A Fun Re-Imagining of Sherlock Holmes

What if Dr. John Watson wasn't a nineteenth century veteran of "the second Afghan war," but a twenty-first century vet of the current conflict in Afghanistan?

And what if, rather than using opium to sharpen his deductive reasoning, Sherlock Holmes, due to the difficulties associated with developing a proper smoking habit in the London of 2010, slapped three nicotine patches on his arm?

These and other questions are pursued in, A Study in Pink, the first episode of a new re-imagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous tales of Holmes and Watson. This episode is an updated version of the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. The new series, Sherlock, premiered this week on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.

As a longtime Sherlock Holmes fan, I admit that I was skeptical when I first learned of this project relocating the fictional detective in 21st-century London. The film incarnations of Holmes have, except for the Jeremy Brett series in the 1980s, been horrible, anyway. A post-modern Sherlock seemed like a really bad idea.

But, while A Study in Pink drags a bit at the end, I enjoyed it and look forward to more episodes of Sherlock. It's fun.

Below is the first chapter of the episode. Watch it to get a feel for the series or click where indicated to watch the whole thing. Enjoy!

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.