Sherlock: Season Three (BBC/DVD)

The writers and producers of SHERLOCK took a chance in Season 1 by creating a completely quirky yet fantastic version of a modern Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman). With SHERLOCK becoming a worldwide season, the writers handled Season Three with more daring pizzazz and excitement than the previous 2 seasons combined. SHERLOCK only gets better and when you think it can't be outdone, the writers take us in a completely unexpected direction.There are only three episodes this season but they are extended episodes that are almost like self-contained films. As we know from the end of Season 2, Sherlock Holmes "died" from a fall, yet as a teaser we know in the last minutes that he is very much alive. Season Three begins two years later as Watson is still grieving the "loss" of his friend. Easing his pain is Watson's new love Mary Morstan (played by Martin Freeman's real-life partner Amanda Abbington). Sherlock reappears in an amazing scene and well, now there are three main players.There never has been such a n off-beat and comedic version of Sherlock and Watson as in this brilliant BBC series. These two maintain a love/hate releationship that only depends by the minute. There is a just the right amount of intrigue peppered with comedic interaction. The cast is cleaning enjoying this show. Kudos to Una Stubbs as the confused but loveable landlady Mrs. Hudson and to Louise Brealey as Molly Hopper, the pathologist with a longing for Sherlock. There are so many cast members to praise. All are a pure delight on screen.Adding to the comedy is the Sherlock Holmes fan club members trying to figure out how Sherlock faked what about to be a genuinely real death. The writers, no doubt, had fun with this story line.Episode 3, "HIS LAST VOW" takes us further into the story that could ever be imagined. Be prepared for a major story twist and a life-changing event for Sherlock that only he can brush off in his most quirky way. The twist is so shocking and so surprising and it it is all explained with surprising finesse by the writers. Add in the mysterious Charles Augustus Magnessen who has secrets on just about everyone. Lars Mikkelsen plays Magnessen with a cool, conniving manner that is rarely seen. Again, here is a cast that enjoys every second of their roles.Be sure to get the UK edition that has the complete series and watch any and all extras that explain the story and the wonderful visual effects. Here is one show that is beyond perfect. It can't be missed! SHERLOCK is simply phenomenal. Every piece of the puzzle fits in a most amazing way.

First I decided Jeremy Brett was the best Sherlock Holmes on the screen, then Johnny Lee Miller, then Benedict Cumberbatch, but now I think it's Jeremy Brett for the first season, before he put too much Brett into the character. There's nothing wrong with Cumberbatch's interpretation - well, there is: he's just not fastidious enough for my taste. Holmes of the penny dreadful stories is nothing if not fastidious. I see him on the floor, examining a clue no one else can even see, then when he stands up, he's still clean, as if he had just stepped out of the entrance to 221B. He is never called Sherlock, his name is "Holmes." But Cumberbatch revels in the behaviors that make one dirty. He may be Sherlock, but he is not Holmes.Martin Freeman's Watson, however, is far and away the best Watson I have ever seen, better that I could have imagined after at least a dozen bumbling, moronic Watsons we seem to have been gifted with over the years. Freeman's Watson is courageous,, intelligent, but injured by the horrors of war, and with the need for action that life with Holmes offers. Absolutely the best, a match for Sherlock in every way except Watson has a moral compass that Sherlock seems to lack.To say Cumberbatch's Sherlock was not my favorite Holmes is not to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy every minute of every episode in three seasons of the show, I was completely involved, entangled, addicted to the show. And while I was watching, I thought Cumberbatch had the character down pat, but in retrospect I can't say he was "better", just new and different, and unfortunately, like a child who doesn't mind getting muddy as he splashes through the puddles after a rain.So... An excellent re-interpretation of the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, excellent in all aspects save one, and Benedict Cumberbbatch is an excellent, award worthy actor who's immersion in the character of Sherlock the hyper-intelligent man, stuck developmentally at twelve years old, who's exuberant pursuit of accurate explanations of reality lead to wonderful stories for us to watch unfold. I will watch them again, and possibly again, and enjoy every minute. You should too.