Londonist Demands More Sherlock

By · August 9, 2010 at 14:50 pm · 20 Comments · Miscellaneous · Report an error ·

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Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson / image from the BBC

“Most people blunder around this city and all they see are streets and shops and cars; walk with Sherlock Holmes, you see the battlefield.”

What? No way. Is he really going to shoot the – ? It’s ended?! We can’t have been the only ones squeaking this at 10.30pm last night, as Sherlock came to an end. Aside from the brilliance of the storytelling and performances, direction and dialogue, we’re struggling to think of a recent TV series that featured London so prominently, almost as a supporting character. Yes, we can nitpick – you’d be pushed to walk from Baker Street to Soho in five minutes (though you probably could from North Gower Street, which stands in for the famous residence); Sherlock talks to the homeless girl on the north side of the Thames then the cab goes south-north over Waterloo Bridge before ending up back at the Oxo Tower; if they’re so broke why do they get cabs everywhere?; quite a lot was filmed in Wales – but that’s not the point. Sherlock adds a new dimension to London. It’s not just shops and cars, it’s a place where complicated people walk the streets and dark things happen. This is not tourist London. This is our London.

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185 North Gower Street, standing in for 221B Baker Street. How much custom is Speedy’s cafe going to get now?

Believe it or not, a new series has not yet been commissioned. The BBC are meeting Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss on Wednesday and we say: give them whatever they want. We need more Sherlock. At a time when the BBC is under pressure from the new government, we reckon Sherlock is worth the licence fee by itself. What other broadcaster would permit a major new drama to be fronted by an ‘unknown’ and allow the main character to be largely unsympathetic? Or allow it to be so dark, yet schedule it for Sunday night? This is what the BBC does best, and we should stand up and celebrate it.

What did you think about the modern updating of the classic Victorian detective? And did you spot any other locations sneaking into the storyline?

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  • http://undefined Stu_n

    In the first episode, the restaurant where Sherlock and John were watching the cab was Tapas Brindisa on Broadwick St.

  • http://undefined jamesu

    I join this call. Petition time?

    What other broadcaster, anywhere, would make such an excellent show for only three episodes?

    I’m reminded of the Not the Nine O’clock News Sketch – “The Licence fee is far too low. It should be at least £400. The excellent service the BBC provides; I’d gladly sell my house and all it’s contents to help the BBC”.

    I’m willing – gasp – to hand Dr Who onto someone less gifted so the Moff can concentrate on this masterpiece.

  • http://undefined BraveNewMalden

    In the second episode, the storyline was terrible.

  • http://undefined BraveNewMalden

    But the third episode more than made up for it. The lighting was good throughout, too.

  • http://www.blowstar.blogspot.com JohnnyFox

    Despite the fact the series is cynically constructed to capture the Dr Who/Torchwood audience which is now allowed to stay up well past its mental age’s bedtime, I do love the way it celebrates venerable London landmarks and overlooked edifices.

    Not the least of which is Una Stubbs, round whom people should be taken in boats if only to prove she’s still a national treasure preserved from the swinging sixties.

  • http://www.bigbunny.co.uk Richard the Big Bunny

    Hear, hear! And ditto. (-: You’ve all already said everything I was thinking (the gaffs, ep2 being the weakest, loving co-star London, etc.). In my opinion [& of my interests], there is nothing better on UK or US television right now than SHERLOCK. It is painful to think that there is no more — only three episodes! Crikey, I miss London — Episode 1 had me squealing with excitement at little things in the background (including my former hairdresser’s shop in Soho) and being able to instantly tell when they switched back to filming in Wales. Fun! I don’t think the average viewer could tell or give a toss though. (-:

  • http://www.victorianlondon.org lee jackson

    Sorry, but ultimately this series disappointed me … why? Because the first episode set a very high standard which nothing else matched.

    The acting, Cumberbatch in particular, was superlative; the use of London locations, again, brilliantly done; the general look and feel of it, marvellous. But – and I think it’s a big one – what about the plots?

    The second episode was an appalling farrago of Fu Manchu nonsense; the third, a frenetic scramble through a series of ‘challenges’ that did not resemble anything like a good story.

    In fact, the third episode was so disjointed, it could have been shown as a series of ten minute shorts, and it would have had the same effect.

    Is an actual story – maybe some supporting characters, in whom you can invest a tiny amount of sympathy and interest (apart from Holmes and Watson) – something with an overarching structure – too much to ask? Lots of EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING in a vague sequence doesn’t work for me. Perhaps it’s just my old-fashioned long attention span.

    I appreciate I seem to be in the minority – I just hope it comes back with some better scripts.

    (I did wonder if the odd arrangement of three 1.5hr episodes was some strange hedging of bets by the BBC, uncertain whether to commission a full series? It might explain the chaotic over-stuffed feel of episode three.)

    • M@

      There’s some truth in this. The rushing-through-set-pieces at the expense of coherent plot is a problem with the past couple of series of Dr Who as well. I’m prepared to overlook it for this opening mini-series, given that everything else about it was so good. It can take time for a concept to settle down into something truly beautiful – look at the first three series of Star Trek TNG, or The Simpsons. Then again, shows like Heroes and Lost nailed it on the first series and then started to flag. Oh, I don’t know what I’m talking about really.

