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Sherlock
This may be a small and select thread, as I know it's only airing in the UK at the moment, but judging by the response when I mentioned this on the Fans of British Shows thread, I'm not the only one watching the new modern adaptation by Moffat and Gatiss, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
I haven't got this excited about a TV programme for a long, long time. What do you think of it? |
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#2
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Re: Sherlock
Yes! I was hoping a thread for this would exist!
I thoroughly enjoyed episode one. It's just brilliant. The dynamics between Holmes and Watson are spot-on and it's just great to see them in a modern setting. And casting Rupert Graves as Lestrade was ingenuous. Love him! And let me gush about Benedict Cumberbatch. He's a fantastic Sherlock and deserves lots of superlatives. Episode two, however, was a bit of a let-down. Spoiler: show And let me get into the issue of -isms. It's been discussed elsewhere that this new modern Sherlock isn't great when it comes to portraying race, gender, class and disabilities. What do you think? Spoiler: show
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#3
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Re: Sherlock
Yay! Another fan!
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Spoiler: show However, the characterisation and the chemistry between Sherlock and John was unbelievable. Freeman was very good and they might as well just give Cumberbatch the BAFTA now - no-one's going to top that. Quote:
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I thought John's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Sherlock's "sociopathy" were portrayed a bit sloppily and stereotypically, but Sherlock's acknowledgement that people usually tell him to **** off and the police officer's use of "freak" to describe him did begin to look at how people with "invisible" disabilities are unfairly marginalised by society. As for gender, it's got the usual faux-feminist, lots-of-women-in-the-second-tier-of-importance problem. It's difficult to see how they could have got round this, given that it's based on a source where almost all the significant characters (apart from Irene Adler and Mrs Hudson) are male. I do think they could perhaps have made Lestrade female, though. (Although, having said that, it will be interesting to see who Moriarty turns out to be - there's been widespread speculation in fandom that "more than a man" might be a hint that "he"'s a woman, perhaps even someone we've met already, like Mycroft's BlackBerrying babe or Molly) I thought the "scrubbing his floors" line was cheap and misogynist, though. And Soon-Lin's line about "some things shouldn't be shut away behind glass, they need to be handled" made me cringe. Much objectifying, or what? Class I need to think about. Spoiler: show As I used to live in Central London, the setting is a bit of an unwanted distraction for me - I keep spotting restaurants I've eaten in or pubs I've drunk in during the chase sequences, and lose track of who's doing what to whom and why. Last edited by Melaszka; August 2nd, 2010 at 7:44 pm. Reason: Realised I'd broken a rule I just told someone else off for breaking |
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Re: Sherlock
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Re: Sherlock
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I'm not sure I'll catch this when it gets here though. I'm not a fan of classics dumped into contemporary settings for no particular reason. Holmes was Holmes because he applied modern policing techniques in an era when they were new and unique.
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Re: Sherlock
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#7
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Re: Sherlock
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I don't think it's been "dumped into a contemporary setting for no reason", though. It's been strongly argued by the series' creators and others that most Holmes adaptations have now been so shrouded in atmospheric Victoriana that you lose the sense of how modern they were in their time. They just become whimsical heritage TV, not the cutting edge thrillers they were when they were written. And ACD himself was apparently totally unprecious about his creation and allowed all sorts of liberties to be taken with him when he was alive - when asked by a stage adaptor "May I marry Holmes?" (i.e. give him a wife in the stage version), he was said to have replied "Do what you like with him - marry him, kill him off, if you like". So I don't think it's being irreverent to the author's intentions (even if I believed we could know what those were or that they mattered, which I don't). Like Moriath said, I'd give them a try. Although you may hate them - judging by the reviews and message boards I've seen, they're Marmite (or should that be Vegemite? ![]() |
#8
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Re: Sherlock
I was wondering if there was a thread for this!
Episode 1 was really good and episode 2 was awesome with the ciphers! Spoiler: show
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#9
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Re: Sherlock
About sociopaths:
Spoiler: show A valid criticism which I have heard made of the series is that, in both the episodes so far, despite Holmes's supposedly prodigious deductive skills and the amount of running around and chase sequences that happen, the investigation gets precisely nowhere until the villain shows up at John and Sherlock's flat of his own volition and says "Hello! It's me!" Also, I would like to officially publish my guess that Moriarty is the mutual friend who introduced Sherlock and John (in the original, Moriarty was a Professor - this guy lectures at a medical school). Although I'm also intrigued by the possibility that it's Molly. Or Harry. Or Mycroft's assistant. Or Mycroft. And I'm rubbish at predicting, anyway (:cough: McGonagall, Death Eater :cough: ) Last edited by Melaszka; August 5th, 2010 at 9:54 am. |
#10
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Re: Sherlock
About Sherlock, antisocial personality disorder aka sociopathy.
Spoiler: show Quote:
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#12
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Re: Sherlock
Apparently, Moriarty will be revealed on Sunday! And they're still in talks about whether there'll be a second series and, if so, what format it will take:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-rad...s-moriarty-bbc |
#13
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Re: Sherlock
Hurray, Sherlock fans!
I've been avidly watching the new Sherlock series. I did experience some trepidation at the idea it was set in modern 21st Century London, and consequently might lose the Sherlock Holmes spirit that attracts me to the character and story. There's a definite style and substance to the program, while giving the show its own unique quirks without it being jarring and alien to the whole Sherlock Holmes environment. I like the dynamics between Holmes and Watson, the dark depths and humour. In the first episode, on occasions I found the on-screen-type odd and unneccessary. It struck me the on screen descriptions, for example the items at the murder scene and text message, was a disservice to the actors. In Benedict Comberbatch's case, it seemed to deprive him a chance to interact with the other cast, and show Sherlock's thought process through actions, conversation and scene selection as representation of his mind's eye. Benedict Comberbatch was perfectly capable of acting this aspect of the character because he accomplished it spot on later. In the second episode they discarded the on screen type, except with providing a reminder translation for an ancient number system. On this occasion it didn't feel intrusive and, I think, they achieved the perfect balance this time round. The rest of the mystery was unravelled through the actors, and well-crafted scene editing to show Sherlock's memory and thought process. Quote:
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I'm very intrigued by what direction they'll take Moriarty in. Last edited by Annielogic; August 7th, 2010 at 3:59 pm. Reason: clarify |
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Re: Sherlock
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Re: Sherlock
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#16
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Re: Sherlock
Ah, where to begin! Both the plot and Sherlock's brain moved at such a mercurial speed this week that I'm going to have to watch it at least one more time before I attempt a coherent analysis, but initial thoughts:
Spoiler: show Last edited by Melaszka; August 9th, 2010 at 9:50 am. |
#17
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Re: Sherlock
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Re: Sherlock
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![]() The accent, I have been informed, wasn't actually switching from American to UK - it was a type of Dublin accent that can sound a bit like American (particularly, I imagine if you slap a stupid sing-song intonation over the top). I think the only intentional switches were between Irish and the slightly Cockney accent he did for his cover as the IT assistant as Bart's. But it was just annoying. I've heard some people defending him, saying that people who didn't like him were just unimaginative and wanting the clicheed, middle-aged, calm but cunning villain. I admit my idea of the ideal Moriarty probably is a bit close to the cliche, but I would have been happy to see something different and I would have welcomed a young man, a capricious, twitchy, mood-swinging, flippant, manically psychotic young villain, as long as I could believe in him. But I couldn't. |
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