A Study in Pink: Difference between revisions

* [[Phil Davis (actor)|Phil Davis]] as Jeff Hope (cab driver)

The episode was written by [[Steven Moffat]], who co-created the series. It was originally filmed as a 60-minute pilot for ''Sherlock'', directed by [[Coky Giedroyc]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-04-03/mark-gatiss-im-proud-of-binned-sherlock-pilot|title=Mark Gatiss: I'm proud of binned Sherlock pilot|first=Jack|last=Seale|date=3 April 2012|publisher=Radio Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630222034/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-04-03/mark-gatiss-im-proud-of-binned-sherlock-pilot|archive-date=2012-06-30|url-status=deviated}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/sep/02/sherlock-mark-lawson|title=The rebirth of Sherlock: Comparing the pilot of hit detective series Sherlock to the finished product is highly revealing|first=Mark|last=Lawson|date=2 September 2010|work=The Guardian}}</ref> However, the BBC decided not to transmit the pilot, but instead commissioned a series of three 90-minute episodes.<ref name="Wightman">{{cite web|last=Wightman |first=Catriona|date= 27 May 2010|url= http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a222061/bbc-drops-sherlock-holmes-pilot.html |title= BBC drops Sherlock Holmes pilot|publisher= Digital Spy|accessdate= 27 May 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100530063943/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a222061/bbc-drops-sherlock-holmes-pilot.html| archive-date= 30 May 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref> The story was refilmed, this time directed by [[Paul McGuigan (filmmaker)|Paul McGuigan]]. The [[British Board of Film Classification]] has rated the pilot as a 12 certificate (not suitable for children under 12) for video and online exhibition, and it is included as an additional feature on the DVD released on 30 August 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=SHERLOCK - A STUDY IN PINK |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV271177 |work=BBFC |date=23 July 2010 |accessdate=26 July 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100804195953/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV271177| archive-date= 4 August 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref>

[[List of Sherlock characters#Dr. John Watson|John Watson]], an [[Royal Army Medical Corps|army doctor]] injured in [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]], meets [[List of Sherlock characters#Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock Holmes]], who is looking for a flatmate to share a flat at [[221B Baker Street]], owned by landlady [[List of Sherlock characters#Mrs. Hudson|Mrs. Hudson]]. The police, led by [[List of Sherlock characters#Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade|Detective Inspector Lestrade]], have been baffled by a series of deaths, described as "serial suicides". Holmes looks at the latest crime scene: athe womanbody namedof Jennifer Wilson, who was dressed in pink, lies dead. She managed to claw the word "Rache" into the floor, and Sherlock reckonsdetermines that the victim died before completing the name "Rachel", which later turns out to be the name of her deceased daughter. Holmes deduces she is from out of town, and therefore had a suitcase. The police have not found a suitcasecarry-on with the body, but Holmes discovers it abandoned nearby. Meanwhile, Watson, after a phone call, Watson is abductedcompelled andto meetsmeet a man who claims to be Holmes's "arch-enemy". The man offers him money to spy on Holmes, but Watson refuses. He also tells Watson that, farcontrary fromto what his therapist believes, he is not suffering from [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] as his therapist believes, hebut actuallyin fact misses thebeing in warcombat.

When Watson returns to Baker Street, Holmes asks him to send a text message to Wilson's still-missing phone, hoping the murderer will make a move. While waiting at a local restaurant, Holmes notices a taxi and they manages to outpace it on foot with shortcuts. However, the passenger is innocent. Holmes presumes "Rachel" was Wilson's e-mail password, and the victim planted her phone on the killer so that he could be traced by [[GPS]]. At the same time, Watson simultaneously finds the signal is coming from 221B Baker Street; Mrs. Hudson tells Holmes a taxi is waiting for him. Outside, the drivercabbie confesses to the killings,murders but proclaims he merely speaks to his victims, and they kill themselves. HeThe cabbie challenges Holmes to solve his puzzle,. andLater, later the driverhe pulls out two bottles, each containing an identical-looking pill. He says: one of the pills is harmless, the other poison;is poisonous. Afterward, he invites histhe victims to choose one, promising he will swallow the other — and he threatens to shoot them if they refuse.

