Sherlock series 2 seeks to go even bigger and better by tackling the supersleuth's most famous cases. Total Film sniffs out clues on set.
WORD****a Dibdin
Total film is having a moment.We're standing in the living room of 221b Baker Street with sherlock head honchos Steven Moffat and Mack Gatiss, talking hounds, scandals, criminal masterminds and,er,interior design.
"We didn't want it to be too Men Behaving Badly ,"Co-writer and Executive Producer Gatiss muses,leaning absently against the mantelpiece which houses, among other things,a human skull."They're two young bachelors,so you want to feel there's a nice clutter without it being total squalor."
"Sherlock Holmes is essentially Men Bebaving Badly: Solving Crime,"quips Moffat. Except,of cource,there's a bit more to it than that.The set-meticulously detailed,from the chemistry volumes lining the shelves to the lab equipment taking over the kitchen - is emblematic of the level of effort that's gone into making the BBC's Holmes update far more than just another reboot.
The first series was a deft ,densely plotted delight ,balancing moments of genuinely grim darkness with warm, nuanced character writing.Despite their summer airdate, the three 90-minute episodes scored huge ratings and critical acclaim ,amassed a passionate fanbase overnight ,and scooped armfuls of awards including several Baftas and a Peabody .It's a tough act to fallow.
"Our motto coming into the second series was:be big ,soon ,"Moffat tells Tatal Film Over a cuppa in the BBC canteen .He's not kidding .This trio of episodes goes straight for the most famous beats:Irene Adler ,'The Hound Of The Baskervilles',and Holmes and Moriarty's final battle.
"It's was an obvious decision ,once we knew we were going again ,to do the biggies,"adds Gatiss."I t's just about telling epic stories.Why wait? "
Currently filming is finale 'The Reichenbach Fall ',an adaptation of the story that sees Holmes fall to his apparent death during a tussle with Moriarty.Moffat and Gatiss are resolutely tight-lipped abaut what form the updated fate of Benedict Cumberbatch's sleuth might take,but on the first two episodes they're more forthcoming.
"'Hound' is a story drenched in atmosphere ,it's the closet Sherlock Holmes gets to horror , "enthuses Gatiss ."The problem is that the dog is always disappointing .I felt the weight of history writing that episode ,because you realise so many people before you have sat there saying'OK ,how are we going to do the ****ing dog?'"
Though he describes his episode 'A Scandal In Belgravia' as a "twisted love story",Moffat's not following in past adaptations'footsteps with Irene Adler ,the one woman ever to outsmart Holmes :"What I'd say about Adler is that I do know the original ,though she's often portrayed that way."
A present-day Holmes might be a tough sell (Martin Freeman balked when he first heard the pitch), but what's astonishing about Sherlock is just how faithful it is in tone and spirit to Doyle.
WORD****a Dibdin
Total film is having a moment.We're standing in the living room of 221b Baker Street with sherlock head honchos Steven Moffat and Mack Gatiss, talking hounds, scandals, criminal masterminds and,er,interior design.
"We didn't want it to be too Men Behaving Badly ,"Co-writer and Executive Producer Gatiss muses,leaning absently against the mantelpiece which houses, among other things,a human skull."They're two young bachelors,so you want to feel there's a nice clutter without it being total squalor."
"Sherlock Holmes is essentially Men Bebaving Badly: Solving Crime,"quips Moffat. Except,of cource,there's a bit more to it than that.The set-meticulously detailed,from the chemistry volumes lining the shelves to the lab equipment taking over the kitchen - is emblematic of the level of effort that's gone into making the BBC's Holmes update far more than just another reboot.
The first series was a deft ,densely plotted delight ,balancing moments of genuinely grim darkness with warm, nuanced character writing.Despite their summer airdate, the three 90-minute episodes scored huge ratings and critical acclaim ,amassed a passionate fanbase overnight ,and scooped armfuls of awards including several Baftas and a Peabody .It's a tough act to fallow.
"Our motto coming into the second series was:be big ,soon ,"Moffat tells Tatal Film Over a cuppa in the BBC canteen .He's not kidding .This trio of episodes goes straight for the most famous beats:Irene Adler ,'The Hound Of The Baskervilles',and Holmes and Moriarty's final battle.
"It's was an obvious decision ,once we knew we were going again ,to do the biggies,"adds Gatiss."I t's just about telling epic stories.Why wait? "
Currently filming is finale 'The Reichenbach Fall ',an adaptation of the story that sees Holmes fall to his apparent death during a tussle with Moriarty.Moffat and Gatiss are resolutely tight-lipped abaut what form the updated fate of Benedict Cumberbatch's sleuth might take,but on the first two episodes they're more forthcoming.
"'Hound' is a story drenched in atmosphere ,it's the closet Sherlock Holmes gets to horror , "enthuses Gatiss ."The problem is that the dog is always disappointing .I felt the weight of history writing that episode ,because you realise so many people before you have sat there saying'OK ,how are we going to do the ****ing dog?'"
Though he describes his episode 'A Scandal In Belgravia' as a "twisted love story",Moffat's not following in past adaptations'footsteps with Irene Adler ,the one woman ever to outsmart Holmes :"What I'd say about Adler is that I do know the original ,though she's often portrayed that way."
A present-day Holmes might be a tough sell (Martin Freeman balked when he first heard the pitch), but what's astonishing about Sherlock is just how faithful it is in tone and spirit to Doyle.