A little lighter on the vinegar, please

[serai]

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Okay, so I'm greatly enjoying the BBC's new take on Sherlock Holmes, but I have one rather strong complaint, and that is this:

They've turned Holmes into an asshole.

I mean it. He's rude, insensitive, condescending, and sometimes just plain mean-spirited. He was never like that before. Sure, he wasn't the warmest guy in the world, and he definitely thought everyone else's brains were inferior to his, but he knew how to be around people. He knew how to be polite, how to pay attention to people in a way that made them think their troubles mattered, and he knew how to listen. This guy doesn't seem to know how to do any of that. This new episode had me rather shocked within the first three minutes - that montage of him seeing prospective clients was just mean. The Holmes I remember from the original stories would never have been so nasty.

Does anyone else feel this way, or is it just me?

Comments

[strangerian.livejournal.com]

Hi, I've been enjoying your beautiful visual posts. And yes, the BBC Sherlock (from the first 2010 episode) is aggressive about not using social skills, although the ACD Holmes did, as you say, have them and use them. I've wondered if it's intended as a comment on 21st century manners in general -- in the same way that Sherlock texts constantly instead of sending and receiving telegrams or messengers, updated Sherlock can get away with being an asshole while Holmes needed to be perceived as having a gentleman's manner. The question is, does Sherlock actually profit from his lack of courtesy, as Holmes profited by using it? I'm not sure he does, and if not, it's a poor updating instead of a clever one.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Interesting update, isn't it? What you've pointed out about the updating in communication makes me wonder if his additional nastiness isn't a way of holding people at a greater distance simply because people in general tend to be in each other's business a lot more these days, what with connections being so far beyond what any Victorian would ever have imagined. The subplot in this episode about Watson's blog and how it spreads Holmes's fame in a matter of hours certainly adds a modern wrinkle. But then, Holmes was famous in the earlier stories too, so maybe that's not really it. More likely it is a comment on how we've devolved over the last hundred years as far as courtesy goes. Rather a depressing comment on the world we inhabit now.

I was just talking to my mom about the show today (she's a big fan too), and we were exchanging thoughts on the difference in Holmes this time around. Another big difference I see is that he's no longer willing to explain his deductions as much. He used to take a great pride in telling Watson exactly how he worked out his conclusions; really, he seemed to BRAG an awful lot about it. This time around, he barely has the patience to throw Watson a bone every now and then, and flatly refuses to explain sometimes. I don't remember Holmes every doing that. But now we also have the trick of showing us how he's thinking, with the floating text that appears when Holmes looks at things, so it would be redundant for him to explain what we've just seen. I don't think that's good writing. Changing a character just so the series can show off some clever FX is exactly the kind of look-at-me showiness that filmmakers should never indulge in. I like the captioning, but it creates a problem that I think diminishes a fine character, taking away pretty much the only thing that might make you want to be in his presence at all!

I do love Watson, though. Freeman is an incredibly good actor, and the things he's good at that make him perfect for Watson (befuddlement and desperation, mainly) also made him perfect for Arthur Dent, and for Bilbo Baggins. (Have you seen Peter Greenaway's Nightwatch? Check it out for a very different portrayal, in which Freeman plays Rembrandt van Rijn. Very tasty flick!)

[gloria-scott.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, Martin is the perfect Bilbo! And I'm so ridiculously happy they chose Benedict for Smaug - they already have such great chemistry, I can't wait to see those scenes!

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I'm glad you're enjoying the desktop posts. I do have a lot of fun finding those pics. :)

P.S. GOD, I hate this new icon picker!

[gloria-scott.livejournal.com]

Yes, he is kind of a jerk. I think the reason is that the major theme of this adaptation seems to be "the redemption of Sherlock" - proving that he actually does have a heart and that he is capable of caring...and that caring is not a weakness. This new episode starts him down that road, with his (rather unexpected) apology to Molly, his fierce defense of Mrs. Hudson, and his forgiveness of Irene. And the previous three episodes had more of him explaining his deductions. Maybe the writers just didn't want that to get old? Or (more probably) it's too difficult to do and they're not that clever? :-)