![]() While the literary version did similar experiments to improve his ability to solve crimes, in this case it seems to have been done just for shock value and to quickly inform viewers that this isn’t going to be your great-grandfather’s Holmes. In fact, the first time you see the character in this show, is when he is whipping a dead corpse to learn how long it will take for the marks to show on a dead body. Holmes describes himself as “a high functioning sociopath,” a trait which I wouldn’t have ascribed to the literary character. He is tall and thin as Holmes should be, and he has the same detached and slightly cold demeanor of the character, but in this version he not only lives for solving the crimes but has lost whatever empathy he had for the murdered that he had before. In some ways he looks nothing like what I imagine Holmes to look like but in other ways, he is perfect for it. Watson, like in the original stories, also served in the Army in Afghanistan until he was wounded and discharged which brought a startling thought to Gatiss when he realized that “it is the same war now…the same unwinnable war.”īenedict Cumberbatch was cast as Sherlock Holmes and he is excellent in the role. There are still some elements from the original stories that have been incorporated into the new series such as Holmes’ arch-enemy Moriarty and the fact that Holmes and Watson still live at 221B Baker Street. He’s also not adverse to using modern technology like GPS and the Internet to solve crimes which isn’t out of character for him, as the Victorian era Holmes also used many different scientific methods and created many of them himself in his lab, which he later made phonographs about. Instead of drafting letters he texts, and instead of receiving visitors into his drawing room, Holmes now has a website. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that’s what matters.”īy bringing Holmes and Watson into the 21st century, the methods used by Holmes have also been updated but kept true to the character’s nature. ![]() As Steven Moffat says, “Conan Doyle’s stories were never about frock coats and gas light they’re about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes - and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. As Gattis explained, “What appealed to us about the idea of doing Sherlock in the present day is that the characters have become almost literally lost in the fog … And while I am second to no one in my enjoyment of that sort of Victoriana, we wanted to get back to the characters and to why they became the most wonderful partnership in literature.” The decision while somewhat controversial among die-hard Conan Doyle fans does give a new life to the characters that couldn’t be achieved otherwise. They wanted to bring Holmes and Watson into the modern age and away from the fog enshrouded Victorian era London. This new series was conceived by Doctor Who writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss during their long train rides to Cardiff where Doctor Who is filmed. and now this new television series which offers the latest reinvention of Holmes set in modern times. On top of all that, there have been countless radio dramas, plays, movies, and re-imaginings throughout the years including last year’s successful Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. I didn’t just devour the stories either as I also watched all of the great movies that were made with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce up to the excellent television series starring Jeremy Brett. ![]() That movie spurred me into reading every single Sherlock Holmes story that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. Like many of you I’m sure, it all started with a movie called Young Sherlock Holmes that was directed by Barry Levinson and produced by Steven Spielberg. Let me begin this review by saying that I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes.
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