Meet Sherlock.

Recently, Netflix has become the love of my life. Having been introduced to this magical site not too long before Thanksgiving Break, I simply cannot see my life without it anymore. Seriously, it’s the best $8 a month you could ever spend. Being that I enjoy everything from movies and documentaries to television shows, this website was made for me because I love being able to have such a variety at my fingertips.  One of the trends I have seen lately which has consumed most of America’s free time is television shows that are based off well known and wildly popular novels. I mean of course I feel obligated to have to mention Game of Thrones because if I don’t, someone somewhere will yell at me and it’s just that the Medieval Time period is not that appealing to me.

I’m sorry, really. 

But now that that is out of the way, there are also other successful television shows that have been based of novels and book series including True Blood, Smallville, and Dexter. My favorite though has to be, hands down, Sherlock which airs on BBC. I just recently started watching the show on Netflix but I was instantly hooked. Based off the extremely popular Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Sir Anthony Conan Doyle, the audience follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they try to solve cases that occur around England. Although the series is aired in the United Kingdom first, Netflix has the first two series on their site which include only 3 episodes within each. This show has everything you could want in a series. There’s a great cast and it has the perfect combination of the detective stories you love from Doyle with a mix of modern humor set in contemporary London.

Each episode is centered on a new case and Sherlock has to be most fascinating character to watch. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the character that everyone knows, Sherlock Holmes, is brought to life. Extremely talented and witty, Sherlock always ends up stealing the show every time. You get to watch the inner workings of his mind while he solves a case and it allows the audience to see a side of a detective case that is not regularly shown. One of the coolest aspects of this show is that it lets the viewer do some critical thinking. What a concept: a show that makes you think. I love being able to learn something new, even if most of the time the cases and facts are fictional. Sherlock shows that attention to detail and a quality education can help you out in even the toughest situations, like solving a murder case. With all of these things going on for him, the audience also gets to see that Sherlock sometimes can lack outward emotion that most people portray on a daily basis. This definitely adds to the realist aspect of the show. Fictional murder cases and crazy scenarios are what excite the viewers but I believe seeing real emotional struggles are what keep them hanging around.

Sherlock has a constant struggle with letting his real emotions be seen. In fact at times you can see how envious he is of others that do this with just a look on his face. The ability for the audience to have such a relatable character on screen that is going through experiences that they, themselves go through at times is such a powerful concept. Sherlock definitely feels more than he lets people see and I can see how that ties into the story we just previously read for class. At times, it can be difficult to express feelings and wear your heart on your sleeve and Sherlock shows how hiding your own vulnerability both the benefits and burdens the choices you make.

-Shannon Iriarte