Holmes Christmas List 2010
31st October, 1 Comment
By The Good Doctor
As happened last year, with the case of the Blue Carbuncle just chronologically around the corner again and people beginning to think about gifts, Holmes has compiled his Christmas list.
He did not get everything that was on last year’s list but this year’s list is completely new. I have provided links to amazon.co.uk and amazon.com where possible.
1. Top of the list this year is the DVD of the BBC Sherlockwith a contemporary take on the classic stories set in present-day London. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as me, his loyal friend. We couldn’t be more different, but Sherlock’s inspired leaps of intellect coupled with my pragmatism forges an unbreakable alliance.
Across three, 90-minute, thrilling, scary, action-packed and highly entertaining television movies, Sherlock and I navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers to get at the truth. Holmes has come out of the fog. With sparkling scripts and unforgettable performances from the two leads, this is Sherlock for a new generation. The DVD contains all 3 episodes and the original Pilot.
Amazon UK: Sherlock [DVD] and Sherlock [Blu-ray] , Amazon USA: Sherlock [DVD] and Sherlock [Blu-ray]
2. Linked to the BBC Sherlock is this neat, compact magnifying glass that every modern Sherlock needs. Watch Sherlock in A Study In Pink to see how he uses it. All you now need is the scarf, the coat and his endearing manner with all those about him and you’re set to go sleuthing this Christmas!
Amazon UK: Eschenbach Magnifying Glass
3. The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries, which I mentioned in Part 2 of Holmes on British Radio , has just been released. These are four new Holmes stories with a railway theme written by John Taylor who wrote The Undiscovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. These new stories are ”An Inscrutable Masquerade”, “The Conundrum of Coach 13″, “The Trinity Vicarage Larceny” and “The 10.59 Assassin”.
According to Taylor, in a drawer in my desk, I have a locked cedarwood chest containing notes referring to some of Holmes’ cases that, for one reason or another, never saw the light of day. Now, for the first time, I have decided to reveal the truth to the world. In these four thrilling stories, Holmes experiments with the science of ballistics, locates some missing gold bullion, investigates the theft of a large amount of money and solves the baffling mystery of the Stovey murder.
If all that wasn’t enough then the stories are read by the newest Sherlock – Benedict Cumberbatch. Just one question then. Why is Sherlock (Cumberbatch) reading these stories rather than me (Martin Freeman)?
Amazon UK: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries, Amazon USA: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries (sorry but not available in the USA in time for Christmas but you could try The Unopened Casebook of Sherlock Holmes instead).
4. I have already reviewed this digitally-restored collection of the 14 films with Basil Rathbone as Holmes.
The multi-million pound restoration is discussed in a 5 minute featurette with Robert Gitt, Head Preservation Officer at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Along with the beautifully restored films are audio commentaries by Sherlock Holmes Expert David Stuart Davies (author of numerous books on Holmes and Rathbone) on The Scarlet Claw, The Woman In Green, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death and The Hound of the Baskervilles. There is also an audio commentary by another Holmes Expert Richard Valley (acclaimed author and publisher of Scarlet Street Mystery Magazine who in Amazon’s review is said to be currently penning a book on Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes although he sadly died in 2007) on The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes.
Richard Valley has also provided production notes and the films are accompanied by photo galleries, movie posters and theatrical trailers.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes – The Definitive Collection, Amazon USA: The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (different packaging in the USA)
5. Again I have already reviewed Sherlock Holmes for Dummies and despite its American bias and a couple of errors (my wife becoming Mary Marston instead of Morstan and mistaking the blue plaque above the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street for a legitimate historical plaque) it is still a handy guide to the stories, Britain as it was at that time, the characters in the stories, our portrayals in films, on television and on the stage, etc.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (paperback), Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (Kindle edition), Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (paperback), Sherlock Holmes for Dummies (Kindle edition)
6. Continuing with the guides, I have now reviewed Close to Holmes – Alistair Duncan’s popular guide to Holmes and Conan Doyle’s London.
