I would say that this pilot is quite good as a first draft but the one that aired is much more polished and better executed even if this version is technically “tighter.” I’m glad I saw it but I’m also glad it was rewritten and remade at the same time. I do think the series would have still been a success if this one aired but the show would have ended up differently in terms of structure and style. Either way, watching it made me appreciate “A Study in Pink” even more.
 
Observations

-John runs into Mike Stamford on the street rather in the park. They also later talk in a restaurant.
-Sherlock still has his signature look even if it is a bit different. He still has the same hair cut but it seems much shorter with a tint of brown. Sherlock also seems just a tad bit warmer (and more human) in his manner.
-The first meeting between Sherlock and John is in a computer lab at Barts rather than a science lab. Before John and Mike Stamford walk in, Sherlock is also checking and responding to his emails some of which come from Lestrade and Mycroft.
-The 221B flat looks very casual and low rent. It didn’t seem like much thought was given into how the flat would actually look like at first when they made the pilot. The flat that would be done for the aired episode and for the rest of the series says “Sherlock Holmes” far more to me.
-In the aired version we get to see the other murders taking place and who the other victims were but here we are simply being told that there have been others murders as part of a series.
-The building in Lauriston Gardens in this looks run down but it is more modern than the old, gothic, and decaying one in the original. It was also smaller as it had just one staircase rather than a long flight of stairs.
-Many of the quotes, one-liners, and general dialogue that we love in ASIP are here even though it is much better delivered in the aired version that we saw. I will state that the “Want see some more?, Good God yes” exchange always cracks me up and it still does so in this version.
-There is no visualization of the deductions. Here Sherlock pretty much explains broadly how he comes to all his conclusions.
-There is no Mycroft (despite the reference to him in the email) and no mention of Moriarty either.
-Sherlock solves the case more quickly in this version (which I do like). When him and John are waiting at Angelo’s restaurant, he already comes to the conclusion that it was The Cabbie.
-The climax is also altered and much more rushed in my opinion. Sherlock tries to stop The Cabbie by acting drunk but gets drugged by him instead. The Cabbie takes him back to 221B. The conversation they have is much shorter and in the moment where they are about to take the pills we hear the police arrive outside. When The Cabbie is shot, the viewer does not know who fired, it is not until the last scene that we know it was John.
-I did like Mrs. Hudson’s reaction at the end as well as that little moment when John sees Sherlock on top of the roof in the moonlight. It reminds me of “Batman” for some reason.

Last edited by BrettHolmes (January 24, 2015 8:56 pm)