Sherlock (TV Series) Unaired Pilot (2010) User Reviews

Still, They Tried It In 55 Minutes. ♦ 80%

[nairtejas · 8/10 · 29 January 2014]

And it was a wise decision of not airing this pilot and instead going with "A Study In Pink."

Mostly because, the level of details is much lower here. The textual effects are missing and the plot looks like it was edited amateurishly. Then, towards the end the plot is tad different. By different, I mean the locations and turn of events. Although it was real treat to know what the characters are gonna say next as all the dialogs are dot similar, except only if there were additions. Viewers are not provided enough insight about the proceedings; Watson's history is skipped and so is the crimes' prologue.

The cinematography is terrible here, comparatively. And also, the location setup is slightly dull. Mrs. Hudson looks more radiant.

BOTTOM LINE: Sherlock fans SHOULD grab this episode somehow and invest 1 hour into it as we can differentiate b/w the two episodes - the original & the remake. Especially, check out the extended conversation between Sherlock & Watson towards the end and before the climax at the café. Also, the ending note is more in line with Hollywood style.

A look at an earlier version of A Study In Pink

[Cajun-Sunrise · 8/10 · 4 June 2014]

As a fan who has watched each episode multiple times, I highly enjoyed this episode. That being said, I think it was a good decision to re-write some of the dialogue and re-shoot virtually every scene and air the final result, which was "A Study in Pink", as the first episode.

The thing that I enjoyed the most was watching the slightly toned-down version of Sherlock that this episode offers. In this episode, we see a more patient version of Sherlock, who seems more willing to explain his train of logic for his listener (usually Watson) to understand, rather than rattling it off in his brusque fashion which, to me at least, indicates how exceedingly boring Sherlock finds explaining his rationale to people who can't keep up. In addition, Sherlock's logical mind is not quite as perfect in this pilot as "A Study in Pink". This is most dramatically apparent when the cabbie is able to do something Sherlock does not foresee: he tranquilizes Sherlock before pulling him into the cab. However, I think in terms of character interest, it was a good decision to amp-up Sherlock to a fully arrogant prick for "A Study In Pink". It makes him come off as more psycho/sociopathic, and creates a more interesting juxtaposition between Sherlock and Dr. Watson.

I also liked how, in the "A Study in Pink", the great reveal that the serial killer is a taxi driver is a big Eureka! moment for Sherlock. In this pilot episode, this revelation comes across as something Sherlock knew all along which definitely made Sherlock a little too omniscient to be enjoyable from an audience perspective. I also liked how the Study in Pink reworked the presentation of the cabbie by showing us a picture of the cabbie's family and making him a more sympathetic version of the pilot's "everyone is so stupid compared to me" serial killer.

Of course the production quality of "A Study in Pink" was much higher than the pilot, the camera angles more interesting, there were a larger variety of sets, the lighting was better, etc. etc. But this was a fun episode to watch from a comparative standpoint.

And Martin Freeman as Doctor Watson was just as solid and excellent a sidekick in this pilot as "A Study in Pink". The reason I haven't said much about him is that his character hardly changed from the pilot to the aired episodes.

Great pilot and modern take on Sherlock

[Kingslaay · 8/10 · 8 May 2020]

Wow what an episode. I was hooked from start to finish. Superb acting and story. Benedict is brilliant in his performance with good support from Martin Freeman. An ingenious and modern portrayal of Sherlock. It contains all the elements of the great classic but reinvents it in a modern setting. 8.5/10

i love the talent of Sherlock

[chjh-56547 · 10/10 · 6 October 2016]

Sherlock can infer anything passing the surface.I love this talent.Sherlock helped many people solve their problem.He is a kind man.He caught the real criminal and protect justice.The stories are complex and contemporary, with references to a remembered past. But it's easy to forget the past--the present Sherlock, droll yet naive, is so wonderfully weird.The dialogue is wonderfully written. It is fast- paced. There's some witty commentary here and there.Sherlock with his friend help many people and i think they are very interesting.My favourite episode of the series,The episode is rife with action, witty dialogue, political cover-ups and a story where everything comes full- circle.

Sherlock The Unaired Pilot Episode-60 minutes

[dhruviekandhari · 10/10 · 21 June 2014]

It is a very good episode but incomparable to the The amazing "A Study In Pink".The best part is the writers Steven Moffat And Mark Gatiss that they realized that it was a good start but not an amazing one and was not detailed that much was not up to the mark and after spending so much money,they bravely accepted this mistake and realized it and re-shot it without sacrificing in quality and they did not care about the budget to enhance up viewing experience for the viewers.this was not that much detailed and well crafted as Study in Pink but u must still watch it,it must be watched.8/10 by my side and extra 2 stars for the Re-Shot and justice to sherlock and by including in DVD,But this episode was not as spellbinding as study in pink .But u must watch as it is still a sherlock episode and was a brave effort to put in 5 mins.

Better Than The Aired Pilot

[saurabhvermaa · 9/10 · 22 August 2017]

I love this episode. I think this was better than the aired pilot in so many ways. But then it lacks a lot of details.

I think this episode has better performance as the actors in the aired show look a little tired. As if they are reciting the same lines they said the last day. It set up Dr Watson better. Sherlock still got the brains. So what he got tricked by a cabbie.

Better than the aired pilot

[mjvanwilligenburg · 9/10 · 3 March 2016]

Warning: Contains Spoilers

In many ways this episode is not as good as the aired pilot a study in pink. This is mainly due to the lack of detail when it comes to the suicides which is a lot clearer in a study in pink. However I seem to be the only reviewer who feels like this episode is a lot stronger in one aspect. To me it was rather obvious that the murderer was a cab driver in a study in pink, far before sherlock came to this same conclusion. To me this was the main failure of this episode because sherlock is supposed to notice things that other people do not notice and since I did I felt it was rather strange Sherlock did not. In this episode however Sherlock notices rather quickly, probably before I would have noticed since there was virtually no evidence provided for the fact that it could be a cab driver. To me it seems that this is more in line with the character of Sherlock Holmes as someone who notices everything. Besides this point I think the aired pilot is better because it gives more perspective about the case and production wise it is of much better quality. I just wish they would not have gotten rid of the fact that Sherlock knows it is the cab driver because to me it seems kind of ridiculous in the aired pilot that he doesn't know.

Over all if you're a sherlock fan definitely worth watching this episode as a contrast to the story you have probably seen before.

Brilliant

[umlaziking · 10/10 · 11 April 2020]

Am new to this series and i have to say, the first episode is really amazing. Sherlock is extremely smart, i cant believe he's a nornal human being. Im gonna watch more episodes right after this mesmerising one

This is the Only Acception of 10 Stars

[rohanumpleby · 10/10 · 13 October 2021]

Great. I loved Watson and SH chemistry I thought they portrayed there characters really well. I loved the Story, the Cereal Killer when he was on near the end he acted brilliantly. The cleverness of SH was put on the Table here. I laughed so much, I thought it was hillarious although that might just be me. The Performances were brilliant buy absolutely everybody and I am glad that Cumberbatch was able to show his witt here as he is on of the best. Martin Freeman ( Watson) well whenever he looks Depressed he puts on a really good performance and he is a great actor also did well in the big hit the Nativity. The Photography was also brilliant there's nouthing that I need to add to that. Perfect

My First 10/10 Genuanly couldn't be better.

GOOD ENOUGH!

[nikagorgiladze · 9/10 · 25 October 2018]

Sherlock helped many people solve their problem.He is a kind man.He caught the real criminal and protect justice.