I have already reviewed his two other books, Eliminate the Impossible and The Norwood Author.
Close to Holmes is a handy guide that will just about fit in your pocket as you explore London as it is today and how it looked in the late nineteenth century to us and to my literary agent Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Alistair Duncan’s research is carefully done, as usual, and he treats us to pictures of many of the locations as they were and as they are now.
Amazon UK: Close to Holmes (paperback), Close to Holmes (Kindle edition), Amazon USA: Close to Holmes (paperback), Close to Holmes (Kindle edition)
7. The second edition of Christopher Redmond’s Sherlock Holmes Handbook sums up this Canadian scholar’s lifetime expertise about Holmes. The first edition appeared in 1993 and this new edition catches up on new films and books and the advent of the Internet.
It is still one of my favourite guides providing a summary of each story in the Canon, the characters in the stories, the cases I chose not to publish, our rooms at 221B, Holmes’s methods and so on. In the section on Crime and Punishment, as well as a summary of British law (and law enforcement) as it was then, there is a summary of other detectives’ work before, during and after Holmes’ career.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes Handbook, Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes Handbook
8. The exhaustively annotated, ten-volume edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Edgar Award winner Leslie S. Klinger ends with The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes.
As is well known, Holmes’ adventures have inspired a vast body of literature. Since the 1920s these “writings about The Writings” have contributed fascinating new insights into the stories, enhancing the pleasure of reading them.
This final volume of The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library covers more “adventures” of Sherlock Holmes than those that are contained in the sixty tales. This deposit of extra-Canonical material is known by Sherlockian scholars as The Apocrypha.
Amazon UK: This volume is not yet listed by amazon.co.uk, Amazon USA: The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes
9. Until Benedict Cumberbatch came along most people hailed Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Holmes as the best ever.
Bending the Willow, David Stuart Davies wonderful tribute to Jeremy who said that he wanted his interpretation of Holmes to “bend the willow, but not break it.”
Apparently a second edition of this fascinating and perceptive study is available but I have not yet seen it. The second hand copies listed on Amazon are quite expensive so it may be worth contacting the publishers direct.
Amazon UK: Bending the Willow, Amazon USA: Bending the Willow
10. Finally the Sherlock Holmes film. This was originally top of the list but I am now undecided about this as my initial enthusiasm for it has dissipated in the wake of the BBC Sherlock. I now wonder if anyone will really be able to capture what Holmes and I were up to in Victorian times. Some of the liberties taken with the Canon now begin to jar - such as Holmes appearing never to have met my future wife when in reality we both met her at the same time in 221B at the start of The Sign of The Four. Still, it is a very enjoyable film and the new one in production has Leslie Klinger advising them and with the addition of Stephen Fry as Mycroft this should help to ensure greater fidelity.
Amazon UK: Sherlock Holmes [DVD], Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray], Amazon USA: Sherlock Holmes [DVD], Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray]
This was, as I predicted, a bumper year of Holmes books and other paraphernalia following the Sherlock Holmes film and Sherlock TV series and with follow-ups to both in production yet another bumper year may be soon upon us.
Posted in Basil Rathbone, Benedict Cumberbatch, Books, Films, Sherlock, Television
A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
20th October, No Comments
By The Good Doctor
“A Chronology of the Life or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle May 22nd 1859 to July 7th 1930” is a detailed chronology of the life and times of my literary agent from the date of his birth to the date of his death and beyond.
This is a work of reference, and a magnificent work it is.
I cannot imagine how anyone writing about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could be without this comprehensive reference book. It would be of less use to a Sherlockian, except perhaps in checking the publication dates of the stories in their various forms.
Its over 200 pages of A4 size contain a wealth of information, including:
- a family tree back to Sir Arthur’s Great Grandfather
- a detailed list of events starting in 1794/5 with the birth of Marianne Conan, followed in 1797 by the birth of James Doyle his Great Grandfather up to January 29th 1998 when there was a memorial service for Dame Jean Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur’s daughter from his second marriage
- some family photographs
- a list of residences of Sir Arthur and family
- a list of statues and plaques dedicated to Sir Arthur, Sherlock Holmes and others (including the only plaque dedicated to myself!)