Sherlock soon deduces that the driver is an estranged father who was told three years earlier he was dying. The driver admits that he has a "sponsor" for his "work", paying money for each murder for the driver's children. Holmes, having already noticed that the 'gun' is actually a novelty cigarette lighter, attempts to leave. However, the driver re-challenges him again to choose a pill and see if he can solve the puzzle. Meanwhile, Watson has traced the GPS signal from the phone and followed the two men. He shoots the driver through a window in the adjacent building. Holmes questionstortures the dyingcabbie driverto aboutforce hishim to say whether the pill taken was correct and who the sponsor is. While not revealing the truth about the pills, whohe eventually reveals the name "[[List of Sherlock characters#Jim Moriarty|Moriarty]]". The police arrive, and Holmes deduces that the shooter is Watson, but hides thisthe truth from the police. Holmes and Watson leave the scene, and run intoencountering the manenigmatic who"arch-enemy" hadof abducted Watson earlierSherlock. He turns out to be Sherlock's elder brother, [[List of Sherlock characters#Mycroft Holmes|Mycroft]];, who works for the British government. Watson nowfinally understands that Mycroft tried to bribe him out of genuine concern for Sherlock. Mycroft instructs his secretary to increase their surveillance status.

The episode is loosely based on ''[[A Study in Scarlet]]'' and contains allusions to other works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Moffat said of "A Study in Pink" and ''A Study in Scarlet'': "there are many elements of the story, and the broad shape of it, but we mess around with it a lot".<ref name="den of geek">{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Leader|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/television/544043/steven_moffat_and_mark_gatiss_interview_sherlock.html|title=Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss interview: Sherlock|publisher=Den of Geek|date=21 July 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref> Tom Sutcliffe of ''The Independent'' points out, "Fans will recognise at once that the close-reading Sherlock applies to John's mobile phone is drawn from an almost identical analysis of a pocket watch [taken from ''[[The Sign of the Four]]'']. More slyly oblique is the conversion of the lost ring that Holmes uses to lure the killer in ''A Study in Scarlet'' into a lost 'ring', a mobile phone that can be used to contact the killer directly."<ref name="independent">{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Sutcliffe |author-link=Tom Sutcliffe (broadcaster) |title=The Weekend's TV: Sherlock, Sun, BBC1 Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers, Sun, Channel 4 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-weekends-tv-sherlock-sun-bbc1bramish-worlds-squarest-teenagers-sun-channel-4-2035302.html |work=The Independent |date=26 July 2010 |accessdate=28 July 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100728213232/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-weekends-tv-sherlock-sun-bbc1bramish-worlds-squarest-teenagers-sun-channel-4-2035302.html| archive-date= 28 July 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref> The episode also uses an identical clue to the original story, but gives it a different meaning: both stories feature "Rache" written at the scene of the crime. In the original story, Holmes dismisses a suggestion that the victim was trying to write "Rachel", instead pointing out that "Rache" is German for "revenge". In this version, Holmes's interpretation is reversed: he scoffs at the "revenge" explanation and suggests the victim was trying to write "Rachel".

The cabbie is dying of a [[brain aneurysm]], while the murderer in ''A Study in Scarlet'' is dying of an [[aortic aneurysm]].

The story was originally filmed as a 60-minute pilot for ''Sherlock'', directed by [[Coky Giedroyc]]. It was planned to be broadcast in mid- to late 2009.<ref name="telegraph modern"/> The intention was to produce a full series should the pilot prove to be successful.<ref name="telegraph modern"/> However, the first version of the pilot – reported to have cost £800,000 – led to rumours within the BBC and wider media that ''Sherlock'' was a potential disaster.<ref name="Mail-yearend"/><ref name="lawson-rebirth" /> The BBC decided not to transmit the pilot, requesting a reshoot and a total of three 90-minute episodes.<ref name="Mail-yearend">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/dec/26/christmas-tv-replay-2010-downloads|title=Replay the best of 2010|last=Heritage|first=Stuart|date=24 December 2010|publisherwork=The Guardian|accessdate=5 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="lawson-rebirth"/> ''The Sun'' reported an unnamed source as saying, "The crew couldn't just re-use footage because the series is now totally different. The stories are now more intricate and detailed, so they basically had to start again."<ref name="Wightman"/> The newly shot episode, says journalist [[Mark Lawson]], was "substantially expanded and rewritten, and completely reimagined in look, pace and sound".<ref name="lawson-rebirth">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Lawson |author-link=Mark Lawson |title=The rebirth of Sherlock |date=2 September 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/sep/02/sherlock-mark-lawson |work=The Guardian |accessdate=5 May 2012}}</ref> The first series of ''Sherlock'' was produced in reverse order; "A Study in Pink" was the last of the three to be produced. This was because episode writer and co-creator [[Steven Moffat]] was busy with the [[Doctor Who (series 5)|fifth series]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.<ref name="Gatiss DS">{{cite web|firstfirst1=Neil|lastlast1=Wilkes|first2=Neil|last2=Levine|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a214862/mark-gatiss-talks-who-sherlock.html|title=Mark Gatiss talks 'Who', 'Sherlock'|publisher=[[Digital Spy]]|date=17 April 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref> Background information on Sherlock and Mycroft's relationship was cut out of the final episode as it was viewed as giving too much away.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kate|last=Goodacre|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s129/sherlock/news/a381656/sherlock-mycroft-relationship-will-remain-a-mystery-says-mark-gatiss.html|title=Sherlock, Mycroft relationship will remain a mystery, says Mark Gatiss|publisher=[[Digital Spy]]|date=15 May 2012|accessdate=15 May 2012}}</ref> For the pilot, the roles of [[List of Sherlock characters#Sergeant Sally Donovan|Sally Donovan]] and Angelo were portrayed by [[Zawe Ashton]] and [[Joseph Long (actor)|Joseph Long]] respectively but were portrayed by [[Vinette Robinson]] and [[Stanley Townsend]] in the hour-and-a-half episode.

