Sorry if there’s already a thread on this. Just wanted to see if there were any other fans of the new BBC Sherlock series; set in the present but I think quite true to the spirit of the original stories. A surprisingly deft adaptation, if you can put on blinders for scenes like Watson googling “Sherlock Holmes” and not finding a bunch of other stuff than his new roommate’s website. I particularly like the fellow who plays Holmes, he’s really created his own sense of the character that is new but still true to the literary character. I like Martin Freeman as Watson, too – he’s very different than his Tim/Arthur Dent type characters, show really that he can act and isn’t just a “always plays that guy” character actor.
Seriously, the only thing that’s a drag is there are only three so far. Those short BBC series! Also, the guy that plays Moriarty isn’t diabolical enough.
I loved the first episode. I thought it was hilarious.
The second and third ones didn’t have the same humor in them, though. That should have made them still be good, but the way the actors played the characters had them come across exactly like Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard in House MD – except not as good.
I think that scene was supposed to show that the fictional 1800s Sherlock Holmes doesn’t exit in the series’ universe, so there’s nothing strange about him being called Sherlock Holmes. He wasn’t named for the other Sherlock Holmes. In the series he is the only Sherlock Holmes people think of when the name is mentioned.
We really liked all three BBC episodes as well.
And even the more recent films with Robert Downey Jr. were good.
In both the big screen and BBC version, I was surprised and entertained by the idea that Sherlock might lean a bit Gay…as a Gay guy, that concept had never crossed my mind before.
I thought this series was delightful, and have been recommending it to lots of people I know. I think they did a very good job of modernizing the characters and mysteries while remaining true in spirit to the original stories. There are plenty of nice little details and in-jokes referring back to “the canon” – I’m sure more than I picked up on, as I’m not the most hardcore of Sherlockians. My favorite was the bit with Holmes and the three nicotine patches. That’s funny enough in and of itself, but even funnier if you know that in “The Red Headed League” Holmes says “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes” before proceeding to smoke three pipes. (Although not all at once!)
This notion has been played with before in some of the derivative works – in 1970’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes he pretends that he’s gay and claims that Watson is his lover, much to Watson’s embarrassment. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made it clear that Holmes had little if any interest in women (he was impressed by Irene Adler, but that seems to have been more respect for a worthy opponent than anything romantic), and that does leave the door open for modern reader to speculate as to whether he might have been interested in men instead.
IMHO the BBC series got this aspect of the character just right. He’s more or less asexual, but (in contemporary times, at least) wouldn’t care if people thought he was gay…and many people surely would make that assumption. I mean, he’s an unmarried man, a fairly sharp dresser, doesn’t date women, and his only personal relationship is with another man who lives with him and accompanies him almost everywhere.
Neither Stephen Moffatt or Mark Gatiss (the dude who played Mycroft) were involved in the writing of the 2nd one. Who knows why, but the lack of their talent, especially Gatiss’ I think, really stood out. Add in the fact that Rupert Graves wasn’t in it, and it was a dire hour indeed.
So your complaint is that Holmes and Watson acted so much like Holmes and Watson that it reminded you of the two characters who are most highly derivative of them?
Though, speaking of Hugh Laurie, he did a show in 2003 called Fortysomething and Benedict Cumberbatch plays his son. It’s a great show, if you like slightly wacky dramas, Hugh Laurie’s goofy face, and Benedict Cumberbatch as a ginger, then you should track this down.
No I get what he’s saying, as I had the same reaction. I know **House **is obviously based on the characters of Holmes & Watson, but while watching the BBC Sherlock, it really felt like I was watching an episode of House, something that I did *not *feel, for instance, with the recent Robert Downey Jr. movie. (I have not seen any other Sherlock movies or shows with which to compare.) It was like watching Holmes doing an impression of House doing an impression of Holmes.
I did love the three episodes and am really looking forward to the next season!
I only recently noticed that Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead in Cabin Pressure, one of my favorite (or favourite, if you will) BBC radio shows. It was weird to realize that, since a goofy sitcom is such a different feel than Sherlock. He’s great in it though. I recommend it to anyone who likes that sort of thing. It’s a sitcom, which on the radio can be pretty lackluster, but the writing and acting really carry it off.
Not just dire, but actively uncomfortable - the story had a real whiff of the old “yellow peril” sort of adventure stories. That might have worked for a period piece, but a story that felt this racist in a modern setting was just very off-putting.
Even the non-murderous Asian character, the teapot lady, seemed like a pretty broad ethnic stereotype.
In addition to this, I also felt the revelation that the assassin was the teapot lady’s brother was stupid and cliched. Thankfully (?) it was also unimportant to the plot, so it was dropped pretty quickly.
I particularly like the fellow who plays Holmes, he’s really created his own sense of the character that is new but still true to the literary character. I like Martin Freeman as Watson, too – he’s very different than his Tim/Arthur Dent type characters, show really that he can act and isn’t just a “always plays that guy” character actor.