神探夏洛克中國受熱捧 被贊製作精良

Zhou Yeling couldn’t wait until 7am for a long-awaited date with her favourite Englishman.

The 19-year-old from the city of Shanghai dragged herself out of bed at 5am to watch the third season premiere of Sherlock on the BBC’s website. Two hours later, the episode stArted showing with Chinese subtitles on , a video website. Youku says it was viewed more than 5 million times in the first 24 hours, becoming the site’s most popular programme to date.

“I was excited beyond words,” said Zhou, a student in the central Chinese city of Changsha.

Sherlock has become a global phenomenon, but nowhere more than in China, which was one of the first countries where the new season was shown.

Online fan clubs have attracted thousands of members. Chinese fans write their own stories about the modern version of author Arthur Conan Doyle’s prickly, Victorian detective and his sidekick, Dr Watson, to fill the time between the brief, three-episode seasons.

In Shanghai, an entrepreneur has opened a Sherlock-themed cafe.

“The Sherlock production team shoot something more like a movie, not just a TV drama,” said Yu Fei, a veteran writer of TV crime dramas for Chinese television. Scenes in which Holmes spots clues in a suspect’s clothes or picks apart an alibi are so richly detailed that “it seems like a wasteful luxury,” Yu said.

Even the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily is a fan.

“Tense plot, bizarre story, exquisite production, excellent performances,” it said of the third season’s first episode.

With its mix of odd villains, eccentric aristocrats and fashionable London settings, Sherlock can draw on a Chinese fondness for a storybook version of Britain. Wealthy Chinese send their children to local branches of British schools such as Eton and Dulwich.

On the outskirts of Shanghai, a developer has built Thames Town, modelled on an English village with mock Tudor houses and classic red phone booths.

“The whole drama has the rich scent of British culture and nobility,” Yu said. “Our drama doesn’t have that.”

The series has given a boost to , part of a fast-growing Chinese online video industry. Dozens of sites, some independent and others run by Chinese television stations, show local and imported programmes such as The Good Wife and The Big Bang Theory.

says that after two weeks, total viewership for the Sherlock third season premiere had risen to 14.5 million people. That compares with the 8 to 9 million people who the BBC says watch first-run episodes in Britain. The total in China is bumped up by viewers on pay TV service BesTV, which also has rights to the programme.

Appearing online gives Sherlock an unusual edge over Chinese dramas. To support a fledgling industry, communist authorities have exempted video websites from most censorship and limits on showing foreign programming that apply to traditional TV stations. That allows outlets such as Youku to show series that might be deemed too violent or political for state TV and to release them faster.

“Our writers and producers face many restrictions and censorship. We cannot write about national security and high-level government departments,” Yu said.

Referring to Mycroft Holmes, a shadowy government official and key character, Yu said, “Sherlock’s brother could not appear in a police drama in China.”周葉玲（音）期待與她的英國男神夏洛克相會已經太久了，她迫不及待地一睹7點該劇新一季的首播。

這位19歲的上海姑娘凌晨5點就起牀了，她打開英國廣播公司（BBC）的網站，等待《神探夏洛克》第三季在線首播。兩小時後，該劇在優酷網同步播出，配有中文字幕。優酷網稱，該劇上線24小時內點擊率超過500萬次，成爲該網站截止目前最受歡迎的節目。

在中國中部城市長沙上學的周葉玲說：“我的興奮之情無以言表。”

夏洛克已經在全球掀起了一股熱潮，而其在中國的熱度更是高於其他國家。中國是該劇同步首播的幾個國家之一。

在網上，該劇的粉絲俱樂部已經吸引了數千成員。該劇改編自柯南•道爾原著，將主人公維多利亞時代偵探福爾摩斯和搭檔華生引入現代。在第三季開播之前，中國粉絲們就寫下了自己對《神探夏洛克》續集的演繹，以填補兩季間的空檔。

上海還有位企業家開了一家以“神探夏洛克”爲主題的咖啡館。

中國犯罪題材電視劇的資深劇作家于飛（音）說：“《神探夏洛克》的製作團隊拍出來的作品更像電影，而不止是電視劇。”在某些場景中，福爾摩斯從一名嫌犯的衣服上發現蛛絲馬跡，或者拆穿不在場證明等，細節如此豐富，甚至“看起來奢侈得有點浪費”，于飛說。

連《人民日報》都成了夏洛克的粉絲。

該報對神探夏洛克第三季首集的評價是：“情節緊張、故事離奇、製作精良、演技精湛”。

集各種惡人、特立獨行的英國貴族和時尚的倫敦外景於一身，《神探夏洛克》讓中國觀衆愛上了書中所寫的英國。中國富人們紛紛把孩子送到英國學校，如伊頓公學或者德威公學。

開發商在上海郊外建起了泰晤士小鎮，該房地產項目引入英國小鎮建築風格，隨處可見英國都鐸王朝時期的房子樣式和經典的紅色電話亭。

于飛說：“整部電視劇充滿了英國文化和貴族風情。這在我們的電視劇裏是沒有的。”

電視劇也給視頻網站優酷帶來巨大的瀏覽量。中國在線視頻產業發展迅速，獨立運營網站或依託電視臺運營的網站競相播放外國電視劇，比如《傲骨賢妻》（The Good Wife）和《生活大爆炸》（The Big Bang Theory）。

優酷表示，開播兩週之後，《神探夏洛克》第三季第一集的總瀏覽量已經達到了1450萬人次。在英國，在BBC觀看該集的觀衆人數爲800到900萬人。中國的整體觀衆人數，如果算上使用付費電視BesTV的服務觀看該劇的人的話，還會更多。

《神探夏洛克》的在線播放讓該劇享受了特別優待，這是中國內地電視劇所沒有的。爲了支持內地這個尚不成熟的產業，政府對播放外國電視劇的視頻網站豁免了大部分的審查要求和限制，而內地傳統電視臺則需要受到相關規管。這讓優酷這樣的網站能夠播放一些對於國有電視臺來說太暴力或太政治化的劇集，而且網站的播放時間也比電視臺早。

于飛說：“我們的編劇和製作人受到許多限制和審查。我們不能寫有關國家安全或者其他政府高級部門的電視劇。”

談到主要人物-神祕的政府官員邁克羅夫特•福爾摩斯（Mycroft Holmes），于飛說：“像夏洛克的哥哥這樣的角色不可能在中國的警匪劇中出現。”