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Sherlock Holmes
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Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd
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Feb 17, 2013 01:48PM
He certainly looks a lot like Sherlock in my head. :)
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Vicki wrote: "Basil Rathbone was the ultimate Sherlock."
When I think of Mr Holmes, he is who I see. Must be my increasing years
I don't know how you feel about YA but when it focuses on women's society in England (fashion, the language of flowers) and Sherlock - I recently read the first Enola Holmes Mystery.
My wife is a huge Sherlock Holmes and she said if anyone is looking for a good book to check out The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel
Baskerville: The Mysterious Tale of Sherlock's Return
is a fairly new book I haven't actually read but it might be of tangential interest. It's more about Conan Doyle than a Sherlock adventure.
Wrong button on the iPad, She is reading a book called A Slight Trick of The Mind by Mitch Cullin. It features an elderly Sherlock Holmes in the 1940's. She jumped on it after hearing that there is a movie planned for it with Ian McKellen playing the part of the elderly Holmes.
How the heck did I miss this thread???I have been a dedicated Sherlockian since I was 10.
I adore the BBC's "Sherlock". The combination of Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman is brilliant.
Also the creators, Mark Gatiss and Steve Moffat are Sherlockians as well, and it shows in the scripts. They often tuck lines from the original stories into the scripts.
Vicki wrote: "Basil Rathbone was the ultimate Sherlock."
Yet, interestingly, he wasn't a traditional Holmes. All except two of the Rathbone/Bruce movies were updated to the 1930s/1940s when they were shot.
Dawn wrote: "Have you been watching Elementary too Margaret??"No. I attempted it. But Watson as female made me blow a gasket. It totally screws up the dynamic between Holmes and Watson. I don't know if it is true, but I heard that CBS didn't want two men living together because middle America would perceive them as gay! *rolls eyes*
I like the BBC shifting Sherlock Holmes to the 21st Century, it works on so many levels, but CBS shifting it to 21st Century New York doesn't work. Sherlock Holmes is part of the fabric of London. Take him away from that and it loses too much.
The main reason that Elementary doesn't work is because the writers are simply that, paid television script writers. They are not Sherlockians. They don't know the canon and they don't love the characters. BBC's Sherlock has 3 writers, who do one episode per season each. All three men have been Sherlockians since childhood and it shows.
I really liked Lucy as Watson but I got tired of the show right about the same time as she became an apprentice to Holmes instead of the doctor sidekick. BBC's Sherlock was/is brilliant, I totally agree. What's his name is great as Sherlock but I love Martin Freeman as Watson.
Have you seen the ones with Jeremy Brett?? I always liked them because they made Holmes a darker, more neurotic character. He was a little creepy and crazy.When I read Sherlock I always hear Basil Rathbone though. My first introduction to Holmes other than the books were the old radio shows. My library used to carry them all and my sister and I listened to them.
I wonder if I could find the old shows somewhere? There must be podcasts of old radio shows somewhere. They would make good commuting listening. :)
I like the idea of Holmes as a darker character. Borderline manic depressive, drug addict tends to suit the character I feel.
Dawn wrote: "And that is exactly how Jeremy Brett's Holmes is. This one http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086661/"I don't think i have seen that one.
Patrick wrote: "now when read now holmes, its jeremy brett l see in my minds eye"I think he was the very best Sherlock Holmes.
Terri wrote: "I like the idea of Holmes as a darker character. Borderline manic depressive, drug addict tends to suit the character I feel."
I could be that Holmes without even having to act:)
I could be that Holmes without even having to act:)
Dawn wrote: "I really liked Lucy as Watson but I got tired of the show right about the same time as she became an apprentice to Holmes instead of the doctor sidekick. BBC's Sherlock was/is brilliant, I totall..."
Benedict Cumberbatch. :)
Terri wrote: "I like the idea of Holmes as a darker character. Borderline manic depressive, drug addict tends to suit the character I feel."Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock is very dark. Recovering drug addict, sociopath, possible aspergers as well. Brilliant, twisted and dark.
One thing I really do love about BBC's Sherlock is Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes. Whilst not fat, he is based more on Christopher Lee's portrayal of Mycroft from the movie "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", he has all the sharpness and intelligence of the character as so briefly seen in the books.They add another wonderful layer to him by making him incredibly protective of his damaged younger brother, much to Sherlock's annoyance.
Dawn wrote: "And that is exactly how Jeremy Brett's Holmes is. This one http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086661/"The sad thing is, Jeremy Brett WAS manic depressive. Sherlock Holmes eventually killed him. The stress, and the fact that the drugs for manic depression damaged his heart, lead to his death not long after he finished filming. In fact, the last season of shooting was a nightmare for all involved.
Finished reading A Study in Sherlock. Was a little disappointed with it.http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Terri wrote: "Margaret,You got it bad for The Cumberbatch. ;)"
*blushes* I admit it, I have...I am completely Cumberbatched.
You know, I could have sworn I kept my Cumberbatch addiction under control on here... have you been reading my blog, Terri? :)
Terri wrote: "No, but I have seen your tweets. ;D"Oh dear! *blushes* I tend to forgot what I am tweeting sometimes.
haha. :)I was watching the latest Batman movie last night and thought that Christian Bale would make a great dark Sherlock. One with a drug addiction and some depression and quite sardonic.
