Sherlock: 10 Best Music Compositions

7. Which Bottle?

Series 1, "A Study in Pink" The genius of this piece is that it combines sections of "The Game Is On" and "Pink" and increases the tension tenfold. Your heart rate can't help but go up when you hear those five sinister beats, duh-duh-duh-duh-DUH, over and over as Sherlock and the cabbie square off in a battle of wits. As ever, the music seems to mirror both Sherlock and John's emotional states: Sherlock's racing mind as he examines the poisoned pills, and John's racing heart as he watches Sherlock move to take one of them. Screeching violins bring the scene to its climax, broken only by a shot from John's gun. I'm sorry, but nothing can beat that for sheer thrill. This piece is like a shot of adrenaline €“ the perfect soundtrack for a showdown with any of Sherlock's villains, whether it's the cabbie from "A Study in Pink" or Jim Moriarty himself. I suspect that's the reason it's used again in "The Great Game," for "Final Act," when Sherlock is poised to shoot the explosives Moriarty has lying at his feet. The scene itself is already dramatic enough; add this track on top of it, making the tension build and build, with a cut to black before Sherlock can shoot, and you have a perfect, nerve-wracking cliffhanger that kept us in horrible suspense until Series 2.