Alistair Duncan's Blog, page 83
May 24, 2012
I've joined the Council
At tonight's Sherlock Holmes Society of London AGM Tony Lee and myself were elected to the Council of the Society.
I shall writer a fuller blog later.
I shall writer a fuller blog later.
May 23, 2012
Undershaw Judicial Review Pics
UPDATE: The judge's decision has been reserved and we will find out in a week at the earliest. However it could take until the end of July.
The troops gather
Curly tweets updates
John Gibson - The man who started the UPT
Troop lunch during recess
May 22, 2012
May 20, 2012
The scene of battle for Undershaw
Behold - the Royal Courts of Justice. This impressive building houses the High Court where, on Wednesday, the latest round of the battle to Save Undershaw will be fought.
If the fight is lost I'm afraid that Professor Moriarty will need to cede his title of Napoleon of Crime to Waverley Borough Council.
If the fight is lost I'm afraid that Professor Moriarty will need to cede his title of Napoleon of Crime to Waverley Borough Council.
May 17, 2012
Elementary Trailer - Verdict
Thanks to Youtube, the trailer/documentary for Elementary is doing the rounds.
The thing that screams out for me is that while BBC's Sherlock is clearly written by two people who know the Canon - Elementary is written by people who at best have (or appear to have) only a passing familiarity with it or, and this is arguably worse, have good knowledge of it but have chosen to ignore everything that doesn't suit them. Is this driven by a desire to avoid comparisons with Sherlock (if so mission failed) or a desire to avoid any legal moves from the Sherlock team (after all Steven Moffat did say he'd be watching)?
Whichever it is, the show (based admittedly only on a trailer but a trailer is supposed to make you want more) comes across as a bizarre cross between House and Crocodile Dundee (the latter thanks to the fish out of water element of the - pardon me Sting - 'Englishman in New York' encountering cultural as well as social hurdles.
It looks like it will be entertaining in the same way as RDJ's cinematic Holmes is. People will watch it and enjoy it but they will, at the same time, acknowledge that its link to the source material is, at best, tenuous. Holmes has suffered worse at the hands of screen adapters and will endure this but I think, after Sherlock, we've come to expect more.
Oh, by the way, a tattooed Holmes? Come on, seriously! He wrote a monograph on tattoos. It didn't mean he'd have one.
The thing that screams out for me is that while BBC's Sherlock is clearly written by two people who know the Canon - Elementary is written by people who at best have (or appear to have) only a passing familiarity with it or, and this is arguably worse, have good knowledge of it but have chosen to ignore everything that doesn't suit them. Is this driven by a desire to avoid comparisons with Sherlock (if so mission failed) or a desire to avoid any legal moves from the Sherlock team (after all Steven Moffat did say he'd be watching)?
Whichever it is, the show (based admittedly only on a trailer but a trailer is supposed to make you want more) comes across as a bizarre cross between House and Crocodile Dundee (the latter thanks to the fish out of water element of the - pardon me Sting - 'Englishman in New York' encountering cultural as well as social hurdles.
It looks like it will be entertaining in the same way as RDJ's cinematic Holmes is. People will watch it and enjoy it but they will, at the same time, acknowledge that its link to the source material is, at best, tenuous. Holmes has suffered worse at the hands of screen adapters and will endure this but I think, after Sherlock, we've come to expect more.
Oh, by the way, a tattooed Holmes? Come on, seriously! He wrote a monograph on tattoos. It didn't mean he'd have one.
May 14, 2012
The Baker Street Babes review An Entirely New Country
The lovely Baker Street Babes have put finger to keyboard and reviewed my latest book.
Read their review here
Read their review here
May 12, 2012
May 10, 2012
May 9, 2012
MX Publishing release schedule
The following titles are due this month from MX Publishing:
1st May - Holmes Sweet Holmes
7th May - Sherlock Holmes and The Whitechapel Vampire
14th May - The Secret Journal of Dr Watson
21st May - Sherlock Holmes and The Case of The Jacobite Rose (play)
23rd May - Sherlock's Home - The Empty House
28th May - Sherlock Holmes and The Plague of Dracula
Check them out on Amazon or here
1st May - Holmes Sweet Holmes
7th May - Sherlock Holmes and The Whitechapel Vampire
14th May - The Secret Journal of Dr Watson
21st May - Sherlock Holmes and The Case of The Jacobite Rose (play)
23rd May - Sherlock's Home - The Empty House
28th May - Sherlock Holmes and The Plague of Dracula
Check them out on Amazon or here
May 8, 2012
A big couple of months
Well I have a busy couple of months from a Sherlockian/Doylean perspective.
In just over 14 days (assuming nothing changes) I shall be popping along to the High Court to witness the Judicial Review which I hope will be a major step on the road to saving Undershaw from redevelopment. People often ask me how I think it will go. To be honest I really have no idea. Fingers crossed though that it goes in favour of the Undershaw Preservation Trust who have battled a long time for this.
The day after sees the annual general meeting of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London which is always an interesting event. This year, as per usual, sees the retirement of two committee members - following the end of their three year terms. I am standing for election to one of these posts this year. I very much hope I'll be elected. In addition the society will be electing a new chairman.
June 16th and 27th see me giving small talks. The first is to the Haslemere Festival as part of their Conan Doyle weekend and the second is a small seminar at Barts Hospital. Tickets to the second event are no longer available but I think tickets to the first event are still to be had.
In just over 14 days (assuming nothing changes) I shall be popping along to the High Court to witness the Judicial Review which I hope will be a major step on the road to saving Undershaw from redevelopment. People often ask me how I think it will go. To be honest I really have no idea. Fingers crossed though that it goes in favour of the Undershaw Preservation Trust who have battled a long time for this.
The day after sees the annual general meeting of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London which is always an interesting event. This year, as per usual, sees the retirement of two committee members - following the end of their three year terms. I am standing for election to one of these posts this year. I very much hope I'll be elected. In addition the society will be electing a new chairman.
June 16th and 27th see me giving small talks. The first is to the Haslemere Festival as part of their Conan Doyle weekend and the second is a small seminar at Barts Hospital. Tickets to the second event are no longer available but I think tickets to the first event are still to be had.
