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| Clearly neither Lucy Liu or Johnny Lee Miller is a huge fan of the Dewey Decimal System |
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Do we need eight or nine versions of Sherlock Holmes? Well, I watched Elementary and was not convinced at all by this iteration, especially by the need to make Holmes sympathetic and vulnerable. I was no slavish fan of the BBC's Sherlock but after seeing Elementary I appreciate how well that show was cast and directed. The BBC made it look easy didn't they? For me the biggest attraction of the Sherlock Holmes character is that he is competent at what he does. So few people in this life are actually good at their jobs that its a pleasure to watch someone who does theirs so well. I think this explains the success of so many reality shows too. Of course I also like Holmes's cleverness, passion (in the newer versions) and eccentricity (one of the reasons I like Columbo too) but I never really dug Holmes's other tics: his aloofness, his snobbery and his arch seriousness. (It was a good move on the part of the creators of House to give Dr House a cutting, bitter sense of humour.) Elementary is Sherlock Holmes transplanted to modern day, yawn, Manhattan. This is a hobby horse of mine but honestly, in a good year there are only about 50 or 60 murders in Manhattan, fewer than a dozen of those of are white victims but on TV they bloody always are, aren't they? In fact there are far more people killed every year on Law and Order CSI NY etc. in Manhattan than in real life...Ok, back to Elementary. No in fact enough with Elementary, you've seen the previews so you get it. Needless to say Elementary doesn't work at all. The chemistry is awful, the cast is dull and there's no zip to anything. Its not really the shows fault, if it had come along say 10 years ago it might have seemed new and interesting but there are too many versions of Holmes on TV now already and most of them are better. Don't weep for Johnny Lee Miller: he's rich, handsome and the lucky lad was married to Angelina Jolie before she went crazy.
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And enough is as good as a feast isn't it? Please network heads enough with the Holmes clones already. Last night I started watching the incredibly cheesy Crucifer of Blood starring Charlton Heston (!) as Sherlock Holmes; I turned it off and as an antidote to all the Holmesiana I watched an old episode of The Rockford Files on Channel 97: it was a real joy to watch a detective who made mistakes, ate at the Jack In The Box, lived in a trailer, who was clever but not superhuman smart, who limped on bad knees, and who had no hope at all of getting the girl (Blair Brown in this case).
53 comments:
I think we're on the same page (or at least a similar one) because I said something similar to Sandra the other night.
For the last few years TV has been inundated with unstated Holmes re-makes and shows that owe a huge debt (CSI[the Grissom years], Monk, House, The Mentalist, etc.) so how can this show possibly survive in that atmosphere.
Also, I always liked Megan Abbot's classification of Columbo as a trickster.
The continuing popularity of Holmes seems to point out that people just can't get enough of omniscient beings. Holmes and his clones are halfway to being mortal gods. There's also, as you say, the appeal of someone who's really, really good at his job. I've had to deal with a lot of subject matter experts over the years when writing corporate training films and they can make items as mundane as electric razors seem exciting. Speaking of Holmes clones, ever see The List of Adrian Messenger with George C. Scott and Kirk Douglas? Scott is Holmes in everything but name and the film is damn entertaining.
Brian
Oh yeah I forgot about Monk. Monk is a Holmes too isnt he with more quirks. Smart though that they played that show mostly for laughs. It was a good angle. Still I'll never quite forgive them for getting rid of Bitty Schram.
Cary
I have a vague memory of a fox hunting scene. Was there a lot of fox hunting in it?
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Ok I dont want to appear smarter than I am I just went to Wikipedia and I saw that it was directed by John Hustson, probably at his house in Ireland at the time, so yes that was probably his local hunt.
Yup, the climax of the film took place at a fox hunt. If you ever see it, watch out for some heavily disguised cameos by some Hollywood legends. I have a feeling a lot of drinking went on during the making of it.
Cary
Yeah I saw it many many years ago. I'll bet Angelica Huston is uncredited as one of the riders.
Yes, I think there's some appeal in someone who is good at their job and I think there's also some appeal in the certainty that all these House and Holmes characters possess.
