Entry tags:
Entry tags:
Vid Rec: Dr. Watson & Sherlock Holmes
Newly addicted to BBC's Sherlock (produced by Mark Gatiss & Steven Mofffat, yes, those guys now creating Doctor Who, bless 'em), I found this WONDERFUL vid. Enjoy! (Didn't make it, just forwarding the goodness).
http://selinabln.livejournal.com/23297.html
Features: the BBC's Sherlock, Granada's Sherlock Holmes (Adv, Return, Memoirs, Casebook, films) starring Jermey Brett, David Burke & Edward Hardwicke, and movie with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law
Entry tags:
Mourning my cat, Sherlock Holmes Update, DW, etc.
Hi all,
Some updates from Facebook, expanded a bit for this Journal.
Thursday I received a sympathy card from my vet's office. And it just made me cry, not only because I lost my dear cat, Cal (short for Caligari), but because they cared enough to send a card. Cal was a sweet, loving and highly intelligent cat. He actually figured out that when I turned off the TV at night it was time for bed -- and sometimes he even meowed at me 'cause he didn't want to get off my lap yet. He also kept his food plate from moving away by holding it down with a paw. He was truly an adorable cat, and I'll miss him.
Over the last couple of days, I watched a little of Granada's wonderful "Sherlock Holmes" with Jeremy Brett over the last few days. The episodes I watched included, "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House". Brett truly is the world's best Sherlock Holmes. Brett played Holmes manic-depressiveness perfectly. The series got the historical detail beautifully perfect, and, of course, Granada actually adapted the stories written by Conan Doyle, which truly needs to be done. To really, really appreciate Sherlock Holmes as a character it is best to see him in his original element and to watch stories based on Conan Doyle's original brilliant stories.
Now, the new movie (with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law) was fun (see previous entry for full review) but, I was right in that they mispronounced Irene Adler's name - it's I-REIGN-ah not I-reen. And she's unlucky in love, not a thief.
In the actual story "A Scandal in Bohemia", the King of Bohemia, who is about to be married, hires Holmes to recover some incriminating letters and a photograph that prove his earlier affair with Miss Adler. In turn, Miss Adler is holding onto the items to ensure her own marriage to a solictor (lawyer) she's fallen in love with. It's a complicated plot, however, Miss Irene (pronounced I-REIGN-ah) Adler does get the best of Holmes, earning his respect and the noted title of "The Woman".
"The Final Problem" is, of course, the story where Holmes meets his doom and "dies" along with his arch-enemy Professor Moriatory (sp?). And "The Empty House" brings Holmes back, three years later (and introduces a new Watson in the Granada TV series). The filming of "The Final Problem" is quite brilliant - the scenery is gorgeous, and Watson's reaction to losing Holmes is heartfelt.
"The Empty House" brings Holmes back, and is best known for Holmes quick-change from intinerant bookseller to himself, which causes Watson to faint in shock. The scene is brilliantly played between the two actors, and brilliantly written by Conan Doyle. As is Watson's both astonishment and his perturbed stance that Holmes let Mycroft know he was alive and not Watson himself.
--Olivia
Some updates from Facebook, expanded a bit for this Journal.
Thursday I received a sympathy card from my vet's office. And it just made me cry, not only because I lost my dear cat, Cal (short for Caligari), but because they cared enough to send a card. Cal was a sweet, loving and highly intelligent cat. He actually figured out that when I turned off the TV at night it was time for bed -- and sometimes he even meowed at me 'cause he didn't want to get off my lap yet. He also kept his food plate from moving away by holding it down with a paw. He was truly an adorable cat, and I'll miss him.
Over the last couple of days, I watched a little of Granada's wonderful "Sherlock Holmes" with Jeremy Brett over the last few days. The episodes I watched included, "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House". Brett truly is the world's best Sherlock Holmes. Brett played Holmes manic-depressiveness perfectly. The series got the historical detail beautifully perfect, and, of course, Granada actually adapted the stories written by Conan Doyle, which truly needs to be done. To really, really appreciate Sherlock Holmes as a character it is best to see him in his original element and to watch stories based on Conan Doyle's original brilliant stories.
Now, the new movie (with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law) was fun (see previous entry for full review) but, I was right in that they mispronounced Irene Adler's name - it's I-REIGN-ah not I-reen. And she's unlucky in love, not a thief.
