9 out of 10 monkeys believe they are not behind glass

As a kid, I ravenously consumed many of the old books in the school library. I hated going home, often found myself in the library at odd hours, contrary to class schedules or any sort of personal schedule. My mother probably worried, but as with most things, I didn’t care. She was at work anyway, my brother was off at daycare, and I had empty pockets, a head full of miserable buzzing ache, and bounded world to explore.

Its no wonder I escaped into books. Because really, where could I have gone?

It was sometime in grade school, between my 4th and 6th grade years that I found Sherlock Holmes. It was challenging reading, even though I did not have any sort of hard time with the language or many of the antiquated subjects, I felt challenged because I knew that I was one of the few people to ever crack the binding on what obviously was a donation to the school library. Perhaps a whim of a overzealous librarian, but my instincts told me it was definitely not supposed to be there. And so it has probably sat since. Or moved on to some landfill.

Pity.

Because Sherlock Holmes and the indeterminable Watson where the very companions that I needed. A brilliant, albeit, slightly sick mind, bolstered by the guiding hand of the gruff, bumbling Dr. Watson. Granted my younger mind was working off of stereotypes and cultural biases at the time, but it still made for good reading. And it made me love Sherlock Holmes in all his forms, whether they were close to the mark or not. (The mark being the literal or biased version that I imagined.)

The older BBC version was fun, although a bit dry. Watching it on Masterpiece Theater on PBS was a bit of a toll as well, since it tended to be on at odd hours. The movies never did any justice, and while the Americanized Robert Downey version was fun, it missed some of the flair that I loved about Sherlock. He may have been an addict, but he was an addict to the chase.

I just watched the first episode of the new BBC incarnation during lunch and I was bowled over. It was brilliant. And it honestly felt to be a true version of the classic Holmes I loved. The Mycroft bit at the end was great.

Awesome. I am highly anticpating the remainder of series 1, and slightly saddened it is so short. Good to know series 2 is in the queue at the BBC.

To sum up: Just Brilliant.