Glad to read that there will be more Sherlock.

Moriarty was a terrible character... it was like one of Ant 'n' Dec impersonating Graham Norton. Mind you, that did encourage me to shout "shoot him, Sherlock!" at the television.

Utterly loved the series, I do not agree with the portrayal of Moriaty, found him a complete annoyance, although I imagine some people will like it.

Great news! What a fantastic series. Always nice to see Martin Freeman on screen.

Dare I say No s*** sherlock?

Brilliant compulsive viewing, so well written and acted you are crying out for ad breaks just to catch breath and keep up with the action. An example of what only the BBC can do when it cuts the crap.

Just thought it was okay myself, not sure why the media have got so excited. Deserves another outing though, if Moffat ever has any time...

I'm glad Sherlock's coming back, it's been jolly entertaining, but they would have been better off playing Moriarty as essentially the same as Sherlock. I disagreed with their interpretation of Sherlock as a "high functioning sociopath" - he's more like someone with Asperger's or some other Autistic spectrum disorder, which might make him seem aloof, but he has emotional motivations, the Sherlock of the books has a fleeting romantic interest in the character of Irene Adler, but it seems to go nowhere. Sherlock in the books doesn't wholly like women, thinking them inscrutable & inconstant, which could point to an inability to put himself in others' places where they are concerned. He notices *everything*, and he craves stimulation (poss ADHD?), hence the coke habit.
Having gone down that road though, Moriarty is a psychopath and should therefore rightly be played as a cold fish - he lacks any empathy for others, or remorse for his misdeeds. Any emotions we see that would require empathy are mimiced. He's a puppet-master, preferring to stand back from the hubbub of criminal life, never dirties his hands except where Holmes mandates his direct intervention. This overly camp, whooping, yelling nutter that Moffat & Gatiss have delivered isn't the Moriarty of the books.

Glad to hear Moffat's comments about Moriarty.

I had thought when watching that they'd done something interesting in the choice of Moriarty rather than make him the obvious sinister, posh, old gent - and then I read all the comments on various blogs criticising the casting. That made me wonder whether I'd been right in the first place.

I'm still not entirely sure. The actor playing Moriarty is terrific and I liked what I saw of him - but I realise a lot of viewers didn't. It may be that they're right and I'm not.

It'll be interesting to see how it pans out. The one positive is that I think this makes the next series far more interesting - to see how a younger, less obvious Moriarty develops as a character.

The alternative would have been a more conventional Moriarty which, whilst it could have been interesting if well written and acted, wouldn't have had quite the same scope to properly intrigue us as to what happens next.........

Haven't quite made my mind up on Moriarty. I suspect that we'll get a Reichenbach Falls situation and the opening scenes of the new series will be with John in hospital and Sherlock nowhere to be found. Will quickly follow that Moriarty wasn't really Moriarty and the whole saga will begin again...

This overly camp, whooping, yelling nutter that Moffat & Gatiss have delivered isn't the Moriarty of the books.

Isn't that rather the point?

After a few days in the USA, watching the mindless, noisy, peurile, derivative and commerical strewn drivel that passes for television, I come home to watch the home made BBC drama that is Sherlock.

Interesting, gripping, inventive, well thought out. We indeed have television to be proud of. In addition I even got to watch it for free on the iplayer.

Please let's protect the institution that is the Beeb. For a preview of what we'll become otherwise, press any number above 4 on Freeview/Sky/Virgin etc etc

So glad to hear this news. Made this summer a little bit more bearable on a Sunday night. So it's this, Misfits & Being Human to look forward to as well as (hopefully) more Dr Who dancing!

I can see Primark's Sherlock inspired knock offs cornering the market!

Great fun but I feel they've already jumped the shark with the appearance of mad Moriarty.

I thought their interpretation of Moriarty was great for the record.

Skiamakhos:

Didn't Moriaty's line to Sherlock about him actually having a heart show that they do think that the character indeed has emotional motivations?

fourstar
If the point was to radically alter everything so as to keep the names but alter everything else bar the barest skeleton of plot, you'd lose Watson as an ex-soldier, lose the violin, the housekeeper - you can see where this is going, right? Sherlock might as well be the MI6 mandarin.

I thought the point was to bring Sherlock Holmes into the present day. They've been pretty faithful to most other aspects of the Conan-Doyle canon where they can, so why the whoopsie daisy Graham Norton / Ant & Dec crap?

Longshanks1980
Possible! I notice Sherlock picked the term "sociopath" rather than "psychopath" to describe himself. It's possible that although the terms are pretty well interchangeable, the term "sociopath" here denotes someone whose upbringing has created him thus, as opposed to someone whose brain was formed right from the start without the neccessary structures - that his condition is nurture rather than nature. He certainly doesn't appear to have Anti-Social Behaviour Disorder, and he's not avoidant or particularly schizotypal, so it may be that he's convinced himself that he is, and he buries his feelings deep.

