Cool News
A Fun Promo For SHERLOCK, From Some Of The Folks Behind The Current DOCTOR WHO!!
Merrick here...
A promo for SHERLOCK is now making the rounds via BleedingCool and LiveForFilms.
This one's from current DOCTOR WHO overlord Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMAN, DOCTOW WHO). If I understand SHERLOCK's conceit correctly, this essentially resets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's SHERLOCK HOLMES
into our modern world.
While admittedly inconsistent, I've enjoyed the hell out of the most reason batch of DOCTOR WHO episodes (the first series/season under Moffat's stewardship) - a strange, diverse, touching, and rousing lot of episodes they were. On the whole, it was some of the finest episodic television I've seen in a while. Given Moffat and Gatiss' sensibilities, SHERLOCK could end up being quite a bit of fun.
The first of three 90 minute installments will air July 25 on BBC 1 and BBC HD.
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though I think the beeb is making a mistake in blowing three episodes out at once, it's probably a very short run series.
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Jul 19, 2010 11:15:30 AM CDT
It could be interesting. The devil will be in the details.
by royston lodge
As long as they don't go for too many cutesy jokes, I could see this working.
I hope John Watson is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. That would be geeky-cool. -
The new Dr Who is like a retard mutant. I wouldn't my fate to be in his hands
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Martin Freeman
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According to the website, John Watson is "an army doctor somewhat shattered by service in Afghanistan". Points to Moffat.
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...a complete bag of clown-fuckery.
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But that was mostly because of the force of nature that was James Nesbitt. This could work?
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Bring it on. Looks like fun. And yes, Jekyll was great TV.
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Will he have a "smart drug" habit? Sherlock popping hydergine, piracetam, sniffing vasopressin.. that would be fun. Or back to the old favorites?
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No telling on how this will turn out, but I think a large amount of the charm of the series is its setting in times before modern technology, the dark gothic world of Jack the Ripper...
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Jesus Christ man, learn to fucking spell.
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a disaster, there was a report on this a few weeks ago, where they revealed, the BBC had scrapped the whole thing and started again, because it was apparently dreadful, I await the result with interest.
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Given that it's set in the modern-day, and with all we know about drugs today, Holmes would surely have the sense to avoid them? Plus the BBC tends to look down upon these things. Drugs will be mentioned once, if at all.
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Which are legal, and in some countries at least, have come on a long way.
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... doesn't look half bad. I'll give it a shot.
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It's called 'House'.
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Didn't you see the first episode where he chased of the Atraxi with the line "I'm the Doctor. To put it simply: Run!"
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That's why I mentioned the nootropics/smart drugs. Legal, most of them genuinely safe. Some of them working better than others. Vasopressin is the most impressive of the bunch, with immediate effects including very vivid past memory recall within seconds and some other more .. interesting side effects that I won't go into here. But let's just say it doesn't make you feel euphoric, sad, down, up, or "high" but BOY OH BOY does it do something.
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"smart enough" to avoid all drugs. That's assuming using any and all drugs is "dumb".. which is.. well.. DUMB. (drugs are bad, mm-kay)Holmes was not a drug abuser. He used them to enhance himself. But here's where those with more familiarity with the character could help me out a bit. Did he ever deal with the trials of withdrawal or negative effects from over-use?
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Still, great lead actor and Gatiss' novels are a fun read so I'm fairly excited for this.
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RTD would actually take "No shit, Sherlock; Dig Deeper, Watson" to its full conclusion.
Yeah, I went there... -
they all look like they are shot on late 90's era VHS tape and there no atmosphere to the sound, man it must suck to live there
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Do it!
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"He used them to 'enhance' himself?" Unless the drug you're talking about is NICOTINE then you'd best re-read the canon. Holmes most certainly did NOT use cocaine and morphine to "enhance" himself. He used them as a crutch when he lacked other (mental) stimulation, i.e. a case. Watson quite clearly bemoans their use and the canon isn't even a LITTLE murky on this. Whatever YOU may personally thinking about smoking opium or shooting up cocaine, in the tales, it's most assuredly a vice, not a fucking enhancement, moron.
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holmes was an abuser who always said he did it out of boredom/lack of stimulation.
