tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post7751236797802691661..comments2024-03-26T09:32:26.565-05:00Comments on Sherlock Peoria: Lowering the bar for Sherlock, lowering it for ourselves.Sherlock Peoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09896656391037436805noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-76544426715345736472015-08-04T14:17:13.191-05:002015-08-04T14:17:13.191-05:00I don't mind Holmes losing his mental facultie...I don't mind Holmes losing his mental faculties as he ages. It's a story, and I'm open to nearly all stories regarding Holmes. There is nothing "un-Holmesian" about aging. I do, however, like characterizations of Holmes that cleave closest to the Holmes of ACD canon. Ian McKellan did do so, for the most part, in terms of capturing the persona, but he could do nothing about the shoddy writing. Holmes could spare a person's feelings by not grinding their face in the facts, but my imagination of the character would not have him fabricate a patently ridiculous story for the benefit of an adult man who was treated poorly by his father. And so on.<br /><br />Interestingly, my view of BBC's Sherlock is that he departs immensely from Holmes of canon, yet I love him as well. (Perhaps not quite as dearly as I love Holmes, but one retains a soft spot for the first love, which was BBC.) I view BBC Sherlock as a different creature from Holmes. He has all the brilliance and nearly god-like perspicacity of the original, but he's not matured as a human being. He's a child all through series 1 and 2, beginning to grow up only in series 3. I don't view this departure so much as a "feet of clay" issue as a narrative arc issue. BBC is a slow burn romance wherein we see the hero developing from a naive child, who loves as a child, to a mature adult. In its full fruition, the depth and loyalty of John and Sherlock's love will be truly awe-inspiring -- heroes for us all to aspire to, yet very very human. What they will have achieved will be so much more satisfying to us because we have seen what they suffered to get there, and the character development required, the emotional weaknesses they have had to overcome. This is the narrative arc of all great love stories, of which, I predict, BBC's Sherlock will be one. <br /><br />Conan Doyle wasn't writing a love story, or at least not consciously (I don't think . . .). ACD's Holmes was essentially a fully realized character from beginning to end, with very little character development, and of course no romantic arc (except for, I would argue, very, very hidden and subtextual -- much more subtextual than BBC, which is practically porn by comparison).pbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11070008311457312502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-73949895982903058812015-08-01T11:56:18.220-05:002015-08-01T11:56:18.220-05:00It doesn't just happen to Holmes; I've not...It doesn't just happen to Holmes; I've noticed all those blockbuster comic book movies are giving their superheroes feet of clay, even families. <br /><br />Maybe they're trying to make the heroes more approachable, someone the audience can identify with. We're none of us perfect, and it might be harder to sympathize with someone without flaws; heck, look what they did to Superman! A Sherlock Holmes with flaws seems more human, more real, to us mere mortals, and that sells tickets. <br /><br />Of course, the fact that he already has scads of flaws doesn't seem to have made an impression on the studio execs or writers; he has an appalling nicotine addiction, a strong distrust of women (at least as a young man), prissy in his personal grooming but an utter slob around the house, and given to performing dangerous and stinky chemical experiments in an entirely inappropriate and unsafe place; ventilation is your friend. He's also a holy terror when he's bored. I would love to meet that Holmes. <br /><br />You're right; it is odd that modern sub-creators feel the need to give him an overwhelmingly huge flaw, either an exaggeration of an existing one, or one pulled out of their butts. Autism, really?? Did Moftiss not notice that canon Holmes's nanny had beaten good manners into him when he was young? <br /><br />This Saturday morning rambling mess was brought to you by,<br /><br />Korina :-pAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-90084817511091392522015-07-31T23:08:40.504-05:002015-07-31T23:08:40.504-05:00I totally agree with you. I don't get why they...I totally agree with you. I don't get why they have give him a handicap. Why do we have to see him on drugs or old and senile. Why can't we see him, young, full of energy, and being the greatest detective ever! I don't like all these "humanizing" they are doing to him at all. I think they are changing a fundamental aspect of his character. What is a Sherlock Holmes who can not deduce? Not a Holmes at all!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-83422649557067918362015-07-31T13:52:42.917-05:002015-07-31T13:52:42.917-05:00Pretty good, in the ones I've liked. Fanfic, l...Pretty good, in the ones I've liked. Fanfic, like pro fic, has a wide range of quality, as well as brands of less-than-healthy Sherlocks I'm not fond of either. Sherlock Peoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896656391037436805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-1629735517802909422015-07-31T13:03:21.924-05:002015-07-31T13:03:21.924-05:00Reading fanfic is reading his private life, or at ...Reading fanfic is reading his private life, or at least a lot of the ones you talk about are. You don't come back and tell us how good the mysteries are in the fanfic you mention.JohnFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13294886206454693626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-13794235841575843912015-07-31T10:37:01.668-05:002015-07-31T10:37:01.668-05:00That's easy to answer: I don't care what H...That's easy to answer: I don't care what Holmes does in his private life, as long as he's the greatest detective the world has ever known and acts like such. Heroin addiction or senility make him "approachable?" Not for me.Sherlock Peoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896656391037436805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6512050174377678428.post-33361379050796743932015-07-31T09:26:51.626-05:002015-07-31T09:26:51.626-05:00I find it a little hard to believe you have proble...I find it a little hard to believe you have problems with an older Holmes slowly losing is mental gifts with age, and still defend 'fanfic'. Kinda confusing where you set your bar.<br />Surely most of the things written about Sherlock Holmes over the years was to make him more real, more in our world, or at least the world of the late 19th early 20th century.<br />Most things written try to make him more approachable, more of our world. Not to elevate him above us or make him a super hero.JohnFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13294886206454693626noreply@blogger.com