I was never much of a Sherlock fan because I am not a fan of the mystery genre. I could probably count the number of mysteries I like on both hands and be done with it. I don’t like Poirot, or Miss Marple, and I always found Holmes a bit annoying and I don’t like the characterization of Watson in some of the books.
Then came the movie with Downey and Law, which made my inner fourteen year old girl squee with pleasure. It was less of a mystery and more of an adventure movie with a mystery woven through it, which was guaranteed to entice, and lots of beautiful clothes, which I adore, and a very gorgeous representation of England at the time. Law and Downey nailed the chemistry between the two of them, the heterosexual life partnership, sometimes awkward, sometimes loving, always there for one another, and I am thrilled unto death about the new movie coming out and the appearance of Moriarty.
A few months ago I saw on Netflix there was this new BBC serial called “Sherlock” and I added it to my queue. Couple of weeks ago I was home with the plumber so decided to start watching it. It’s by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss, both involved heavily with Doctor Who, a show I adore, and it’s a modern reimaging of Sherlock. Sherlock texts now and uses cellphones, the Internet, and GPS heavily, but the feel of the show is much closer to the books than the movie. After I watched the episode (each “episode” is 90 minutes; there’s only three out right now) “A Study in Pink” I actually got the entire Sherlock Holmes compendium for my Kindle, and I read “A Study in Scarlet”. I still liked the show far, far better, but it gave me a new appreciation for the stories. It was amazing at how close they stayed to the book while modernizing it too - my SO, who loves the Holmes stories, would often point out how some conversations were taken almost directly from the stories. The show itself already won a BAFTA - Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock. Martin Freeman plays Watson. Interestingly, Matt Smith auditioned for Sherlock but was rejected for being “too barmy”.
I really just wanted to post here to rave about them a little and just make sure people who hadn’t heard of them had heard of them. They are really excellent adaptions, especially for people (like me) who might not be that fond of mystery, and I highly recommend.
You’ll be pleased to know that the second batch of the BBC Sherlock starts on New Years Day. It’s another three 90 minute episodes, which is quite impressive given that Moffat is busy elsewhere, and Martin Freeman is in New Zealand being Bilbo Baggins.
Thanks for the timing tip - now I just have to figure out how soon those of us on this side of the Atlantic get to see it.
ETA: Just because it won’t be broadcast in North America until May doesn’t mean there is no way to see it before May… but I wouldn’t want to encourage anythign unethical or illegal. Of course.
I agree they’re brilliant and that they give contemporary audiences a way to appreciate what it must have felt like to read the stories when they were first published in the early 20th century. Can’t wait for the next batch!
I think because I was a fan of the Holmes stories is exactly why I didn’t care for the Downey movie and have no desire to see the sequel. I think I’d prefer more emphasis on mystery and less on adventure, which would be more in keeping with the stories (in which virtually no explosions or gunfire occur).
I really disliked the recent movie - it’s a shame, because when I first heard about it I was all “Jude Law as Watson? What, precisely, did I do to deserve this?” but then he was awesome! He was a great Watson! And even Downey was fine as Holmes - he was obviously trying to model himself after Jeremy Brett, which is a good choice, but the fact is the script was so freaking stupid they never stood a chance. Ugh. Awful!
I adore the old Grenada adaptations with Jeremy Brett, by the way. They’re absolutely fantastic, especially when it comes to the stuff I really like about the original stories (Holmes and Watson’s companionship, what it’s like to live with a guy like that, etc.)
I do keep meaning to try the new series - I’m not opposed to the concept, just hated hated hated the movie.
Thank you for this link. I’m always really behind TV schedule since I don’t have cable and don’t get BBC and mostly I watch BBC shows, so I have to wait until it comes out on DVD and Netflix gets their paws on it. I don’t mind waiting, but I do assiduously avoid threads on things I haven’t seen and won’t see for a while.
Besides, I don’t know that I would have ever watched Sherlock unless it was just the perfect storm: at home, plumber’s working away so I didn’t want to play Skyrim, don’t want to watch any Indian movies - hey, Sherlock’s a nice show I can watch and the plumber won’t think I’m watching something completely weird. And then I got lost and watched all three episodes over two days.
Dude, that sucks. I hate to say it, but a 5 month delay is enough for me to bootleg them(for the time being, I mean). Heck, I’ll probably buy the DVD legit later, anyway. At the very least, I’ll stream them from Netflix later so they get their revenue.
Why such a huge gap? That’s practically encouraging non-UK’er’s to download them.
Stephen Fry will be Mycroft in the new Sherlock movie; he’ll also be the Master of Laketown in The Hobbit. Benedict Cumberbatch will head to New Zealand in the new year but is currently working on the BBC/HBO 5-parter of Parade’s End–Ford Madox Ford’s rather excellent tetralogy with a screenplay (teleplay?) by Tom Stoppard.
My favorite Holmes was Jeremy Brett. Didn’t care for Downey as Sherlock Holmes, although Jude Law made a very good Watson. Enjoyed the movie as a steampunk romp & will probably catch the next one. Come on, Stephen Fry!
And I love the BBC Sherlock. “Scandal in Belgravia” was previewed this week in London; read some relatively spoiler free reviews here.
Sherlock II won’t show on PBS until May. But producer Sue Vertue recently tweeted that the DVD will bereleased in the UK on January 23rd. Why, yes: when I realized my DVD player had croaked I found a region-free model for less than $100.
And the written tales are always there to fall back on. Free on Gutenberg!
Those of us Americans who watch BBC are still pretty few and far between, I think. Online it feels like a huge presence, but I literally don’t know anyone in my real life who watches any British television, and there’s so many shows coming out in the States every day I bet it just doesn’t feel as important.
It made me laugh because I filled out a Nielson survey recently and all of my “top three” shows were British. (American Idol slam coming up, sorry) I was all like “YAY! Somebody writing in who watches more than just American Idol!”
You’re right, of course.