- a list of biographies and semi-biographical works
- a chronological listing of the first and early appearances of Sir Arthur’s works
- a list of prefaces, forewords, etc. by Sir Arthur
- a list of references consulted and referred to by the author in compiling the chronology
- a short note about the author
- a comprehensive index
I would, therefore, recommend to any Doylean scholar for checking for the correct dates when writing about Sir Arthur.
We Sherlockians have our own chronologies to refer to including the Annotated Sherlock Holmes and, more recently the much more compact and affordable Eliminate the Impossible.
Posted in Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes – The Last Act
15th October, No Comments
By The Good Doctor
I was invited to see Roger Llewellyn in David Stuart Davies’ play “Sherlock Holmes – The Last Act“. This was a somewhat daunting prospect for me. The play is set in 1916 and Holmes has come back to our Baker Street rooms from his cottage is Sussex following his two years of retirement.
What has brought him back? My funeral!
Roger Llewellyn is the only person in this play though through his marvellous virtuoso performance we get to meet me (my middle name is apparently Horatio and I speak with a Scottish accent), Mrs Hudson (first name Martha and sounds like Janet from Dr Finlay’s Casebook) plus Lestrade and many others. He changes accent and persona quickly and with ease and there is much humour from David Stuart Davies skill with the Canon. The second half is somewhat darker, delving, with much conjecture into Holmes’ early life. Mysteriously, The Hound of the Baskervilles appears in the play after references to The Final Problem and The Empty House when it should be earlier but it suits the mood of the second half. I will not spoil your enjoyment by telling you how it ends but I hope you will be moved – I was!
David Stuart Davies wrote this play after seeing Roger Llewellyn’s first theatrical encounter with Holmes in an adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. He wrote this solo drama specially for Llewellyn and the show premiered at The Salisbury Playhouse in 1999, won five stars at Edinburgh, was selected as one of The Top Ten Fringe Plays, and has toured world-wide ever since with over 550 performances so far!
The play explores the mind of the real man – not the thinking machine. An unexpectedly passionate and secretive man, with a cutting sense of humour (as I know all too well!)
Stripping away the infamous clinical façade, Holmes reveals fears, weaknesses, and the devastating consequences of the dramas of his formative years. The whole being ‘deduced’ from the ‘clues’ in the Canon.
Following the success of this play, Davies wrote a second Sherlockian venture “Sherlock Holmes – The Death and Life” which was premiered at Guildford in March 2008. This play deals with Arthur Conan Doyle tiring of what he sees as the intolerably arrogant Sherlock Holmes, and suggests that he created the malevolent Professor Moriarty to dispose of him. But the author’s dangerous strategy, combined with his passion for raising the spirits of the dead, has rather more bizarre and dramatic consequences than he bargained for!
Audio versions of both plays are available (see the links above).
David Stuart Davies has written extensively about Sherlock Holmes. His non-fiction books include:
- Holmes of the Movies (1977)
- Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes (1996 and 2002)
- Starring Sherlock Holmes (2001)
- Clued Up on Sherlock (2004)
- Dancing in the Moonlight: Jeremy Brett – A Celebration (2006)
His fiction books include:
- Sherlock Holmes and the Hentzau Affair (1991)
- The Tangled Skein (1995)
- The Scroll of the Dead (1998)
- Shadow of the Rat (1999)
- The Veiled Detective (2004). Explores the relationship between Holmes, myself and Professor Moriarty
- The Games Afoot (2008)
He is the editor of several collections for Wordsworth & Collectors Library including:
He has written and narrated commentaries for the digitally re-mastered Basil Rathbone Holmes films.
If you get the chance to see it, please do. You will laugh and you may cry but you will not be disappointed!
Posted in Books, Films, Plays, Roger Llewellyn
Eliminate the Impossible
25th September, 1 Comment
By The Good Doctor
“Eliminate the Impossible” is the first of two books by Alistair Duncan on Holmes. His second Holmes book, “Close to Holmes” in which he looks at the historical connections between London, Holmes and my literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will be the subject of another review at a later date.
