Sherlock Holmes: He's Baaack!

Fans of the BBC's 21st century, high-tech, whip-smart, lightning-paced update of the Sherlock Holmes tales -- and Cumberbachelors (men saving themselves for pro-gay hottie Benedict Cumberbatch) have gotten a special end-of-year treat: a seven-minute mini-episode that lays some expository groundwork for the new season of 90-minutes episodes starting January 1 on BBC and January 19 on PBS.

When last we saw the scrummiest of Holmses (two years ago in TV time), he had fallen from a great height of a building, and was mourned as dead by all who new and loved/loathed him. But is he dead? Really, totally, permanently dead? Or is he hiding out as a Buddhist monk? Is he solving crimes for an Indian chief of police?

Point 1: There's not much reason to have a series called Sherlock Holmes if you kill Sherlock Holmes.

Point 2: See Point 1.

Watson (Martin Freeman), Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves), and Holmes (Cumberbatch) feature in the short video, titled "Many Happy Returns."