So, there we are - the fourth outing of the global phenomenon that is Sherlock. Still just as iconic, still just as broadly enjoyable, yet this series has definitely received equal flack and criticism as well as praise, which seems like a first for Sherlock. And I can actually kind of see why. But, to elaborate I shall simply break down the series and offer a few words on each episode in turn, as I did with series 3. Read on, the game is on...
THE SIX THATCHERS
Of all of series 4, it was here where I felt we were being treated to the best quintessential Sherlock. Not as ludicrously fast-paced and complicated as the previous series opener (though not really complaining there) and we were finally able to forget the Gothic nonsense and period fanciful whimsy of that Special and get down to business.
Benedict Cumberbatch was back with a vengeance - doing what now seems second nature to him - #ohwhatabeautifulday indeed! What's more we had John Watson, we had action, we had comedy, we had tongue-in-cheek killer lines and a devastating conclusion.
Yes things got a little carried away, and you could already sense the growing and increasingly convoluted arrogance of messrs Moffat and Gatiss in their writing but it just about worked.
Amanda Abbington I feel deserved more for Mary Watson than what was given though. This is what I mean about convoluted rapid pace. The series 3 arc of Mary ended on such a complex thriller-esque high, than to simply condense and compromise that by taking it beyond the max level and trying to come up with a Sherlock-style spy spoof and end it with a gunshot just seemed a tad cheap to me. Of course, Abbington was excellent and still owned it (not for the final time either this series) and matched Cumberbatch and Freeman frame for frame, but the ending of episode one, whilst powerful and leading, did seem to be a tad grating, which sort of set the tone too for things to come.
THE LYING DETECTIVE
First, there was Moriarty (enough said) then there was Charles Augustus Magnussen at the end of Series 3 - the new "most disgusting abhorrent monster of crime that needed to be thwarted". Now we have Toby Jones as northern, flamboyant and over-the-top serial killer Culverton Smith, who also must be defeated at all costs etc.
Oh make no mistake, Toby Jones was predictably excellent - disgustingly chilling in all his glory; in many ways the perfect archetypal villain, and yes I know one of the key points of Sherlock is fighting all manner of crime, but it was just so yawn-inducingly predictable how the whole premise of this episode was set up, in such the same way that we've seen numerous times before. Oh no! Here is an abhorrent terrible master-criminal, Sherlock goes to the very limit to bring him down, lunacy ensues, criminal eventually beaten, credits roll, the end.
Yes it's still recognisably Sherlock, and yes there were some great moments - Cumberbatch reciting Shakespeare whilst brandishing a revolver and Una Stubbs' Mrs Hudson kicking all kinds of ass to name a few. But you just know (and again I know I'm sounding like a broken record - but at this point legions of fans are echoing now) that Moffat is just sitting there with his feet up and his hands behind his head, grinning at this script thinking he's written a wonderfully complex and witty and original masterpiece, where in reality, he's recycling old themes and ideas and trying to pass off the power and performances of great acting talent as his own imagination and originality.
I did still enjoy this episode no question, but it was at this point for me that the cracks in the so well-loved, so successful formula began to show.
THE FINAL PROBLEM
And it was in the final episode, partly for me and it seems for many fans and critics alike - the dream Sherlock formula split wide open and was torn asunder.
What started off as a killer concept - the idea of Sherlock facing off against a long lost sibling, was taken and absolutely slaughtered and defecated upon. Layer upon layer of utter convoluted, pontificating drivel. It was blatantly the most self-centred ultimate self-love-in for Moffat and Gatiss. Pointlessly complicated, endlessly going around the houses plot. Moments, twists and turns, and several scenes that barely made sense. Sequences that just seemed to be stuck in there for the sake of it - erm, a massive terror of a little girl stuck alone on a crashing plane that actually all turns out to be in the head of Sherlock's sister who is in prison, then she's not, then she's in disguise, then she's back in prison, then she's out and being Dr. No on a criminal underworld island, then she's actually stuck in her old bedroom in her burnt down family house? Yet another long lost Holmes who was murdered by his sister as a child but has been mistaken up to now for a dog? Seriously, it was just bizarre, and frustratingly bewildering.
To encapsulate and illustrate this inane, arrogant idiocy perfectly: we saw the spectacular return of Jim Moriarty - Andrew Scott in all his glory landing on a beach in a helicopter and strutting his stuff to Queen's I Want To Break Free. Perfect. But, oh no - this was actually five years earlier flashback, at Christmas. No, just no. It would have been less of a faff to actually bring Moriarty back from the dead - and fans would have appreciated it more. To do this was not clever, it was not pleasing, it was not original, nor did it help the story that much.
It may sound like this story to me was a total right off, and it almost was. Yes there were a few snippets of greatness. Mark Gatiss on screen as Mycroft actually triumphed here, Sian Brooke lit up the screen as Euros, even though the writing surrounding her did not. Benedict as Sherlock was still a tour de force as he ploughed through the drudgery of the plot. And the ending Holmes/Watson montage/potential set up for the future was all kinds of epic.
But following this episode, there was a riot of negative feedback from fans, and I do not blame them. It's taken four seasons and a special, but I really feel Sherlock fans are finally experiencing the self-obsessed megalomaniac Moffat that Doctor Who fans have struggled with for some time now. Yet unlike Who, it is unlikely Moffat will leave Sherlock for pastures new; he'd probably rather end Sherlock than disassociate himself with it. But this final episode is to me a definite shot across the bow of what we as fans all so love and admire about the show. Moffat and Gatiss (though the latter is spared the blame a tad as he is actually not as arrogant I feel, plus he stars in the thing) very nearly killed Sherlock by trying to be too clever about it.
I do want to see more episodes, I really do. And I really do and did enjoy numerous elements of this series. But I just feel that the minds behind the camera need to reign it in a lot, and let those in front of the camera do what they do so well. Get back to basics, do not patronise, attempt to intimidate or piss off the fans, and I feel everybody will be happy, and everyone can look forward to still loving the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
