What Series of Sherlock is Your Favourite?

[sherlockandjohn]

I'm leaning more towards series 1 as my favourite now... despite 'Reichenbach' being my absolute favourite episode. But 'Pink' and 'Game' are both really strong episodes, and generally series 1 feels more sharp.. The humor, the dialogue, Sherlock's character, and the casework - it just works, and it's so original and fresh!

 

That being said, I do love the more emotional series 2 and 3 as well. I'm happy with the variation.

[sittything]

Wow, I really thought I answered this but apparently not.  Well, Series 2 is hands down my favorite.  I love all 3 episodes, not a single dud for me.  Not even The Hounds of Baskerville.  

[sherlockandjohn]

I've voted for series 2 long ago and am not changing it... because I know that I might lean towards series 1 right now, but that could easily change again. Won't be series 3, though.

[T.o.b.y]

 

So this is what Steven Moffat allegedly had to say in a recent interview about the three seasons of Sherlock:

 

 

The first series was all about the beginning of their friendship. Second about the formative stages, the love and fear and loss and all that. The third was good days, me and my pal and my pal’s wife. Those are golden days.

 

Do you agree? Because "golden days" is not exactly how I would describe series 3...

 

;) No, that was my thought as well. I suppose they mean that with Sherlock and John reunited, and with all the camaraderie between Sherlock and Mary, it does get quite cute. Personally, I'd say series 3 (as far as the friendship goes) was 'life-changing events' or 'emotional upheaval' or 'the end of an era'.

 

 

:D If I had to summarize series 3 in terms of my reaction, it would probably be "WTF?!" - "Awwww" - "Phew".

 

Anyway, it's not golden days. What's golden except for the color of the dress Molly wore to the wedding? Golden days is the early days, I'd say. Like the end of episode 1.

 

 

[sherlockandjohn]

 

Golden days is the early days, I'd say. Like the end of episode 1.

 

Agreed.  Could also be parts of The Sign of Three, I suppose. Like you said, "Awww".

[sherlockandjohn]

I've voted for series 2 long ago and am not changing it... because I know that I might lean towards series 1 right now, but that could easily change again. Won't be series 3, though.

 

After reading this girl's reviews on the series 3 episodes of Sherlock, I'm revisiting all of the sentiment in them - and I have to reconsider my above statement. The emotional roller coaster was perhaps not what I fell for with Sherlock, but I have to admit, it does have its' pull on me. A strong pull, in fact. Yet I hate the very same things that I love... The character development is awesome and heart-breaking all at once. It's confusing.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Realized I never voted in this poll.  Each series as their pros and cons (mostly the plot holes and unanswered questions).  I like all 3 series and will jump around and watch them over and over with the cliff hanger episodes back to back whenever possible.  It's one of those things that I classify under picking your favorite child or favorite episode.  Impossible at worst to really, extremely difficult at best so I went with the tie.  Can we say I love the show ?

[Arcadia]

 

I've voted for series 2 long ago and am not changing it... because I know that I might lean towards series 1 right now, but that could easily change again. Won't be series 3, though.

 

After reading this girl's reviews on the series 3 episodes of Sherlock, I'm revisiting all of the sentiment in them - and I have to reconsider my above statement. The emotional roller coaster was perhaps not what I fell for with Sherlock, but I have to admit, it does have its' pull on me. A strong pull, in fact. Yet I hate the very same things that I love... The character development is awesome and heart-breaking all at once. It's confusing.

 

 

This may explain why I think S3 is my favorite (I say "I think", because like our beloved Benny C., I am rubbish at choosing favorites...). I never watched Sherlock for the crime solving, for me it has always been about the interactions between the characters. That, and the style, the cinematography, the acting (oh the acting) and so forth. But not the plots. So for me, for the characters to keep evolving, rather than remaining static, is a real treat. Of course the risk is that the characters will evolve into something I'm no longer interested in, but so far that hasn't happened.