I have trouble envisioning holmes in the modern era (and mr green, time to buy a book if you think house is the same as holmes), but i love moffat, and martin freeman should make a good young watson. -
In that promo Freeman seems to be playing the role with too much "camp". I like Watson to be more serious. I don't want him to be comic relief.
On the other hand, if they're playing up the Afghanistan angle then maybe he will be sufficiently moody and serious.
I'm just hoping that he doesn't just recycle his Arthur Dent performance for John Watson. -
Remember that story where Holmes and Watson are in the country because Holmes is rehabbing and then they solve that case of the whole family dead around the dinner table? The drugs should play a role. I wanna see this work because I always want Holmes to work.
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Does this series use the mysteries from Conan Doyle's actual stories and update them to the modern day, or does it create completely new mysteries?
I think it would be really neat if they wrote stories like, "how would modern police handle the cases that Conan Doyle wrote about?"
Of course, the problem with that strategy would be that too many people already know how Conan Doyle's mysteries turn out. No fun watching a mystery if you already know who the killer is. -
you guys don't even bother reading your stuff before you post it, do you?
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'nuff said.
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Jul 19, 2010 1:42:05 PM CDT
RedBull_Werewolf: Maybe it's the PAL-to-NTSC conversion?
by royston lodge
British shows are broadcast in PAL, and converted to NTSC for North America. Maybe that's a part of the explanation for the distinctive "look" of British television?
I dunno, really. It's just a guess.
I once knew an indie filmmaker who got himself a PAL camcorder specifically so he could get that European "look" when he converted the footage to NTSC. -
Maybe they'll do the "smart drugs", but if they want to show Sherlock distracting himself while he's bored it's just as likely that they'd show him playing World of Warcraft as taking drugs.
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It's probably the conversion. In fact, the BBC are known for the glossy in-house style that is applied to the vast majority of programmes in post-production. Doctor Who, Spooks, and Sherlock are all screened in HD. So if there is a quality issue, it's not the BBC.
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When his brain isn't occupied by a case he could resort to too-large doses of Ritalin and/or Adderall to keep his hyperactive brain occupied.
Giving the character a bit of Asberger's could also be neat. -
Maybe it's because you watched the clip on YouTube? We have 3D Hi-Def over here, hi-def is becoming standard, so not sure of the problem. Plus Pal is a higher scan rate than NTSC, so the quality of our picture should be better, not worse.
As it is, once we're all in digital it won't make any difference, the only change will be stylistic. -
I think his problem is that the BBC shoots on video as oppose to film. It results in a pretty distinct "look" (clean, bright, sterile even)that all it's shows have. I have to say that even though I'm British I don't like it. US TV just "looks" better becasue it's shot on film, more profesional, higher quality. It's all a perception of course, but that's my tuppence worth.
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Jul 19, 2010 2:50:20 PM CDT
I think "quality" in this case is "what you're used to".
by royston lodge
On one side of the Atlantic we're used to stuff being shot and lit a certain way with one set of equipment. On the other side of the Atlantic they have slightly different practices and slightly different equipment. Neither side is really "better" than the other, but when you're used to seeing images captures one way it seems a little "off" when you see images captured in a different way.
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Jul 19, 2010 3:05:19 PM CDT
I'm dying to see who they get for Professor Moriarty...
by royston lodge
...if, indeed, they include the character.
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This makes Downey's abomination look like the Mona Lisa. "The address is 221...B...Baker street'...my ass.
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...and I like it more with each viewing. He's totally channelling Jeremy Brett. I think it's a nice cleansing of the palate after the Downey Jr. abomination.
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Didn't seem like Sherlock to me at all. Not trashing Moffat, I like the new Dr Who season.
And while I enjoy a mystery series, the last thing the world needs right now is another one, there are so many right now. Castle is the only one I watch. -
If that's the direction they want to go.
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1) House's very name is a reference to Holmes (house = home).
2) Dr. House's apartment is 221-B.
Those are the two most obvious allusions. There are others which are more tangential, such as House's use of a cane and Holmes' use of a walking stick. -
perhaps a brilliant "woman in red."
But save her/him for the next series.
Anyone remember this one with Holmes coming out of a deep freeze and a female "Watson." They made two tv movies:
The Return of Sherlock Holmes was a 1987 CBS television movie involving the famous detective Sherlock Holmes finding himself in the modern world. -
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were both handy with a pistol.