Certainly TV development people love police procedurals because they can understand very quickly how the show will look in 5-10-25 episodes. They still feel that audiences need to be able to join partway through a season and not feel they've missed anything, even though it's now easy to go back to the beginning. Who knows, maybe when it comes to network audiences they're right.
I tried to watch three new series this year; Elementary, Revolution and Last Resort. I can't imagine any of them having a season two.
I don't think I've enjoyed a new crime series since Terriers went dark.
I loved Rockford though, and really enjoyed Garner's recent, rather curmudgeonly autobiography. He, like Bogart, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and some others were all Hollywood liberals before it was fashionable - supporting civil rights and progressive causes in the 50s and 60s.
And I would love to get a track of all of the messages on Rockford's answering machine. "Mr. Rockford, it bounced. Do you want me to throw it away or put it in a pile with the others?"
John
Its also interesting comparing a 70s show like Rockford to Elementary. Holmes wears designer clothes and lives in a massive Brownstone in Manhattan, Rockford lived in a -trailer. Wealth = competence and power is I suppose the subliminal message.
Matt
I dont remember what the message was on the Blair Brown episode but it was pretty funny. I read somewhere that the writers hated having to come up with new one liners for every show.
Maybe I'm just an old fart--okay, I AM an old fart and this probably just serves to prove it--but I always thought one Sherlock Holmes as plenty. He led me to love crime fiction, and, when I want a Holmes story, Doyle's are still the ones I read.
Maybe some of these guys who keep knocking him off could try being creative--as in, come up with a new character; it's fine if he or she shows some Holmsian traits--instead of settling for clever.
I hadn't actually thought of all these other shows as variations on a theme. But of course, you're right--without Holmes, there would be none of them. Rockford and Columbo were great in their day. I even watched both of them in their revivals and enjoyed them. Not so crazy about House, despite Hugh Laurie. But I've never really liked medical shows.
Speaking of shows that get off the detective trope, but still have that 'expert' appeal, my guilty pleasure is Burn Notice, which is about a spy who gets stranded in his hometown of Miami. The stories, which involve some massive conspiracy that never gets completely unraveled (because then they'd have to end the show)have a lot going for them, despite their improbability. I kind of wondered why there was this layer of authenticity to it until I learned that there was some real spy who got interested in the show and gives them notes. Spies, when they're not actually spying, spend a lot of time in their hotel rooms watching television apparently.
Two of the things I liked about Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes were that he was dissipated – a coke fiend who could barely take care of himself – and that he was a bare-knuckles fighter. When he got in the ring to the soundtrack accompaniment of Luke Kelly singing “Rocky Road to Dublin,” I cheered inwardly.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
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Dana
I think the execs are afraid of being creative. Its a high risk strategy. Most shows are going to fail anyway so its better for their job security to fail with a proven concept that no one thinks is an outlandish or crazy idea. Thats why most TV is so crap.
Seana
I do like House except for all the episodes about dying or sick children. That seems pretty cheap to me.
I havent seen Burn Notice but I agree that comedy is a better way to explore this trope.
Peter
I think the Guy Ritchie Holmes has my favourite Watson too. I really enjoy Jude Law in that role.
Peter
I thought The Thick Of It was much improved last night. Lots of evil Malcolm. Its what we want.
I forgot to watch tToI last night. I shall rectify that oversight forthwith
But it's Ben Swain who says: "That's not code for Northern Ireland? Because I'm not fucking going there."
Very evil Malcolm, very good.
As for Holmes - AC Doyle wins every time! Robert Downey plays a dissipated character, but he wasn't sharp enough, Cumberpatch has some good qualities.But none of them match the Holmes in my head, who has been there for 45 years... (or more)
"Wealth = competence and power is I suppose the subliminal message."
Yeah, that's it all right. And Holmes is very appealing in that way, as well as a "born that way" approach. All the 'genius' detectives we see today are special and different and not just people working hard at their jobs. I think it's because the execs and successful TV writers know that they're just lucky to be where they are and that they don't work any harder than anyone else. Many of them do start to believe they are special in some way and they really like 'special' characters.