The episode was set in 2010 rather than the Victorian period and so used modern devices such as mobile phones, [[TX1|TX1 London cabs]] and [[nicotine patch]]es rather than the traditional [[Smoking pipe (tobacco)|pipe]] and other period props.<ref name="Wollaston">{{cite webjournal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/jul/26/sherlock-orchestra-united-tv-review |title=Sherlock has a great new take on the characters - but what happened to the plot |journal=[[The Guardian]] |date=26 July 2010 |accessdate=4 May 2012|first=Sam|last= Wollaston}}</ref> The change from a pipe to a nicotine patch reflected changing social attitudes and broadcasting regulations.<ref name="herald">{{cite news |title=Times have changed but crimes are the same for new Sherlock Holmes |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/times-have-changed-but-crimes-are-the-same-for-new-sherlock-holmes-1.1042129 |first=Brian |last=Pendreigh |date=19 July 2010 |work=The Herald |accessdate=5 May 2012 |archive-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105135259/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/times-have-changed-but-crimes-are-the-same-for-new-sherlock-holmes-1.1042129 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Director [[Paul McGuigan (filmmaker)|Paul McGuigan]] says that using modern technology is in keeping with Conan Doyle's character, pointing out that "In the books he would use any device possible and he was always in the lab doing experiments. It's just a modern-day version of it. He will use the tools that are available to him today in order to find things out".<ref name="herald"/> Sherlock Holmes still lives at the same [[221B Baker Street|Baker Street address]] as in Conan Doyle's stories.<ref name="telegraph modern">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3852882/BBC-to-make-a-modern-day-Sherlock-Holmes.html|title=BBC to make a modern-day Sherlock Holmes|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=19 December 2008|accessdate=5 May 2012}}</ref> However, it was filmed at 185 [[North Gower Street]].<ref name="dyk"/> Baker Street was impractical because of the number of things labeled "Sherlock Holmes", which would need to be disguised.<ref>{{cite video|people=[[Benedict Cumberbatch|Cumberbatch, Benedict]]; [[Martin Freeman]]; [[Mark Gatiss]]|date=2010|title=[[Audio commentary]] for "''The Great Game''"|medium=DVD|publisher=BBC|work=Sherlock - Series 1 DVD}}</ref>

Filming on the pilot began in January 2009 on location in London and Cardiff. It was written by Moffat and directed by [[Coky Giedroyc]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=BBC Drama announces 'Sherlock', a new crime drama for BBC One |publisher=BBC Press Office |date=19 December 2008 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/12_december/19/sherlock.shtml |accessdate =27 December 2008}}</ref> A seven-hour night shoot took place on 20/21 January at the No Sign bar in Wind Street, [[Swansea]]. The bar had been redesigned as an Italian restaurant for the shoot, where Holmes and Watson dined.<ref name=Exclusive/> Location managers selected the bar as the venue because they needed a building that could double as an Italian restaurant that was close to an [[alley]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Staff |date=19 January 2009 |url=http://www.thisisswansea.co.uk/news/Bar-mystery-solved-detective-work/article-625956-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://archive.istoday/20121223220902/http://www.thisisswansea.co.uk/news/Bar-mystery-solved-detective-work/article-625956-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2012 |title=Bar mystery solved by detective work |work=South Wales Evening Post |publisher=Northcliffe Newspapers Group }}</ref> On 21 January, scenes were shot in Newport Road, Cardiff. Location shooting concluded on 23 January with scenes filmed on [[Baker Street]], London.<ref name=Exclusive>{{cite news|author=Staff |date=24 January 2009 |url=http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/EXCLUSIVE-Gossip-city-filming-BBC-drama-Sherlock/article-639761-detail/article.html |title=Exclusive: Gossip from city filming of BBC drama Sherlock |work=South Wales Evening Post |publisher=Northcliffe Newspapers Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120071052/http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/EXCLUSIVE-Gossip-city-filming-BBC-drama-Sherlock/article-639761-detail/article.html |archive-date=20 January 2011 }}</ref> During that week, filming was also done on location in [[Merthyr Tydfil]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Staff |date=21 January 2009 |url=http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Actors-set-detective-drama/article-633213-detail/article.html |title=Actors on set for detective drama |work=South Wales Evening Post |publisher=Northcliffe Newspapers Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217120623/http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Actors-set-detective-drama/article-633213-detail/article.html |archive-date=17 February 2010 }}</ref>

