# Conan Doyle fans: What is your favorite adaptation of SHERLOCK HOLMES? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471 "2013-11-21T20:41:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/41 "2013-11-22T07:47:25Z")
Add me to the Jeremy Brett bandwagon. As for why, not only did Brett perfectly capture the character, but the entire production perfectly captured the feel of the original stories. As for “camp,” I always thought there was a bit of camp in the original Doyle stories, and the Brett productions had just the right matching amount. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/42 "2013-11-22T09:03:14Z")
I like Elementary. Every other version I have ever seen has been just too --cheesy-- and spoiled by the flabby inaccuracy of the “authentic” recreations. [Where everyone is well fed. The smog is white. No-one is barefoot. The cities are quiet.] Which has become increasingly incongruous as the production values have improved. Not to say that Elementary is perfect: the back story for Watson is foolish, the police department is straight out of a TV show, and there is only one plot. But then the original stories weren’t sustained very well either. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/43 "2013-11-22T09:08:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Me, I like RDJ’s Sherlock for “traditional” and while I love the BBC modernisation, I prefer Elementary _as a show_ - for instance, greatly preferred its takes on Adler and Moriarty. I actuallu love Aiden Quinn’s take on Lestrade - playing him, essentially, as a character on the original _Law & Order._ I think it’s interesting that the three current Sherlocks (Cumberbatch, Miller and Downey) each emphasize and illuminate a different aspect of the Holmsian personality. Downey is his manic-depressive side; Cumberbatch, his sociopathic nature; and Miller represents his addictive personality. Each of them are valid interpretations of the character. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/44 "2013-11-22T10:29:00Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Jeremy Brett’s Holmes, Martin Freeman’s Watson. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/45 "2013-11-22T12:30:24Z")
I _dislike_ ELEMENTARY, because I thought it deviated too much from Holmes. As **rowrrbazzle** implied, if you want to make a detective show with a Holmes-like detective, go ahead… just don’t call him “Sherlock Holmes.” A fine example was the MONK series, very Holmes-like in many ways, or HOUSE, ditto. But not Holmes, a different guy. So with the ELEMENTARY cast; they’re very different characters, given the old names. Bah. (I admit, we gave up watching middle of episode 2.) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/46 "2013-11-22T13:26:41Z")
I read most of the Holmes stories when quite young & can’t pick _one_ adaptation. Jeremy Brett is my favorite “traditional” Holmes. But I’m totally enamoured of the Cumberbatch/Freeman team; the showrunners obviously love the original stories. Other adaptations have their good points. Robert Downey Jr is _not_ Holmes to me, but I’ll gladly accept the movies as Tony Stark’s Steampunk Adventures. (Jude Law is a very good Watson.) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/47 "2013-11-22T14:20:07Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Brett and Cumberbatch are the correct answers, of course. Isn’t it surprising how Spielberg’s **Young Sherlock Holmes** disappeared without a trace? I don’t recall it ever popping up on cable. There were a few good moments, but Watson was such a dummy in that one it was annoying. Plus, no chemistry between Holmes/Watson, and to me it’s the characters and their byplay that makes for a good story. Plot is secondary. I’ve never actually seen Brett. I guess I will have to. I won’t watch Elementary at all, but I wouldn’t watch an American take on a stereotypically British thing anyway. I love British stuff too much. I also like Downey and Law a lot - again because of the chemistry between the actors. They become more action adventure flicks, but the actors do so wonderfully together I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/48 "2013-11-22T14:43:19Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Hehe. > > So as to expand the discussion a bit, why is your fave your fave? > > I loved Jeremy Brett because he captured Holmes’ eccentricity (which others have done, too), but more than that, his passion and vulnerability. And his face was so expressive and mobile. You could watch the emotions ripple across his face like the play of light across water. Yes. And, as others have said, the entire production of that series was, in most cases, spot-on. I own it on DVD and watch episodes with some regularity. Brett is truly captivating. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/49 "2013-11-22T14:47:00Z")
Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr. Watson in the BBC radio adaptation. Clive Merrison is reportedly the only actor to have ever played Holmes in all of Doyle’s stories, which is rather neat. What I liked best about the series is Watson isn’t a complete dingbat, which is the most annoying feature of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series. For Television, Jeremy Brett for the win. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/50 "2013-11-22T14:49:15Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I _dislike_ ELEMENTARY, because I thought it deviated too much from Holmes. As **rowrrbazzle** implied, if you want to make a detective show with a Holmes-like detective, go ahead… just don’t call him “Sherlock Holmes.” A fine example was the MONK series, very Holmes-like in many ways, or HOUSE, ditto. But not Holmes, a different guy. So with the ELEMENTARY cast; they’re very different characters, given the old names. Bah. (I admit, we gave up watching middle of episode 2.) Give it a second chance - while the setting is different, Holmes is still very much Holmes; change his clothing and he’d fit perfectly in Victorian London. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/51 "2013-11-22T20:22:04Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > . . . only David Suchet can play Poirot . . . > [@MrDibble](#): > > I really loved Ustinov’s version. . . . By and large, Peter Ustinov is only capable of playing…Peter Ustinov! He injects himself into damn near all of his roles. But…in Murder on the Nile, he limits this more than in most others of his roles. My first exposure to Poirot was Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express. I thought (and still think) his portrayal was brilliant. (Deeply embarrassed to say I’ve never read any of the books… At risk of brief highjack, which book should I start with?) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/52 "2013-11-22T20:23:15Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > By and large, Peter Ustinov is only capable of playing…Peter Ustinov! He injects himself into damn near all of his roles. But…in Murder on the Nile, he limits this more than in most others of his roles. > > My first exposure to Poirot was Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express. I thought (and still think) his portrayal was brilliant. > > (Deeply embarrassed to say I’ve never read any of the books… At risk of brief highjack, which book should I start with?) _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_, the first Poirot and the book that cemented Christie’s reputation as a mystery writer. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/53 "2013-11-22T20:53:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > \*Elementary \*is really good. The Holmes / Watson relationship is very different from the books. i.e. An undercurrent of sexual tension. The Holmes character seems pretty accurate considering he’s been brought into the modern world. This season his brother Mycroft has been featured in several episodes. > > I am more used to Watson being kind of dumb and the comic release. Watson is very smart in Elementary. She’s becoming Holmes’ protege. I’ve been watching this series lately. I like Jonny Lee Miller (and he’s had better roles, honestly), and Lucy Liu is really lovely in this (and not just in the sense that she’s a striking woman). I will say, granted it’s US television, with the very long potboilery seasons, but the scripts are occasionally _dire._ I think there was one week that was just headslappingly silly; followed by another one where Holmes and Watson chased the less obvious motive for a third of the show, neglecting the obvious one. I’m not accustomed to being quite so far ahead of Holmes. I keep threatening to quit on it (again), but I really do like Joan Watson as a character. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/54 "2013-11-22T21:02:48Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_, the first Poirot and the book that cemented Christie’s reputation as a mystery writer. _Mysterious Affair At Styles_ came first, but isn’t as good. Still, just make sure not to do what I did by starting with _Curtain_. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/55 "2013-11-23T00:06:46Z")
> [@](#): > > i’ll stick my neck out here and be the sole dissenting voice about the brett version. Whilst i enjoyed the series enormously when it first came out, watching the reruns there is a faint whiff of ham in the air. > > I await my inevitable beating.] Philistine!!! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/56 "2013-11-23T05:59:42Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_, the first Poirot and the book that cemented Christie’s reputation as a mystery writer. Thank’ee! It’s now on my list! (I have a reading stack about as tall as I am…) ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/57 "2013-11-23T22:21:35Z")
Brett/Hardwicke for classic Holmes, Cumberbatch/Freeman for adapted Holmes. Also, props to Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley in my favorite comedy Holmes, “Without a Clue”. Love that film. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/58 "2013-11-23T22:46:53Z")
No love for _Without a Clue_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/59 "2013-11-23T23:08:37Z")
Only from us, **Quartz**. But the love is deep and abiding. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471/60 "2013-11-24T01:30:51Z")
I liked “Without a Clue,” but, then, I also liked “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.” Far from great, but worth seeing for larfs. SHSB is particularly noteworthy for that one, brief rooftop scene where Wilder drops the mask of pretense, and lets his character’s inner pain show. For just one brief few seconds. One of the most poignant “serious” moments in the heart of a comedy movie I can think of. Then…he starts pulling duplicate scrolls of paper out of his coat, like Harpo with the silverware. Elegant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conan-doyle-fans-what-is-your-favorite-adaptation-of-sherlock-holmes/674471.md?page=4)