In the actual story "A Scandal in Bohemia", the King of Bohemia, who is about to be married, hires Holmes to recover some incriminating letters and a photograph that prove his earlier affair with Miss Adler. In turn, Miss Adler is holding onto the items to ensure her own marriage to a solictor (lawyer) she's fallen in love with. It's a complicated plot, however, Miss Irene (pronounced I-REIGN-ah) Adler does get the best of Holmes, earning his respect and the noted title of "The Woman".
"The Final Problem" is, of course, the story where Holmes meets his doom and "dies" along with his arch-enemy Professor Moriatory (sp?). And "The Empty House" brings Holmes back, three years later (and introduces a new Watson in the Granada TV series). The filming of "The Final Problem" is quite brilliant - the scenery is gorgeous, and Watson's reaction to losing Holmes is heartfelt.
"The Empty House" brings Holmes back, and is best known for Holmes quick-change from intinerant bookseller to himself, which causes Watson to faint in shock. The scene is brilliantly played between the two actors, and brilliantly written by Conan Doyle. As is Watson's both astonishment and his perturbed stance that Holmes let Mycroft know he was alive and not Watson himself.
--Olivia
Entry tags:
Jeremy Brett is still the World's BEST Sherlock Holmes, but new film is fun
Movie Review Sherlock Holmes
Starring
Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes
Jude Law as Watson
I enjoyed the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. Jeremy Brett is still the WORLD'S BEST SHERLOCK HOLMES EVER! But, this movie was pure fun, and Jude Law really steals the show as Watson.
Downey plays Holmes, at least physically, as almost a "bum" or "tramp" - he's almost never clean and doesn't dress in proper Victorian clothes at all (no frock coats - darn!). However, Holmes IS a man of action, able to defend himself, and also an excellent boxer, all of which is canon from the books (and portrayed a bit more accurately in Brett's series for Granada/ITV).
What's REALLY impressive is Watson. Watson's understated humor is perfect, and an excellent foil for the more serious and mercurial Holmes, as it should be.
The plot brings back Irene Adler, tho' it's a mystery who she's really working for until the very end of the film (Holmes fans will not be surprised, however). More mysterious is why none of the actors pronounce her name correctly, including the actress playing her. (It's pronounced, "I-reen-AH", despite the spelling). The character of Irene Adler, becomes more like a Catwoman-type to Holmes (as Batman). It other words, even though she's bad, and a criminal, Holmes is attracted to her. There's also a hint that Holmes is attracted to Watson (slash fans will LOVE this film), tho' Watson doesn't return that type of affection.
The plot is more supernatural, and could fit in easily to the "weird" era of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional creation (particularly "The Devil's Foot"). Basically, Holmes catches a killer who's murdering women in weird rituals. The man is hanged - but the trouble really starts when he "comes back from the dead", to commit additional murders, cause trouble, and, oh, yeah, blow-up (or at least poison) Parliament. (However, the scene does take place in the House of Lords, not the House of Commons. Normally, tho' "Parliament" includes both houses, it's used to refer to the House of Commons, since they are the ones who actually pass the laws.) You'd think that the Lords would agree with the bad guy of the film (who's kinda' one of those stereotypical "I'm going to take over and tell you what to do because it's good for you"-types. Yep, Lord Blackwood isn't very original, but Marc Strong (sp?) does a good job playing him - nice and chilling at times, he's just not that original in his ultimate desires. I did love Holmes' showdown with him tho'. That was awesome!
Jude Law, as I mentioned before really steals the film. His understated humor adds a lot to the film. He and Holmes had an interesting relationship, without the co-dependency often seen between the two. As stated before, Holmes even seems to be attracted to Watson, tho' Watson doesn't reciprocate (in fact, Watson's desire to marry Mary is a rather important sub-plot of the film).
Surprisingly, the cast does manage to speak in the correct British accents, for the most part.
Overall, a fun, enjoyable film, I recommend it.
--Olivia Sutton
Starring
Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes
Jude Law as Watson
I enjoyed the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. Jeremy Brett is still the WORLD'S BEST SHERLOCK HOLMES EVER! But, this movie was pure fun, and Jude Law really steals the show as Watson.
Downey plays Holmes, at least physically, as almost a "bum" or "tramp" - he's almost never clean and doesn't dress in proper Victorian clothes at all (no frock coats - darn!). However, Holmes IS a man of action, able to defend himself, and also an excellent boxer, all of which is canon from the books (and portrayed a bit more accurately in Brett's series for Granada/ITV).