I'd love it if the modern Holmes complains that he is prohibited from owning a handgun! -
so many of the same names. On the drug front, I think they will mention the drugs and the stairs in Holmes house will lead up to an non-existent floor.
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...in the stories Holmes supposedly began his detective career immediately after graduating from university (probably Cambridge). He took in Doctor Watson as a roommate because his detective business wasn't bringing in enough revenue to cover his living expenses.
As such, I don't have much of a problem with a younger-looking Holmes.
In fact, it could be argued that the actors who played him in the past might even have been too old! -
It's got nothing to do with the characters or the stories beyond that, it's not a "reset" of Sherlock Holmes, as someone mentioned earlier, it's not even a homage, it's just aspects of the character pulled out of context. House is an excellent show but it's not an American version of Doyles' world.
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According to Wikipedia, if Holmes was born in 1852, and A Study In Scarlet takes place in 1881, that makes Holmes 29 years old when he begins his partnership with Doctor Watson.
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1. Make character in teens or 20s to target female and teen demographic.
2. Hire crap writers.
3. Further drag the good name of said character to the dirt.
Looks like this will be a winner!!! That said, Return of Sherlock Holmes from 1987ish with Michael Pennington is class. Holmes was cryogenically frozen by Watson and comes back to the modern world where he initially makes quite a few mistakes, granted he is not totally familiar with modern developments. 30 or so minutes in, he's rocking and rolling. I want to see something like THAT again, not this rubbish. Yet again, BBC offers me nothing to watch and they cancelled the only decent programme (HOLBY BLUE). Fuck you, BBC! -
Jul 19, 2010 4:13:09 PM CDT
Benedict Cumberbatch was up for the part of the 11th Doctor Who.
by royston lodge
Now that I think about it, he does come across like a young Tom Baker, doesn't he?
I think I would have preferred him to Matt Smith. -
I guess what I mean is he should look like a serious 29 year old and not a 2010 art student who would look very at home in a Starbucks on his macbook as in that clip. And really above all else they needed someone with a commanding voice.
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Jul 19, 2010 4:27:34 PM CDT
aversiontherapy2: Not a "reset", true. But he IS an homage.
by royston lodge
In addition to his name, and his apartment number, and the cane, there's also the drug addiction and the best friend/room-mate Wilson/Watson.
The show isn't a reboot of Conan Doyle's world, true. But the CHARACTER of House is certainly an homage to the great consulting detective. -
You want a 29 year old Jeremy Brett. Which, fair enough, is an easy thing to want. I think a lot of people are expecting the Sherlock Holmes of Doyle's novels to be directly transplanted into modern-day situations. Moffat and Gatiss are going a little deeper than that.
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If memory serves, his career as an investigator started before he left college. There's the story of him visiting his friend for holiday and his father receives and strange visitor then falls ill. I won't go into much more but this was while he was an underclassman.
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..and he went pro after he graduated.
I didn't mention his student-days sleuthing because this new BBC show clearly has him as a young-ish professional. -
Jul 19, 2010 5:03:37 PM CDT
davidwebb & ThrowMeTheIdol: I think he DOES seem like...
by royston lodge
...a 29-year old Jeremy Brett.
Of course, we're judging this from only a few quick glimpses from a very short teaser-promo. Like I wrote before, the devil will be in the details.
That being said, when I watched the promo for the first time my gut reaction was similar to ThrowMeTheIdol's. It seemed too "hip & young".
But when I watched the promo a few more times I really started to notice that Cumberbatch is trying to portray maturity beyond what his youthful looks would suggest.
He's not like Downey Jr's middle-aged buffoon. To me, the glimpses in the promo really do evoke the spirit of Jeremy Brett, ESPECIALLY when he says "Mrs Hudson!"
In a way, this promo reminds me of the trailers from Tron Legacy, because I've watched it over-and-over since this morning.
Also, from what I've read about the show online since this morning, it looks like they are taking Conan Doyle's original stories and transplanting them to the modern setting. The pilot episode is called "A Study in Pink", for example, and there's an interview with Grand Moffat on YouTube where he implies that they're using the actual Conan Doyle mysteries as the starting-point. That gets me pretty excited. I'm not a fan of attempts to create "new" Sherlock Holmes mysteries. They never hold up compared to what Conan Doyle came up with. But I get excited by the idea of exploring how those classic mysteries might be investigated if the crimes had been committed in 2010 instead of the 1880s.