===Reception===

The episode won a [[Peabody Award]] in 2010 "for bringing the beloved Victorian sleuth into the high-tech present while remaining faithful to his creator's original conception."<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/masterpiece-sherlock-a-study-in-pink 70th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2011.</ref> It received critical acclaim. ''[[The Guardian]]'''s Dan Martin said, "It's early days, but the first of three 90-minute movies, "A Study in Pink", is brilliantly promising. It has the finesse of ''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]'' but is indisputably Sherlock Holmes. The deduction sequences are ingenious, and the plot is classic Moffat intricacy. Purists will take umbrage, as purists always do."<ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Martin |title=Sherlock makes Sunday night TV sexy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/jul/23/sherlock-steven-moffat-mark-gatiss |work=The Guardian |date=23 July 2010 |accessdate=25 July 2010 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100726125047/http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/jul/23/sherlock-steven-moffat-mark-gatiss| archive-date= 26 July 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref> However, Sam Wollaston, also for ''The Guardian'', was concerned that some elements of the story were unexplained.<ref name="Wollaston"/> [[Tom Sutcliffe (broadcaster)|Tom Sutcliffe]] for ''[[The Independent]]'' also suggests that Holmes was "a bit slow" to connect the attributes of the killer to a London taxicab driver, but his review is otherwise positive. He wrote, "''Sherlock'' is a triumph, witty and knowing, without ever undercutting the flair and dazzle of the original. It understands that Holmes isn't really about plot but about charisma ... Flagrantly unfaithful to the original in some respects, ''Sherlock'' is wonderfully loyal to it in every way that matters".<ref name="independent"/> [[IGN]]'s Chris Tilly rated the episode 7.8 out of 10, describing it as "an excellent 90-minute origin story wrapped in a rather uninspired mystery that fails to fully take flight". He was positive towards the introduction of the two lead characters and actors, but felt the mystery was "something of an anticlimax" and Inspector Lestrade was "the only weak link".<ref>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Tilly|url=httphttps://tvwww.ign.com/articles/1102010/1108477p1.html07/27/sherlock-a-study-in-pink-review|title=Sherlock: "A Study in Pink" Review|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=27 January 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref> Serena Davies of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' particularly praised Cumberbatch and stated that the show "worked because it was having fun" and was "hugely enjoyable". Her only criticism was that Holmes was "too legible" and lacked the mystery previously seen in other portrayals of the character.<ref>{{cite web|first=Serena|last=Davies|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7907566/Sherlock-BBC-One-review.html|title=Sherlock, BBC One, review|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=23 July 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' reviewer John Teti gave "A Study in Pink" a grade of a B, feeling that the modern-day upgrades were too forced and that the resolution was "overwrought". However, he praised the show for being "bold" and Freeman for being "eminently watchable", though the more youthful take on Holmes "[infected] the performances at times".<ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Teti|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/a-study-in-pink,46681/|title=A Study in Pink|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=24 October 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref> Den of Geek selected "A Study in Pink" as one of the best TV episodes of 2010, describing it as "a masterclass in how to write an opening episode".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/television/719653/the_best_tv_episodes_of_2010.html|title=The Best TV Episodes of 2010|publisher=Den of Geek|date=7 January 2010|accessdate=4 May 2012}}</ref>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101121165533/http://www.newsarama.com/tv/sherlock-annotations-episode-1-101118.html Newsarama: Annotations on "A Study in Pink"] - Listing the connections between the episode and the original Holmes stories, compiled by comic book historian Alan Kistler.