THE IRREGULARS: Teen Drama Meets Victorian London

I must admit at the beginning that I am a Sherlock purist, adoring the adaptations of Conan Doyle’s novels with Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone, and Peter Cushing. I even self-proclaim myself to be the biggest fan of the detective from Baker Street on the right side of the Vistula. This does not mean, however, that I do not give new creations set in the universe a chance. I was a huge fan of BBC’s Sherlock until it dawned on me that the plot of the series made absolutely no sense. Enola Holmes would have been bearable if not for the butchering of Mycroft’s character. That is why I placed great hopes in The Irregulars. It turned out, however, that the production is a total flop, starting with the fact that even its title does not concern the characters we watch on the screen.

Spoiler alert!

I will start, however, with the positive things, because there are a few. First of all, the young actors act phenomenally. It is therefore a great pity that the creators try to forcefully link them with the character of Sherlock. The kids are not annoying at all, and watching how their friendship develops over the course of the next episodes is very enjoyable. It is just a pity that the screenwriters put clichés in their mouths – listening to the prince’s next lines about how the aristocracy is devoid of compassion, unlike the poor, leaves me only rolling my eyes. A great pity, because each of the underage characters deserved a better fate.

The young actors gave their all to appear as natural and believable as possible. That is why I am full of admiration for them. After watching the trailer, I had high expectations. The very idea of making Sherlock Holmes’ network of contacts the main characters seemed extremely interesting to me. After all, we have kids from the street who have seen a lot in life, and now they must take on solving criminal mysteries. The creators, however, decided to go a step further and add supernatural elements, mysterious powers, and the cherry on top – a Sherlock in love, who preferred to become a heroin addict rather than take care of his two orphaned daughters.

I am aware that this is just a variation on the theme, but for God’s sake, why do the screenwriters and creators try so hard to prove how little they care about the original material? As if they did not even want to reach for any of Conan Doyle’s stories. This is probably my biggest problem with the series. The characters we know and love have been presented in such a way that it is hard to like them. John Watson – Sherlock’s best friend, who always had his heart in the right place – is jealous, possessive, and appears downright evil to the core.

Sherlock himself is a drug addict who, not only does he fall in love, but also has two daughters, yet abandons them because his grief is more important than providing for his children. In neither case is this the character we know and like. John would never leave a person in need, especially when we are talking about Sherlock’s loved ones.

Just like Mycroft, who would take care of his nieces. Here, he is a weird, somewhat clumsy government agent who is laughed at at work. Inspector Lestrade – portrayed as a fanatical bigot – disappears as quickly as he appears. Can someone explain to me what the point of that was? I also had quite a problem figuring out who this production is aimed at. On one hand, it is an adventure show for youth, on the other, it deals with themes of drug addiction and brutal murders, and out of nowhere curses appear. Fans of Sherlock will be disappointed with how their beloved characters have been treated. People unfamiliar with the canon will feel lost.

And after all, the whole thing was supposed to tell the story of the titular irregulars, except that this name concerns the group that included Watson, Sherlock, and his beloved. It has nothing to do with our young heroes. Unfortunately, there are more such blunders in the series. When it comes to murders, at times they refer to the best Gothic classics. It is a pity that we did not get a work that fully fits into this tradition. Every interesting element is replaced by melodramatic raptures, which causes even the most interesting cases to be pushed into the background. I expected a bloody procedural on the muddy streets of London, where the kids, thanks to their cunning, intelligence, and knowledge of the underworld, solve successive brutal puzzles. And what I got was a sluggish story straight out of an American teen drama.

This could have been a really great series. It seems to me that this is yet another example of how shoving Sherlock into everything by force does not help but only hurts. The production would be much better if his storyline had been completely omitted or limited solely to fragments showing that he resides on Baker Street. The only thing that saves this production and gives hope for a decent second season is the absence of the detective, who most likely will not return from where he currently is.

The combination of the Victorian world created in the film studio with modern music hits, which have nothing to do with the story being told, is also jarring. Maybe it is my inner nitpicking, but it seems to me that the trend of seasoning all kinds of productions with contemporary songs misses the point. Would it not be better to create new musical themes that actually reflect the character of the story being told? I can understand that this device works in productions such as Guardians of the Galaxy or Peaky Blinders, but here it fits like a square peg in a round hole.

I am incredibly disappointed with the first season. At times I had the impression that this was another season of Riverdale, only set in Victorian London. Even my fiancé said that it is melodramatic nonsense for teenagers. The creators lack consistency in leading the plot, and the characters from the original stories were recreated from scratch without any justification. The very concept was fantastic and I really wanted it to succeed. Unfortunately, Netflix once again showed that quantity, not quality, matters. Maybe a second season without all this excessive dramatization will turn out better, but I do not know if I want to find out.