I don't like marmite, but I like Moriaty and I don't believe there's a curveball coming with his identity. It's not what people have come to expect of Moriaty from previous incarations, but you're either going to have to accept the casting or stay away from series 2, where I expect we'll see far more of him.

It's absolutely awesome that Sherlock will definitely return and in the richness which 90 minute episodes provide. I hope they can stretch the series to at least five episodes, because three felt much too short and the whole thing seemed done in a flash. It was nice to have a programme to look forward to each week again. My 11-year old son totally bought into the character of Sherlock ... it was a joy to see him engaged by such clever telly and a clever character.

I liked Moriarty in this series. Even if he is camp, whooping and yelling (which I'm not sure I wholly agree with), that doesn't make him any less terrifying. There are plenty of camp baddies on TV and film that I wouldn't want to cross paths with in reality ... take Noel Coward's Mr Bridger in the Italian Job for instance. And, considering real world nasties, I think Hitler was quite scary and prone to the odd rant too.

It works for me.

And they bloody should make a second series too. Whats the point of a cliffhanger ending if you never find what happens next. I was a bit surprised when the programme abruptly finished at a seemingly random point.

I simply cannot wait for more Sherlock! Enjoyed all three episodes and perfect Sunday night viewing, something to look forward to as the evening draws in rather than dreading work on Monday!
YAY! More Sherlock, very exciting...

this series is nearly there. it is good rather than very good in my opinion. What keeps knocking it off course is some of the script which doesn't match the atmosphere of the film style, and some of the supporting casting which is truly dreadful. As many here have said the Moriaty casting at first meeting was a miss for me, he seemed awkward, nervous, and a bit forced on the 'mad' bits. The policewoman with the Janet Street-Porter voice shouldn't be allowed on television, how on earth did someone that appalling get cast!

But these are minor complaints as on the whole the leads are excellent and the concept for me does work rather well.

On Moriarty - I liked the idea, but as with several of the ideas in Sherlock, it was pushed too far. The psychotic and showy villain I like, but at times it became campy, and with it, lost the menacing edge that was hinted at, and I think - aimed for.

I am very happy it's been re-comissioned. As it rightfully should be, given how awful much of the Beebs drama is. It's by no means perfect though - I'd enjoy it if it lost some of the Eastenders / nu-Who cheap contrivances that it ocassionally relies on. The rest of the show is of such a high quality, that the occasional lazy dramatic contrivance stands out like a sore thumb.

I know the news was expected but I'm really pleased to hear this, I really loved this series. I particularly love the acting by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, they have great chemistry together as a double act.

Thrilled to hear more episodes - fabulous so far: plot, jokes, casting, everything!

And the chemistry between Cumberbatch and Freeman! Oooh! A great bromance is born. Cumbetbatch is PERFECT obviously as Sherlock, but got to give it to the guys for casting Freeman - carries his weight as offsider to a tea, camera loves him, weary resignation with obvious affection for Sherlock is delightful. Freeman's Watson carries my attention and interest as much as Sherlock - a mean feat given that everything Sherlock says and does is so captivating.

Two cents on Moriaty: I just hope they don't play up on him being "crazy", with the boggly eyes and weird histrionic voice. He reminded me a little of The Master in the recent Doctor Who series, who I also didn't like so much but over-the-top badguy can be a little excused in that case as DW is a kid's sci fi show. The other Sherlock characters are so comlicated, palpable, delightful. Shame to ruin that with a caricature crazyman. Sherlock's intensity will be poorly met with such a loon - he needs a more worthy opponent! I do not object to Moriaty being so young (in fact good move even) but he needs to be believable as someone taken seriously by the most brutal of criminals/organised crime. (Cold-blooded Marlo from The Wire demonstrated how age is no barrier to being a scary criminal mastermind.) Anywho, willing to give him another shot as we have only had a brief introduction so far and much of his short scene was actually pretty good.

And, oh yeah: More, more, more!

Just wanted to doff my cap to Martin Freeman, who seems to have turned out rather irrelevant performances in sub standard films etc since the Office. But he's really bloody good in this one. Cumberpatch is perfect as Sherlock too.

Terrific series. Shame it was only 3 episodes.
Please Sir, may I have some more?

Not surprised, but depressed by this news.

Derivative tosh.

Dr Who (televised pantomime) for semi-adults.

Well produced by BBC Wales though, good of them to doff the cap and make all that effort for London.

yeah damn right @thornintheside, more childrens tv for those adults who read at the harry potter level. its hardly the wire is it.

Correct. This is the correct answer BBC. Well done.