Terri wrote: "haha. :)I was watching the latest Batman movie last night and thought that Christian Bale would make a great dark Sherlock. One with a drug addiction and some depression and quite sardonic."
He would. I've yet to watch Robert Downey Jr's version. I have the first dvd. I almost have to buy the second before I watch the first. Discovered Stephen Fry played Mycroft in it.
I am not a big fan of RDJ as Sherlock. As an oddball character of that era he is okay, but I don't think he should have been Sherlock. I feel that it is RDJ that gets in the way of my liking those movies...plus they are very Hollywood with slow motion action scenes and the like.Plus, it is RDJ. It is hard to a) get passed the fact that he is not British enough to be Sherlock, and b) hard to see Sherlock for Robert Downy Jnr, if you get what I mean.
He is such a colourful and charismatic character on his own that the movie becomes about the actor and Sherlock is nowhere to be seen.
that's just my opinion though. :)
Terri wrote: "I am not a big fan of RDJ as Sherlock. As an oddball character of that era he is okay, but I don't think he should have been Sherlock. I feel that it is RDJ that gets in the way of my liking those..."I know what you mean, it's why I have reservations about the movies too.
I do, however, find the idea of Stephen Fry playing Mycroft Holmes almost irresistible. Though my favourite Mycroft has to be Mark Gatiss in BBC's Sherlock.
I like the Downey/Law version; it's funny. My whole family enjoyed "Elementary" last season. I find Johnny Lee Miller's Holmes to be somehow less repugnant than might be expected, not a bad thing in a weekly series, and yet he's true to character. You're right, Terri, it is modern, but Sherlock is still Sherlock!
I liked the first movie. It was very funny and action packed. Not at all what you would expect from Sherlock. I didn't think the second one was as good.
Anastasia wrote: "I like the Downey/Law version; it's funny. My whole family enjoyed "Elementary" last season. ..."I have to disagree there. From my perspective that is. :)
I don't think Sherlock is Sherlock. Half the allure for me is the whole Victorian setting that surrounds Sherlock.
For me, if you take Sherlock Holmes out of that Victorian setting and put him in another setting or a modern setting then he just becomes some guy with the same name.
I imagine the Elementary show is enjoyable for people, but to me it is just an interesting detective show about a guy of the same name. It is not Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to me, since the Victorian streets of London go hand in glove with those characters and their detective work.
Again though. Just my opinion. :)
Dawn wrote: "I liked the first movie. It was very funny and action packed. Not at all what you would expect from Sherlock. I didn't think the second one was as good."Actually, you should. Sherlock Holmes is a good amateur boxer, won several exhibition bouts. Also a fencer, martial artist and sword stick expert.
All that is ACD canon.
Terri wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "I like the Downey/Law version; it's funny. My whole family enjoyed "Elementary" last season. ..."I have to disagree there. From my perspective that is. :)
I don't think Sherloc..."
So you don't like Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce then either? Because all but two of their movies were set in the 1930s/1940s. :D
I nearly peed myself laughing when some critics complained about BBC Sherlock, saying Sherlock Holmes should be Victorian, like the Basil Rathbone movies.
I like the Victorian setting but Sherlock for me is about the characters. The relationship between Holmes and Watson, Mycroft, Moriarty, Irene....that's what makes Sherlock for me. Though nothing is as good as the books. No other form has even come close.
Margaret wrote: "Actually, you should. Sherlock Holmes is a good amateur boxer, won several exhibition bouts. Also a fencer, martial artist and sword stick expert.All that is ACD canon. "
I know he was an action packed person but the books were never action packed. Not like the movie. The books were more about the mind and the disguises, the action was inferred, not so overt.
Dawn wrote: "I like the Victorian setting but Sherlock for me is about the characters. The relationship between Holmes and Watson, Mycroft, Moriarty, Irene....that's what makes Sherlock for me. Though nothing ..."
The characters are what makes it. The characters and their relationship dynamics. It's why BBC Sherlock is my favourite, because Sherlock & John have the dynamic as I have always envisaged them.
No recent books, however, can ever capture the spirit of the originals by ACD.
I agree, the Holmes/Watson relationship is what makes BBC's Sherlock so good. I loved the beginning when the modern versions of the characters were developed. So good.
Dawn wrote: "I agree, the Holmes/Watson relationship is what makes BBC's Sherlock so good. I loved the beginning when the modern versions of the characters were developed. So good."Two things caught me. The first was the realisation that the modern John Watson was an Afghanistan veteran. The second was seeing the scene that ACD described in "A Study in Scarlet" of Sherlock Holmes beating a corpse in the morgue.
I was totally hooked by that point. Throw in all the little Sherlockian asides, including lines lifted straight from the books, and I was devoted.
Books mentioned in this topic
Sherlock Holmes and the Molly-Boy Murders (other topics)The House of Silk (other topics)
Sherlock Holmes and the Molly-Boy Murders (other topics)
The Legacy of Deeds (other topics)
Who Thinks Evil: A Professor Moriarty Novel (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Anthony Horowitz (other topics)David Stuart Davies (other topics)
David Stuart Davies (other topics)
Arthur Conan Doyle (other topics)
Jules Verne (other topics)
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