Sherlock Season 3/ BluRay Ed. Not rated but would be PG for adult themes and violence.

I have been a big proponent of this series since its inception. It did well its first year, picked up steam in it’s 2nd and is now becoming a worldwide phenomenon. As well it should. Based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle it has undergone an update into the 21st century. The success lies in the fact that this show contains terrific writing, lots of humor and still manages to stay true to the original characters who have been with us for over 125 years.

I have covered the 1st two seasons as they were shown. The 3rd picks up right where the mysterious cliff hanger ending from Season 2 episode 3 left off. Sherlock was last seen jumping off a tall building and lying dead on the ground in front of a heart broken Dr. Watson. Right at the end he is seen alive at the cemetery where he was just buried. What happened? Much like the famous Dallas - Who Shot J.R. episode of the 1980’s this one has stirred endless speculation for the last year plus. Keep in mind the seasons run only 3 ninety minute episodes apiece so we are only up to episode 9. I like to think of this series as 3 full length movies a year or every other year as there has been a big delay between two and three. The reason for the delay is that the two main stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have become increasingly busier and bigger stars. BC was in several big films in 2013 including being the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness. MF is now in the Lord of the Rings sequel Hobbit trilogy (part 3 due out this year) as the main Hobbit. So Sherlock had to be put on hold.

Was it worth it? You bet your deerstalker it was. All three new episodes are based on characters and stories from the Doyle canon of 4 novels and 56 short stories. Preceded by a short film last December called “Many Happy Returns”, the series proceeded to “The Empty Hearse” which chronicles the fact that Sherlock is not, SPOILER ALERT, dead. Next up, Dr. Watson marries Mary Morstan from the book The Sign of the Four in a episode called “The Sign of the Three”. The series finishes up with Sherlock and Dr. W. facing off against a mean and nasty blackmailer in “His Last Vow” a title taken from the short story collection called His Last Bow. All three episodes are right up to the same quality as the 1st six which means this is TV as good as it gets. And there is a jim-dandy surprise coming at the end of the last episode of the current season.

There are also three extra short features running 14 minutes each which focus on the making of each episode. NOTE do not watch them before watching the actual episodes. Real spoilers everywhere. Now I am hoping they get to season 4 before 2016.

Rated 4.0 out of 4.0 reasons this is all “Elementary”. Which also is a good CBS series. The names have not been changed so nobody is protected. Or presumed innocent.