Sherlock

Network: PBS
Episodes: 13 (90 minutes)
Seasons: Four

TV show dates: October 24, 2010 — January 15, 2017
Series status: Ended

Performers include: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, Mark Gatiss, Jonathan Aris, Andrew Scott, Amanda Abbington, Vinette Robinson, Lara Pulver, and Lars Mikkelsen.

TV show description:
This British mystery crime drama is a modern-day adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories and detective novels. Set in contemporary London, it features the genius, aloof, eccentric consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch).

While Sherlock calls himself a high-functioning sociopath, his capacity for empathy, remorse, and his long-standing bonds with certain people, betray the lie. Sherlock has struggled with substance abuse. He misuses nicotine patches, when not smoking cigarettes.

Injured and haunted, Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), is fresh off a tour of duty with the Royal Army Medical Corps, in Afghanistan. He is in need of a flatshare, in order to afford London life. Mike (David Nellist), an old colleague from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital (St. Bart’s), introduces John and Sherlock at the St. Bart’s morgue, where the detective conducts experiments on corpses.

St. Bart’s pathologist, Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), is clearly sweet on Sherlock. She also genuinely admires and respects him. Molly indulges Sherlock, even when she should not. While easily wounded by his lack of social grace, Molly has earned Sherlock’s trust.

When John first arrives at the flat at 221b Baker St., he meets the landlady, Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs), who welcomes him into her home and life. While Mrs. Hudson is quick to remind Sherlock and John that she is a landlady, not a housekeeper, she dotes on her “boys,” even while clucking her tongue.

Despite her ordinary, middle-aged, middle-class demeanor, Mrs. Hudson has a past. A quick study, as she is exposed to Sherlock and John’s detective work, she proves a valuable ally.

While the police see Sherlock as an annoyance at best and psychopath at worst, Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) recognizes Sherlock’s scorching intellect, and relies upon his deductive skills. Sherlock also holds Lestrade in high esteem, particularly in comparison to the rest of the force.

During John’s first visit to 221b Baker St., Lestrade asks Sherlock to consult on a string of deaths, labeled suicides. Intrigued, John not only becomes Sherlock’s flatmate, but also gets caught up in the case.

With John’s help, Sherlock proves a serial killer murdered the victims. The longer John lives and works with Sherlock, the further he gets drawn into his patchwork social circle. Sherlock’s dark, thrilling world gives John a new purpose.

Criminally insane Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is as brilliant as he is crazy. Hellbent on proving himself superior to Sherlock, Moriarty apparently kills himself, in an attempt to discredit his nemesis.

Dominatrix Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) traffics in sensitive information she coaxes and steals from her clients. She meets Sherlock while he is investigating her. The two forge an unmistakable bond. Calling her “The Woman,” he allows Adler is the only foe who has ever beaten him.

Devastated by Sherlock’s staged death, John meets and falls in love with nurse Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington). After Sherlock returns, Mary and John wed. Best Man Sherlock gives them his utmost support, only after he nearly sinks the pair, by exposing Mary’s shadowy past.

Sherlock’s big brother, Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss), says he occupies a minor government position. Sherlock says Mycroft “is” the British Government. Convinced of his own intellectual superiority, Mycroft at turns helps and hinders Sherlock, but also worries deeply about him.

Media mogul, Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen), values power above all. He blackmails Mary, in order to collect Sherlock as one of his “assets.” Sherlock loathes Magnussen, perhaps more than any villain he has ever encountered. Will he prove Sherlock Holmes’ undoing?

Series Finale:
Episode #13 — The Final Problem
A dark secret in the Holmes family rears its head with a vengeance, putting Sherlock and friends through a series of sick, manipulative psychological and potentially fatal games.
First aired: January 15, 2017.

What do you think? Do you like the Sherlock TV show? Do you think it should have ended or been renewed for another season?