY DOO! MYSTERY INC: SEASON 1, VOLUME 1
Available on DVD January 25th.
Check out the Official Site.
Own it on DVD!
Scooby Doo has gone through several series over the years, some good, some dreadful (anything with Scrappy Doo), but, imo, they've never quite recaptured the fun of the original version. The "fresh spins" each new iteration had added (Scooby Dum, adding Scrappy, losing Fred and Velma, adding the annoying Flim Flam, and then bringing in the robot Robi) weakened the show, rather than improving it. So it was a relief for me to see that this time round, the show has, in many ways, returned to its roots. The entire Mystery Inc gang is here, back solving ghostly hauntings like they did at the start. There's even continuity harking back to the original series, as characters reference villains captured during the original run. And the show retains veteran voice actor Frank Welker as Fred, while Casey Kasem hands over voice duties for Shaggy to Matthew Lillard, who played Shaggy incredibly well in the first two live action Scooby Doo films; Casem remains part of the show however, voicing Shaggy's father. That's not to say there haven't been modifications made to modernise the show, but at least this time most (sadly, not all) of those changes aren't detrimental. The team's parents, who occasionally made appearances one Mystery Inc member at a time in past shows, are now semi-regulars, completely unable to relate to their mystery-obsessed kids. Shaggy and Velma are dating, but this new subplot is handled well as Velma finds herself frustrated at playing second fiddle in Shaggy's affections to Scooby, who Shaggy is trying to keep in the dark about his new girlfriend. Daphne is likewise interested in Fred, but he's oblivious to that (more on this below). The kids are mostly based out of Crystal Cove, which is allegedly where most of their past investigations took place; the town sees ghosts as prime tourist attractions, so the team's tendency to expose them as hoaxes is greatly frustrating to the town's sheriff (ably voiced by Patrick Warburton, aka the live-action Tick), and bewildering to the town's mayor, Fred Jones Sr (voiced by SF genre veteran Gary Cole). There's a lot of self-referential humour, usually nicely done, and there are several genuinely hilarious bits of dialogue. And there is a building underlying story arc, with a mysterious manipulator, Mr. E, playing the team for his own ends. What doesn't work so well is some of the changes to Fred; his penchant for Rube-Goldberg style, over-the-top, traps, is turned into a comedic obsession, blinding him to Daphne's obvious interest in him, but his obsession is a one note joke that swiftly becomes wearing, turning the character from one of the team's top two mystery solvers into a buffoon. Despite this flaw, it's an otherwise great revival/revamp of the Scooby Doo series.
So, the show is good, but what about this DVD itself? It contains four episodes of the new show, and nothing at all of note in the way of extras (sorry, trailers advertising other releases don't count). Interestingly, it seems to me that the second and third episodes should be swapped around in viewing order - though online sources say the episodes are on the disc in broadcast order, in the second episode the team have clearly been sent messages by Mr. E before, and instantly recognize an envelope with his seal on it, while in the third when they get a similar message, they react like it's something new and unknown to them. Still, that's a quibble with the show, rather than the DVD. I have to admit I am much more of a season box set kind of buyer, so if I was looking to purchase a DVD of the show, I'd wait for the set, but if you are less fussed with that and just want a few episodes at a comparatively cheap price to while away the time, then this is worth a look.
MERLIN: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
Available on DVD January 18th.
Check out the Official Site.
Own it on DVD!
The BBC's new take on the Merlin legend has recently finished its third year on UK screens. The US is a little further behind, and the second season box set has just been released on the American market. For those new to the series, Merlin takes a leaf out of Smallville's book, and shows not the Arthur, Merlin and Camelot as commonly depicted, but rather their younger counterparts, growing into the roles they will become legendary for. To say it takes liberties with the established story would be an understatement: showing Merlin as Arthur's contemporary in age is new, for a start. However, anyone who has looked into the stories knows that the Arthurian tales have been massively rewritten over the centuries anyway - Arthur and Merlin both had subtly different names to begin with, Lancelot seems to be a 12th century French invention added to the story to give it more romance, and so on. So the Arthurian story is fair game for making new changes for the sake of a good story and when its done knowingly rather than out of poor research.
