Short Version: Not Dead – An Overview of “Sherlock” Series 3

At the end of “Sherlock” Series 2 (2012), Sherlock faked his own death by throwing himself off a London hospital roof in order to save his friends from Moriarty’s assassins. Four of the six information-gathering questions (who, what, when and where) were answered.  The first episode of Series 3 (which premieres in the US tomorrow on PBS) answers the why and -- somewhat ambiguously -- the how.

Befitting the joint BBC-PBS show’s two-year hiatus, Sherlock has spent two years carefully dismantling Moriarty’s worldwide crime network.  Called back home by his brother, government troubleshooter Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock finds himself once again in the UK investigating a terrorist plot to use the London Underground to blow up Parliament with his partner, John Watson.

The game is (back) on with three more episodes: The Empty Hearse, The Sign of Three and His Last Vow. This clever series affectionately adheres to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories while giving them a modern-day twist for today’s audience as John records Sherlock's exploits on his blog. Showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss give us sheer moments of brilliance (the visualization of Sherlock’s thought process), silliness (Sherlock disrupting John’s wedding proposal) and wit (“f-- cough”), but “Sherlock” would not be held in such high regard by fans and critics alike if the acting was not on par with the writing.

Benedict Cumberbatch is weirdly wonderful as Sherlock and Martin Freeman's John is the best friend a genius can have. It’s refreshing to see the characters moving on with their lives and those of their friends (Rupert Everett’s DI Lestrade and Una Stubb’s Mrs. Hudson). Amanda Abbington is a welcome addition to the cast as John’s girlfriend, Mary, with her insight bridging a rift between Sherlock and John created by the former's reappearance. Sherlock also has interesting ways to repay his debt for those who helped him two years ago: saving the country for Mycroft (Gatiss) and allowing Molly (Louise Brealey) to spend the day with him solving smaller crimes.

With all the fan and internet speculation on how Sherlock survived his rooftop fall, Moffat and Gatiss provide not one, but three versions of it in The Empty Hearse, realizing that any one version would be scrutinized excessively. Life’s too short for that. Which leads me to my one complaint about “Sherlock”: this three-episode series is way too short. However, the BBC (with PBS) have already commissioned a Series 4.  Moffat and Gatiss have plotted through a fifth series while Cumberbatch and Freeman seem willing to fit any new series within their burgeoning movie careers. Thankfully, those involved with the show are just as happy to do more episodes as we are to see them!

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Update One: Friends from the mother country have told me that the cliffhanger for Series 3 is even better than the previous series.  Since I have only seen The Empty Hearse as of this update, I will of course reserve judgment until I see it for myself.