Alistair has also written a book about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Norwood Author“, which I have already reviewed. Currently, he is writing another Doylean book about Undershaw, the house that Sir Arthur had built at Hindhead which remains under threat from developers. This book is not due to be published until next year, by which time the fate of Undershaw will almost certainly have been decided.
“Eliminate the Impossible” runs to 244 pages of which the first three-quarters cover Holmes on the page and the last quarter looks at Holmes on the screen.
I note that he prefers to the term “Sherlockian” which is usually reserved for Holmes fans abroad whilst “Holmesian” is supposedly the term used in the UK. I have always found “Holmesian” a bit cumbersome – “Sherlockian” leaves no-one in doubt who you’re talking about and in the BBC Sherlock series we’re on first name terms with the main protagonists for the first time!
May I also raise a point about our address. It was 221B Baker Street – note the capital “B” after 221. Flats are designated with a capital letter not a lower case letter. So where “221b” has been used “221B” should be used instead. Even the Dummies Guide gets this wrong! But congratulations to the BBC Sherlock props department for getting this right and commiserations to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street for getting it wrong on their unofficial blue plaque.
Part One – Holmes on the page
This covers the origins of the stories, Holmes’s influence on crime fiction, his appearance and character before dealing with the “Heroes and Villains” as Alistair calls them, beginning with me (I assume I am a hero?) His selection is interesting. It includes two women and I will leave you to guess who they are!
Following this is a short discussion about the “timeline” of the stories which has always, and continues to be, a subject of much discussion (and many books)! Alistair picks out D Martin Dakin’s and Leslie Klinger’s chronologies and sets them against the dates found on the Internet. The order of the stories as listed here puts the last three stories from The Case-Book in the order in which they are now usually published (VEIL, SHOS, RETI) rather than the order in which they originally appeared in The Case-Book (RETI, VEIL, SHOS).
For each of the sixty stories, he then gives the date of publication (in The Strand except for the first two stories which were first published elsewhere), the date the story was set in (just the year) and the identity of the client. Following a brief synopsis he then presents some notes about the story, usually about the dates involved, but sometimes about the real identities of the people involved, and some of the puzzles and inconsistencies.
His own inconsistencies are that he leaves “The Adventure of” off all the stories in The Memoirs and again changes the order of the last three stories – this time to SHOS, RETI and VEIL. I think he has the date of publication of SHOS in The Strand incorrectly as January 1927 when it should be April 1927 making it the last to be published.
In the general introduction to the stories he sensibly suggests that you read the story first before reading his notes and doing it the other way round is likely to confuse matters.
Part Two – Holmes on the screen
This looks at Holmes portrayal in film and on television by looking at a selection of actors who have portrayed my good friend. Alistair attempts to classify them as either “good” or “bad” and “remembered” or “forgotten” making the point that some portrayals (“good” or “bad”) might only be remembered by Sherlockians rather than the general public.
He has left out all the comic portrayals presumably on the grounds that they are universally viewed as “bad” and “best forgotten”.
Rathbone and Brett come out best in this analysis with perhaps Douglas Wilmer coming in third. Alistair puts Brett just out in front and probably the favourite for those who would see the Rathbone films as largely set in their own time rather than the time of the original stories.
Alistair recommends David Stuart Davies book, “Starring Sherlock Holmes“, for more detail about Holmes on film and television (and stage and radio for that matter!)
As Alistair’s book was written in 2008, it predates the Robert Downey Jr film “Sherlock Holmes” and more importantly the BBC Sherlock series. It will be interesting to speculate where these two very different portrayals would be in the “good”, ”bad”, ”remembered” and “forgotten” categories. Cumberbatch’s Holmes has a good chance of being in the category “good and remembered” if they can maintain the standard of the first series (mostly ignoring The Blind Banker) whereas Robert Downey Jr may end up in “bad but remembered” if they cannot raise their game!
