“The landlady stood in the deepest awe of him, and never dared to interfere with him, however outrageous his proceedings might seem. She was fond of him, too, for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women.” ~~ The Adventure of the Dying Detective
Yet one more opinion about BBC Sherlock vs. CBS Elementary
I really don’t wish to sling trash, but I just watched the trailer for Elementary again and frankly found it hard to get through. If the show is anything like the trailer, I’m thinking maybe I’ll be asleep within five minutes of the opening credits.
I fear Elementary is destined to be just another American police procedural whose lead characters happen to be named Holmes and Watson…and not one of the better ones.
Where is the adventure? Steve Moffat, in the documentary Bringing Sherlock Back, made the point that Sherlock Holmes doesn’t have cases. He has adventures. Where was the adventure in this trailer?
Jonny just isn’t Ben. Although as a traditionalist, I am irked to see Sherlock portrayed as such a childish, damaged and even cruel bad boy, I can find no flaw in Ben’s performance. He sparkles. He’s like a firework in the role. His charisma takes over every scene. While he’s portrayed as not understanding emotion, he bursts with emotion. He’s just bubbling with it. Even when he fails, he never loses his bravura and confidence in himself. And if he doesn’t win a BAFTA this year, I will personally fly to London or Cardiff or wherever the BAFTA people hang out and kick their booties. Twice. Jonny is, unquestionably, a fine actor. But from the start it seems as if he’s been placed in a defeated position. As implausible as I found the scene, I guess I’ll take Sherlock bouncing on the furniture, falling on the floor and flinging papers around. I’ll take him shamelessly getting arrested for contempt of court to him standing in a cell telling Joan “I’m sorry, I’ll be a good boy from now on.” From the get-go Jonny doesn’t have Ben’s fire or larger-than-life quality. Even when he’s standing shirtless in his tattooed glory, I’m thinking eh…give me Ben in his sheet any day.
Lucy just isn’t Martin. The chemistry between Martin and Ben is obvious every time you see them together. John’s role is one of ardent admirer and caring helpmate, putting himself on the line to save Sherlock even if it means shooting someone. In every scene, John’s eyes are glued on Sherlock and his every reaction to his friend’s antics is priceless and full of – well - love. Even if you’re not into slash. No matter what Sherlock puts him through, he comes back for more. Lucy’s performance, at least in the pilot, comes across as too clinical and I’m not picking up on the chemistry that is so vitally important to this iconic duo. She seems about as dazzled by Jonny as a scientist is by a specimen she’s dissecting. That’s not Watson’s role. Ever. She screams at Holmes “that’s enough!” when he’s doing what any investigator on any police show would do – trying to catch a witness in a lie. Implausible. And a doctor gasping and turning away at the sight of a dead woman is a bit hard to believe.
Where is the joy? They may be trolls when it comes to wringing fans’ heartstrings and some of their plot elements come across (at least to me) as gimmicky and cliché, but you still can’t take your eyes away from an episode of Sherlock. You don’t dare, or you might miss something vitally important. The scripts are dense and multi-layered. Every word, every glance, every scene oozes subtext and can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways – which is also true of Doyle’s original stories. You can imagine the writers standing on set during filming, clapping their hands together, jumping up and down, chuckling with glee over this manic child they’ve created. Do the CBS writers feel this way? One would never guess it, given the wooden performances delivered in this trailer.
Just another opinion.
Unlike Conan Doyle’s other stories, which were romances or idealized histories, Sherlock Holmes was contemporary and seemed real to the readers of The Strand magazine.
Readers could well imagine him and Dr. Watson coming around the next corner; stepping out of the next hansom cab. Readers might catch a glimpse of them entering a pub or crossing a foggy street.
BBC Sherlock, by resurrecting them and placing them back into contemporary London, has brought back the sense of reality and immediacy that the original characters had lost.
Sherlock and John are no longer historical figures – they are real people again, people anyone could meet walking along a bridge or getting into a modern cab.
Later than I normally post it but here’s my weekly round up of where you can see Benedict Cumberbatch and his co-stars in the coming weeks:
Benedict Cumberbatch
Cinema
Currently can be seen in cinemas playing Peter Guillam in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which has been number 1 at the UK box…
It’s been over a year since Sherlock was first broadcast and I do not know of any other fanbase that could survive on three episodes for that amount of time. My dash implodes when new pictures or news about any of the cast is released- and maybe this is normal for any fandom, but the difference…
SHERLOCK SERIES 2 - FIRST OFFICIAL PHOTO
The boys really are on their way back to our screens and here’s the first official promotional photo released to prove it.
Without the London backdrop, our skills of deduction suggest to us this was taken during the making of ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’ (Written by Mark Gatiss, Directed by Paul McGuigan and guest starring Russell Tovey.) Although this was the first episode to be filmed, it will appear as the second episode in Series 2.
Welcome back Sherlock and John - we have missed you!
