2014-2015, 24 episodes. In modern New York, (a completely different)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson consult for the police.
I'll admit it, I started watching this show because I thought it
would be laughably bad. But compared with the BBC Sherlock that
began around the same time, it's the one that has more interesting
plots, better writing, occasionally three-dimensional characters, and
women as more than sexy set dressing.
It also has things to say about the real world; this season contains
revenge killings for toxic toys, murder as a way of committing
insurance fraud, and hackers exposing dirty secrets, as well as mild
science-fictional elements like prototype AI and cunning new drugs.
There's a smaller principal cast than in many procedural shows, as
generally it's just the police captain and one detective with any
significant screen time apart from the two leads. The stars and the
reasons to watch are definitely Holmes and Watson, both of whom are
very distinct personalities; none of the "blundering idiot" about
this doctor.
But this isn't just crime of the week, or even crime of the week with
a Big Season Plot as Castle manages. Loose ends from one episode
crop up half a season later in a different context; it's rather more
like life than these things usually manage, even with a neat
conclusion or cliffhanger every 42 minutes.
The season breaks are less convincing: season two ended with Holmes
agreeing to work for MI6, but season three starts with his having been
fired from that job and going back to the routine detective work. I
don't suppose the massive changes hinted at at the end of this season
will amount to anything either; the show is basically about Holmes and
Watson solving crimes, with officialdom friendly but not able to give
much assistance, and if it drifted far from that it wouldn't really
work at all.
This isn't in my top rank of shows, and I may be sticking with it
because I was so surprised that it was actually worth watching, but if
you don't mind the basic police procedural format you may be
pleasantly surprised at what can be wrapped up inside it.
The show was renewed for a fourth season.
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