The show boasts an excellent cast; comparatively young leads Colin Morgan (as the titular Merlin), Bradley James (a somewhat boorish Prince Arthur), Angel Coulby (Guinevere, here Morgana's maid), and Katie McGrath (Morgana, ward of the king and only starting down the road to villainy) are balanced by veteran thespians Anthony Head as King Uther Pendragon and Richard Wilson as Merlin's mentor Gaius. The premise has Merlin working as Arthur's servant in a Camelot where magic has been brutally persecuted and vanished by Uther, an overreaction on his part to the past villainy of some magic users. Merlin is forced to hide his own innate magical prowess on pain of death if he is discovered, while simultaneously protecting Camelot and Arthur from threats both magical and mundane. There's a nice level of moral ambiguity running through the series; magic was banned with largely good reason, thanks to the excesses and cruelty of some of those who used it, but the ruthless crushing of all magic has driven otherwise benign magical beings to hate Camelot, and thus act against it, which in turn fuels Uther's hatred for sorcery even more, a truly vicious cycle. Morgana is a compassionate and caring individual, who opposes Uther's persecutions, even before she discovers her own magical power early in the second season; Uther loves her like a daughter, unaware he is increasingly driving her to hate him, sending her down a dark path to become the most villainous of all Arthurian characters. Meanwhile Arthur is a jerk, but he's not a total loss, and Merlin struggles to help him grow into a true hero, one that will inspire legends. And there is the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, voiced by John Hurt. Through season 1 and up until the final episode of season two, he is imprisoned beneath Camelot, where he acts as a benign advisor to Merlin. But in the final episode of the second year, The Last Dragonlord, he escapes, and it becomes clear just how much he truly hates Uther, the man who slaughtered his kin. An okay show in the first year, in the second Merlin really finds its feet, and the characters begin to grow, gradually but unquestionably, towards the figures of legends to come. Future villain Mordred is introduced, and other Arthurian characters such as Lancelot return, but the focus is on the organic growth of the leads.
The DVD set comes with the obligatory audio commentaries and behind the scenes / making of features, all of which are enjoyable enough, but nothing exciting,. It's the episodes you want this for, not the extras, and on that front this DVD set is well worth it.
LOONEY
TUNE SUPER STARS: TWEETY & SYLVESTER:
FELINE FWENZY
Available on DVD November 30th.
Check out the Official Site. Own
it on DVD!
Caveat emptor. It's one of the Latin phrases that has stuck around in public use for millennia after Latin became a virtually dead language, used mainly by scholars. And unfortunately, it's what springs to mind as I review the Looney Tune Super Stars: Tweety and Sylvester collection. Make no mistake, I love Warner Bros cartoons, and while Tweety and Sylvester aren't my favourite characters (frankly, Tweety is too full of himself for my liking, and I end up rooting for poor Sylvester), their cartoons are generally among the best slapstick-filled antics you could hope to watch - while each debuted separately (Tweety in 1942's A Tale of Two Kitties, Sylvester in 1945's Life With Feathers), it was only when the two were combined that comedy gold was achieved. And this DVD is chock full of fifteen of the best Tweety and Sylvester stories, with both leads voiced by the eponymous Mel Blanc. The disc starts with their first pairing, 1947's Academy Award winning Tweetie Pie, though Sylvester is called Thomas, and highlights include 1949's Canary Row, where Granny is added to the mix for the first time; 1952's Gift Wrapped, which introduces Hector the Bulldog to the troupe; 1953's Snow Business, which features a friendly Tweety and Sylvester turning against one another when trapped together in a snowed-in mountain cabin; 1954's Satan's Waitin', in which one by one Sylvester loses each of his nine lives, visiting Hell and encountering a Satanic Hector along the way; and 1959's Birds Anonymous, another Academy Award winner, where Sylvester tries, and fails, to give up his bird addiction. There isn't a single bad cartoon among them.
So, why do I immediately think caveat emptor, buyer beware, when I viewed this DVD? It's because, unlike past collections, there's not a single cartoon here that hasn't already been released as part of one of the previous Looney Tine Golden Collection sets. If you already have those, then there's nothing on this DVD to recomment itself to you. Make no mistake though; I'd rather there were no previously unreleased cartoons than have a disc where it was a mix of both. I can live with the Foghorn Leghorn collection having a single repeat, but any more than that and it gets galling. I don't want to be forced to buy DVDs with a lot of stuff I already own just for the sake of getting a few cartoons I don't and which aren't available elsewhere. So in that respect, the repeats are forgiveable - if you own the Golden Collections, you don't have to get this. Less forgiveable is the lack of mention that it's an all-repeat disc, though I guess that saying that wouldn't be much of a selling point. The other Super Star sets do tell you how many new tales are on them, so I guess that, so long as Warners keep that practice up, collectors (as opposed to casual shoppers) can avoid double dipping by recognising that DVDs that don't tell you they have new episodes are repeaters.
If you don't already own or plan to buy the Golden Collections, then this DVD is well worth picking up, and comes highly recommended. However, if you do, then you already have everything this DVD has to offer - don't make the mistake of paying for the same thing twice.
LOONEY
TUNE SUPER STARS: FOGHORN LEGHORN &
FRIENDS: BARNYARD BIGMOUTH
Available on DVD November 30th.
Check out the Official Site. Own
it on DVD!
