A Study in Pink

"A Study in Pink" is the first episode of the television series Sherlock and first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. It introduces the main characters and resolves a murder mystery. It is loosely based upon the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet. The episode was written by Steven Moffat, who co-created the series. It was originally filmed as a 60-minute pilot for Sherlock, directed by Coky Giedroyc. However, the BBC decided not to transmit the pilot, but instead commissioned a series of three 90-minute episodes. The story was refilmed, this time directed by Paul McGuigan. The British Board of Film Classification has rated the pilot as a 12 certificate (not suitable for children under 12) for video and online exhibition, and it is included as an additional feature on the DVD released on 30 August 2010. Plot John Watson, an army doctor injured in Afghanistan, meets Sherlock Holmes, who is looking for a flatmate to share a flat at 221B Baker Street, owned by landlady Mrs. Hudson. The police, led by Detective Inspector Lestrade, have been baffled by a series of deaths, described as "serial suicides". Holmes looks at the latest crime scene: the body of Jennifer Wilson, who was dressed in pink. She managed to claw the word "Rache" into the floor, and Sherlock determines that the victim died before completing the name "Rachel", which later turns out to be the name of her deceased daughter. Holmes deduces she is from out of town and therefore had a suitcase. The police have not found a carry-on with the body, but Holmes discovers it abandoned nearby. Meanwhile, after a phone call, Watson is compelled to meet a man who claims to be Holmes's "arch-enemy". The man offers him money to spy on Holmes, but Watson refuses. He also tells Watson that, contrary to what his therapist believes, he is not suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but in fact misses being in combat.