Deb, someone said that that the first Downey-Jude Law movie was fine but it wasn't Holmes. Fair enough. But Holmes' dissipation has its roots in the character Doyle created, which is why it was interesting and more than a mere gimmick, unlike some of the movie's steam-punk and proto-Nazi gimcrackery.
It would still be Jeremy Brett for me, but as a duo, Cumberbatch and Freeman win. I saw the Downey movie on TV recently and wasn't much impressed.
Adrian, you probably shouldn't watch Burn Notice because I can think of a thing or two right off the top of my head that would annoy the hell out of you. But for anyone less sticklery, there's a lot on offer--explosions, car chases, martial arts, MacGyvering, a romance angle, girls in bathing suits on Miami beaches, cameos by TV stars you'd forgotten about, and for me, Sharon Gless, as "The Spy's Mother". I love it that she's still able to get a great role. I like all the principle actors a lot, actually.
I liked Burn Notice from the first episode when you saw them establishing Weston as the anti-Bourne by getting filled in on the floor by three guys kicking him around. But it just stayed on a little too long for me.
Another thing about Rockford was the great chemistry between the leads, Rockford, his Dad, Lt. Becker and Angel. It was real and unforced. Hard to find that today.
I'm glad you liked it for awhile Matt. I had the somewhat different experience of just catching on to the first episode by chance last summer and developing a growing fascination with it. They have upped the ante a bit this season, which is probably what they needed to do.
Oh yeah, Rockford's dad. How great was he? And in fact, Sharon Gless was a frequent visitor to that show too.
Peter
Lots of good lines last night. I liked Malcolm's "These new phones are great arent they? I have an app that lets me throw grenades into peoples dreams..."
Deb
Evil Malc was great and it was nice to see the old band of Glenn and Ollie back together.
Matt
I love the Angel character. A coward, a liar, a putz, stupid, a bad friend. They really dont write characters like that anymore.
Seana
Ok ok I'll give it a shot.
Yeah I love Rockford's dad too and their relationship.
John
I think its very unlikely that a new show these days would have such a blue collar setting and sensibility as the Rockford Files. Maybe in a comedy but not in a drama.
I tried watching two broke girls which I suppose is meant to be a blue collar comedy but it just didnt make me laugh at all. Kat Dennings is made for better things though...
Good scene with Ollie and Glen in the hospital room. Glen is a ncie supporting character.
Adrian, that was an excellent line. I also like the changes Ben and Ollie rang on that routine of stupid wordplay with each other's names.
Sunday was at least the second time in Ollie had called Ben "Bentally ill," a nice way to suggest the characters were growing tired of the game. And "Oliver Cyst"? Wonderful!
No--I said DON'T watch it. The occasional Irish reference would drive you mad.
How could I forget Angel? Great character.
I haven't watched Broke Girls, but the line they keep quoting on the ads is pretty good. Sorry, Twitter users.
The capture code right now has a number seen from across the street. It's like something from a spy movie. When are they going to move on to something that actually works?
Seana
All right I'll experiment with no codes for a week and see if they've got a handle on the spam...
Peter
Yeah I loved that Ben/Ollie routine. Ollie is quite witty in real life. If you ever catch the show Mock The Week he's frequently on and is pretty funny.
Ollie is a good character, too -- vunerable, insecure, and a nasty little shit at the same time.
Just heard the ad again:
"Twitter is stupid, and Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read."
Seana,
Burn Notice has everyone eating yogurt and drinking beers or margaritas. I liked it for a while but it started feeling too formulaic ... in that I was pulled out of the story because I noticed the structure of the story.
"I think its very unlikely that a new show these days would have such a blue collar setting and sensibility as the Rockford Files. Maybe in a comedy but not in a drama."
I think this is true. For a while there in shows like NYPD Blue the cops were the last unionized, non-college grad heroes on TV but that's all gone now. Even the cops have to be brilliant, Harvard-educated FBI profilers. Of course, as you point out, that's because on TV murder victims are upper middle-class white people in Manhatten.
It's funny because there's been a lot of talk in the US media about the "white working class," but Hollywood (like literary fiction) just isn't interested in these characters anymore.
