# The new Sherlock Holmes adaptions are excellent. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634 "2011-12-09T16:32:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/21 "2011-12-09T20:31:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 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, Heh. That’s weird to us. The BBC is so massive worldwide (the largest broadcaster on the planet) that’s it’s weird to think that there’s a country out there which is only peripherally aware of it. Then again, I daresay that most Brits couldn’t tell you what US network a hit American show came from. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/22 "2011-12-09T20:44:34Z")
It may be somewhat regional - there are a LOT of people I run into around Chicago that are familiar with BBC programming. Then again, where I live we have not one but THREE PBS stations available, on top of BBC America for those who have cable/satellite. The local library maintains a rather substantial collection of TV show DVDs, and a lot of them are British in origin. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/23 "2011-12-09T21:33:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That sure sounds like a back-handed compliment. Is it? I didn’t mean it to be. That’s why I included myself. Mystery on the whole is boring and I generally don’t like the Marty Stu protagonist detective who can solve everything and is a dick to boot (Poirot, I’m looking at you). These shows and the movie change enough to appeal to a wider audience, is all I am saying. To **Broomstick** and **Candyman74** , I’m sure it’s regional. I don’t doubt that people in Chicago or NYC or pretty big cities both have access to and watch British television. I live in a medium sized town (100,000 people) and we’re still pretty insular. Every day I come across a great deal of ignorance, which is normal, and also a great deal of unwillingness to be exposed to anything new, which is sad. I’m not saying we’re backwards or a bumblefuck by any means, but we have a long ways to go before we match large cities. And foreign flicks or shows - even BBC - are right out there. Sci-fi is also considered a bit low class. We still have tons of old bookstores who refuse to even have a sci-fi section, though “fantasy” is usually acceptable. Vampires? All over the place. Spaceships? Hah, that’s ridiculous! Why do you watch that escapist fantasy? ☹ Anyway, I got off the track a bit there but yeah, BBC is not exactly popular here. Not that people regard it with the same amount of mistrust as other foreign channels, they…just don’t watch it, from what I can tell. ETA: I think lots of people still have an image of BBC as two old biddies drinking tea and discussing the Queen’s wardrobe. Oh, on that note, when people _do_ pay attention to British stuff around here it’s invariably about the royal family. THE WEDDING! OMG the wedding. Whenever that was. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/24 "2011-12-09T21:44:34Z")
I was skeptical, I didn’t think that they could pull it off in today’s world. I was very pleased and have recommended the series to a friend who is a Holmes’ “purist”. He too liked it. I can’t wait for the next installment. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/25 "2011-12-09T21:57:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It may be somewhat regional - there are a LOT of people I run into around Chicago that are familiar with BBC programming. Then again, where I live we have not one but THREE PBS stations available, on top of BBC America for those who have cable/satellite. The local library maintains a rather substantial collection of TV show DVDs, and a lot of them are British in origin. Note also that some BBC programmes are joint productions with PBS, HBO or other American networks, so some people may have seen BBC programming without knowing it. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/26 "2011-12-09T22:16:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Note also that some BBC programmes are joint productions with PBS, HBO or other American networks, so some people may have seen BBC programming without knowing it. Yeah. Rome, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/27 "2011-12-09T22:24:21Z")
That’s what I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/28 "2011-12-09T23:07:16Z")
I am very intrigued by this BBC series, is there any way to still see it in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/29 "2011-12-09T23:10:21Z")
The first series/season is available on DVD, while the second series/season will air on PBS in May. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/30 "2011-12-09T23:12:48Z")
I grew up on Sherlock Holmes, and find your dislike of the mystery genre to be quite a mystery! 🙂 That aside, I haven’t seen the new movies yet, but I shall certainly endeavor to do so now. I quite enjoy Downey as an actor, and even though the movies have been panned by purists, they really look like fun. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/31 "2011-12-09T23:46:38Z")
What’s PBS? A channel? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/32 "2011-12-09T23:52:27Z")
“Public Broadcasting System”. US Public TV. The channels frequently feature foreign programming, particularly from Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/33 "2011-12-09T23:53:39Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I am very intrigued by this BBC series, is there any way to still see it in the US? Netflix is streaming it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/34 "2011-12-10T03:37:19Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > What’s PBS? A channel? No, PBS is not a channel. Neither is it really a network. It’s a programming service – the Public Broadcasting Service – that gets a certain amount of government funding (through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) to produce and acquire “public” (generally, not as popular as commercial) programming and distribute it to educational, non-commercial stations. PBS’s mission is to provide educational programming, children’s programming, instructional programming, and other kinds of programming that doesn’t necessarily have a sufficient audience to be desirable for commercial broadcasters, and that includes artistic programming, foreign programming, and other kinds of “highbrow” stuff. It’s meant to be an alternative to commercial television, with an emphasis on public service. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/35 "2011-12-10T06:08:08Z")
I’ll just say I don’t like them at all. If I want Sherlock Holmes, I want the originals. A true modernized Holmes is any good detective drama, and that’s even better because it doesn’t pretend to be any relation to the original. Even “House, M.D.”, with its deliberate allusions to Holmes, is better. I happen to like Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/36 "2011-12-10T06:58:51Z")
The show is wonderful, I just wish they’d churn out episodes faster. How surreal was it that modern Watson is an Afghanistan veteran. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/37 "2011-12-10T14:49:43Z")
I like the original stories, the new movie, and the BBC series, all for different reasons (or perhaps I’m just a very uncritical consumer). However, I think I liked Moffat’s adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (‘[Jekyll](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497298/)’) even better, as far as modernizations of Victorian fiction go. Especially Nesbitt’s performance was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/38 "2011-12-10T15:04:00Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > The show is wonderful, I just wish they’d churn out episodes faster. I think they’d have to clone Moffat to do that - he’s pretty busy with\* Doctor Who\*! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/39 "2011-12-10T16:26:48Z")
The only complaint I have about the Downey version is the physical super heroics. Watson should be lame and a bit pudgy and Holmes should be spry but not like he’s been in modern style physical training his whole life. They should both seem a bit more middle aged. Oh and the actress playing the American was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634/40 "2011-12-10T16:31:14Z")
If you want to read more Holmes stories, written so well that they could almost have come from Conan Doyle’s pen, check out June Thomson’s collections, beginning with _The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes_. Very, very good stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-sherlock-holmes-adaptions-are-excellent/605634.md?page=3)