Nevertheless, Alistair Duncan succeeds, as he sets out in his introduction, “to bring a fresh perspective” to some of the puzzles concerning “the anomalies in the stories and the films”. Whilst he “conceived it as an introduction to the canon” it does, as he hoped, “appeal to long-standing fans as well as novice Sherlockians”.
This book, like its successor “Close to Holmes“, is available on the Kindle although Amazon have not linked the two versions properly on their website so you will need to go to the Kindle store to find it.
Posted in Arthur Conan Doyle, Canon, Chronology, Films, Granada, Media, Study, Television, Undershaw
A criminal mastermind – the answers
11th September, 2 Comments
By The Good Doctor
The answers to the Mastermind questions are as follows:
- Beeton’s Christmas Annual
- Vandaleur
- Altamont
- Diogenes
- Warsaw
- RACHE
- Scowrers
- Sylvesters
- Binomial Theorem
- Victor Trevor
- “Roaring” Jack Woodley
- Ventilator
- Silver Blaze
- First volume of the Encyclopedia Brittanica
Stephen Fry answered 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 14 correctly and passed on Question 3.
How well did you do?
Posted in Study
The Definitive Sherlock Holmes
30th August, 2 Comments
By The Good Doctor
With all the current debate about who is the definitive Holmes (Rathbone, Brett or Cumberbatch?), I thought it was worth reviewing Basil Rathbone’s fourteen films as the Great Detective which have been carefully restored in The Definitive Collection.
These films updated elements of the Canon to the early part of the 20th century (except for the first two which remain in the Victorian era and were the first films to portray us in Victorian times) in a similar way to the 21st century updating that has taken place in the BBC Sherlock series.
The fourteen films (in order of release) are:
- The Hound of the Baskervilles, based on the story of the same name. As this was Rathbone’s first film as Holmes, and he wasn’t as well known as Richard Greene (who played Sir Hennry Baskerville), he only achieved second billing! In The Definitive Collection, this film also has an added commentary version by David Stuart Davies providing lots of useful background to the film, the script, the actors, the scenery, the clothes, the music (or lack of it!) and to Rathbone’s portrayal.
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was supposedly based on the stage play by William Gillette but little of the original plot remains apart from the conflict between Holmes and Moriarty. This film also has a version with a commentary by Richard Valley (wrongly credited to David Stuart Davies on the DVD packaging).
- Sherlock Holmes and The Voice of Terror is based on His Last Bow.
- Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon is inspired, rather than based on, The Dancing Men.
- Sherlock Holmes in Washington
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death is based on The Musgrave Ritual and there is a version with audio commentary by David Stuart Davies (the packaging this time saying it is by Richard Valley). This film brings back the familiar dark mystery for Holmes to solve.
- The Spider Woman starts with the demise of Sherlock Holmes (similar to The Final Problem) and is followed by his surprise return (as in The Empty House). The following story is then based on elements from The Sign of Four and The Devil’s Foot. The theatrical trailer is included on the DVD.
- The Pearl of Death is based on The Six Napoleons. Again the theatrical trailer is included.
- The Scarlet Claw uses the device of a killer using a supernatural entity to cover up his crimes borrowed from The Hound of the Baskervilles. This has an audio commentary by David Stuart Davies and the theatrical trailer is included.
- The House of Fear is based on The Five Orange Pips. The theatrical trailer is included.
- Pursuit to Algiers. This is based on the affair concerning the steamship Friesland that I mentioned in The Norwood Builder.
- The Woman in Green is an adaptation of The Empty House but also includes elements from A Case of Identity and The Final Problem plus the first appearance of the Persian Slipper first mentioned in the Musgrave Ritual. This film has a version with an audio commentary by David Stuart Davies.
- Terror by Night is loosely based on The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax and the Blue Carbuncle. This includes the theatrical trailer.
- Dressed to Kill. This was known as Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code in the UK. The theatrical trailer is included.
