The Great Game 

Mycroft needs Sherlock's help, but a remorseless criminal mastermind puts Sherlock on a distracting crime-solving spree via a series of hostage human bombs through which he speaks.

Director:

Paul McGuigan

Writers:

Mark Gatiss, Arthur Conan Doyle (based on the works of) (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Stars:

Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Graves

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Sherlock Holmes
Martin Freeman	...	Dr. John Watson
Rupert Graves	...	DI Lestrade
Una Stubbs	...	Mrs. Hudson
Zoe Telford	...	Sarah
Louise Brealey	...	Molly Hooper
Andrew Scott	...	Jim Moriarty
Vinette Robinson	...	Sgt Sally Donovan
Matthew Needham	...	Bezza
Kemal Sylvester	...	Tube Guard
San Shella	...	Andrew West
Deborah Moore	...	Crying Woman
Lauren Crace	...	Lucy
Nicholas Gadd	...	Scared Man
Caroline Trowbridge	...	Mrs Monkford

Storyline

Mycroft wants his brother Sherlock to investigate the murder of civil servant Andrew West and theft of the Bruce-Partington missile plans. Sherlock, however, prefers to assist Lestrade following a massive bomb blast. The sadistic bomber abducts a string of hostages, who will be released after Sherlock has solved a series of puzzles, including a twenty year old murder, an insurance scam, and the alleged forgery of a long lost painting.

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Plot Keywords:

crying | grammar correction | murder | bomb | criminal mastermind | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

The man who provides the voice over at the planetarium is Peter Davison who played the fifth doctor in Doctor Who (1963).

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Goofs

At the beginning Sherlock is smugly correcting a prisoner's use of past and present tense. In particular, "I WEREN'T a real man" to "I WASN'T a real man". However, at the end, Sherlock incorrectly asks the question "What if I WAS to shoot you now? Right now?". Which, of course should be what if I WERE to shoot you right now" [the subjunctive].

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sherlock Holmes: Just... tell me what happened from the beginning.

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Connections

References The Pearl of Death (1944)

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Soundtracks

The Planets: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
(uncredited)
Composed by Gustav Holst

User Reviews

Better than the first one

It seems that the previous episode was just a misfortunate accident, because the third one is even better than the pilot. Sherlock irresistibly reminds me of Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory", with his extreme intelligence and even more extreme social maladjustment combined with arrogance, which is a source of endless fun. Intelligent, complicated and very witty. I didn't like Moriarty too much, but Sherlock and Watson are great enough to compensate for any possible weaknesses of this show.

8,5/10

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Game

Filming Locations:

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hartswood Films, BBC Wales, Masterpiece Theatre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD