I can’t stand the idea of Sherlock ever coming back, despite repeated calls for it to be picked up again (Picture: Hartswood Films/REX/Shutterstock)
Nothing has made me feel older than the harrowing realisation that BBC’s Sherlock came out 15 years ago today – yes, you read that right.
The year was 2010, Matt Smith had completely won me over as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who, my Saturday nights were spent hooked to the new episode of Merlin and, on July 25, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman took over our screens in a modern take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective novels.
In short (for nerds everywhere), it was the perfect storm – and it’s one that can never be repeated in a reboot. It’s because I’m such a fan that I can’t stand the idea of it ever coming back, despite repeated calls for it to be picked up again.
There’s no denying that co-creators Steven Moffat (also the Doctor Who showrunner) and Mark Gatiss knew exactly what they were doing at the time with the show’s popularity reaching fever pitch.
Benedict and Martin’s chemistry as literary duo Holmes and Watson practically burst off the screen (the flirty dynamic between the pair cultivating an even bigger fanbase).
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman took the screens by storm in a modern take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective novels (Picture: Colin Hutton)
Sherlock was not a ‘psychopath but a high-functioning sociopath’. This, and ‘I am Sherlocked’ were plastered onto mugs and T-shirts at every Comic-Con as far as the eye could see, and the phrase ‘mind palace’ entered everyone’s vocabulary.
The show was an instant hit and I, like millions of others, became completely hooked – only heightened by the introduction of Andrew Scott as Moriarty, which is arguably the best bit of casting to ever grace British TV (shortly followed by Andrew Scott as Hot Priest).
You simply had to be in fandom spaces in the two year gap between the season two finale, The Reichenbach Fall, where Sherlock jumped off a hospital building and supposedly died in front of John, and the season three opener in which – ta-da – he wasn’t dead.
Ten million people tuned in overnight for the long-awaited return, which spent a large portion basically mocking all the unhinged theories fans had posed before concluding the best explanation was no explanation. (Yes, it haunts me to this day).
Sherlock was not a ‘psychopath but a high-functioning sociopath’ (Picture: Hartswood Films/REX/Shutterstock)
It was after this where, for some, the show started to go downhill with complaint after complaint from disappointed fans who believed the mysteries were becoming over-involved, the reveals outlandish and the writing thin on the ground
The Rotten Tomatoes score plummeted from the 90% mark to the 60% mark by season four, with the finale causing such outrage fans thought there was a second secret surprise ending on the way.
Despite the clear nosedive the show took at the time, nostalgia (and rose-tinted glasses) is a powerful drug and, since moving on, the cast and creators have been regularly plagued with the one million dollar question – would they ever do a reboot?
There’s mixed enthusiasm from their end, especially with a booked and busy Benedict and Martin, who no doubt aren’t interested in rewinding the clock on their career by a decade.
The Rotten Tomatoes score plummeted from the 90% mark to the 60% mark by season four
(Picture: BBC/Hartswood Films/Todd Antony)
Just last month Gatiss was asked for the millionth time whether a reboot could ever happen to which he replied a definitive no because ‘Benedict and Martin didn’t want to do [it] anymore.’
And I can’t help but echo their sentiments for more than one reason.
Firstly, the show’s aesthetic fit a very specific cultural era that played wonderfully to their audience. But even by the end of the original run this charm was wearing off. I don’t think bringing it back now would be any different.
Then there’s the fact that, frankly, I’m tired of reboots and remakes of all kinds. It feels like playing into the current creative brain drain that has resulted in the HBO Harry Potter remake, Freakier Friday and yet another I Know What You Did Last Summer.
By the end of the original run, Sherlock’s specific cultural charm was wearing off (Picture: Colin Hutton)
Of course, there is a place for that nostalgia-driven content but we are at a point of oversaturation that has instantly turned me off the idea of any kind of trip down memory lane.
Finally, we come to Sherlock itself – a treasured piece of media that has been done various times over the years, from Robert Downey Jr’s movie to Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown as the Holmes siblings in Netflix’s Enola Holmes.
I’m not sure we need to revisit another one – especially with the third Enola Holmes movie on the way.
There needs to be room for more than one iconic detective on TV and I just don’t think there’s the appetite for BBC’s Sherlock in the way there was 15 years ago.
The fact of the matter is that nothing will ever be able to replicate the unexpected appeal of the first run, so it feels almost inevitable that any reboot would be terrible. It’s better to bow out while you’re ahead.
My suggestion – take this milestone as a sign to whack on A Study in Pink and reminisce about the good ol’days.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.
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