‘THE GREAT GAME’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Meeting Moriarty At Last with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson
‘The Great Game’ is the third and final episode of Series 1 of ‘Sherlock’ with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I’m not that impressed with the finale, even after viewing it numerous times. 😦
This episode is by Mark Gatiss, although I’m pretty sure Steven Moffat had a handling in the writing of the episode since it feels very complicated. I’m still not sure what went on during this certain story.
Paul McGuigan also returns to direct the third episode of ‘Sherlock’, having directed the first episode ‘A Study in Pink’. I’m certain that 6 episodes instead of 3 episodes in Series 1 would have been better.
You could’ve divided ‘A Study in Pink’, ‘The Blind Banker’ and ‘The Great Game’ into 2-parters instead of full-length TV films. At least audiences would process information in 2 hour-long episodes. 🙂
But no! Somehow, Steven Moffat’s ego in these ‘Sherlock’ episodes has to come through. I say this because quite often, a ‘Sherlock’ episode could end up a mess when you try to work out a mystery. 😦
In ‘The Great Game’, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson race to solve a series of seemingly unrelated cases presented by a mysterious bomber. If they fail to solve the case, each hostage will be killed. 😐
Very soon, the episode concludes in a standoff between Sherlock and the bomber, who turns out to be Jim Moriarty. Not sure if he’s a professor or not as he’s often that in certain TV/film adaptations.
Andrew Scott guest stars as Moriarty in the episode. Now, I’m sure Andrew Scott is a good actor and he delivers an intriguing interpretation of Moriarty, as he could almost be like John Simm’s Master. 🙂
But my issue with Moriarty in ‘Sherlock’ is: why is he doing these things to kill people and play a game with Sherlock? I mean, I know he’s a madman, but for what reason does he want to do this? 😐
Also, how did he come to know about Sherlock? Is this something that gets explored in future seasons? I still think it would have been better if Mark Gatiss was revealed as Moriarty and not Andrew Scott.
Speaking of which, Mark Gatiss returns to play Sherlock’s brother Mycroft. I don’t think Mark Gatiss gets a credit during the episode’s end credits. This is quite odd, considering he’s in some of the story.
Talking about Benedict Cumberbatch, I know I said that his Sherlock may be growing on me, but this episode demonstrates what a jerk he can be. This is especially when he can be cold-hearted at times.
This in the scenes where he’s with Martin Freeman’s John Watson (which I admit does feature good acting between the two actors) and when he’s with Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper who fancies him.
It’s intriguing that Molly tried to make out she was dating Moriarty before it was revealed he was Moriarty in the story. Sherlock remarked he was gay. I wonder if Moriarty is actually gay in the series.
I must comment on Sherlock disguising himself as a security guard in the episode. Basil Rathbone’s disguises are far superior than Benedict Cumberbatch’s. At least Basil wore prosthetics on his face! 🙂
Rupert Graves returns as D.I. Lestrade as well as Vinette Robinson as Sgt. Sally Donovan. I think Donovan should hold off from telling Watson what to do when he’s hanging around with Sherlock. 😐
There’s also Zoe Telford as Sarah Sawyer, Watson’s girlfriend from the previous episode, who only appears early on in this episode. Sadly, Zoe Telford doesn’t return in more ‘Sherlock’ tales after this. 😦
John Sessions (who I’ve seen in ‘Nativity!’ and ‘Pudsey the Dog: The Movie’ and heard in the ‘Doctor Who’ audio story ‘Castle of Fear’ and one episode of ‘100’) guest stars as Kenny Prince here. It was very nice to see him.
John Lebar guest stars as Golem, a hulking man who’s responsible for some of the killings in this episode (I think). It was amusing to see Sherlock and Watson fight off this hulking giant in the tale. 😀
When I heard the planetarium voiceover in the story, I double-checked on IMDb to be sure it was who I thought it was. I’m glad I was right. It transpires Peter Davison was the planetarium voiceover!
I’m disappointed Peter didn’t get a credit during the end credits of the episode either. It’s also frustrating when the episode concluded on a cliffhanger, leading into the first episode of Series 2. 😐
By the way, I noticed that in the scene where a woman hostage in a car is talking to Sherlock, her car is parked outside Showcase Cinemas in Nantgarw. I should know that. It’s the cinema I usually go to!
On Disc 2 of the complete ‘Sherlock’ DVD/Blu-ray box set, there’s an audio commentary on ‘The Great Game’ with Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and series co-creator Mark Gatiss. There’s ‘Unlocking Sherlock’, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Series 1 of ‘Sherlock’ with cast and crew interviews. And there’s the original 55-minute pilot version of ‘Sherlock’ called ‘A Study in Pink’, which was unaired and made before it was decided to make each ‘Sherlock’ episode at around 90 minutes.
‘The Great Game’ rating – 4/10
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