As well as the extras mentioned above The Definitive Collection also carries a “featurette” about the painstaking restoration of these films and how some missing elements were carefully replaced. Each film is accompanied by production notes by Sherlock Holmes devotee Richard Valley (who sadly died in 2007) and a photograph gallery.
Those who are critical of Nigel Bruce’s portrayal of me in these films should not forget that up until this point, Watson had either not appeared alongside Holmes or had been relegated to a minor role. Nigel Bruce ensured that from then on, Holmes would have his Watson and that it would always be a two-handed performance as it had mostly been in real life!
Posted in Basil Rathbone, Films
A criminal mastermind?
13th August, No Comments
By The Good Doctor
In 2004, there was a celebrity edition of Mastermind.
Stephen Fry was faced with 14 questions in the available time on his chosen specialist subject – Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.
Here are the 14 questions. How well would you have done?
- In which publication did the first Holmes story “A Study in Scarlet” first appear in 1887?
- In “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, by what name did Jack Stapleton head a school in Yorkshire and establish a reputation in entomology?
- What name did Holmes adopt in his guise as an Irish-American spy?
- Mycroft Holmes was a founding member of which club of the most unsociable and unclubable men in town?
- Irene Adler, always known as “the woman” by Holmes, was the prima donna of which opera company when she met the King of Bohemia?
- In “A Study in Scarlet”, what 5-letter word is scrawled in blood on the wall in a dark corner of the room?
- In “The Valley of Fear”, what was the local name for the members of Lodge 341 of the Ancient Order of Freemen in the Vermissa Valley?
- In “The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax”, with which London banking firm did Lady Frances have her account?
- On which theorem did Professor Moriarty write a treatise that won him the mathematical chair at a small English university?
- When relating his very first case, “Gloria Scott”, whom does Holmes describe as “the only friend I made during the two years that I was at college”?
- In “The Solitary Cyclist”, what was the nickname of “the greatest brute and bully in South Africa” who conspired with Bob Carruthers to get Violet Smith’s fortune?
- In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, how did Dr Roylott get the poisonous snake into the room of his step-daughters, killing Julia?
- In which story did Holmes make his celebrated reference to “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” – the curious incident being that the dog didn’t bark?
- What did the red-headed London pawnbroker Jabez Wilson have to copy out when he was duped by John Clay into accepting a position with the spurious “Red-Headed League”?
Stephen managed to get eight right. I will post the answers at a later date.
Posted in Sherlock Holmes, Study
Every modern improvement which the march of civilisation demands [CHAS]
29th July, 3 Comments
By The Good Doctor
There were three reasons why I began writing again after all this time. One was the battle to save Undershaw, once the home of my literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. That battle seems almost lost.
The second reason was the Robert Downey Jr film “Sherlock Holmes” which still seems to divide opinions as to whether it used or abused the image of Holmes.
The third reason was the brave step by the BBC and the Dr Who team to bring Sherlock Holmes into the 21st century. This all started when Mark Gatiss, one of the creators, writers, and executive producers of the series was called in by the BBC in 2002. The BBC were thinking of doing a Sherlock Holmes Christmas Special and knowing Mark was a Holmes “purist” they asked for his advice. Nothing came of it but later on he began to discuss with Steven Moffat (the other creator and also one of the writers and executive producers) how they might bring Holmes and I into the modern day.
Well! I write after the three Season 1 episodes have been broadcast (both in the UK and the USA) and the DVD has been released. The series appears to have been a great success receiving critical acclaim from even the most traditional Holmesians.
Each episode contains a number of Canonical links to look out for.
A Study In Pink – Pilot Version (herafter referred to as [PILO])
The pilot version of “A Study In Pink” appears only on the DVD. More details to follow.
Episode 1 – A Study In Pink (hereafter referred to as [PINK])
[PINK] is based on my first story [STUD] where I first met Holmes, settled into 221B Baker Street with him and became involved in the case of Jefferson Hope. [PINK] recreates our first meeting and our decision to share diggings. It then picks up a singular element of the Jefferson Hope case – the use of identical pills, some with poison and some without to exact revenge on men who has wronged him.
