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Nice Girls Gift Guide: The Mystery Fan
Odds are you’ve got a TV watcher (or twelve) on your holiday gift list this year, but you may be stumped on what to give them. Nice Girls to the rescue! Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be bringing you a slew of gift ideas for various TV fans on your list.
The Mystery Fan
Got a mystery lover on your list? We’ve investigated the gift options out there and bring you what we consider the cream of the crop.
Sherlock: Season One DVD Set
There’s a lot to like about Sherlock. Moffat and Gatiss both have extensive writing credits across several proven winners. They share experience on Doctor Who, plus Moffat has already shown he can turn an old property into a new thriller with Jekyll, which was the updated version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The directors will be familiar as well: Paul McGuigan directed the pilot of Andre Braugher’s underappreciated FX series Thief, and Euros Lyn most recently helped shape Torchwood: Children of Earth.
That’s before we get to the two lead actors. Following in the footsteps of Basil Rathbone is no easy task, but Benedict Cumberbatch is an able contender in his own right. He’s not overdemonstrative, or quirky for the sake of being quirky, or any of the other cliches he could fall into; he’s just very good. As Watson, Martin Freeman works well with him. Despite the title of the show, the two of them clicking is of utmost importance, and the two of them make a watchable team.
The DVDs
BBC Home Entertainment has given us some economical packaging with this one. You get the two discs, each on their own separate tray – and that’s it. No booklet. No inside cover art. I’m a bit surprised, as this is coming out under the Warner banner, and WHV is known for having a high standard when it comes to packaging and reliable episode guides.
As far as technical specifications, this is a workmanlike release. It’s a solid transfer, but doesn’t provide for foreign audiences. There’s a 16:9 enhanced widescreen picture that preserves the beauty of Sherlock‘s visuals. Even in the doom and gloom, the picture’s still watchable. There’s a Dolby Digital stereo track, which performs up to snuff. However, there’s no additional language audio, and the only subtitles are English SDH.
The menus are pretty neat to look at, and complete with music, although the greyish-white text might prove hard for some people to read. There are forced trailers, but you can skip them by hitting the “menu” button on your remote.
Special Features
It’s a short list of special features for Sherlock, but they’re pretty darn good. This set gives us two tracks which involve every significant player – not all at the same time, but everyone appears. The commentary on “A Study In Pink” is a crew commentary with Gatiss, Moffat and fellow producer (and Moffat’s wife) Sue Vertue. It’s nifty because since this is the first episode, you get to hear how they envisioned the whole setup and what their goals were.
The other commentary is also well-placed, as it’s on the final episode. Gatiss joins stars Cumberbatch and Freeman to discuss “The Great Game,” and it’s also a worthwhile listen. Cast commentaries have always been my favorite since it’s the actors we come to get attached to, and these two don’t disappoint.
There’s two bonus features – a “pilot” version of “A Study In Pink,” and the behind the scenes featurette “Unlocking Sherlock,” which is the usual making-of that you’d expect. All the special features are located on disc two. ~Brittany Frederick
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Bored to Death mug – Got a thwarted mystery novelist on your list? Help them remember the three stages of creative writing with this Bored to Death mug.
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