wotcher, apples and pears, pip pip

I'm a fairly large Steven Moffat fan. For the uninitiated, Moffat wrote the fantastic BBC miniseries Jekyll (starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan), as well as a number of my favorite Doctor Who episodes ("Blink," "The Empty Child," "The Doctor Dances," "Silence in the Library," and "Forest of the Dead"). He is also taking over as Doctor Who showrunner now that my beloved Russell T. Davies has stepped down. So how, for the love of God, did I miss the fact that he's created a new series for the BBC coming out in 2010? And the very best part is elementary: It's Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock will be a contemporary update of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, Amazing Grace, and all around best name ever) as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman (The Office, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz, Love Actually) as Dr. Watson, and the always awesome Rupert Graves (Death at a Funeral, V for Vendetta, Intimate Relations) as Inspector Lestrade. Oh, and Una Stubbs (hello Till Death Do Us Part) cast as Mrs. Hudson certainly doesn't hurt. The venture is a collaboration between Moffat and comedian Mark Gatiss, who has also been very involved in the Doctor Who franchise. The series will air on BBC One with four episodes already ordered by the network. If a full series is ordered, showrunning duties will most likely go to Gatiss as Moffat already has quite a lot on his plate as the man in charge of Doctor Who.

One of the more interesting aspects of a present day update of Sherlock Holmes is the fact that Watson can, once again, be a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. I'm extremely interested to see how all of the updates to the characters and stories will play out, but if there's anyone I'd trust with such a task, it's Moffat. I just hope he can convince my beloved David Tennant and James Nesbitt to stop by for guest appearances.