DVD review – Sherlock: Season One

BBC’s update of the Sherlock Holmes stories moves the famed detective from the Victorian era into the modern age. After a bit of disorientation as Sherlock Holmes texts and uses computers, viewers will settle into the well-acted series.

Benedict Cumberpatch (“Atonement”) is Holmes, a “high-functioning sociopath” called upon by Scotland Yard for particularly tricky cases. Though he’s a genius of observation, he doesn’t have much in the way of friends. When Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman, “The Office” in Britain) needs a roommate and a new direction in life, he is introduced to Holmes. Holmes’ obsession with the details and excitement of crime-solving intrigues Watson, who becomes Holmes’ partner.

Cumberpatch and Freeman have witty and deadpan repartee, and while this Sherlock can veer on the edge of creepy, Cumberpatch also infuses him with charm and charisma. Scotland Yard’s LeStrade (Rupert Graves) seems more competent than a lot of the fictional representations of the detective and appears to humor Holmes’ oddities because he knows it will help him save lives.