This is my reasoning as well. I may be drowning in debt with no way out, but at least I have Sherlock!!

And as neither of us are living in the UK, we both get it without having to pay the TV license fee. Win. ;)

You're probably right about the accent thing- he may well have been asked to talk it up a bit, make it more pronounced than usual just for the show. Or perhaps he simply wasn't told to tone it down. :D Ohioans: confusing people across the globe with their funny accents. Should come with a warning. :)