[sfmpco]

There are two lags for me in the 9 episodes - #2 TBB and #5 HOB mostly because those two don't fit the profile from Moffit that "it's a show about a detective, not a detective show" because those two episodes are very much to me just ordinary detective show stuff.  That isn't to say there aren't some good bits in them, but there are only bits.  I definitely rank #2 at the bottom of the heap.  But I like  all the rest and rank series 2&3 the strongest of all (with the exception of #5) because of the intense character development in Sherlock that begins.  That he ever solves a case is of little consequence to me because I am content to see him putter around 221B and just be Sherlock--that's how interesting his character is.  Even when he's bored he's interesting.

 

At the end of HLV he is probably at his wisest, becoming more of the "good man" that Lestrade hoped for in ASIP.  He already was a great man.  I hope S4 will allow more character development of the good man.

[J.P.]

After reading this girl's reviews on the series 3 episodes of Sherlock, I'm revisiting all of the sentiment in them - and I have to reconsider my above statement. The emotional roller coaster was perhaps not what I fell for with Sherlock, but I have to admit, it does have its' pull on me. A strong pull, in fact. Yet I hate the very same things that I love... The character development is awesome and heart-breaking all at once. It's confusing.

 

This was a really good review of the Sign. But I found this sequence the best, because it shows the reaction so sweetly:

 

THEY HUGGED. John gets up and they hug. And the fandom DIED. I'm not kidding. My Twitter was full of nothing but loud screaming and internet-speak freakout. For myself, I went running downstairs to my mom to announce that they had hugged, something that failed to impress her as she has never seen the show.

 

I'm always kind of amazed/surprised when people react the same way I do. I wish I had someone to share - to storm out onto the street at midnight and jubilate would be a tad too much... But I'm repeating myself.

 

As for choosing the favorite series? No way. Love them all the same.

[Arcadia]

There are two lags for me in the 9 episodes - #2 TBB and #5 HOB mostly because those two don't fit the profile from Moffit that "it's a show about a detective, not a detective show" because those two episodes are very much to me just ordinary detective show stuff.

 

Good point, I hadn't thought about it quite that way; but I think that's one reason both episodes seem a bit slow and ordinary to me. Not enough interactions between Sherlock and John/Lestrade/Henry et al!

 

This was a really good review of the Sign. But I found this sequence the best, because it shows the reaction so sweetly:

 

THEY HUGGED. John gets up and they hug. And the fandom DIED. I'm not kidding. My Twitter was full of nothing but loud screaming and internet-speak freakout. For myself, I went running downstairs to my mom to announce that they had hugged, something that failed to impress her as she has never seen the show.

 

 

I like the sentiment, but at the same time it kind of bugged me ... because "they" didn't hug. John hugged Sherlock; who stood there looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Oh well.

[J.P.]

Okay, you are right about the hug, but at least John finally did it. So I can understand why the fandom died. (Then there was a very natural reaction Sherlock shows later, at the dancing.)

 

My poind was more about that you are so emotionally high sometimes you want to share with ANYONE.

I thought it's a typical reaction for a emotionally unstable teenager, but apparently I'm wrong.

[Yusree]

for me.....series 2

why? one name, Irene Adler :D

[Arcadia]

Okay, you are right about the hug, but at least John finally did it. So I can understand why the fandom died. (Then there was a very natural reaction Sherlock shows later, at the dancing.)

 

My poind was more about that you are so emotionally high sometimes you want to share with ANYONE.

I thought it's a typical reaction for a emotionally unstable teenager, but apparently I'm wrong.

Oh, it sounds like a fairly typical reaction to me, but I haven't been a teenager for a lonnnnng time so I'm not the best judge. :p

 

Agreed about the sharing, that's why I'm here; to preserve the illusion of my sanity! :D

[J.P.]

You mean the illusion you keep for the outer world?

Yepp. One can vent here and doesn't have to let it out on poor outsiders.

[Arcadia]

Yep! They know I'm crazy, they just don't know how far gone I really am! :D

[Van Buren Supernova]

Let me put a disclaimer, it's a very hard question because every series has their special meaning and moments.

But like John Watson might say.. DAMN THE DECISION!

 

In order for least to most favorite:

 

Series 3:

It's great, funny and full of character growth especially in Sherlock. However, I can't help but feeling something is quite missing. The familiar momentum, 'the way they were', because of John and Mary. Sherlock leaving the wedding early leave a uncomfortable after taste, although I have to say, it's done beautifully, not sort of some crap drama around. However, I miss him being his usual special quirky cold calculated but such a remarkable character. In the Sign of Three (except his own reaction to his excellent speech) he is almost..ordinary. 

