So when I kept on seeing this advert flashing up on my screen advertising a new contemporary TV version of the famous detective, I took no notice. In fact, the advert was on so frequently it was starting to get on my nerves. So I didn't watch....
But, being on Twitter that evening (as I am frequently wont to do), I kept on seeing tweets about it from people who not only enjoyed it but were singing its praises to the skies. It appeared that it wasn't just good, it was very good. My curiosity was piqued...
So, the next evening, with not much else on TV to watch, I flicked through the catch-up channels and found it, 'Sherlock - A Study In Pink' and settled down to see what all the fuss was about.
First off, I was drawn by the person's name who played Sherlock himself. Benedict something-or-other....I'm sorry, it didn't ring a bell, I had no idea who he was, what he'd previously done, or indeed, even if he was any good. But he had a very interesting face and I found myself liking him more & more as the episode went on. The other thing was how good Martin Freeman was. I'd seen him as part of an ensemble piece in Love Actually, but really, as far as I was concerned, he was 'Tim from The Office'. And yet, after watching A Study In Pink, he was Dr Watson, and it was a case of, "Tim who?"
As for the show itself? I loved it. From watching Holmes and Watson's first meeting and finding myself being drawn into their respective worlds. To trying to figure out quite what makes Sherlock's mind tick, only to realise just what an arrogant smart-arse he really is. The characters and the cast are wonderfully realised and beautifully played. They each encapsulate every facet from the role and make it their own. From Rupert Graves as Lestrade, to Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson. Truly, once you watch a few episodes of Sherlock, you really can't imagine anyone else as that particular character.
So, I confess....I soon became 'Sherlocked'. And then, as the series went on (sadly, not nearly enough of them to satisfy my cravings), I started to become 'Cumberbatched'. Yes, that person with the unforgettable name and the interesting face started to become more and more fascinating to me the more I watched.
I discovered that Mr Cumberbatch wasn't just good, he was astonishingly good. He didn't just make the role as Sherlock Holmes his own, but he made a nation care over a character who was in turn nasty, smug, selfish and uncaring, but who could also have a heart of gold as large as the ego he possessed. And Benedict did that. Yes, the script written by the likes of such talents as Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat did help, but it was the person playing the part who portrayed the pain, anger, fear, wit, intelligence etc etc, to which the viewer got to empathise with.
By the end of the final episode, (or rather, the last episode shown), The Reichenbach Fall, the show was generating a fandom so huge that they practically took over social networks afterwards with their tears, laughter, praise and love. Yes, a lot of them adore Benedict Cumberbatch, or Martin Freeman, or Andrew Scott (quite superb as Sherlock's nemesis, Moriarty), but it was the show which did it. The show which made people start page-upon-page & group-upon-group on Facebook, the show which instilled some quite fantastic works of art, the show which inspired some wonderful works of fiction, and the show whose climax to that last episode reduced me to tears.
I know none of the creators of Sherlock will ever read this. But I want to thank them. Thank them for making such a quite superb piece of television every time it graces my screen. Thank them for bringing a huge group of people together from all walks of life into chatting about how a literary character could become such a big part of their lives. Thank them for being the talented individuals they all so obviously are. And thank them for making me notice a certain Mr Benedict Cumberbatch.
Thank you.
Love it, Claire! You have encapulated the experience of being Sherlocked quite well.
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