# Sherlock Holmes poll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451 "2015-01-10T01:05:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/21 "2015-01-10T15:46:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > And **Tim R. Mortiss** , I think you have no idea what metrosexual means - Miller’s Holmes is the _least_ groomed and primpy of the three, by far. It depends what season you’re watching. In the first season, Miller’s Holmes was a terrible dresser - he wore awkward outsized clothing as if he was unaware of what proper clothing was. But now, he’s fashionable - his outfits are still unusual but they’re stylish rather than awkward. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/22 "2015-01-10T15:59:49Z")
The Netflix series “lie to me” (three seasons) is a contender too. With a Holmes that reads body language to solve crimes. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/23 "2015-01-10T16:16:05Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > I saw all three. Elementary is indeed a really good, really entertaining Holmes’ version, with a much more vulnerable Sherlock and a stronger role for a female Holmes’. It is an awful show, I tried watching it and cannot stand it at all. The acting is painfully weak from the principals. As to a direct comparison to Sherlock, Martin Freeman is probably the best Watson of all time. Lucy Liu can barely act. The best American version of Sherlock Holmes is probably the newest and the one with the name filed off, Ioan Gruffudd in [Forever](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3487382/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2). He pulls off a great Sherlock like character. But Benedict Cumberbatch is an awesome Sherlock, I actually prefer him to Brett even. He was my easy pick for this poll. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/24 "2015-01-10T17:40:56Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > NOT RECENT! > > Besides, what would be the point? Brett would just win again and the whole exercise would be futile. At least with some restrictions the results might be interesting. “What part of this are you not getting??” “Obviously, the core concept.” * * * Of the choices that represent answers rather than challenging the poll: _Elementary_ is reliably mediocre in that CBS procedural sort of way, which isn’t really my thing, so it’s between the other two. I guess I’ll go with Cumberbatch, since I do think it’s a little closer to the spirit of the character than the Downey movies. I also really like _House_ as a suggestion that’s in the spirit of the poll, though it makes me feel a bit old that it’s been off the air for two and a half years at this point (and debuted over a decade ago). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/25 "2015-01-10T17:44:04Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > No Jeremy Brett? > > I can’t even take you serious now! I’m out! > [@Sattua](#): > > I just… I can’t… I can’t… > > Where’s Jeremy Brett?!?!?! > [@Shodan](#): > > If I can’t vote for Jeremy Brett, I can’t vote. > [@Zeldar](#): > > Put me down for that choice, too. No Brett, no Holmes. Sorry. I think I caught one episode of the recent TV series, and I saw a Sherlock Holmes movie. After Jeremy Brett, they did not hold my interest. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/26 "2015-01-10T18:21:57Z")
Cumberbund Englepatch, or whatever his name is, is a creepy looking dude. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/27 "2015-01-10T18:23:40Z")
I am totally up Jeremy Brett’s ass, but I like both Cumberbatch and Miller’s portrayals. JLM has the physicality going on. He loves training with a stick and a dummy. The Cumberbatch show, being a min-series, is a lot tighter and cheekier than _Elementary_, so I’ll give my vote to Cumberbatch. I look forward to \*Elementary \*every week tho! I’ve never seen the Robert Downey Jr. portrayals. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/28 "2015-01-10T18:27:26Z")
What? No Brent Spiner!?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/29 "2015-01-10T19:24:58Z")
Occasionally a thread comes along that makes me realize how old I am. This is one such thread. I read it, and I keep thinking, “What do you mean, Jeremy Brett isn’t recent? Basil Rathbone, sure, his stuff is old. But Brett was just a couple years ago, wasn’t he?” And then I look at the calendar. ☹ Anyway, I voted for Jonny Lee Miller. Downey is too much “Iron Man does a British accent.” And the BBC Sherlock honestly pains me. Any program that describes Holmes as a “sociopath” clearly has absolutely no understanding of the character of Sherlock Holmes and what he’s all about. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/30 "2015-01-10T19:40:28Z")