Watching "Two Broke Girls" is a sad experience. But it does show the current US ideal that entrepreneurship is the only answer.
By the way, 'Angel' directed one of the epsiodes of "The Bridge" that I wrote and it was a lot of fun to work with him. He's a very good director and a very good guy.
John, that's very cool.
Maybe the Occupy movement will create a show... Although it will likely be too earnest.
Sheiler, it is formulaic, but you have to watch it for the longer arc. Also the cool spy tradecraft voiceovers.
Well, Seana, TV producers are buying more books these days and the trends still start in books, so has there been much literature from the Occupy movement?
It's hard to imagine a network picking up a show about a private eye who works for people who don't have much money but if there were some good books with a character like that maybe a cable net would be interested.
"Maybe the Occupy movement will create a show..."
"It's hard to imagine a network picking up a show about a private eye who works for people who don't have much money"
Group of young protesters hires scruffy PI "They just found on 411.com." They can't afford much, offer to pay for his services with a chicken or some eggs til they remember they live in a big city. Instead, they offer three hours of service on the PI's computer because he could never understand those damn things, and he preferred to work the old-fashioned way.
Susprising bonds of affection develop as our unlikely heroes take on the capitalist system.
I could see one about a spy in the Occupy movement, but then I see spies everywhere these days...
Peter, write the treatment and send it somewhere...
I have a tentative title for the first episode!
What's the title, Peter?
I was involved in the pitch for a webseries that was going to use footage from the G20 summit in Toronto in a murder mystery. I may still write it as a novel but I'd have to set it in another city, no one is interested in books set in Toronto. Took me four books to figure that out...
I was thinking "(Dip, Dip, Dip) Get a Job."
Toronto has a nerdy name, but it's a hell of city; people are dopes. Would you set the novel in some other real city, or maybe a thinly disguised fictional one?
Re: novels set in Toronto
The industry efficiency experts are touting generic settings for mystery and detective novels. They say that novels set in real places hurt their sales in Bangkok and other far-flung places with economic impact.
Re: Sherlock Holmes
I've said before that the Sherlock Holmes stories strike me as "juvenile," but that was the wrong word. What I meant was that they strike me as simple puzzles. I prefer more complicated mysteries.
The archetypes will always be with us. Any of Don Quixote's rhetorical oration to Pancho Sanza was just another instance of Sherlock Holmes talking to Watson.
Some of the Holmes clones are more interesting than others, variations on a theme. Pulitzer winner and critic Michael Dirda has a new work devoted to Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, nominated for an award at Bouchercon, and I intend to read it.
The detective archetype is now invested in so many aspects of literature that it is second nature. You should read Jim Holt's WHY DOES THE WORLD EXIST?: AN EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE STORY.
Holt appeared on the Colbert Report the other night, but the interview did nothing to reveal how superb his book is, the best of itskind, probably my non-fiction book of the year.
Literary crit-lit is detective work too. A bevy of Cormac McCarthy scholars is about to release YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT WATCHES, an anthology of SUTTREE crit-lit that, among other things, reveals astonishing research into the historical characters that pass through the novel.
It is the stuff that darkly funny crime novels are made of.
Those books sound really interesting, but I would argue that the Don Quixote archetype is somewhat different than the Sherlock Holmes archetype, despite the pairing of opposites.
Rich, Seana
True story: I ordered that Jim Holt book from amazon 3 weeks ago and it still hasnt shown up. Did it ever exist at all?
I dont know but it has been pretty tough for me to get the money back on my gift voucher.
I shall try to get it in an actual shop.
It looks like it's in stock now, so maybe you should hold off. It's encouraging about the book that Amazon suggest you buy it with Hitchens Mortality and Rushdie's Joseph Anton, both of which I've heard are excellent. I mean, heard from people I know, as opposed to reviewers.
John
Thats very cool about Angel. I loved that character. Starsky and Hutch was on TV last night in the Rockford slot but it was that episode where Hutch is bounced all over LA by kidnappers. Its the only one that I remember and I must have seen it or bits of it a dozen times.
John
I suppose a modern equivalent of the Angel character was Gaius Baltar on the reboot of Battlestar Galactica.
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