      • RachelH

        Ooo, this is one of my favourite hobby horses. I don’t actually think that “plot” is the one thing that makes a piece of entertainment excellent. Before everything else you need good characterisation (including dialogue) and atmosphere – without these, the best plots in the world fall flat on their faces. Some of the best films I’ve ever seen hold true to this. Lost in Translation? No story, magnificent film. Inception’s storyline is a pile of old guff but is the best thing I’ve seen in the cinema since Moon (again: very simple storyline, all about the atmosphere and characterisation).

        Even saying that, I don’t actually think Sherlock was lacking in story (or maybe my threshold is just lower – see above). The third one was episodic but the larger Moriarty narrative arc held out. I thought. I’ve also never read any Holmes – this is where the editors of this site pin me down and remove my Londonist credentials – are the books more plot-led, or is the thrill in watching Holmes piece everything together?

        • Jonn

          You should read some Holmes. If only so the rest of us can watch you go, “What? 80 pages of friggin’ freemasons?” in bemusement, or somesuch.

        • http://www.victorianlondon.org lee jackson

          It’s true that not everything has to have a plot – I can even enjoy something like Synecdoche, New York, when the mood takes me. But this is supposed to be – what? – a thriller? A detective story? A mystery? Something like that, surely? If it’s just some clever bits and pieces in no particular order, then it’s missing something. Sherlock is incredibly stylish, brilliantly shot and acted, but I do think they need to get the structure and timing right. That said, I’ll be watching the next series, and it’s way better than almost anything else on TV at the moment.

          Lost in Translation just bored me to tears, mind you.

  • http://undefined Sarah

    Please please please can we have more. This is by far the best series on the BBC for years, I was gripped… and yes some of the plot lines were see through, but the comedy, the script, the acting – Sherlock in particular – was absolutely nothing short of brilliant! Praise be, a fantastic new series and a cliff hanger with which to move forward from… keep the writers, but get some real wiz kids on the whole approach to the plot and you’ve got a winner… hec, you could even expand! Hound of the Baskervilles anyone.. I want to see Sherlock on the moors!!! Bring it back, I say again, please!!!

  • http://www.google.com/profiles/thepuzzler Puzzler

    Producer Sue Vertue on BBC Breakfast this morning:
    “There will be more… We’re having a meeting just to sort of talk about how many and when really.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0i02yc7y3Y

  • http://olunla.com olunlagolf

    “Ooo, this is one of my favourite hobby horses” hehe me too i love it.

  • http://twitter.com/Zephyr_Dragon Laura Candlin

    “Sherlock is worth the licence fee by itself” YESYESYES! Just look at the amount of fanfiction that’s been written about this series already (more than for the Robert Downey Jr. film) – that’s a real indication of it’s popularity! I hadn’t read the original books before seeing this, so it’s nice to read them now and see the parallels and the ways they modernised it all! Sherlock really belongs in the modern world with technology – it almost seems strange reading about him living in the 1800s!
    If they don’t make another series a lot of people will be very upset.

  • Philip Davies

    Does anyone know the location of the circular Victorian library used as the scene of the murder of the Chinese woman in the Blind Banker episode that was transmitted last night?

  • bob1217

    As a Yank with not experience with London, the show gives me the impression of how very large the city is and how varied the communities. Great cast and writing. Brilliant stories and I look forward to a continuation of the series. I find that the BBC continuously produces shows of such quality that very few U.S. shows even get close.

  • Melanie Shearman

     Greetings from America!  I have  been a Sherlock Holmes fan for much of my life.  I have read all the stories and watched every bit of the Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett.  I can’t get enough.  NOW, with Sherlock, I have the same obsession.  I just can’t get enough.   I am thrilled to learn that there will be additional episodes, and still saddened that it will take a while to get the DVD  across the Atlantic. Whatever it takes to keep this show going and inspired,all Sherlock fans need to do!
    Thank you for sharing this intriguing and fascinating show.

    Melanie Shearman
    Michigan, USA

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for the comment Melanie. The new Sherlock won several awards over here and received near-universal praise. 

      You might also like the map of Sherlockian locations I put together: http://londonist.com/2009/11/the_london_of_sherlock_holmesmapped.php

  • Mystic_moon78

    I LOVE this show. I’ve been a diehard fan of all things Sherlock Holmes since I read ALL of the books and stories as a little girl. I still have the complete set at my house. I was born in Russia, where we had our own Sherlock Holmes series which i watched obssessively (and was actually really good). Have watched all the Jeremy Brett versions, as well, and liked, but this new series is truly a breath of fresh air and I really really hope it comes back. I live in the US now and was able to get Season One on DVD at the local library - am hooked. Somehow the show is so good that I forget it’s “modern-day,” and Benedict Cumberbatch is an incredible Sherlock. Quite sexy, as well, if i might say… Please bring the show back!!

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