TV Review: Sherlock - "The Hounds of Baskerville"

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Holmes and Watson

Holmes is in between cases and as is his wont, starts craving for artificial mental stimulants. Watson does his best to dissuade Holmes from his drug intake and is relieved when Henry Knight arrives at 221 B with his case.

The case in question is arguably the most popular novel in the Sherlock Holmes Canon: The Hound of the Baskervilles. As was the case with A Study in Scarlet, the canonical novel has been updated for a modern adaptation.

Henry has recurring memories of his father being killed by a hound 20 years ago. Henry returns to the place of his father's demise and claims to have seen the footprints of a gigantic hound. Holmes is quite dismissive of Henry's beliefs in the existence of a hound, but his interest is nevertheless piqued and takes up the case. Holmes and Watson soon arrive at Dartmoor and Watson does some sleuthing of his own in a local café.

Instead of the Baskerville Hall, we have a military complex. Barrymore, Lyons, Frankland and Stapleton work at the complex. Dr Mortimer though still remains the same except for the fact he is now a she (a trait shared with the character of Stapleton). The escaped convict Selden does not directly appear in the episode but does contribute to a cheeky moment.

Sherlock comes face to face with a nightmare

Sherlock uses Mycroft’s credentials to sneak into the military complex. Sherlock and Watson discover that there is a lot of research and testing going on, that may or may not be related to the hound. Soon their adventure is cut short and the cheerful Dr Frankland comes to their rescue by (wrongly) confirming Sherlock’s identity as Mycroft.

There is a little mystery involving Dr Stapleton as well, that confirms Sherlock’s suspicions that there is some genetic testing going on at the complex.

Soon Sherlock encounters the cause of Henry's fear and is forced to reevaluate the case. Sherlock copes with the emotion of fear and overcomes it soon enough to solve the mystery. Mark Gatiss has done a fine job of reworking the original story.

There are quite a number of clues spread throughout the episode that astute viewers would have noticed. I will not reveal the resolution, except to note that readers familiar with the canon will be reminded of The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot.

Russell Tovey as Henry Knight

Cumberbatch gets to display his acting chops as the character of Sherlock evolves further in the second season. Freeman provides ample support as Watson. Russell Tovey makes an impressive Henry Knight, the man who has been scarred for life after witnessing his father getting killed. Rupert Graves has a bigger role in this episode and as always delivers a nice performance. Mark Gatiss is a gifted writer and has a fine command over the language. From the reworking of the episode title to renaming Sir Henry Baskerville to Henry Knight and the term HOUND, Gatiss has woven a fine web of word play.

Now on to the trivia section. I caught the following references to the original stories:

1.   The Adventure of Black Peter (Holmes’s appearance at 221 B with a harpoon)

2.   The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (Holmes placing a bet with a local guide to get some information)

3.   The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter ("Mycroft is the British Government")

4.   The Sign of the Four (“When you have eliminated everything that is impossible, the remaining however improbable must be the truth”)

5.   The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot  (I will leave it to the readers to figure this one out)

The episode is easily the best of the season and returns Holmes to his Doylean roots. This is my favorite episode so far after A Study in Pink.

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Image Sources: Cumberbatchweb, Cumberbatchweb, Cumberbatchweb

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