Elementary my dear Watson

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 11:14

Written by Editor

As I sit here munching my way through the final remnants of the Christmas Quality Street tin, (still trying to clear the backlog of recorded Christmas and New Year telly),  I am thoroughly enjoying the recent BBC drama “Sherlock”. This BBC adaptation which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman brings the escapades of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson into the present day. Those of you who like their stories told in the original style, may find this adaptation a little difficult to digest as Sherlock runs around modern London traffic having deduced a clue from a text message on a smartphone!  Having said that, this incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective is well written and brilliantly acted.

Looking back into the history of the character from the original books,  I was surprised to read that Conan Doyle had written only four novels but over 50 short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and that the original character was something of an oddball.  He was a cocaine addict and quite partial to a shot or two of morphine when the need arose. In addition, both he and his erstwhile companion Watson, were both heavy tobacco users in all of its forms.

Holmes was originally described as a highly educated Cambridge undergraduate who was born some time around the 1860s and the use of drugs at that time would have caused no issues in the publishing world as both drugs were perfectly legal at the time of writing. He shares his home with Dr Watson (an Afghan war veteran) and they set about righting wrongs and solving the puzzles that the police cannot.  The character of Sherlock is an amazingly complex one and for those of you who have not read any of the many pages of information about him, I would recommend spending an hour or so on a little research. It is fascinating stuff and helps greatly when watching the various portrayals on the TV and in the movies.

According to Wikipedia, Sherlock was first portrayed in a silent film in 1900 entitled “Sherlock Holmes Baffled” and has also been played by such notables as :

Basil Rathbone      14 times from 1939 to 1946
Ronald Howard      US TV 39 episodes
Robert Stephens     1970
Christopher Plummer 1976
Michael Pennington 1987
Jeremy Brett       1984 to 1994 on Granada Television 

Jeremy Brett is considered to be the definitive Holmes for many fans and received critical acclaim.  He was for me the one I remember from my youth.

Guy Ritchie took up the mantle of director for the most recent film adaptations of Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role and Watson being played by Jude Law.  The 2009 film entitled “Sherlock Holmes” was well received and secured a Golden Globe for Mr. Downey Jr. In 2011 Guy Ritchie again directed the same two leading actors in the sequel “ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” I have not seen either of these latest films, but I understand the character is portrayed with an emphasis on his anti-social habits and quirky personality traits more closely related to the original character written by Conan Doyle.

I love the character of Sherlock Holmes, for me he is the only true detective. Dark and mysterious, amazing abilities, quirky and oddball and yet brilliant.

To my shame I have not read the original stories, but this is on my “to do” list for 2012. ( if I ever clear my TV backlog that is) .

By Mof at the movies