I don't think Holmes will be the weak link, but I'm a little nervous about Freeman as Watson though. The bits we see in the promo are a wee bit too comic for my liking. But again, I'm judging that based on very little information.
BTW: Has anybody ever seen the Canadian mystery show The Murdock Mysteries? It's sort of like a mirror image of this Sherlock show. The Murdock Mysteries is about a police detective in Toronto in the 1890s. It's very much like a Victorian-era C.S.I., and they try to explore how many of these forensic techniques were just being invented at the time. There's one episode, for example, where he tries out this "new" technique invented by a man in France where you examine the striations on a bullet to match it to the weapon it was fired from. It's a show I'm kind of addicted to at the moment. -
But I'll give it a shot anyway. If they make Holmes a jerk and Watson a boob I'll pass.
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Can't someone just do Holmes right? (And, no, Watson, that wasn't an invitation!)Seriously, what the fuck is so hard about it? Oh, we've got to make it a rousing Michael Bay adventure with Downey, Jr. to reach the masses! Oh, we've got to make it modern with a fucking androgynous metrosexual asshole to reach the masses! Fuck the masses! Do it fucking right! Holmes is NOT an androgynous, metrosexual asshole and Watson is neither his butt-buddy nor anyone's fool. The mysteries (though they may sometimes strain credulity) are not godforsaken illogical messes like Guy Ritchie's blasphemous abomination!
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Jul 19, 2010 7:11:33 PM CDT
I will personally travel to wherever in the world you are, Royls
by the bicycle sharer
And suck your dick -- on camera, broadcast over the internet -- if the BBC has Sherlock complaining about not owning a gun. I will lick your balls AND tongue your asshole the day that happens.
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Benedict?
Cumberbatch?
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH?!?!
His parents should be fucking well shot! -
The Ioan Gruffudd Hornblower mini-series was damn good. Why can't we get a Holmes that good?
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FUCKING AWFUL!
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I think the planet might explode! I loved the original series up until Colin Baker's Doctor took over in 1985 (I don't blame him, more like the producer at the time) and truly, madly, deeply *hated* the new series - that is until this current season. Matt Smith is a proper Doctor and that Valeyard episode was fantastic. Also love the new TARDIS look inside and out and the nods to the old series. For me, the reboot started this year, not 2005. Thank you Mr. Moffat for bringing Doctor Who back.
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Ha ha! It was Merrick. Sorry, I thought this was Herc only territory. I guess the planet is safe after all.
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The Bicycle Sharer If you think I'm a moron for not reading the full Doyle works featuring Holmes, you're working with a far more defective set of cells than I am, friend. Did you NOT see me write in the very next post asking for clarification from people more familiar with the material? Presumptive ass. I'll win the name-calling smack-down every time. Good DAY, sir.
I little reading on my part cleared that up. Not feeling as "moronic" as a few minutes ago, somehow. I get a sneaking suspicion the accusation never fit, but I won't be really sure until The Bicycle Sharer gives me his much celebrated and coveted non-moron seal of approval.
I seriously thought we got along, now you're calling me a moron? Sounds like it's a personal issue. Did somebody you WUV take da dwugs and blame them for fucking your best friend or something? Did your grandpa take LSD, stare at the sun, go blind and then jump off a building because he thought he could fly? Hope not. The other one.. well.. that's how the cookie crumbles. But enough of that.
NICOTINE PATCHES? Awesome. They have some really interesting effects on dreaming. But as a stimulant, he'd be better off with a strong coffee habit. The more I read about Holmes, (clearing up some of my MORONIC misconceptions) even just in the last 20 minutes or so, the more I realize I've missed out on a great character and I'd like to catch up a bit before watching this. Signed,Your moron,goatlick -
I suppose stranger things have happened. And Rupert Graves and thingy, Martin whatsis, unfortunate hobbit man from the bad Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This is an interesting conceit, the next obvious step from the RDJ film. I hate what Moffat has done with Doctor Who (and I really hate his choice of companions) but this might be worth watching.
