ratherastory: (Television)
ratherastory ([personal profile] ratherastory) wrote2010-08-04 11:37 am

In non-SPN news

I spend most of my time in this LJ squeeing shamelessly about SPN. It may come as a surprise to some of you, therefore, to find out that I have been a drooling Sherlock Holmes fangirl since I was about seven years old.

I discovered the stories through my father and the TV series starring Jeremy Brett, who will forever be THE Holmes to me (the early series, anyway, I dunno what crack they were smoking toward the end). I own the Annotated Sherlock Holmes, and while I never joined the Baker Street Irregulars or anything, I do tend to follow anything Sherlock-related.

I'm also a bit of a purist. Okay, a lot of a purist. I don't watch a lot of the movies when they don't follow canon. I caved and watched the RDJ & Jude Law movie about a month ago, and thought it was cute, and close to the spirit of the stories, if not the essence. RDJ played a more physical and less cerebral Holmes, but there is evidence in canon for it, so I was okay with that.

I was therefore really, REALLY dubious about this new series everyone was getting all excited about. Sherlock Holmes reinvented for the modern day? Hah! Allow me to scoff at the presumption! Anyway, after much debate with myself, I finally decided to give it a try.

I am in love.

So much love, I can't even tell you. I love the actors' portrayals of Holmes and Watson. They're fun and eccentric and nuanced, and they capture the early dynamic between the two. The series is particularly good at giving Watson layers, a little something extra that's there between the lines of Conan Doyle's stories but never gets fleshed out because the stories are really about Holmes. Watson, after all, is NOT an idiot. He's a doctor, which means he's intelligent, and he's warm and usually insightful when it comes to people. I love that they're playing up his war career, the fact that it's as much a part of his personality as anything else, that he is, in fact, as much of an adrenaline junkie as Holmes is.

The show has been taking its time with the stories, too. The two episodes I watched were well over sixty minutes each (I didn't time them precisely), and took the time to tell the stories properly. There were nods and winks and elbow nudges to the canon freaks like me.

"Of course she was writing 'Rachel'!"

*hearts forever*

Oh, Lestrade, too clever by half this time!


In short, I am in luuuuuuuuurve.

[identity profile] cordelia-gray.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooohh! This on my hard drive, waiting to be watched, and I'm excited to hear such a glowing recommendation. Looking forward to it immensely.

I did quite like Downey's Holmes and especially Jude Law's Watson in the movie, although the story of the film was a bit incoherent. The kind of exasperated fondness between them was quite lovely.

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Yup. The movie did justice to the friendship, but the plot was so awful I can't bring myself to really like it wholeheartedly. It was okay, with moments of awesomeness.

[identity profile] ariadnes-string.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Sherlock is love, isn't it? Aside from everything else, watching it makes me realize how slow and inarticulate most US TV is...

My favorite canon update was when Sherlock did the famous riff on Watson's watch (from The Sign of Four?) with John's cell phone--right down to "he's a drinker, obviously")

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yes! The cell phone! *more love*

And Harriet! "There's always something!" *ded*

I don't remember in which story the watch scene appeared. May have to re-read. It's been a very long time since I read the stories.

[identity profile] seramercury.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't read many of the stories so I don't really know all the pure canon things, but I am loving this current series. Jeremy Brett was my first Holmes too.
embroiderama: (Default)

[personal profile] embroiderama 2010-08-04 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
There must be something about Jeremy Brett! I've only ever casually watched/read any Sherlock Holes stuff (though I do love the new show! Love!), but my mom's gotten into it quite a bit through my stepfather. She totally has a crush on Jeremy Brett, and there's a framed picture of him in the dining room. LOL

[identity profile] scarletsherlock.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
This pleases me more than you even know. ♥ You might know from watching my LJ (and um, my username) that I've been a Holmesian almost from birth. I, too, am a bit of a purist, though the modern-day setting didn't really bother me. I'm of the opinion that the stories are so timeless and the characters so universal that it doesn't matter what time period it's set in. After all, the first film to actually feature the proper Victorian setting was the Rathbone version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and that didn't come out until 1939! There were literally dozens (if not more) of actors and portrayals in the silent period and the talkies before that, all of which took place in then-contemporary times. There have been several "Holmes wakes up in the 20th Century" films, as well as Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century. I had faith in Moffat and especially in Gatiss, who is a long-time Holmesian.

Holmesiana is serious business to me, if you can't tell. LOL. I AM involved in a BSI scion and I co-mod http://www.holmesian.net if you'd ever like to stop by. :D

I know you're a Brett fan, but have you ever checked out the BBC radio versions with Clive Merrison and Michael Williams? Perfection. Also the Russian series with Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin was excellent. My heart belongs to Peter Cushing, but it generally does.

[identity profile] chiiyo86.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee, you're watching it too! I've just finished watching the second episode with my sister. &hearts I think they managed perfectly to make it fit into the modern world, it feels seamless.

[identity profile] primrose-1.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I've never heard of this series! This is what comes of never watching television (except for Supernatural) Please tell me more!

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
It's exactly what it sounds like. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson become roommates and solve crime, only in modern-day London. It's a really fresh, fun take on the SH I know and love, and is very careful with my beloved stories. :)

[identity profile] elsewhere-kels.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
*facepalm* It's like my flist is CONSPIRING to make me watch this series! Is it really that good??

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
So far it is! Only two episodes have aired, but they were really good!

[identity profile] peppervl.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't find this show. What channel is it on? When does it air? Is it just called "Sherlock"?

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
It's just called "Sherlock" and I have NO idea where or when it airs, as I got it on the internets. Sorry. :(

[identity profile] cordelia-gray.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
Just watched "A Study in Pink". It was so good! The cell phone! "Afghanistan or Iraq?"! Mycroft! Everyone thinking they're on dates! Loved it. So many nods to the canon, so cleverly updated. Can't wait to watch the next ep!

BTW, I think this may be relevant to your interests: http://gyzym.livejournal.com/33607.html#cutid1. It's a fanfic originally written for the shkinkmeme. It's a modern-day AU where Downey!Holmes is a chemistry TA, doing a graduate degree, and Law!Watson is an army medic recently returned from Afghanistan with war wounds and PTSD, doing his medical degree. It is adorable.