Reaction: Original Pilot for BBC Sherlock

[caffienekitty]

Brief and spoilery for the original 1 hour Sherlock pilot

I am so very glad they had a chance to redo that! Not that it was bad, just that 1.01 was so much better. Smoother, less dialog and story clunk, better production values, better everything. It's like the Original Pilot was the pre-beta version of 1.01.

Although... if they can find a way to poison or drug Sherlock in future episodes, I wouldn't complain, as long as they do it in such a way that he shouldn't have seen it coming or noticed immediately. Helpless staggery Holmes was interesting indeed.

Comments

[charis-kalos.livejournal.com]

I can't even look at the trailer on the BBC website - it tells me I live in the wrong country to see it. Which I knew. I really, really want to watch this show!!!!

[caffienekitty]

What I was posting about above is the unaired Pilot, which is on the DVD. Oddly, it doesn't contain spoilers for the aired episode. O.o

No date set by Nine yet? Wikipedia is saying 'late 2010', the DVD might be out down there before that. In the meantime, the trailer is bound to be up somewhere on youtube.

[ciaranbochna.livejournal.com]

I just watched it myself, and have to agree. I would love to see him drugged or drunk again at some point, but yes--first ep was much better.

[caffienekitty]

Aside from the script changes (and man were some of those ever necessary) they got different cameras and a different director of Photography between one go and the other, and it really shows. The whole show is smoother, cleaner, more tense visually as well as in script.

[ciaranbochna.livejournal.com]

Yes, the pacing was too slow in the pilot, most definitely, and the quality wasn't there either with the photography. The writing was on another level in the official episode. I suppose the point is we have this wonderful creation and it was made..lol

[malevolent73.livejournal.com]

The production values were so much better in the aired ep, but the emotional elements were totally there. I especially liked that in this one, John forgets his cane because Sherlock is in danger and not just to chase him about. The reason is better to me, but the visuals of Sherlock picturing the streets and signs and them running and jumping is more awesome looking. :)

Couldn't resist the icon making. LOL Totally snaggable (if ya want).

[caffienekitty]

John forgets his cane because Sherlock is in danger and not just to chase him about.

I do like that as a reason for John to chase down Sherlock, but I like the 1.01 way better because they've only just met a couple days ago, and to me it didn't seem like John's been pulled into it all quite far enough yet. John does do the 'he's in danger' chase down in 1.01 at the end (and I prefer the frantic looking in rooms etc intercut with the pill scene faaaar more than the nearly static pill scene and John as a random shooter out of the blue), but not without being more deeply in Sherlock's world.

John knowing something had gone wrong didn't quite sit right with me, because he's got somebody who knows and participates in Sherlock's methods telling him, 'naw, it's all cool' and yet he still goes off. There's arguably a medical sense he might have, but telling the difference between someone pretending to be drunk and someone drugged at that distance is dubious.

the visuals of Sherlock picturing the streets and signs and them running and jumping is more awesome looking.

Sherlock's Area Knowledge/Eidetic Memory combination montage is something that gives me great gamer-squee. :-D

[malevolent73.livejournal.com]

All valid points. :) If it had been the first episode I have ever watched I would possibly havw felt the same way, but already being immersed in 3 mini movies, and fandom squee/fic/artwork I'm already used to them being all wrapped up in each other. LOL I guess whatever they give me that furthers it is acceptable (and preferable, heh) to me.

[malevolent73.livejournal.com]

ugh *had* ever watched, and stupid typo:have. I hate when it takes forever to post the comment and you see the stupid stuff but can't change it. Its like slo-mo torture. LOL

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

Thank you for alerting me to the existence of this. Now that I've seen it, I can say:

No Mycroft :(

Less Lestrade :(

No 'look at these random people taking a cab and THEN DYING; it will be relevant later' sequence :| (good and bad= better to see the victims, better not to know immediately the killer)

Sherlock figures that it's a cabbie in a timely fashion :D

Drugged!Sherlock :)

The cinematography is a HUGE step forward; besides, IMHO, the new guy knows how to film BC... the guy is very interesting looking to me, but poor lamb, he doesn't have a chin to speak of... it's quite impressive that they managed to give him the appearance of a definite jaw-line in the other episodes.

