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Sherlock Holmes
32 comments:
Been listening to lenny Cohen again,mate!
This sounds like good fun, as does the Guy Ritchie film- which I haven't seen. I suspect I may never see this, either!(However, I do have pirate copes of the first couple of Boardwalk Empire coming from a mate this week. Oh, yes, I AM down with the kids, daddio!)
Hey man,
Sorry, been laying low lately after finally finding a full time job that at least tangentially involves writing (score!), still enjoying your blog as usual and passing the word around to anyone who'll listen about the great McKinty. I rarely get my copies of your books back! But that's a good thing.
I've not seen the Ritchie film, though I did enjoy RocknRolla quite a bit. Just wanted to say too things: can't wait to pick up Falling Glass--awesome cover--and I just did a post about Star Wars that I thought you might be interested in.
Cheers from Down South,
HB
Paul
I'm going to save up Boardwalk Empire for when I've been hospitalised or a long flight or something. I'm quite hopeful for it.
HB
I liked your Star Wars post. Its ridiculous that you cant get a DVD of SW where Han Solo shoots first, because Lucas thinkgs that that is dishonorable or something. The man is clearly off his rocker.
Have you seen RedLetterMedia's youtube channel? The one hour review of Phantom Menace is a classic.
I don't think that even if it had been terrible it would close the nostalgia mine, though.
I wouldn't mind forgetting about death for an hour or two here and there, but often these kinds of things have the opposite effect.
Congratulations, Hardbarned!
Seana
Yes its odd isnt it that a murder mystery is considered escapism. Often the first few minutes of a comedic show like Monk are quite grisly. Sherlock Holmes though has been thoroughly sanitised for PBS or BBC America. Unlike Mad Men no one even says shit.
I take both of your points, but oh boy I do get a bit fed up when EVERY British film or TV show is basically heritage porn. And then they complain about Hollywood only producing retreads and sequels.
Speaking of British shows, have you or anyone here seen Peep Show? It just got a good review on Slate. Doesn't sound like much of a historical retread either.
I saw couple of bits of PeepShow on You Tube and they were pretty funny.Bit smug and posh, though. But, then, that's British comedy.
Frocksploitation films aren't just a British thing but the BBC have always seemed to churn them out on Sunday evenings to help depress schoolkids.
Quick guide to Frocksploitation films:
Pride & Predjudice- Mills& Boon with an A- Level;
The Piano - Mills & Boon with a degree -in fine art;
The Age Of Innocence - Mills & Boon with some dodgy catering diploma from Huge Fearnly Whatsisface.
Seana
I know of this Peep Show of which you speak. I havent seen it. I'm always suspicious of American reviews of British TV shows - they always think they're funnier and more ironic than they actually are and they (the reviewer) just isnt getting the sophisticated British humour which usually isnt actually there at all. I always think: live in Coventry for a year and read The Sun and The Daily Mail every day and you'll see how sophisticated everyone is.
Paul
I usually dont manage to watch them all the way through. Even that one with Keira Knightley and they got her frock all wet.
Speaking of Atonement and Keira Knightley I liked the bit when they cut to 1939 and the British were being evacuated from Dunkirk - excellent bit of historical research that.
Benedict Cumberbatch is one strange dude isnt he?
I really liked the Sherlock series I thought it different enough to be worth having yet another take on it. If you want swearing try 'The Inbetweeners' on C4, its really childish boy humour and meant for teenagers but quite funny.
I would much prefer more Wallender, Inspector Lewis, Foyle's War (I guess that did end, though), and lots more mysteries set within the last several decades than to go back to Austen (yawn, sorry), Dickens, and other 19th century stories.
Maybe we could get some of Reginald Hill's or Jim Kelly's police procedurals or John Harvey's or Denise Mina's or more by Val McDermid. The BBC presentation of a book by McDermid, which starred Juliet Stephenson was excellent.
Now more of the contemporary writes would be fine with me.
Just no more Jane Austen or Charles Dickens please.
Frankie
He is. But perfect for this. Lots off charisma and intelligence which is what you want in a Holmes of any era.
Just watched episode 2 tonight. Yikes! Dodgy Chinese magicians, tongs, a dragon lady...
Super cheesy! I love the cast but they need to bring in better writers if this thing is going to work.
Kathy
Havent seen Wallander but it starts that nice Belfast boy Ken Branagh so it better be good.
Foyles War I did watch for a bit, but I got tired of everything except the rain coats and hats. Awesome rain coats and hats. Lewis I am not down with. I miss Morse too much: the car, the drinking, the Wagner and Danny Boyle's direction.
Where have all the good writers gone? maybe in America. Lewis lacked good writers, id watch a whole episode and feel cheated with the ending, they seemed to run out of ideas. Also it is too heartbreaking that Morse isnt there.
I like Lewis. True,he isn't Morse, but there's something fun about seeing the role reversal, and to see the shade of Morse in the script every now and then. And I like that his partner is not a duplication of the young Lewis but his opposite. And Oxford always looks gorgeous.
Thanks, Paul. I'll see if I can find a bit of Peep Show on YouTube. It's true that some British humor doesn't translate, but as they're comparing it to The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm, it might.
Yes Laurence Fox's character is great and the streets of Oxford look nice and empty whereas when i visted a year ago it was rammed with people and there's a big mosque and loads of halal meat shops and i felt a bit gutted, i just wanted the Morse experience really.
I don't think I'd mind the mosque. They're often very beautiful.
