Just finished watching “A Scandal in Belgravia,” the first episode of Sherlock series 2. It is so, so good, and would be so, so ruined by spoilers that I will say no more about it, except:
- It’s pretty much ruined the Doctor Who Christmas special for me. Apart from some feminist grumblings I quite enjoyed “The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe,” but only because I’d forgotten how good Moffat can be when he’s at the top of his game. “Scandal” just blows “Widow” out of the water; it’s a thousand times better. (Exactly a thousand; I measured it with my agathometer.)
- It’s preemptively ruined Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows for me also. “Scandal” is the Sherlock Holmes movie of the present season; whatever the theatrical movie is like, it can’t hope to measure up.
- One of the best moments in the episode is also a Doctor Who reference. But those who know only the 21st century version of Doctor Who won’t get it. (There’s also a Wrath of Khan reference.)
On the down side: given how persnickety Sherlock was about grammar in the opening scene of last season’s “Great Game,” it’s a bit incongruous that he says “you sent John and I” in “Scandal.”