This episode makes the occasional references to other stories in the Canon. One of these was to a case that I have alluded to but never written up. This was the case of Mr James Phillimore, who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world, which I mentioned in [THOR]. James Phillimore is the second of the apparent suicides in [PINK] and we see him before he dies going back to get his umbrella!
One of Holmes’ laconic messages, sent as a telegram to summon me in [CREE] was “Come at once if convenient – if inconvenient come all the same”. This is sent as (two) text messages by Holmes in [PINK].
When I meet Stamford in the park, I am holding a coffee cup with the word “Criterion” on it. This is a reference to the original meeting in [STUD] which took place in the Criterion Bar which in [PINK] has now become a coffee bar!
Billy, who greets Sherlock and me as we enter the cafe was the name of our page in the original stories.
The cabbie in [PINK] is called Jeff Hope – in [STUD] he was Jefferson Hope.
You may also notice the website that Sherlock uses to find the fourth victim’s phone number is called “Mephone” – a skit on the “iPhone”. Get it?
Episode 2 – The Blind Banker (hereafter referred to as [BLIN])
[BLIN] contains references to [DANC] in the use of a cipher and to certain elements of [SIGN] in that the murders are committed in closed (locked) rooms by someone with excellent climbing skills.
The pace and flow of this episode is different to Episodes 1 and 3 and has a different writer. Allusions to the Canon are few but Sherlock’s laziness rather than untideness are starting to get to me along with his complete disinterest in my interest in women.
My unsuccessful attempt with a self-service till in a supermarket is probably something that will ring true for many people.
This episode is better than most reviews say it is. It is best watched in isolation rather then straight after Episode 1.
Moriarty has the final word!
Episode 3 – The Great Game (hereafter referred to as [GREA])
[GREA] is based mainly on [BRUC] and [FIVE]. But there are snippets from all over the Canon.
The episode begins with a lesson on English that so many of us older citizens may think overdue. Then, after the credits we have the modern equivalent of Holmes using a pistol to “adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V.R.” though this time it is a “smiley face” that is done in “bullet-pocks” (from [MUSG]).
Sherlock is bored and my blog of “the taxi-driver” case gets a bit of a critical review before the discussion about his understanding of the rotation of the Earth and the way he jealously guards access to his hard drive, brain or lumber room as he calls it in [STUD]. This develops to the point where I have to leave “to get some air”.
A massive explosion follows but when I return Mycroft is there trying to get Sherlock interested in the Bruce-Partington Program. A civil servant called Adam West has been found dead and is suspected of stealing the plans (compare this to Cadogan West in [BRUC]). Note the competitive deducting by Sherlock (lilo) versus Mycroft (sofa) as to where I slept at Sarah’s.
Lovely quotation from Sherlock as we go off to see Lestrade – “Where would I be without my blogger?” similar to “I am lost without my Boswell” in [SCAN]. Then the envelope addressed to Sherlock that was in the strongbox recovered from the scene of the explosion is said, according to Sherlock, to be Bohemian stationery (another link to [SCAN] and possibly [CREE]). The writing on the envelope is said, by Sherlock, to have been done with a Parker Duofold pen with a Meridian nib – the very pen that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used.
There then follow four more problems for Sherlock to solve before he eventually solves the Bruce-Partington Program problem and the there’s a confrontation with Moriarty that is straight out of [FINA]. The cliff hanger ending is a Reichenbach Falls reprise alongside a swimming pool rather than above a waterfall.
We must wait until next year for an [EMPT] solution!
This was the first of the three episodes to be produced, after the pilot and may explain why [PINK] is so “polished”. [GREA] does not have the pace of [PINK] but is similar in style.
Unlocking Sherlock (only on the DVD)
“Unlocking Sherlock” explains the making of the series. More details to follow.
The DVD was released in the UK on August 30th with all three episodes (the first and third with commentaries by those who produced them), the 60 minute pilot which has not been broadcast and “Unlocking Sherlock” about the making of the series.