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This could be great, but all it means is less focus on Who. I always thought that part of RTD's weakness was that he was all over the place, trying to run too many shows when he should have focused on making sure every episode of Who was quality. Moffat did a good job on his own episodes, but he needs to find more and better writers for next series and beyond.
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Jeremy Brett did the hands-down best Sherlock Holmes. It was the most faithful adaptation of the stories. Watson was not an idiot. There was no metrosexual or butt-buddy nonsense. And he took the cocaine and opium and shot his gun into the walls, etc...Bretts portrayal was of a man who had extreme mood swings such as Conan Doyle's creation often did. That he was able to realistically portray these personality shifts is undoubtedly due, in part, to Brett's own bipolar disorder. He also portrayed Holmes as a man who could be arrogant, intolerant, and impatient, while, at the same time, being a man of self-doubts and loneliness who could have feelings toward others.Brett, a Holmes fan, insisted that the adaptations of the stories should follow, as near as possible, the originals in both plot and characters. With one or two exceptions, his demands were met. If you're a Holmes fan and you haven't seen his interpretation, check it out.
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This looks cool. You should all stop overthinking these things.
Yaaay Tim from the BBC Office!
Also- what's wrong w/ the RDJ film? I thought that movie was cool. -
input this URL:
( http://www.shoes2.us/ )
you can find many cheap and fashion stuff -
Or at least lust after her?
I'm shattered by the thought of it. -
And Gatiss will be running this one, for the most part. Besides, it's only three episodes.
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Jul 20, 2010 9:43:18 AM CDT
At the very least, it has inspired me to read A Study In Scarlet
by royston lodge
I've only ever read the short stories. It's about time I sunk my teeth into the novels.
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I recommend finding a summary somewhere of the expositional part in the middle.
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A Study In Emerald
http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf -
Gaiman + Lovecaft + Holmes
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Third time lucky, maybe.
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Not really a surprise. A, there's Doctor Who in the title and B, as you'll see in the TB most of us love other BBC offerings as well.
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I'm an American who recently started getting into BBC shows, but I've watched everything either on Netflix, DVD, or BBC America (*ahem* yep, that's 100% true *shakes head*). I honestly hadn't noticed any difference in quality. I've been enjoying the programming so much, though, that I'll admit I'm a little jealous. Doctor Who is far and away my fave TV show right now, and I loved Robin Hood and am really enjoying Primeval for its campiness and fun characters. Even Sarah Jane Adventures isn't all that bad, especially for a children's show, and Torchwood was worth a watch, too. I'm really looking forward to catching up on Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, and Being Human. Lotsa good stuff!
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Raymond Chandler once said that Sherlock Holmes was basically about attitude and terrific dialogue. I don't know if I 100% agree with that reduction, but I would also say that the best thing about a Sherlock Holmes story is the *atmosphere.* And that means fogbound Victorian-era London at the height of its imperial glory. And horse-drawn hansome cabs clattering up cobblestone streets. And top hats and walking sticks and Inverness coats. And the Diogenes Club. And clouds upon clouds of tobacco smoke -- Holmes' pipes and cigarettes; Watson's cigars.
Separating the literary characters Holmes & Watson from the literary universe Conan Doyle put them in takes away most of the reasons we love a Sherlock Holmes story. Whether the BBC's "Sherlock" TV series is well done, or not, is going to be beside the point -- because there is no point in taking this anachronistic character into contemporary times. We already have the "House M.D." TV show, and George C. Scott in "They Might Be Giants," for a picture of The Great Detective in our world. -
NYET! Wrong!
Seek out Jekyll immediately. -
It was bloody brilliant..the music for it MUST have been inspired by the recent film because i swear to god it sounded like it,the whole idea was excellently done and the casting was very good
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I just downloaded the premiere episode last night via iTunes. I loved it. I'm very impressed by how closely the show captures the spirit of Conan Doyle's stories.
My only complaint is the way the relationship between Sherlock and Mycroft has been changed. In the stories they are much friendlier to each other and there's no real hint of sibling rivalry, and Mycroft is really a much more minor character. It's just a minor complaint, but I think the show makes Mycroft a little too high-profile.
I'm also a litle put off by how much importance they seem to be attaching to Moriarty. In the books he doesn't actually make that many appearances.
Oh well...
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