Sherlocked.

I have become obsessed with the BBC series "Sherlock".  For a while there, it was kind of a problem.  You see, it's just so damned GOOD. Not only is it a brilliant update to one of my all-time favourite stories, it pushed me to detour into Holmesville for the past two months.  I have re-read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories, and digging out as many of the pastiche and homage works as I can find.  Since the character is in public domain, there are some bizarro ones out there.  That said, I am glad to revisit the source material, because I think it helps me sort out the building of character.  Off-hand, I am unable to name another character in popular fiction as clearly drawn as Sherlock Holmes.  He is bigger than life and still completely absorbing.  I am particularly interested in the early stories that built the legend.

The BBC series is set in a contemporary London - not THE contemporary London, but a fanciful one where a flat on Baker Street is within the means of two not-very-employed men.  The series shoots London the way many American ones shoot New York - the city itself takes on a role in the story. The cinematography gives the series a filmic look, which enhances the modern day tempo of the stories.  Technology is central to the narrative as well - a blog replaces Watson's magazine chronicling, and Sherlock is welded to his smartphone (a constant source of data and impersonal texting communication).

I think I will do some thinking and writing about each episode.  Most of the episodes have so much to think about, from the problems of adaptation to the sticky questions of gender and race.  So much to consider!  I like to think that my brain is engaged on something Holmsian.  Huzzah!