Another week, another surprisingly brilliant episode of Sherlock for us to get to grips with. The Hound of the Baskervilles was always a classic piece from Arthur Conan Doyle, but it's Mark Gatiss who so successfully transforms from a slow, old-fashioned thriller to a slow, totally modern blend of horror and thrills makes its lengthy pacing seem all the more necessary, something which can't be said of many other entries in the genre as of late. This time around we saw Holmes and Watson out of their element, chasing down the titular beast in the forests of Dartmoor with the help of Henry, a supposed madman who claims to have seen a hound tear his father to shreds not two decades earlier. What Gatiss masters throughout the script and director Paul McGuigan in his cinematic take on one of the best novels on Baker Street's finest is the sheer fear that exudes from our usually detached protagonist, and with good reason- by the halfway point of the story, viewers will undoubtedly believe in the hound is hunting its prey at every second, and this central empathy construed with the narrative and its players makes the shocking denounement all the more effective! There are some little gripes I had with the episode that placed it ever-so-slightly below A Scandal In Belgravia in my series rankings so far- the actual revelation of the hound's purpose is a little too ambiguous, and it feels like the BBC's restrictions may have constrained Gatiss from going full-out horror here rather than the host of jumpy moments he employs- but overall, they matter little within the context of the final product. Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville is a fantastic update of one of Conan Doyle's greatest pieces, just as strong as Series One's best cases and nearly as good as last week's absolute stunner! Believe me, the latter achievement is quite something...
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Sunday 8 January 2012
EXCLUSIVE Sherlock: The Hounds Of Baskerville Review (5/5)
Another week, another surprisingly brilliant episode of Sherlock for us to get to grips with. The Hound of the Baskervilles was always a classic piece from Arthur Conan Doyle, but it's Mark Gatiss who so successfully transforms from a slow, old-fashioned thriller to a slow, totally modern blend of horror and thrills makes its lengthy pacing seem all the more necessary, something which can't be said of many other entries in the genre as of late. This time around we saw Holmes and Watson out of their element, chasing down the titular beast in the forests of Dartmoor with the help of Henry, a supposed madman who claims to have seen a hound tear his father to shreds not two decades earlier. What Gatiss masters throughout the script and director Paul McGuigan in his cinematic take on one of the best novels on Baker Street's finest is the sheer fear that exudes from our usually detached protagonist, and with good reason- by the halfway point of the story, viewers will undoubtedly believe in the hound is hunting its prey at every second, and this central empathy construed with the narrative and its players makes the shocking denounement all the more effective! There are some little gripes I had with the episode that placed it ever-so-slightly below A Scandal In Belgravia in my series rankings so far- the actual revelation of the hound's purpose is a little too ambiguous, and it feels like the BBC's restrictions may have constrained Gatiss from going full-out horror here rather than the host of jumpy moments he employs- but overall, they matter little within the context of the final product. Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville is a fantastic update of one of Conan Doyle's greatest pieces, just as strong as Series One's best cases and nearly as good as last week's absolute stunner! Believe me, the latter achievement is quite something...
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