(no subject)

[serai]

So last night I watched the new Sherlock. Christ, I was EXHAUSTED afterwards. All that bling-bling sparkle-sparkle LOOK AT US AND HOW CLEVER WE ARE. It was a relief to get back to the more story-and-character-focused calm of Elementary.

I did like the little hat-tip to fanfic writers, though. Cute!

Comments

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Elementary yet, but the British Sherlock is definitely not canon. For that matter, I suppose Elementary isn't either since both shows transport Sherlock and Watson to modern times. I don't particularly care for how they portray Watson, but I enjoy the show and just roll with the changes.

I have the DVDs of Sherlock seasons one and two and insisted that my husband watch them. He was seriously unimpressed. He definitely prefers the movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Well, the Rathbone version wasn't exactly canon, either, but so many people are accustomed to it that it seems canon. (Nigel Bruce was much too old for Watson, for one thing.) The one that's truest to Doyle is the Jeremy Brett BBC version from the 80's - that one is incredibly faithful to the original stories, and wonderfully acted and produced, to boot. Brett did a fantastic job striking the right balance between Holmes's knowledge of his own superiority and his fastidious courtesy and sympathetic ear. (Watson makes a point of mentioning that several times in the original stories - after all, how could Holmes have been so popular as a private detective, especially for people with delicate or scandalous problems, if he'd been a raging asshole?)

Elementary is doing some very off-canon things, but in my opinion, what matter most is whether it's a good show, whether it treats the characters it creates with respect and organic fidelity, than whether it hews to canon. I've never been a purist of any stripe, in any fandom, so what's done with Watson and Gregson and Adler and Moriarity - for that matter, with Holmes himself - just has to make sense and catch my sympathy and interest, and I'm happy. :)

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

The one that's truest to Doyle is the Jeremy Brett BBC version from the 80's - that one is incredibly faithful to the original stories, and wonderfully acted and produced, to boot.

Ahh yes...I was trying to think of his name when I commented about my husband liking Basil Rathbone. I preferred Jeremy Brett.

I've never read any Sherlock Holmes stories so I really don't know what is canon and what's not.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Ah, then you are in an enviable position, as you can watch these versions and judge them on their own merits, rather than comparing them to Holy Writ. (I kinda wish I could have done that with the LOTR movies.) Sherlock does include some quite canon things in clever ways, for which I give them credit. Here's an example: in the original stories, Watson had indeed been in the military and been wounded - in Afghanistan. That's serendipity for you!

Since you're not familiar with what's canon and what isn't, I'd be very interested to hear what you think of Elementary, so do come back and give me your opinion. :)

[yeuxdebleu.livejournal.com]

I will. I plan to watch Elementary later this evening.