In the USA the DVD was released on November 9th, two days after the last episode aired on the PBS network. The USA DVD has the same content as the UK DVD.
Season 2 will start on January 1st 2012 with A Scandal In Belgravia [SCAN] followed a week later by The Hounds of the Baskerville [HOUN] and the week after that by The Reichenbach Fall [FINA]. After each title I have given the main Canonical story that appears to be the main basis for the episode though, if Season 1 is anything to go by, these will not be the only references! Viewers in the USA will have to wait until May 2012.
Posted in Baker Street Irregulars, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Watson, Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes, Television
Everything is in order [CHAS]
5th July, 3 Comments
By The Good Doctor
When I heard recently that someone had set themselves a summer reading project to read the entire Canon of sixty stories including all the short stories and the four novels, I suggested an unusual approach to this would be to read the stories in the chronological order according to when the cases occurred rather than the more usual order of publication.
Using Vincent Delay‘s as the the most recent attempt to order the stories, despite my legendary problem with dates, this would be the order in which they should be read.
Before Holmes and I met:
- The Gloria Scott
- The Musgrave Ritual
Our meeting and the first case together, up to the Great Hiatus:
- A Study In Scarlet
- Shoscombe Old Place
- The Resident Patient
- The Beryl Coronet
- The Speckled Band
- Thor Bridge
- The Cardboard Box
- The Yellow Face
- The Greek Interpreter
- Charles Augustus Milverton
- The Valley of Fear
- The Reigate Squires
- Silver Blaze
- The Sign of the Four
- The Five Orange Pips
- The Noble Bachelor
- A Scandal In Bohemia
- The Stockbroker’s Clerk
- The Crooked Man
- The Second Stain
- The Naval Treaty
- The Dying Detective
- The Blue Carbuncle
- The Boscome Valley Mystery
- The Man with the Twisted Lip
- The Engineer’s Thumb
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
- A Case of Identity
- The Copper Beeches
- The Red-Headed League
- The Final Problem
After the Great Hiatus:
- The Empty House
- The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
- The Norwood Builder
- The Sussex Vampire
- The Golden Pince-Nez
- The Red Circle
- Wisteria Lodge
- The Three Students
- The Solitary Cyclist
- Black Peter
- The Bruce-Partington Plans
- The Veiled Lodger
- The Missing Three-Quarter
- The Devil’s Foot
- The Abbey Grange
- The Dancing Men
- The Retired Colourman
- The Six Napoleons
- The Priory School
- The Three Garridebs
- The Three Gables
- The Illustrious Client
- The Creeping Man
- The Blanched Soldier
- The Mazarin Stone
- The Lion’s Mane
- His Last Bow
Posted in Canon, Chronology
It is my business to know what other people don’t know [BLUE]
19th March, No Comments
By The Good Doctor
If you think that you do not know much about Sherlock Holmes then you are wrong. You know that he is a detective and possibly the most famous detective of all. You know that he’s English and maybe you think you know what he looks like. But if that is the extent of your knowledge then here is a book that may help to answer any questions about the singular gifts by which my friend Sherlock Holmes was distinguished.
For the moment I will have to concentrate on the version being released on Monday March 22nd in the USA.
Here in the UK we have to wait until April 2nd but by then I hope that the parts of the book that concentrate on North America will have been replaced by something more helpful to those based here! I hope to extend this review once I have a copy to hand.
The book follows the normal Dummies format. Each chapter is concentrates on a particular are of interest including:
- the stories, their plots and characters
- the influence of Holmes
- films, television, pastiche and parody
Unlike other reference books produced over the years this book is organised to make it easy to find what you are looking for with a comprehensive index.
Of particular interest is a chapter on a “typical Sherlock Holmes story” which attempts to analyse the style of my writing into some sort of formula! There are also ten unsolved mysteries including “what colour was Holmes’s dressing gown?” and ten places to visit only one of which is in the USA!
While you’re waiting (in the UK) for the book, here’s a handy cheat sheet to help you remember the Canon.
There is a whole section on “The Good Doctor” which of course I will be carefully scrutinising!