Coming home from an evening of Bowie, bondage, and inspiration (a rare and unusual night, indeed), I was immediately confronted with the first preview of Fox's new spring limited series, "Houdini & Doyle." Now, we're talking Conan Doyle and not Sherlock Holmes here, so my sense of the man may be not so keenly honed, but . . . .
The "Houdini & Doyle" preview is full of quick cuts that have a slight tinge of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes to it, but it's definitely not Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini playing Holmes-and-Watson-ish characters, at least in what I got from the quick succession of scenes in the preview. That's a good thing. And although I don't know how Houdini fans will feel, but I like the way Houdini is being played. Quite the charming fellow.
The Conan Doyle, however?
That moustache makes me think of Borat, and . . . wait a minute . . . shouldn't he be Scottish? Just a wee bit? Did they not watch the interview?
The series looks like it could be a lot of fun, but calling that guy "Conan Doyle" . . . well, that might take a little getting used to. He seems a little skinny, a little too English, a little too all-about-the-moustache, and Conan Doyle in full spiritualist mode has, I'll admit, never been a fave so I do have a bias or two there.
Interestingly, IMDB has a Scottish actor named Ewen Bremner playing Sherlock Holmes in one episode, which makes one wonder if he'll be recreating a piece of a true Doyle tale or not, or just harassing Doyle in some mental figment way. I suppose Holmes had to show up for at least one episode.
As a six episode mini-series, it seems as if Fox might not be just taking a British main character in Doyle, but emulating a more British-style of TV series with one six-part story. It will be very interesting to see what they do with him in an American production.
On to see what the rest of the internet has cooked up for tonight . . . .
The ongoing investigation of Sherlock Holmes, reported from the Peoria, Illinois outpost of Baker Street's dirtiest half a dozen.
My pet peeve is that an actor should look a bit like and sound a bit like the real person they are portraying. If you are cosplaying you pay attention to details, you try to present a recognisable image, more is expected of actors and shows with resources. I'll give "Houdini and Doyle" a go and try to be less precious about detail.
ReplyDeleteYou said, IMDB has a Scottish actor named Ewen Bremner playing Sherlock Holmes. Well IMDB also has a Canadian actor named Mark Caven playing Sherlock Holmes. Are we getting both, or one of them, or ? Guess we will wait and see.
ReplyDeleteHoudini fan/blogger here. I'm excited about the series. Of course, it's complete fiction, but it looks well made and fun and Michael Weston makes a fine Houdini.
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