Young Sherlock

<p> The Guy Ritchie-Robert Downey Sherlock Holmes are entertaining Hollywood spectacles, but the sharpest recent rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle\'s mastermind comes in the form of the BBC series “Sherlock.” Its setting is now and Holmes is a tech-savvy 20something (Benedict Cumberbatch); Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman), recently home from the Afghan war, keeps a blog on his companion\'s exploits. Their archenemy is a snickering Moriarty, whose ringtone is the Bee Gees\' “Staying Alive.” And yes, Inspector Lestrade huffs and puffs at the unconventional crime-solver and Mycroft is a furtive figure in the high echelons of the British government. </p> <p>Written by Steve Moffatt (from the “Dr. Who” team) with Conan Doyle\'s stories as inspiration, “Sherlock” is fast and almost fiendishly clever. Young Holmes has no patience with banality (“Don\'t be boring,” he warns) or celebrity culture (“You know I don\'t concern myself with trivia”). He can scrutinize a crime scene remote, via Skype, with Watson pointing his laptop at the corpse, and he\'s even more penetrating in person. Words often flash on screen, signifying Holmes\' unspoken deductions about the people he encounters. He\'s usually spot-on, except, at first, with femme fatale dominatrix Irene Adler, who arouses a series of question marks in his mind. </p> <p>Bungling around Britain with its own agenda, the CIA becomes a target of Holmes\' scorn. Cruel and moronic agents of an uncaring superpower, they are easily dispatched by the nimble sleuth, who tosses one of them from the window of his retro-eccentric Baker Street flat. Kiefer Sutherland wouldn\'t last two minutes in “Sherlock.” Of course, Holmes has little patience for dimwits of any nationality. Put Adler under the highest level of surveillance? “Why bother?” he demands. “You can follow her on Twitter.” </p> <p>The three episodes of “Sherlock: Season Two” debuts 8 p.m., May 8, 13 and 20 on MPTV Channel 10.1. The DVD will be out on May 22. </p>