A Scandal in Belgravia

I have never watched British television, I honestly never knew much about it. My love for Benedict Cumberbatch and recommendations from friends are what drew me to finally begin watching Sherlock. I had heard great things for years but put it low on my priority list. I was hooked from the pilot episode. The first season was addicting and quite good but it is nothing compared to what I just watched. Over and over I was shocked. Twists and turns at every corner. Brilliant, brilliant writing and the chemistry between Irene and Sherlock is off the charts. I was thrilled to see that this show lasted for 7 years until I saw that there were only 15 episodes. If Sherlock is any indication of what British television is like, I will be watching so much more. This is one of my favorite episodes from any show ever. Deserving of a full 10.

After a splendid first (too short) series, I was really looking forward to this. Did it reach my expectations. No, it actually surpassed them. Brilliant writing, direction and acting from all the cast. Not one duff point. A superb story with lots of in-jokes for Holmes enthusiasts, but even if you are not familiar with Holmes you will love it. I like the way the writers utilise a previous story and bring it up to date and actually improve on it ten-fold. The devices used to point out the Holmes powers of deduction are very good and apt for the digital age. Really looking forward to upcoming stories. Let's hope there are many more to come. Even if there are not, what is on offer is so richly rewarding it will bear repeat viewings. After this the Beeb can be (almost) forgiven for the dross of "Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff". This is how to bring a classic up to date and make it relevant, exciting and funny. Deserves 20 stars

After a long wait, here finally is, the new Sherlock. And I must say it was worth the wait and a really good beginning of the year it is. So what to say about it? The answer is nothing because if I wanted to describe to you all the interesting points I would spoil it for you, and I am not going to do that. Just watch an be prepare not to blink the whole time. Because acting is superb, storyline so nicely thought out that incorporates the feel of the books, the energy of the actors so vivid and believable that you start to wish for Sherlock being real. BBC outdid themselves jet again. Next Sunday cant come faster :) And I will be waiting, glued to the chair.

That, my friends, was beyond television. Maybe one movie a year (maybe!) comes out as good as this Sherlock episode. I am embarrassed to say that I've seen this only now in 2015, and my God, I'm still shaking. This is my first ever review on IMDb, bear with me..

The story, the acting, the editing, the music, the atmosphere, the scenery and camera angles, the twists and turns.. This movie/episode had all 10/10. There was not a single moment that I got bored or distracted. And it's not only the excitement; it's how every little piece in the story links to each other, the details, the emotions... If you pay attention, even the background music evolves during the whole episode, starting with just unplugged sounds from Sherlock's violin; and ending with a whole-out orchestra as the story concludes. Which movie does that???!!!

Thank you, whoever involved in this production. Seriously.

Yes, it may be a slight bit premature, but I'll already call it based on my own arbitrary rules: A Scandal in Belgravia, despite being released on TV and now on DVD, is one of the best films I've seen this year. It is film length, we can agree on that, at 90 minutes it feels and is plotted out to be a feature film (albeit still in line with the continuity of the show due to it taking off the cliffhanger from the end of season 1, and a damn good one at that with Moriarty in the swimming pool). Within its own dimensions it works as a film, and writer Steven Moffat fleshes out the emotional stakes of the hero (or as much as can be with Sherlock Holmes) as he is up against a new and surprisingly dangerous adversary: "The Woman" Irene Adler.

How he comes upon Miss Adler is a mystery unto itself, except when we discover (though only later does the hero) what her connection is within the world of Sherlock. But not too much on that, that would spoil the fun. In this story, Sherlock, after getting out by chance/luck/huh from Moriarty's grasp, he takes on - or tries to take on - new cases, and all mostly for naught. While on a potential new case he is plucked out by secret service (and in just a sheet no less!) and is given the new case with shady intonations by his brother Mycroft at the palace: Miss Adler, a dominatrix (which Holmes needs a moment to process what that is), is behind some kind of secret with photographs, and Sherlock is only told so much. When he goes to see her, and following a very funny 'disguise' by having Watson hit him so he looks like he was just beaten up to be taken in for a moment, she appears "ready for battle" as she puts it to her assistant. How is this, you might ask?

Naked. Stark naked. When Holmes looks at her - another big laugh via Moffat's script - it's all question marks, which is unusual for Sherlock's super-incredible keen sense of seeing everything on a person like a computer. But the s*** gets deeper when a burglar comes about to get something from her safe, fight ensues, and then... well, all I'll say from here is that a certain ring-tone is put in Sherlock's phone of a female's 'pleasure' sound, and a game ensues over months between Sherlock and Irene. To put it bluntly about how good this episode is - if Sherlock is Batman (ala Moriarty's Joker or possible Riddler), then Irene Adler is Catwoman. She is an adversary, yet while she is a villain she can use her sexuality as a powerful tool against a man who may have intellectual prowess, but emotionally is not really all there.

Indeed this Batman/Catwoman dynamic is far different in this sort of case since Sherlock, or how Benedict Cumberbatch plays him and how Moffat writes him and Paul McGuigan (brilliantly) directs him, is with a big touch of asperger's. Or, rather, his genius comes with a sort of personal-emotional price with it. There are some twists along the way that Moffat lays out with the characters - some, frankly, will leave you slack-jawed in the best possible way - but it's really about this unlikely bond, this chess game that is played out in (not) dinner-time, and who wins will really be based on who loses control. We don't see much of Adler doing her 'dominatrix' thing (frankly, one scene where she is whipping a character is enough to get the point across, and it's very funny to see it), and really it's all on Lara Pulver's eyes, connecting (or trying to) with Cumberbatch, that gives the episode its edge and spark. Already the show is fantastic with its lead and Martin Freeman. With Pulver, it's another big notch on to the quality of the acting and electricity in the air, so to speak.

It's just sharp storytelling, some great twists and turns (some may or may not be surprises to those who've read A Scandal in Bohemia, which this is based upon), and that the story not so much takes a backseat but plays so well concurrently with it as a character piece that makes it such a smashing success (not just Holmes and Adler but little things between Holmes and Mycroft or Watson and his, uh, what's her name, the latest girlfriend, y'know). On top of this, because it's a sort of romantic piece, Moffat gets to have a lot of fun with little beats in the dialog, it's more than amusing about an emotionally-stunted man finding a romantic bond, and we have fun seeing where it could go. It's a lot of fun, but the filmmakers also never lose sight of making these characters matter deeply. The end is especially moving (albeit, yes, with one more twist, but hey why not).