Tag: Watson

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

adapted by Alexander Baron; dir. Peter Duguid (BBC, 1982)

DVD cover: “The Hound of the Baskervilles” adapted by Alexander Baron; dir. Peter Duguid (BBC, 1982)

A watchable if unadventurous four-part adaptation. Tom Baker’s search for Holmes’s mastery has him deliver lines with commanding eloquence but often a fraction of a second early. Terence Rigby makes for an unsteady Watson, balancing things out with delays of corresponding magnitude.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

dir. Guy Ritchie (2009)

Ritchie_Sherlock Holmes

Ritchie’s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes works on several levels—as a dark and detailed period piece, as character comedy, and as a buddy film. Jude Law (Watson) and Robert Downey Jr (Holmes) have an edgy dynamic. Rachel McAdams scintillates as Irene Adler.

 

 

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (George Newnes, 1893); audiobook ready by Stephen Fry (ABC, 2017)

Doyle_Memoirs Sherlock Holmes

Despite coming across as increasingly distant from modern times, these tales of Sherlock Holmes retain their appeal. Simply put, Holmes and Watson are great characters, and the mysteries themselves have a charm that rests enduringly in Conan Doyle’s (and Stephen Fry’s) telling.

 

 

Sherlock, Series 2

Sherlock, Series 2

(BBC, 2012)

Sherlock, Series 2

Sherlock’s second series modernises three of Conan Doyle’s most famous stories, adapting them with stylishness, affection and considerable licence. Any infelicities are quickly forgiven, however, as the plot (though clever) is made secondary to the relentlessly paced badinage between Holmes and Watson.

 

Jonathan Creek, Series 1

Jonathan Creek, Series 1

by David Renwick (BBC, 1997)

Renwick_Jonathan Creek 1

Jonathan Creek is a detective with Holmes-like deductive abilities, cajoled and manipulated into sleuthing by a self-serving journalist less sympathetic than any Watson figure. The protagonist is quietly compelling and the mysteries beguiling, albeit at times through an improbable marrying of circumstances.

 

Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes

Murder Rooms (The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes)

by David Pirie (BBC, 2000-2001)

Pirie_Murder Rooms

This cleverly written historical drama depicts a young Arthur Conan Doyle playing Watson to nascent Holmes figure Dr Joseph Bell (Doyle’s real-life tutor at Edinburgh University). Replete with Holmes-esque observational deductions, the feature-length mysteries are intriguing… but moreish at only six episodes.

The House of Silk

The House of Silk

by Anthony Horowitz (Orion, 2011)

Horowitz_House of Silk

An aging Watson harks back to the most shocking of all his adventures with Sherlock Holmes, Horowitz delivering a pastiche that artfully evokes Conan Doyle’s great detective. Holmes is lofty, alacritous and yet vulnerable, the mystery absorbing, the narrative suitably Watson-esque. Top-hole.