If I actually met and interacted with Downey’s Sherlock, I’d think _that goofball needs medication_; Cumberbatch, _that guy is a robot trying to act like a human being_. Miller – _strikes me as an energetic and knowledgeable guy with a lot of interests_. He’s the only one who seems to be a genuine person: he’s obviously taking things seriously even when he’s displaying a sense of humor – the way Downey doesn’t, and the way Cumberbatch doesn’t need to – and he can actually carry on a conversation with someone as if they were equals. (Okay, near-equals. That’s still pretty good.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/31 "2015-01-10T20:11:43Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > And the BBC Sherlock honestly pains me. Any program that describes Holmes as a “sociopath” clearly has absolutely no understanding of the character of Sherlock Holmes and what he’s all about. With all due respect, the fact that characters in the BBC show, including Sherlock himself, **refer** to Sherlock as sociopathic does not **make** him so. :dubious: He’s shown too many times that he cares about people for him to actually **be** a sociopath. Would a sociopath kill Magnusson (nee Milverton 🙂 ) right in front of the police to (1) remove him as a threat to his victims, and particularly (2) make a new life possible for “Mary Morstan”? Characters calling him that are either misreading him or angry with him at the moment (Watson!) and IMHO Sherlock calls himself that as some sort of coping mechanism. Interestingly on the “no understanding” point, the one arguably sociopathic thing BBC Sherlock has done – romancing and proposing to Magnusson’s personal assistant just to get into his office – **was** something Doyle’s Holmes did in the same story! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/32 "2015-01-10T21:34:33Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > NOT RECENT! > > Besides, what would be the point? Brett would just win again and the whole exercise would be futile. At least with some restrictions the results might be interesting. Then the OP should’ve asked who was the _second_ best Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/33 "2015-01-10T21:40:51Z")
I abstain since Jeremy Brett is not on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/34 "2015-01-10T21:52:57Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Downey is too much “Iron Man does a British accent.” And the BBC Sherlock honestly pains me. Any program that describes Holmes as a “sociopath” clearly has absolutely no understanding of the character of Sherlock Holmes and what he’s all about. Any programme that fails to describe Holmes as non-Neurotypical clearly has absolutely no understanding of the character of Sherlock Holmes and what he’s all about. His brain simply works differently to most of us. I’m not sure if he’d meet the strictish definition of sociopath or even aspergers, but it’d be wrong not to highlight it. I voted for Cumberbatch, Downey was entertaining, Cumberbatch was riveting. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/35 "2015-01-10T22:09:01Z")
Dear lord, this is not that hard to understand. Jeremy Brett is not on the list because 1994 is not “recent”. If the OP had considered Brett to be “recent” he would have included him on his poll of “recent” portrayals of Holmes. Why on Earth can’t people just answer the question that was asked instead of wishing that a different question had been asked? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/36 "2015-01-10T22:21:42Z")
Because Brett completely owns the role. There is no other, not even Frazzled Bathrobe (my father’s deliberate mangling of Basil Rathbone). ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/37 "2015-01-10T22:27:53Z")
And if the question were “what is the best all-time portrayal of Sherlock Holmes” that might be a valid point. But it’s not. It’s like if someone asked “what’s the best movie of the 21st century?” and people complained because _The Godfather_ isn’t on the list. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/38 "2015-01-10T23:31:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …And **Tim R. Mortiss** , I think you have no idea what metrosexual means - Miller’s Holmes is the _least_ groomed and primpy of the three, by far. Perhaps you’re right. Can I change my description to “annoying hipster”? Some people like him and I have no problem with that. But he makes my skin crawl. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/39 "2015-01-10T23:43:05Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Any programme that fails to describe Holmes as non-Neurotypical clearly has absolutely no understanding of the character of Sherlock Holmes and what he’s all about. > > His brain simply works differently to most of us. I’m not sure if he’d meet the strictish definition of sociopath or even aspergers, but it’d be wrong not to highlight it. That’s like saying Frankenstien isn’t Frankenstien without the bolts in his neck. It’s purely a cinematic invention (and an unfortunately pervasive one) disconnected from its source material. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451/40 "2015-01-11T00:30:03Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > And if the question were “what is the best all-time portrayal of Sherlock Holmes” that might be a valid point. Nevertheless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-poll/709451.md?page=3)