Sherlok Kholms Beyker Strit, 221b (2013– ) Online

I'm a confessed Sherlock Holmes fan, and I've also been trying to learn Russian -- so it was fairly inevitable that I should seek out this new Russian TV version of Doyle's detective to watch. Based on the first episode, I'm quite glad I did. It's a very different version of the Holmes story than any I've seen before, and being unafraid to make original choices almost always seems to serve it well.

Being a Russian-language Sherlock Holmes it naturally invites comparison to the excellent 1970s and 1980s TV version starring Vasily Livanov and Vitali Solomin, and it generally helps itself by taking a completely different tack with the Holmes character, so the series becomes something quite new rather than a competitor with its predecessor.

One things it does, though, in common with the earlier Russian Holmes (and, to a certain extent the current BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch), is very wise. It starts with Watson's perspective from a story perspective, making him a more active character than he often was in the books (in fact, he's something of a man-of-action here, with several opportunities to show off his boxing skill).

Watson is always present in print because he is narrating, but when Holmes is translated to a performed medium he needs to have more to say or do so that he presence doesn't being to seem extraneous. This adaptation does that well, and does so constructively by building on the character of Watson.

He's cast as a middle-aged actor, the fifty-year-old Andrei Panin, and this works well -- not least because Panin plays him very well, with understated realism. Sadly, he was found dead shortly after having completed the his early death is that if the series continues it will be in a very different form.

Making Watson a retired officer, tough but disabled, looking to make a second career as a writer and go into private practice yet unfamiliar with civilian life adds good background and subtext. There's an excellent moment where he tries to take out an ad for his medical practise but doesn't realize he needs to have an address to include first -- which also makes his hasty decision to move in with Holmes make sense.

Igor Petrenko's performance as Sherlock Holmes is eccentric and very different than anything anyone else has done with it so far -- and so far I like it quite a bit. In contrast to the warm geniality that Russophone viewers expected from Livanov, this Holmes is completely brusque an abrupt in all his interactions. He's energetic, awkward, and displays a very off-beat sense of humor. And while his personality is more standoffish, he's humanized by other elements -- he's quite young and his brilliance is tempered by very little experience (which heightens his need for the presence of this Watson); neighbors complain about his groping attempts to learn the violin, and he badly needs boxing lessons from Dr Watson.

The mystery here is an original one and not bad, but it naturally ends up taking second place in the premiere episode to the character introductions. That doesn't bother me; I didn't miss the screen time because it made sense, and everything was entertaining.

The design deserves commendation as well; Holmes' messy flat, ill- fitting coat, and cloth golf cap and Watson's respectable tweeds compliment was the script is doing.

In all, the makers of this series have taken these over-100-year -old, frequently-filmed characters and does some extremely witty, inventive things with them. I'm very much looking forward to watching the remaining seven episodes for more from this writing team, this Holmes, and this Watson.