From an Adult Retard
xxxxxxxxxx

@FridayM

Freeman's Watson carries my attention and interest as much as Sherlock

Absolutely. Freeman has hugely endearing qualities as an actor, and puts them into Watson, but then you get reminded that Watson was a solider when he whips out his gun.

What I like about Sherlock is:

1. The music soundtrack doesn't blast away constantly in the background like it does in Dr Who.

2. There are moments of silence and reflection where the audience is encouraged to take in the actors facial expressions rather than constant dialogue. Like in Dr Who.

@thornintheside

err derivative? It is derived from something someone else wrote. That's the point.

@ jonvaughan

Commenting on other's reading levels, whilst displaying the inability to formulate sentences and basic punctuation is quite silly

Yay! for the fact that there's going to be a second series as I haven't been this much into a TV series since Bleasdale's GBH.

I take exception, though, to the suggestion that anyone who didn't like the approach to Moriarty is just an unimaginative, old-fashioned, classist, homophobic fogey, clinging to cliche. I'd have welcomed a young, regional-accented, camp, volatile, psycho Moriarty if I could believe in him. Unfortunately, I found Scott's delivery on Sunday not just camp (which would have been fine), but mannered. Voice going all sing-songy for the sake of it, without there seeming to be any internal, character-driven reason (and, no, "He doesn't need to have a reason, he's just nuts, innit?" doesn't do it). I didn't get a great sense of a convincing inner life.

But I'm glad other people liked him, and I'll approach the character with an open mind in season 2, hoping to be won over.

In relation to the final scene above I was really pleased but surprised to see that it was in fact filmed in one of the few victorian swimming baths in Bedminster, Bristol.

Yes yes, but who was the actor who played Moriarty? I have seen him before.

I thought Moriarty was terrific (in all senses).

@kimeth

He played Paul McCartney in the recent John Lennon thing on BBC.

@fourstar

This overly camp, whooping, yelling nutter that Moffat & Gatiss have delivered isn't the Moriarty of the books.

Isn't that rather the point?

The problem, though, is that this Moriarty is unconvincing in the context of this 21st century Sherlock. If you want a more or less faithful (or perhaps authentic) transcription of Doyles's Holmes, then you can always watch the Jeremy Brett versions which are regularly re-shown (or your earlier Sherlock/Watson of choice).

The Antandordec/Graham Norton figure we saw on Sunday is unsatisfying in the context of the current series - it's too gimmicky or too camp or ... well, there's something very wrong with this Moriarty to my mind - and it can't be a coincidence that so many people immediately had the same problem with it. You can't detach a piece of TV drama from the modern media context, and if Graham Norton had never existed perhaps it wouldn't be so jarring. However, Norton (who is a splendid and talented performer) does exist and shoehorning a pantomime vocal imitation of him into this doesn't work (pace the various and doubtless strictly correct analyses of which side of Dublin Norton's accent comes from campared with Moraiarty's - to us cloth-eared Southern Englanders, he sounded as if he were on the point of making a risqué comment about Sarah Ferguson at a Michael Barrymore party throughout the climax of The Great Game)

I'm so pleased this is coming back, as having a cliffhanger ending is no guarantee (see Strange, if you can bear it, for the ultimate depressing cliffhanger, presumably in expectation of a second series).

Although I enjoyed Moriarty, (who I felt managed to be crazy enough to be capable of anything, as opposed to a gentleman-criminal who could be reasoned with), I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be a patsy. For a start, there were so many snipers pointed at Holmes and Watson in that last scene that Moriarty clearly has several minions/accomplices. For a master criminal, he appears not to be bothered about revealing his identity to several people - so is he the nutter talking or one of the nutters with a gun? (I'm not going to enter into the 'sociopath'/'psychopath' debate, 'nutter' is so much easier when you're discussing a fictional character).

Cumberbatch and Freeman were marvellous and their chemistry's been rightly pleased, but can I put in a word for Rupert Graves and Una Stubbs, both of whom I felt deserved more praise for nicely rounded out portrayals of their characters. Lestrade refreshingly wasn't an idiot, but someone working within the constraints of a legal system, and Mrs Hudson was fabulously no-nonsense one minute and hilariously dippy the next.

I loved the series and Benedict Cumberbatch was amazing but then he always is. His Van Gough performance in a recent BBC production was a masterclass in acting. I hope he gets the BAFTA next year.

I am a big fan of Andrew Scott who played Moriarty.
He was in a recent Foyles War and his acting really stood out. I was thrilled to see him in the programme and I knew he must ahve been Moriarty as he's too good an actor to be in a small role. However I dont think Moffat's take on the role is 100% successful.

The actor is skilled enough to pull off any interpreation but if they want him to play him as a lunatic I can see it splitting viewers. I'm not sure using the actor's natural Irish accent works if he's playing it high and camp as its understandable people will take the mick and say he sounds like Graham Norton. The moments where Moriarty did the sing song voice just didnt work. Where he did the controlled shouting it did. I think they need to sit down and work together to slightly tweak the character.