What's REALLY impressive is Watson. Watson's understated humor is perfect, and an excellent foil for the more serious and mercurial Holmes, as it should be.
The plot brings back Irene Adler, tho' it's a mystery who she's really working for until the very end of the film (Holmes fans will not be surprised, however). More mysterious is why none of the actors pronounce her name correctly, including the actress playing her. (It's pronounced, "I-reen-AH", despite the spelling). The character of Irene Adler, becomes more like a Catwoman-type to Holmes (as Batman). It other words, even though she's bad, and a criminal, Holmes is attracted to her. There's also a hint that Holmes is attracted to Watson (slash fans will LOVE this film), tho' Watson doesn't return that type of affection.
The plot is more supernatural, and could fit in easily to the "weird" era of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional creation (particularly "The Devil's Foot"). Basically, Holmes catches a killer who's murdering women in weird rituals. The man is hanged - but the trouble really starts when he "comes back from the dead", to commit additional murders, cause trouble, and, oh, yeah, blow-up (or at least poison) Parliament. (However, the scene does take place in the House of Lords, not the House of Commons. Normally, tho' "Parliament" includes both houses, it's used to refer to the House of Commons, since they are the ones who actually pass the laws.) You'd think that the Lords would agree with the bad guy of the film (who's kinda' one of those stereotypical "I'm going to take over and tell you what to do because it's good for you"-types. Yep, Lord Blackwood isn't very original, but Marc Strong (sp?) does a good job playing him - nice and chilling at times, he's just not that original in his ultimate desires. I did love Holmes' showdown with him tho'. That was awesome!
Jude Law, as I mentioned before really steals the film. His understated humor adds a lot to the film. He and Holmes had an interesting relationship, without the co-dependency often seen between the two. As stated before, Holmes even seems to be attracted to Watson, tho' Watson doesn't reciprocate (in fact, Watson's desire to marry Mary is a rather important sub-plot of the film).
Surprisingly, the cast does manage to speak in the correct British accents, for the most part.
Overall, a fun, enjoyable film, I recommend it.
--Olivia Sutton
Sherlock Holmes, B:TAS V. 3, Smothers Brothers
Hi all --
Well -- some short DVD reviews today. First, The Complete Granada Television Series of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes, David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson. First -- this is the BEST version of Sherlock Holmes ever. Jeremy Brett is THE perfect Holmes and I just love him. Both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke play Doctor Watson as an intelligent man with a deep, caring (non-slash) love for his best friend, Holmes. Brett plays Holmes as a brilliant man, with little to no social graces (He even attacks Watson when he must) - true to the books. Holmes, -- the original geek.
One of the interesting things about the Granada series is that they did adaptations of the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, rather then thrusting Holmes into the modern day or at least "modern" stories. Holmes is a Victorian and Edwardian hero -- and he's at his best in the original stories as written by Conan Doyle.
I also love both Watsons -- quietly supporting Holmes, because he IS the Doctor's friend. I sometimes wish I could find fic for Sherlock Holmes, 'cause some good old fashioned fannish h/c wouldn't come amiss at all, for me.
Both of the Watsons are intelligent, smart -- and the handover, from David Burke in "The Final Problem" to Hardwicke in "The Empty House" and all subsequent episodes is handled well. Holmesian lore remarks it's like 2-3 years from Holmes "death" to his resurrection - an older Watson fits.
I can't even say one or the other actor's my favorite -- because Burke fits the early Holmes stories and Hardwicke fits the latter ones.
The set is gorgeously packaged in a double slip-case, green with gold embossing, with Holmes's sayings embossed on the inner case. The DVDs are packaged in two foldout cases, but at least the discs don't overlap. Also, the set is digitally remastered -- and the episodes look fantastic, much, much better than the original "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" box set release of the first 13 episodes (only). If you do have the original box sets of: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes", "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", and the Feature Film collection -- then you already have the material in this set (there are only a couple of extra features unfortunately) -- but the gorgous, book-like case, and digital re-mastering might make you want to pick this up as well. Check DeepDiscount.com for specials -- that's where I got mine for 20% off their standard low price.
