Doctor Strange
dir. Scott Derrickson (2016)
Benedict Cumberbatch gets some pre-hero acting in, which makes this film infinitely better than its sequel. While Tilda Swinton and Benedict Wong are also worth watching (in the quiet moments), the dimension-shifting action scenes and extended astral-plane trip are boring as batshit.
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
by Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat; dir. Douglas Mackinnon (BBC, 2016)
Cleverly executed, presenting initially as a standalone special then morphing into a bridge between series. Gatiss and Moffat indulge in some social commentary while poking gentle fun at the original Sherlock Holmes canon. Cumberbatch and Freeman (especially) revel in the old-fashioned characterisation.
Sherlock: The Sign of Three
by Stephen Thompson, Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss; dir. Colm McCarthy (BBC, 2014)
Possibly the funniest of all Sherlock episodes, albeit skewed beyond the pale towards character development and adapting little of its plot from Conan Doyle’s stories. While Benedict Cumberbatch brings Sherlock’s misanthropy painfully centre-stage, Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington are more humanly sublime.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
dir. Sam Raimi (2022)
An untethered kite of a film, flapping about madly with no hint of character or heart. One can imagine Benedict Cumberbatch at the advance screening, mask in place and silently chanting his fee, over and over again, as a mantra of self-appeasement.
Rumpole: The Gentle Art of Blackmail & Other Stories
by John Mortimer; adapted by Richard Stoneman (BBC Audio, 2018)
A collection of four radio adaptations. These follow the stories faithfully and offer a similar experience to the Rumpole audiobooks, the only notable difference being that the older and younger Rumpoles are voiced by different actors: Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch respectively.
The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka (Kurt Wolff Verlag, 1915); audiobook read by Benedict Cumberbatch (Bolinda, 2018)
Kafka seemingly cuts straight to the point in this simply written, somewhat overrated novella, but in truth Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis remains open to numerous interpretations (beyond the story at face value, which also serves). Benedict Cumberbatch’s reading makes the audiobook more palatable.
Jackaby
by William Ritter (Algonquin Young Readers, 2014)
A supernatural detective story that doesn’t overplay its hand, relying on clever but sensible plot progression and the charisma of the eponymous Jackaby – a cross between Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Matt Smith’s Doctor Who, narrated by a Victorian Clara Oswald John Watson.
Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen; dramatised by Lin Coghlan (BBC Radio 4, 2003)
This full-cast dramatisation offers the narrative equivalent of time-lapse photography: too sketchy for the purists but sufficient to convey some of Austen’s epic to-ing and fro-ing. Its commercial release retro-boasts the involvement of Felicity Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch and bit player David Tennant.
Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries
by John Taylor; audiobook read by Benedict Cumberbatch (AudioGO, 2010)
Although contrived in places, these four Sherlock Holmes pastiches are of sufficient quality that they feel like original Conan Doyle stories. Benedict Cumberbatch, at the time having just concluded series one of Sherlock, narrates from Watson’s perspective without unduly distracting the listener.
Sherlock, Series 3
by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (BBC, 2014)
Having cherry-picked the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, Gatiss and Moffat in series three give themselves even more latitude for creative adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s material, scripting three adventures that rely very much on the telling. Freeman and Cumberbatch remain resplendent.