Still I;d much prefer they picked a fine actor like Andrew Scott than the boring usual suspects we see on the BBC. If I see James Nesbitt any more I'll scream. So well done to Moffat and co for picking interesting and less obvious actors.

I do think Rupert Graves is wasted though.

However the scripts needed input from a skilled thriller writer. Moffat and Gattis were out of their comfort zone. In some ways its arrogant of Moffat and Gattis to think they can just turn their hand to this style of writing. At least work with a top thriller writer to help plot sharper stories.

I hope we get more than 3 episodes next year. I dont think its a good enough excuse to say they have to wait for Moffat to be free. Its greedy of him to want to be in charge of both Dr Who and this. He should give up the reigns to someone else. At least someone who can manage it on a day to day basis with him over seeing at a hgh level. 4 would suffice.

I love the director's work in the first/third episode and I hope he comes back for more episodes next year. He made the episodes look very cinematic.

The costume designer on the show is excellent and she's made Benedict look very dapper and sexy. I hope she;s back for the next series.

Did anyone else think Moriarty was just a reworking of John Simm's Master? Not a bad thing, I actually quite liked them both, but did Moffat write any of the Master episodes?

Yes yes, but who was the actor who played Moriarty? I have seen him before.

Andrew Scott. Irish stage actor, Olivier winner, some film parts. Maybe you saw him play Paul McCartney in Lennon Naked?

It's all very knowing and self mocking.

But the most knowing word of all I thought was one Watson used, which was highlighted for different reasons in Sam Wollaston's TV review: Meretricious.

It describes the show perfectly.

Gosh, what a family affair. A bloody good one too, well done Sue Vertue and family.

After a few days in the USA, watching the mindless, noisy, peurile, derivative and commerical strewn drivel that passes for television, I come home to watch the home made BBC drama that is Sherlock.

Except the Americans co-produced Sherlock.

@ellipsis10

Co-produced. Precisely. CO-Produced. Meaning they put some money up in order to sell it to the Americans. Hence no hard to understand Scots, lots and lots and LOTS of pretty London shots, every other scene being in a London taxi and Sherlock not now living in Baker Street, Cardiff.

Do Say. Say ain't that Trafalgar Cathedral?
Don't Say. I'm afraid we'll have to use subtitles and drop the jokes.

Graham Norton is from Cork. Andrew Scott is from Dublin. They're different sides of the country. They both have middle-class accents. I understand that they may sound similar to British ears.

Dissections of Irish accents aside, I understand why some people found Moriarty's "sing-song" delivery of some lines jarring. I think maybe it was meant to reflect both Moriarty's excitement and genuine, perhaps slightly child-like, glee in finally having Sherlock in his clutches. I think the fact that Sherlock and Moriarty are fascinated by each other was something the show got across very well, although it does reflect the Doctor/Master relationship in DW, where it's always obvious that the two characters find each other exciting. I suppose I can see how people who didn't like John Simm's Master in DW wouldn't like this Moriarty, as there are similarities.

This show is nothing like the original novels - why is it so critically acclaimed? It's not even set in the same time period and has Holmes taking pictures on a mobile phone!

@ItchyArmpits

Gosh, what a family affair. A bloody good one too, well done Sue Vertue and family.

Well, yeah; one does wonder if this allows it to be a little more self-indulgent than it should be. Does the BBC still employ hard-bitten script editors outside of East enders? If so, they clearly weren't allowed anywhere near this. Or The Deep (which I suspect is going to become a source of great joy over the next four weeks, although perhaps not in the way the BBC intended)

I didn't find Andrew Scott's portrayal to be 'sing-song' but then I'm from Dublin so maybe the accent just sounded normal, instead of sing-song to me.

I thought he was great as Moriarty. A stuffy, old-school English villain would've been boring. He seemed scarier and a bit mad.

Joolsy,

American co-productions like Sherlock don't happen to "sell" anything to Americans. The Americans usually have to put money up front to co-finance productions instead of just "importing" after production because without American money the BBC couldn't afford to make certain projects in the first place. The truth is American money is now so important to the BBC that American TV executives pretty much have what amounts to veto power over British programmers when it comes to many drama commissions, with projects living or dying depending on whether American executives tell BBC execs either "Yes, we will kick in funding," or "No, we won't kick in any money" for certain shows.

And I would love to hear what you actually watched in America that qualifies as "mindless, noisy, puerile" etc. in your estimation. Just like a tourist to channel surf mindlessly and think he has gained knowledge about American TV. In a 200 channel TV universe, the quality will always have to be hunted down with a person knowing what they are looking for. And the Americans are far out-producing Britain in quality scripted programming. It would be hard not too when they produce so much, full stop.