The Adaptation Problem

One thing that has delighted me about the fabulous Sherlock & Co. podcast is that one of my totally non-Sherlockian friends is listening to it and loving it. Today he texted me that he'd finished Sherlock & Co.'s "Gloria Scott" adaptation and how intense parts of it were. He then asked if these were based on the original stories . . . and I had to do a "Yes, but . . ."

"The Gloria Scott" is not really a favorite among Sherlock Holmes stories. I would not recommend it to anyone who was not already a fan of Holmes and the better tales. Because it's not really a highlight, sad to say. Yet Sherlock & Co. made it pretty darn fun.

And that presents a new issue with adaptations that I never thought about before.

What if they actually are better than the originals?

As our local library discussion group is fond of noting when they discuss first looks at the tales, they are dated in ways we didn't even think about twenty years ago, and they were dated in ways we did think about then. And its more than the "isms" one encounters. Some of the situations involved are harder and harder for a modern reader to relate to. Very few Sherlockians in 2024 are coming to the fandom directly from the original stories. Sherlock Holmes clicks with them in some other medium and they follow the river of Holmes back to its source. 

In the last century, "not as good as the originals" was a constant refrain. The question "Why can't they just do straight adaptations to the screen, like the Jeremy Brett series?" could be heard again and again.

But did we really want to see a straight adaptation of every one of the sixty stories? Like "The Gloria Scott?" Young Holmes goes on vacation meets his friend's father, leaves, and later comes back just as his friend's father dies of a stroke and reads the story of what was stressing the old guy out. Oh, and he figures out a word puzzle. When Granada did adapt a "young Holmes" story with "Musgrave Ritual," even they added Watson to the mix.

At some point, we actually need adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories to be better than the originals, to keep Sherlock Holmes alive in the culture. No one can afford to make productions just for the populace of avowed diehard Sherlockians -- we a literally less than a millionth of the world's total population. If we were a country and went to war with the fans of any NFL team, South Korean boy band, or, bless her heart, Taylor Swift, we'd be snuffed from existence immediately. But all those regular folks who find some version of Sherlock Holmes entertaining enough to watch a TV show, see a movie, or listen to a podcast keep our hero alive for us.

As I said, I am delighted my friend is into Sherlock & Co. We've been friends for over thirty years, and he knows more than enough about Sherlockiana just from knowing me. But he's not jumping into a local scion or coming to Dayton, Minneapolis, or New York. His enjoyment of Robert Downey Jr. or Harry Atwell is enough, reminding me that I'm not entirely crazy for dedicating so much time to this hobby. (Not entirely! Hee hee.)

So bring on the adaptations! Some will rise to the top, and some will sink into the great Grimpen Mire. (Speaking of which, after their adaptation of The Sign of the Four, I am dying to see what Sherlock & Co. does with the best of the novels.) But in the end, they will keep Sherlock Holmes alive, for generation after generation after generation.