“Smart Is the New Sexy”，这是热门美剧《生活大爆炸》第一季的口号，也是这类“书呆子”电视剧所倡导的风潮——用“眼镜男”打败“肌肉男”。这些“眼镜男”通常不擅交际，无聊乏味，却聪慧过人，出口成章。在“肌肉美男”风潮盛行多时，代表着力量美的男性荷尔蒙充斥大小银幕这么多年后，如今“书呆子”风潮开始大举反扑。虽然甄子丹在《精武陈真》里以真人肉搏所体现的力量美会让人念念不忘，而《生活大爆炸》里的“谢耳朵”所炫耀的“智慧的光芒”也同样吸引着众人的眼光。大热英剧《神探夏洛克》的主角则可算是书呆子中的一种极致代表——他胸无大志，讲玩讲吃讲心情，个人主义至上，但却能在最后关键时刻一锤定音，将凶手绳之于法。
你可能觉得这个书呆子无法满足你对英雄的想望，因他没有傲人的身材和多情的性格来依托少女的白马王子情结，可这却是现实，而他则以一副不屑的嘴脸告诉你：“What if I'm not ashamed of being a nerd（如果说我根本就不觉得做书呆子有何可耻呢）？” ——Mac
文字难度：★★★
Holmes has been kidnapped—by Steven Moffat, the man currently in charge of 1)Doctor Who. He has 2)bundled Conan Doyle's great detective into the 3)Tardis and transported him to 2010. The famous Baker Street address remains the same, but the pipe has been replaced by nicotine patches—three for a difficult case that needs a lot of deep thought concentration. London is largely smoke-free, too. The way around is no longer by 4)hansom carriage, but by modern black cab. Mrs. Hudson remains Mrs. Hudson, but Dr. Watson is now John, and Holmes is Sherlock.
福尔摩斯被绑架了——“主犯”是《神秘博士》的制片人史蒂文·莫法特。他把柯南·道尔的著名侦探捆上了时光机，把他载到了2010年。福尔摩斯仍然住在广为人知的贝克街221号，但是他抽烟斗的习惯变成了贴尼古丁片——在侦查需要高度集中精神思考的棘手案件时他就会用上三片之多。伦敦大部分都是禁烟区了。出行的工具不再是双轮双座马车，而是现代的黑色出租车。赫德森太太还是叫赫德森太太，但如今的华生医生则名为约翰。而福尔摩斯则名叫夏洛克。
The show is definitely successful—it conquers the critics and viewers, and all kinds of trophies have already proved that. It also destroys the 5)po-faced pretence that the 6)suffocating abundance of TV detective shows often 7)labour under: that the detective actually cares about the victims. This Holmes sees fun in cases and 8)revels in horror: “Four serial suicides and now a note. It's Christmas!” How have 9)Barnaby, 10)Taggart,11)Marple 12)et al. hidden their own 13)jubilation for so long?
毫无疑问，这部电视剧非常成功——它赢得的无数影评人和观众的好评以及各种奖项就是最好的证明。但是该剧也弃用众多侦探剧极力打造的探员套路形象——常常努力表现得一本正经，俨然为苍生为受害者而烦恼。该剧展现的福尔摩斯以工作为乐并沉醉于恐怖事件带来的欢乐中：“连续四个人自杀，外加一张便条。真是过大年了！”巴纳比、塔格特，以及马普尔等人怎么能把心中的喜悦埋藏得那么久呢？
The character of Holmes as reworked by writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, is a 14)conceited, 15)sociopathic ass whose genius ranges somewhere on the 16)autistic 17)spectrum, but who nevertheless possesses a sense of humour. We were told that he is incapable of friendship, has no interest in sex, and takes drugs. Quite gone are the hints, 18)obfuscations and un-saids in Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett's films that meant we were never quite sure if Holmes was a total nut 19)job or a 20)jolly decent 21)bloke.
由编剧马克·加蒂斯和史蒂文·莫法特重新塑造的这个福尔摩斯，是一个自以为是、不擅社交的家伙，颇有自闭天才的风范，同时还带有那么一点幽默感。我们看到，他不善建立友谊，对异性没兴趣，而且嗑药成性。过去，看着由巴兹尔·莱斯伯恩或杰里米·布雷特主演的福尔摩斯电影，我们无法确定福尔摩斯是一个行为怪异有耐性的人还是一个极度端庄的家伙，但现在其中的暗示、疑团和隐晦之处，都统统烟消云散了。