Sherlock

I like Sherlock Holmes.  I don’t love it, but I do find it rather enjoyable.  And truth be told, I find many of the adaptations to be more fun than the written stories themselves.  Now, granted, I haven’t even come close to reading all of them, but I have read the first two novels and one or two of the collections, and frankly, some of the early short stories are really bland and it is so rare that Sherlock and Watson really put themselves at risk solving the crimes.  A lot of the mysteries solved are from a distance.

But, as I said, the adaptations are generally more enjoyable.  There are, of course, the movies with Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr.  The stories are almost too explosive to be a real Sherlock story, and if it wasn’t for Downey’s charisma, Sherlock would have felt as over-the-top as some of Jim Carrey’s bits.  But, overall, a lot of fun and very compelling.

House was probably a more true adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.  Always a great medical mystery and the bromance between House and Wilson is the most believable friendship of all the Sherlock stuff I’ve seen.  However, while Holmes is rude, it’s more because he is oblivious to the feelings of others.  House is not oblivious, merely spiteful, and while I cracked up many and many-a at his witticisms, it could be exhausting watching too much of him at a time.  That, and most of the relationship dramas were pathetic when they weren’t nauseating.

I’m happy to say, though, that there is a great new TV series that BBC (the hub of quality entertainment) has brought us Sherlock, a modern day consulting detective.  I’ve only seen two episodes thus far, but considering that each one is an hour-and-a-half long, frankly, and the four other episodes are the same.  These could be seen in a movie theater and I would be happy to pay the ticket prices for them.  Of all the adaptations there are, these may be the truest to the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle’s sleuth that I expect to come across.