BBC's Sherlock - The Best Holmes

Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) Irene Adler (Laura Pulver)

Whether you've heard of Sherlock or not, you've undoubtedly heard of the adventures/detective stories of Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Over the years, there have been a staggering amount (I say too many!) on screen interpretations of Conan Doyle's stories, some of which have been extremely true to the nature of his writing, others looked into Sherlock's yonger days, while my favorite interpretation has taken the leap into the modern realm.

In this particular series, created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, (both writers on Doctor Who), each episode is based on one of the many cases that Holmes solved in the canon, while using the modern technologies available to him in today's world. The series is very true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing in terms of plot, though many of his most famous characters have been altered. Usually this would keep me from enjoying an otherwise brilliant series, but not in this case, as each character is brilliantly crafted to perfectly modern versions of their previous selves! (Cannot get enough of Andrew Scott as Moriarty!)

Where Robert Downey Jr. is unconvincing as Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch soars to new heights! I really couldn't recommend this series any more highly. It took ages for both seasons to become available in the United States, but they are both on iTunes now (6 episodes, 2 seasons), so you have no excuse! I've never really attempted to read Conan Doyle's stories (shame on me!), but they are definitely doing a great deal right, as this show makes me want to read up!

Though there won't be another series until late 2013 or possible 2014, I cannot wait to see Cumberbatch and Freeman team up again (in a way), in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, which is a seriously magical and easy read that you should all brush up on before this Christmas!