Ⓐaron
Factiō Rēpūblicāna dēlenda est.
- AKA
- The Man, V
Let's face it, modern literature (and, for that matter, modern television and film) would be completely different without Sherlock Holmes. The influence of Doyle's creation on the detective story is obvious, so I won't even bother; what is somewhat surprising is its influence on other disparate genres as science fiction and the medical thriller. Various Doctor Who writers have admitted that the Doctor and the Master are based on Sherlock and Moriarty, respectively, and it doesn't take much digging to realise that Dr. Gregory House is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
But I'm going to use this thread to focus on the Holmes canon and the many sequels to and adaptations thereof. Right now the three most popular adaptations currently being produced seem to be a film series created by Guy Ritchie, a BBC series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and a CBS series created by Robert Doherty. I will address these in order of the release of their first film or episode.
The film series stars Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock, Jude Law as Watson, Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, and Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty. Critics of the films have contended that they reinvented Holmes as an action hero, but the original stories actually made it quite plain that Holmes could hold his own in a fight; the films have, however, played this aspect up to a certain extent. Downey seemed like the objectively best person to play Holmes, and this would arguably hold true until Benedict Cumberbatch took up the role in the BBC series.
The BBC series holds closest to the canon of the original stories, despite being set in modern times, and is by far the best. The episodes are all based on existing stories from the Holmes canon, and the dialogue has the wit and charm of the Doyle originals. The chemistry between Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Watson is a wonder to behold, and Irene Pulver as Adler and Andrew Scott as Moriarty are both stunning in their roles, with Scott turning in a bravura performance that has to rank as one of the creepiest villains in television history. There are only six episodes, but each runs for ninety minutes and has the production values of a good film. If you are new to the Holmes canon, this is certainly the place to begin.
Elementary, the CBS series, takes a much faster and looser approach with the Holmes canon, but nonetheless manages to be engaging enough to be worth watching. My rule of thumb is that Sherlock has a polyamorous relationship with Holmes canon, while Elementary's relationship is that of friends with benefits: It's clearly still Holmes, and makes plenty of allusions to aspects of the Holmes canon, but the stories are original rather than being derived from Doyle's stories. Even before the series started fans of the Doyle stories were howling from the rooftops about the producers' decision to make Watson into a woman, but Elementary is far from the first adaptation to do this, and it certainly won't be the last. Moreover, judging from various comments the creators have made it sounds like they won't be throwing in the obligatory romance between the two leads people seem to demand, which is a commendable decision, particularly in today's ratings-driven market. The series has also drawn criticism for setting the stories in modern times, as though the BBC series has a patent on the idea, but the BBC series is also far from the first adaptation to have done this. The series stars Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes (interestingly, Cumberbatch and Miller have starred together in a stage adaptation of Frankenstein) and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. Adler has yet to be introduced, although she has been alluded to, and Moriarty has yet to be even alluded to (although he certainly will be introduced, probably by the season finale).
What triggered this thread's creation was this video (massive spoilers for Sherlock series two finale) someone on my friends feed linked to. It is by far the best explanation I have yet heard of a truly mind-boggling cliffhanger (which is made all the more frustrating by the fact that production on series three will not even begin until January 2013). If you have watched both series of Sherlock, I strongly recommend watching this.
Since Doyle's stories are in the public domain, there are too many adaptations of them to count, and numerous authors have written their own stories featuring the famous detective. I have yet to even scratch the surface of these, but anyone who wants to discuss them is welcome to do so here.
Anyway, feel free to use this thread to discuss the three adaptations I have mentioned or any others you feel like. I am probably going to be spamming this thread with images from the BBC series just as I have the Doctor Who thread. You have been warned.
But I'm going to use this thread to focus on the Holmes canon and the many sequels to and adaptations thereof. Right now the three most popular adaptations currently being produced seem to be a film series created by Guy Ritchie, a BBC series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and a CBS series created by Robert Doherty. I will address these in order of the release of their first film or episode.
The film series stars Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock, Jude Law as Watson, Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, and Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty. Critics of the films have contended that they reinvented Holmes as an action hero, but the original stories actually made it quite plain that Holmes could hold his own in a fight; the films have, however, played this aspect up to a certain extent. Downey seemed like the objectively best person to play Holmes, and this would arguably hold true until Benedict Cumberbatch took up the role in the BBC series.
The BBC series holds closest to the canon of the original stories, despite being set in modern times, and is by far the best. The episodes are all based on existing stories from the Holmes canon, and the dialogue has the wit and charm of the Doyle originals. The chemistry between Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Watson is a wonder to behold, and Irene Pulver as Adler and Andrew Scott as Moriarty are both stunning in their roles, with Scott turning in a bravura performance that has to rank as one of the creepiest villains in television history. There are only six episodes, but each runs for ninety minutes and has the production values of a good film. If you are new to the Holmes canon, this is certainly the place to begin.
Elementary, the CBS series, takes a much faster and looser approach with the Holmes canon, but nonetheless manages to be engaging enough to be worth watching. My rule of thumb is that Sherlock has a polyamorous relationship with Holmes canon, while Elementary's relationship is that of friends with benefits: It's clearly still Holmes, and makes plenty of allusions to aspects of the Holmes canon, but the stories are original rather than being derived from Doyle's stories. Even before the series started fans of the Doyle stories were howling from the rooftops about the producers' decision to make Watson into a woman, but Elementary is far from the first adaptation to do this, and it certainly won't be the last. Moreover, judging from various comments the creators have made it sounds like they won't be throwing in the obligatory romance between the two leads people seem to demand, which is a commendable decision, particularly in today's ratings-driven market. The series has also drawn criticism for setting the stories in modern times, as though the BBC series has a patent on the idea, but the BBC series is also far from the first adaptation to have done this. The series stars Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes (interestingly, Cumberbatch and Miller have starred together in a stage adaptation of Frankenstein) and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. Adler has yet to be introduced, although she has been alluded to, and Moriarty has yet to be even alluded to (although he certainly will be introduced, probably by the season finale).
What triggered this thread's creation was this video (massive spoilers for Sherlock series two finale) someone on my friends feed linked to. It is by far the best explanation I have yet heard of a truly mind-boggling cliffhanger (which is made all the more frustrating by the fact that production on series three will not even begin until January 2013). If you have watched both series of Sherlock, I strongly recommend watching this.
Since Doyle's stories are in the public domain, there are too many adaptations of them to count, and numerous authors have written their own stories featuring the famous detective. I have yet to even scratch the surface of these, but anyone who wants to discuss them is welcome to do so here.
Anyway, feel free to use this thread to discuss the three adaptations I have mentioned or any others you feel like. I am probably going to be spamming this thread with images from the BBC series just as I have the Doctor Who thread. You have been warned.
I think he was telling the truth, but you're right, it's hard to tell.
)