[caffienekitty]

No Mycroft :(

OMG, I know, that was so weird! He adds so much to the whole set up and the world. Although I'm now imagining the epic squee from Mark Gatiss about the BBC giving them an extra half hour so they could include Mycroft and he could play him. Really, that's about the single biggest fanboy dream come true, there! XD

Less Lestrade :(

Also, less... hm. Less invested-in-Sherlock-as-a-person Lestrade. Original Pilot Lestrade was more the typical Lestrade of prior incarnations, with out as much or that hint of paternality.

No 'look at these random people taking a cab and THEN DYING; it will be relevant later' sequence :| (good and bad= better to see the victims, better not to know immediately the killer)/Sherlock figures that it's a cabbie in a timely fashion :D

Oddly in the opening I didn't quite catch that they'd all taken cabs. I don't know why, too caught up already. I did know it was a cabbie straight off when he started saying 'who hunts in a crowd' etc, because I'd just watched the CSI: NY 'cabbie killer' plot arc episodes. XD

Personally I think it fits that he didn't get the cabbie connection right off, because to me, because Sherlock's taking cabs everywhere, possibly grew up in a family where a car and driver were the norm for them, and has a sort of filter regarding making general observations while riding in cabs. He'd have to, or the streets going past would probably drive him nuts. It did stand out a little though as a missed deduction.

Drugged!Sherlock :)

Yeeeersh indeedy! Sherlock needs to be nearly incapacitated and trapped with someone who's trying to kill him and getting rescued by BAMF!John (or BAMF!Lestrade, or both I'm flexible) in the next series please!

The cinematography is a HUGE step forward; besides, IMHO, the new guy knows how to film BC... the guy is very interesting looking to me, but poor lamb, he doesn't have a chin to speak of... it's quite impressive that they managed to give him the appearance of a definite jaw-line in the other episodes.

Truly and for serious. I read a recap of the 1.03 commentary and Benedict was saying how his nose wasn't classically Sherlocky, so they'd been finding different ways to film him so his nose was more appropriate, and I guess they accounted for his chin too. XD

The changes on the looks for the police also worked better for me. Sally was much better as an Inspector than a Constable and Anderson's absolutely ridiculous facial hair? BWAH! XD

Also: No text popping up! No 'Wrong!' setting up the whole interaction between Sherlock and the Yard. And that cab ride with the John and Sherlock to the first crime scene had the most woeful blue-screening I've seen in recent years.

[dendritejungle.livejournal.com]

I saw you posted this and literally squealed. I could not download it fast enough! It really was utterly fascinating seeing the changes they made. And, um, I kind of agree with your observation that "Helpless staggery Holmes was interesting indeed."

Other commenters more articulate than myself have pointed out the vastly superior cinematography, addition of Mycroft (who I utterly love - the distasteful way he says "legwork" in the third ep is probably my single favourite word in the whole series), etc. To which I will simply add "also better wardrobe for everyone!"

I did like the faster deduction that it was a cab in the pilot (while I understand your reasoning in your reply to anniehow, it still seemed disconcerting that I figured something out before Sherlock), and will admit to really liking Doctor Watson pulling out the doctor card to Lestrade at the end, and Sherlock acknowledging it. *starry eyes*

And was it just me, or did Sherlock seem a little warmer/a little less asperger-ish in the pilot? If so, can't decide how I feel about that decision. Clearly more watching research is needed...

[caffienekitty]

Sherlock to me seemed younger a bit, and less sure of himself. Not sure about warmer but it could be. Also there were a few overt character trait explainers here and there they were better off leaving for show instead of tell. I didn't really notice the wardrobe conciously but OMG they did so much better with Benedict's hair! I really hope John pulls his doctor card at some future point in the next series.