"Foghorn Leghorn, the overgrown, adult rooster with the strong Virginia accent and a penchant for mischief, is featured as the Super Star is these Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. Watch the diminutive Henery Hawk's attempts to catch and eat Foghorn, Foghorn's gags on his canine nemesis Barnyard Dawg and finally the overgrown rooster's efforts to woo the widowed hen Miss Prissy in this collection of cartoon shorts. Additionally Foghorn is joined on the disc by some other Looney Friends such as Elmer Fudd and Two Crows. This second installment of the "Looney Tunes Super Star" series, prominently stars Foghorn Leghorn and some of his Looney Tunes friends. Fans have been asking for more of Foghorn Leghorn so I Say I Say I Say Son here it is!"
I have to be honest. Foghorn Leghorn is probably my least favourite Warners cartoon regular lead. I can't help it; I find him an annoying blowhard. Luckily he usually gets his comeuppance, and his cartoons retain the usual Warner Bros humourous flair, so least favourite character does not translate into bad cartoons. Up until a few years ago Warner Bros were releasing their cartoons in the excellent Looney Tunes Golden Collections, but sadly they discontinued that series with volume 6 (or 4 if you are based outside the USA), and have now switched to individual character sets, starting with Bugs Bunny (naturally) and Daffy Duck (equally predictable), their two top stars. Now it's Foghorn's turn, a surprising choice, as I'd have thought Porky Pig or Wile. E Coyote / Road Runner more likely candidates. Still, I'm not complaining; at least they are still releasing cartoons previously unavailable on DVD. This set includes nine Foghorn cartoons, one of which, Broken Leghorn, was previously released as part of Looney Tunes Golden Collection #1, plus six other cartoons featuring Elmer Fudd and other, lesser, Warner stars. I'm not entirely sure why they chose to do that, as Foghorn has enough unreleased cartoons to fill a set by himself, but I guess it makes sense to Warners to ration out their major player's features so they can include some of the cartoons less likely to sell as solo ventures.
The DVD has no extras, but the cartoons are worth getting for themselves, especially if you are a fan / collector of Warner Bros animation. Recommended.
SHERLOCK: SEASON 1
Available on DVD November 9th.
Check out the Official Site.
Own it on DVD!
There have been many adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes, some good, many bad, so why make yet another one? Well, if you are Steven Moffat (Doctor Who [see below], Coupling, Press Gang) and Mark Gatiss (League of Gentlemen), it's because you love the character and have a fresh new outlook on the character. Taking inspiration from the Basil Rathbone movies which brought Sherlock forward from the Victorian fog to the (then) modern-day of the 1940s, this new incarnation is set in current day London, with all its computers, forensic techniques, and modern policing. However, though the world has learned a thing or two about investigating crime since the Victorian era, it was Sherlock's sharp mind that kept him ahead of the game, and that holds true in any era.
Gatiss and Moffat have done a sterling job of updating the concepts and characters while keeping them very true to the spirit of Doyle's original tales. Holmes takes taxis rather than Hansom cabs, uses mobile phones and the internet to speed his research, and his friend John Watson chronicles their adventures in his blog rather than writing it down in his diaries, but despite these superficial changes, these are very much the same characters who strode through London's streets a little more than a century ago. Watson remains a retired army doctor not long returned from service in Afghanistan, whose chance meeting with an old medical school friend leads to him becoming flatmates with an ascerbic, antisocial, consulting detective. They still reside at 221B Baker Street, lodgers of Mrs. Hudson, and still get called to help out the police by Lestrade, albeit here a Detective Inspector rather than just plain Inspector. And lurking behind the scenes there remains a master criminal pulling strings, whose surname begins with an M...
The series sadly only runs for three episodes, with the middle one being the weakest, though weakest in this context means least best out of three very strong stories. Benedict Cumberbatch is a perfect Holmes, and the first man I've seen since Jeremy Brett to really make the role his own, while Martin Freeman is spot-on as Watson, portrayed, as he should be, as both brave and intelligent; not for this series the bumbling idiot version of Watson which blights so many adaptations. Watson has always been smart, but next to Holmes' intellect virtually anyone is going to be eclipsed. For those well-versed in Sherlockian lore, you can spot nods to the original tales dotted through all the stories, but these are done subtly, so that they don't detract for the more casual viewer.
Bonus features include commentaries, a documentary "Unlocking Sherlock", and, best of all, the original pilot; as someone who is unbothered by most additional features but who will kill for extra story, this last is easily the most exciting extra, and almost worth the price of admission all by itself. A new series is in production for next year, and I'm greatly looking forward to it; in the mean time, I've got this DVD to keep me going.
Very highly recommended.
All images and characters depicted on this site are copyright their respective holders, and are used for informational purposes only. No infringement is intended and copyrights remain at source.