In the way I almost throw something to the computer is when he has 'girlfriend'. I remember thinking 'Oh so it has become this?' but faithfully holding on and not disappointed with his motivation. Sorry I like him better when he is heartless. 

And although I can see and accept the story telling, I still have to say how dare Mary to shot Sherlock!

 

Series 1:

There are never the rest without Series 1 being so well done and captivating. It found its foundation and each character are being shaped very well since the beginning. Although first watch didn't leave too deep impact for me, subsequent watch makes me appreciate Study in Pink much much more and it's one of my favourite episode. I rewatched it on a flight and repeat it again when I flew back, despite having many other options of in-flight entertainment available, yet I still found more new precious moments and amazed how well written it was.

The Blind Banker is still my least favourite, and tbh, brings down the whole series. There are great moments but imho the villain is so unbelievable and the plot is not at its best. A quote once said, Only a**holes and blind people wear sunglass indoor. And this villain wear sunglass in the tunnel!

And no Lestrade?!?

The great game is so great, excellent! Multiple case, John and Sherlock character development and Moriarty.

It's like leaving a gigantic footprint in my face that remind me to continue watching this excellent show.

 

Series 2

Scandal in Belgravia captivated me from beginning to end. I remember thinking holy cow I felt as if I just watch a very satisfying, brilliant movie. There is not a single moment that I don't like. I can either leave my impression right here or have a writing diarrhoea for pages. I'll save the later for later.

Watched HIB alone, midnight, in a neighbourhood that contain a very small population. Quite indifferent on the first watch but appreciate it more later.

If there is a kind book reader who bother to explain, what is up with the case of harpooning dead pig? 

The Reichenbach Fall.. there is nothing in the last ten year that make me go back or feel the need to join an online community. Nuff said.

 

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Let me put a disclaimer, it's a very hard question because every series has their special meaning and moments.

But like John Watson might say.. DAMN THE DECISION!

 

In order for least to most favorite:

 

Series 3:

It's great, funny and full of character growth especially in Sherlock. However, I can't help but feeling something is quite missing. The familiar momentum, 'the way they were', because of John and Mary. Sherlock leaving the wedding early leave a uncomfortable after taste, although I have to say, it's done beautifully, not sort of some crap drama around. However, I miss him being his usual special quirky cold calculated but such a remarkable character. In the Sign of Three (except his own reaction to his excellent speech) he is almost..ordinary. 

In the way I almost throw something to the computer is when he has 'girlfriend'. I remember thinking 'Oh so it has become this?' but faithfully holding on and not disappointed with his motivation. Sorry I like him better when he is heartless. 

And although I can see and accept the story telling, I still have to say how dare Mary to shot Sherlock!

 

Series 1:

There are never the rest without Series 1 being so well done and captivating. It found its foundation and each character are being shaped very well since the beginning. Although first watch didn't leave too deep impact for me, subsequent watch makes me appreciate Study in Pink much much more and it's one of my favourite episode. I rewatched it on a flight and repeat it again when I flew back, despite having many other options of in-flight entertainment available, yet I still found more new precious moments and amazed how well written it was.

The Blind Banker is still my least favourite, and tbh, brings down the whole series. There are great moments but imho the villain is so unbelievable and the plot is not at its best. A quote once said, Only a**holes and blind people wear sunglass indoor. And this villain wear sunglass in the tunnel!

And no Lestrade?!?

The great game is so great, excellent! Multiple case, John and Sherlock character development and Moriarty.

It's like leaving a gigantic footprint in my face that remind me to continue watching this excellent show.

 

Series 2

Scandal in Belgravia captivated me from beginning to end. I remember thinking holy cow I felt as if I just watch a very satisfying, brilliant movie. There is not a single moment that I don't like. I can either leave my impression right here or have a writing diarrhoea for pages. I'll save the later for later.

Watched HIB alone, midnight, in a neighbourhood that contain a very small population. Quite indifferent on the first watch but appreciate it more later.

If there is a kind book reader who bother to explain, what is up with the case of harpooning dead pig? 

