Sherlock season 3 review

The wait was over. We watched PBS' Sherlock after the NFL championships.

I'm disappointed.

   Steven Moffat's cleverness appears to have hit a wall. Don't get me wrong; he has well managed Dr. Who for all these years. I appreciate his genius: planning the steps of his series years in advance. The man is brilliant.
   The recent returns of both Dr. Who and Sherlock, however, left me wanting. Somehow the plots echo each other and are beginning to repeat like the doctor's allotted regenerations.
   Last night, Sherlock's creators Moffatt and Gatiss ventured into dangerous waters. First, when did Sherlock become a prankster? His breakthrough moment of trying to be kind to Molly (whether or not he understands kindness or compassion) is dwarfed by his heartless, self-absorbed and mean-spirited jokes on Dr. Watson.
   Second, the writers run the risk of Rory-ing Dr. Watson. Next to Donna Noble, Rory is my favorite of the doctor's companions. Rory is the noblest and most selfless of humans. (He's also a nurse, so that hooked me.) In Dr. Who, Moffat kills Rory over and over again. Rory is always the hero and always dies heroically. He can't be anything but a hero. This turns a splendid character into the worst of jokes.
   Sherlock's nasty trick with the bomb left me angry. I wasn't angry at the trick, but what the trick accomplished. Martin Freeman plays Watson's numbed grief convincingly. His tearful second goodbye worked adequately. Sherlock's victory over the bomb leaves Watson in a drizzled heap of helplessness with no heart left for rage. If ever there were a breakup that was justified, this was it. But then what happens? Dr. Watson falls into the co-dependent trap once again.
   In 90 minutes, I became an outside observer, tired of caring for Watson's pain.
  Martin Freeman is a fine comedic actor. I'm loving his role as Bilbo Baggins. He was perfect as Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
   Sadly, Moffatt and Gatiss are turning Sherlock into just another clever British show. Worse, they are turning Dr. Watson into Arthur Dent.