I wonder what they do with the tourists on the days they're filming?
I think they must film really early in the morning and close just small sections off as they go.
I just wasn't expecting the mosque, i wonder that if they put this changing urban landscape on the postcards would it have any effect on the tourists? Maybe the Morse Oxford never really existed.
I think in the "west" we've been moving away from religious buildings for a while so new ones seem out of place.
In downtown Montreal where I grew up there were, of course, many big Catholic and Anglican churches but now a lot of them are condos or have been incorporated into office buildings (and even a mall).
Out in the suburbs of the 60's there were a lot of small churches but they don't usually have a manse or much in the way of grounds and they're mostly only there to use the basements for cub scouts and girl guides and AA meetings.
I think we were used to the idea that big symbols of religion were disappearing from our urban landscape and we were pretty much okay with that.
Now, all over Toronto there are new huge Mosques. I don't think the fact they're Mosques is much of an issue, it's that they're these big religious symbols in what has become a secular landscape.
Maybe because of the new mega-churches in he US this isn't as pronounced, or maybe I'm just totally off base.
Back on topic, the third Sherlock Holmes (so far they've made three two-hour episodes) is bettr than the second but maybe not as good as the first. I expect there will be more episodes.
And when will we start talking aout the season finale of Mad Men?
John, I've seen it, but you are going to have to issue big spoiler alerts, becuase not everyone is caught up.
A lot of active and historic churches in Santa Cruz--well, California has the whole mission thing going too, but no mosques yet--at least no noticable ones. Probably just a matter of time, though.
Frankie
I remember several episodes of Morse being filmed when I was in Oxford. They did film early, but there was one with Robert Hardy I think where I might be in the background in a crowd shot.
Seana
I dunno a brand new Mosque where none was before does seem weird and a bit creepy to me, especially in a hard core secular landscape.
John
Yeah I think thats it. It seems strange that any religious institutions are expanding when its pretty obvious to all of us now that they're all baloney.
Mad Men finale?
I thought it was weak. I feel that they could have covered this entire season in 2 or 3 episodes.
He marries his secretary just like Roger? Come on.
And maybe I'm real shallow but she doesnt seem pretty enough for a swordsman like Don.
Spoilers from here on it looks like.
She may not be the prettiest women he's scewed, but she didn't freak out when the kids spilled the milkshake and she's from Montreal - c'mon, we all know the French babes are... okay, you're right, it just seemed like an excuse to give Roger a couple of funny lines at the end.
So now that more people (I mean people who write about TV for a living) are starting to see that all along Mad Men has been this big search for identity, this big existential, "Who is Don Draper? Who am I?" -- the show is now saying that it's moved on to, "What if you find out who you are and don't like that person?"
Which could bring up the question, "Can people change?" and make for a fun season next year.
Of course, coming after the finale of Rubicon anything that wasn't laugh out loud funny would have seemed great.
John
I think the writers have been unfair to Betty. Is she allowed to grow? Even after all those half assed therapy sessions with the child shrink she still fires Carla like a petulant child?
Even Betty's new husband pointed out that no one is ever on her side. You're right, how come Betty didn't get invited along on the search for identity?
My sister also agrees that Betty is consistently misunderstood, even by the writers. But I'd say she's a narcissist, which I've heard is a hard personality disorder to overcome. Although I actually thought she took in what Henry Francis was saying and that everything that followed that was a slightly different Betty.
I found Don's story arc ending pretty unbelievable, although Don's existential situation is so unique that it is hard to say what would constitute believable behavior.
I don't agree with Adrian's assessment of the new woman's attractiveness--she seems a perfectly plausible candidate. But then, I've never understood what makes Don so irresistable to women either. He doesn't quite give off that aura to me.
I did like Joan and Peggy's behind closed doors commiserations though. evelopments, though. Completely realistic, even today.
John
Doesnt it seem that the writers have given greater leeway and sympathy to the shows two rapists than poor child-woman BD?
Seana
I found it unbelievable too, although I was also impressed by her cool head in the milkshake spill debacle.
Yes, but the four nieces and six nephews that she pulled out of the hat to explain it were also unbelievable.
Also, what parent (and what babysitter) leaves three children alone in a strange motel room on the blind faith that none of them will wake up in the middle of the night and not know where they are or where any adult is? I was pretty sure there was going to be some sort of tragedy, either there or at the pool and I was glad to be wrong.
I don't think we are supposed to approve of the engagement, but the ring appearing at the right moment was really just too grotesque.
But speaking of Oxford's mosques, I had a look around and it didn't seem too intrusive. I think "Lewis" ought to include it in the story in some way. But the story I came across that I couldn't find the resolution of seemed more problematic. Oxford residents were unhappy back in 2007 that a mosque was proposing to have the daily calls to prayer sent out over a loudspeaker. It really kind of put the dilemma on the table for me, because it did seem like to non-Muslims it would be very jarring but to Muslims a part of their practice. I suppose one view is that it is like church bells and you get used to it, but I was really curious to know how the whole matter was settled. Couldn't find that out.
I amend my proposal for more contemporary mysteries on BBC to include Inspector Morse and also Inspector Lynley with Sgt. Haver.
I was giving examples, not a complete proposal.
Branaugh was good in the recent three episodes about Wallender. He broods, he yells, he solves murders...what more can we ask?
In a recent episode he was banished from the police station, and actually sat at home in a room painted with black walls...really taking the depression to the nth degree.
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