Elementary, my dear readers, is perhaps the least appropriate word to describe Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s modern “Sherlock” miniseries, which aired over the summer on the BBC and is now finally debuting in the United States on PBS. The duo has taken Sir Conan Doyle’s classic characters and transposed them into the 21st century with remarkable cleverness and fidelity to the source material.

"Sherlock"

Sundays at 9 p.m.
PBS

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But to expect anything less from the pair would been a very poor use of deduction. They've shown in their work on “Doctor Who” — for which Gatiss is a writer and Moffat the executive producer — that eccentric banter is what they were born to write. And there’s no character in all of fiction with a wit quite like Sherlock’s. The detective proves a perfect match for Moffat and Gatiss’s writing style.

The first installment of the three-part series is by far the strongest, perhaps because it had something to prove. Putting Sherlock Holmes in the Digital Age is a bold move that raised much skepticism in anticipation of the series premiere. So in that first episode, titled “A Study in Pink,” the task was to find a successful way to update all of Holmes's and Watson's quirks and histories — which was accomplished — as well as to forge the relationship between the two. This shifted the focus greatly in favor of the characters, away from the story, and that was a wise shift indeed.

The tall, dark and brooding Benedict Cumberbatch (“Creation”) takes on the role of Sherlock Holmes with all the subtlety, grace and inept social skills the character requires. His Holmes appears to truly despise the foolish mortals around him, but still hints at the vulnerability and loneliness behind the hard exterior. That makes the moments when he truly opens up to Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman, “Hot Fuzz”) all the more satisfying.

Freeman is truly the star of the series, as far as the narrative goes. The majority of the series follows Watson, often leaving the audience wondering what off-camera shenanigans Sherlock could possibly be getting himself into now. And, while it never would have been possible for Freeman to outshine Cumberbatch given their respective characters, Freeman captures the boyish, adventurous yet anxious army doctor adeptly, making the audience both pity and envy him at the same time.

The characters, along with their conversations and burgeoning relationship, all make for captivating, hilarious and even adorable television. The stories, unfortunately, lack that allure. And the blame in this case falls on our modern authors, not on Conan Doyle. Updating and reshaping some of the old stories to fit a modern London turned out to be quite difficult, and also seemed to be a second priority to showcasing the protagonists. As a result, there’s never any suspense, danger or mystery, even when there’s supposed to be. Especially in parts two and three of the three-part miniseries, the stories feel thrown together simply as a way to maximize the number of different interactions Sherlock and Watson can have, as well as to introduce Sherlock’s nemesis, Moriarty (another bold move, but one that proved anti-climactic in execution).

But while the story can be wearying at times, the series’s score is intense and almost irritatingly catchy. Composed by David Arnold and Michael Price, the music merges the feel of Victorian England with that of the “Legend of Zelda” franchise. The end result is upbeat and driven, yet still evocative of cloudy skies and sketchy alleyways.

Following the critical acclaim that met the BBC run of the series, an agreement was signed for more episodes of “Sherlock” to be produced down the road. There will likely be mysteries, and Holmes and Watson will likely work together to solve them, but what people will tune in for is the dialogue. Whether it’s Sherlock telling the police how daft they are or Watson pointing out Sherlock’s social misconceptions, it’s the banter that makes “Sherlock” so bloody addictive.