You want a show that will have you emotionally invested with just six episodes? Heck you want to have a show that will have you loving it with just 1 episode? Then watch this show. Watch Sherlock because this is one of the most brilliant things that have ever graced the television screen in years. In my first post about Sherlock I talked about the writing and the actors which have not only continued to excel but have also improved now that relationships have been firmly established and characters have continued to develop. So I won't go into too much detail about them this time around but will mention other important elements of the show that I completely overlooked when I watched the first series.

In series 2 Sherlock picks right back from where series 1 ended, with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson facing off against the finally revealed Jim Moriarty, one move away from all of them being blown up until something unexpected happens in one of the most hilarious but typical ways possible. Moriarty gets a phone call announced by the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" ring-tone and after threatening to skin the caller if they are lying (lying about what? the viewer doesn't know) cancels Sherlock and John's murder for the day. Switch scene and we have a very scantily clad Irene Adler, holding a riding crop, and entering a room with a woman strapped to a bed.

This year’s series was comprised of the three most popular Sherlock Holmes stories - A Scandal in Bohemia, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, and The Final Problem. Now I haven’t read any of the books yet but I have heard a bit about them, and internet forums are very useful places for gathering information so I had a basic understanding of what to expect.
Alice X. Zhang
Portrait of Martin Freeman
as John Watson by Alice X. Zhang
Along with seeing the modernized twists on the above titles I knew I would see Steven Moffat’s version of Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outwit Sherlock Holmes, Mark Gatiss’s turn to differentiate his take on Hounds from all other previous adaptations (it’s the most adapted story), and that I would cry during the last episode. Now for those of you who don’t know anything about the books I won’t tell you why I knew I was going to cry but I will say that I did (thanks for that Steven Thompson) and that Sherlock fans on tumblr are kind of masochistic.

Besides excellent storylines and solid acting my favourite part about this series is how much effort is invested in every detail of the show because it’s not just the characters and their story that makes this show such a treat but the dedication everyone has to make it the best. What I didn’t notice in the previous series until after listening to commentaries and watching extras is how (one) the writers LOVE Sherlock Holmes and (two) the creative camera work, art direction, soundtrack, and editing that goes into each episode that when you stop to think about the amount of time it must take to complete one episode they really are like, in the words of Martin Freeman, “three feature films” or in my words, three fantastic feature films.

Are you getting tired of my gushing yet? I don’t mean to sound like a fangirl or to get your hopes too high if you haven’t seen this show yet because I myself get wary of shows/books/movies that are incredibly popular because I don't want to be disappointed. But I also think if I love something that I think other people will also love then I should do my best to convince them to at least give it a try.

Have I convinced you yet?