The Reichenbach Fall.. there is nothing in the last ten year that make me go back or feel the need to join an online community. Nuff said.

 

The harpooning of dead pigs from the story The Adventure of Black Peter found in The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

Agreed about TGG and TRF both are excellent and most people agree with TBB being the worst of the 9 episodes.

[sfmpco]

I always assume that any character name (not main characters) that is mentioned in the show is from one of the OC somewhere.  I just haven't found them all original sources yet, but there is a book on Amazon that lists all the canon references.

[Van Buren Supernova]

It seems His Last Vow has aired in my home country now, because I just read a snooty review on it. Which claimed that series 3 was much weaker than the first two on the grounds that the main focus has shifted from the cases to the characters. Now, this irritates me to no end and since it won't do me or anybody else an ounce of good if I try to reply to that person directly, I'll just blow off steam here. If you don't mind...

 

Why, pray, must a work of fiction automatically loose in quality if it concerns itself primarily with the personalities of and relationships between the characters? Are the lives and loves of people actually less significant subject material than a string of murders? The series is very deliberately called "Sherlock" instead of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" or something like that, if you ask me. And while I deeply enjoy a clever puzzle and an intricate plot, it is always the characters that draw me into a story (or fail to do so in many cases...).

 

The crime show aspect was never what made Sherlock special. The cases were good enough, but they were always whacky and sometimes downright silly, often based on a string of logic you'd do well not to question too hard. The characters on the other hand are unique, multilayered, intriguing and completely believable in spite of being, most of them, very fantastical at the same time. And the relationships are all endlessly fascinating. Come to think of it, I cannot think of a single connection between two people on Sherlock that is easy to sum up. Think about it:

 

- Sherlock and John: best friends. But it sounds odd when John calls Sherlock "mate".

- Sherlock and Molly: Unrequited love. But he objects to her dating other men and she won't accept a date offer from him when given the chance.

- Sherlock and Irene: passionate affair. Only they never had sex (as far as we know). And they betrayed each other. Then he saved her life. Um... this is all so f***ed up I won't even try to describe it further.

- Sherlock and Mycroft: brothers or arch enemies? I still can't decide. Probably both. But they do love each other. Sort of.

- Sherlock and Mrs Hudson: surrogate mother. Only he has a perfectly okay biological mother, so why...?

- Sherlock, Mycroft and their parents: If they're all really such a happy little family, then why did they never celebrate Christmas together until Sherlock got shot?

- The Watsons: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

 

All this is really interesting to me and it deserves a lot of attention and I, for one, am perfectly happy to accept the cases as plot devices to advance character development. Thank you very much. There are a gazillion crime shows out there, but there's only one Sherlock.

 

That said, I still like series 1 the best, but for different reasons.

Well put.

What makes Sherlock special is the characters. For me, the series make me attached, care and root for the characters, the way other series don't. I love the connection you make, especially Sherlock with Molly, Irene and Mycroft, it kinds of some up why the characters affect me so much, because they are not usual, in a good way.

 

Having said that, watching season 4 trailers make me worry that they might move to direction i hope they don't take. But I have a lot of faith in Moffat and Gattiss, they haven't dissapointed me so far.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Having said that, watching season 4 trailers make me worry that they might move to direction i hope they don't take. But I have a lot of faith in Moffat and Gattiss, they haven't dissapointed me so far.

Just remember that most anything regarding S4 is fan made especially the trailers as nothing of the episodes apart from the Christmas Special have been filmed let alone written.

[sfmpco]

Also remember that this is not a detective series.  It is a series ABOUT a detective.  So said Moftiss.  And I do so like the ABOUT parts the best.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Just remember that most anything regarding S4 is fan made especially the trailers as nothing of the episodes apart from the Christmas Special have been filmed let alone written.

Thank you for the ACD info.

And definately thank you for the trailer info. That is a relief! But have to admit it's very well produced.

[sfmpco]

Oh I love the fan trailer called MY DEAR WATSON.  It's really amazingly done.  I wish the BBC would make Sherlock trailers like the ones this gal puts out. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BuYa9f-01w

[Arcadia]

I actually think John and Sherlock could be sheep herders instead of detectives and I still would love the show, because of the characterizations and the acting etc. :p