---------------
Batman: The Animated Series V. 3
Ok, I love B:TAS -- As far as I'm concerned Kevin Conroy IS Batman (and he's wonderful doing the voice work of Batman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited as well. This collection features 29 episodes, both solo Batman and The Adventures of Batman and Robin. (B&R)
I do kinda' wish the folks at Warner Bros. would have seperated out the solo Batman series and B&R into seperate sets -- 'cause now I'll need to buy set 4 to finish off the collection, plus looking at Batman Beyond, and possibly Batman: Gotham Knight (I need to find out more about that one). But since I really, really, really prefer solo Batman to Batman and company, I just wish I had more choice about what I was collecting, rather than WB pushing B&R on me by putting it in the same collection. Overall, Volume 3 has some great episodes -- even crack!fic like "Make 'em Laugh" (come on "Condiment King"? "The Pack Rat"? -- Those sound like villians from The Flash!) And I do like what Bruce Timm and co did with Robin -- making him older, and more likely to challenge Bruce Wayne. But, again, fangirl here -- I want to see h/c and darkness in Batman --- and once Robin shows up any possibly of that just disappears. (Tho' I love the two-part "Robin's Reckoning", but that's on Volume 1. Still, Bruce's confession that he shut Dick out of the investigation into catching the man who murdered Dick's parents NOT because he thought Dick was too emotionally close to it to be effective -- but because he (Bruce) was terrified that he'd lose Dick -- I mean, wow!). And that's what B&R misses -- no angst, no h/c -- lots of fluffiness, right down to crack!fic.
Occasional crack!fic is fun -- and entire series of it, esp. in the Batman universe which is SUPPOSED to be the darkest character in the DC universe. No. -- I'm not having it. And don't get me started on Batgirl -- she needed to be thrown thru' the nearest wall, and forgotten about. I don't mind Barbara Gordon, actually. And Comissioner Gordon as a single father, is a nice updating of the mythology. (If it's an update). But Batgirl? She brings about bad memories of the 60s series, which although fun, certainly wasn't Batman.
---------------------
The Best of the Smother's Brothers Comedy Hour Season 3
I also just started watching "The Smother's Brothers Comedy Hour". Now, I'd first seen that historic series when it aired on E! - the Entertainment channel. This nice thing about how E! aired it was that they started with on camera interviews at the opening and close of every episode -- which rocked. The brothers are just nice, you know, and it's really fun to watch the two together, both when they are performing and when they are not. The third season set, which unfortunately is NOT the whole season, includes some of the more controversial episodes of the series (such as the one I just watched with Harry Belafonte). Apparently, there's also a lot of extra features. We'll see - WATCH THIS SPACE.
Also, included with my set 'cause I bought it directly from Time-Life is a film about the Smothers Brothers and the censorship issues they had with CBS and their show. Should be fun to watch, but I'm holding off until I've watched everything on the set. So, again, watch this space.
--Olivia
PS -- weather. Cold, cloudy, with some sun, but no snow or rain. According to NOAA current temp is: 39 F, (4 C), wind chill 35 F (not bad compared to temp), and get this -- NOAA now shows the latitude for my city -- 42.94N (The 45 parellel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole is not that far north of here).
Well -- some short DVD reviews today. First, The Complete Granada Television Series of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes, David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson. First -- this is the BEST version of Sherlock Holmes ever. Jeremy Brett is THE perfect Holmes and I just love him. Both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke play Doctor Watson as an intelligent man with a deep, caring (non-slash) love for his best friend, Holmes. Brett plays Holmes as a brilliant man, with little to no social graces (He even attacks Watson when he must) - true to the books. Holmes, -- the original geek.
One of the interesting things about the Granada series is that they did adaptations of the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, rather then thrusting Holmes into the modern day or at least "modern" stories. Holmes is a Victorian and Edwardian hero -- and he's at his best in the original stories as written by Conan Doyle.
I also love both Watsons -- quietly supporting Holmes, because he IS the Doctor's friend. I sometimes wish I could find fic for Sherlock Holmes, 'cause some good old fashioned fannish h/c wouldn't come amiss at all, for me.
Both of the Watsons are intelligent, smart -- and the handover, from David Burke in "The Final Problem" to Hardwicke in "The Empty House" and all subsequent episodes is handled well. Holmesian lore remarks it's like 2-3 years from Holmes "death" to his resurrection - an older Watson fits.
I can't even say one or the other actor's my favorite -- because Burke fits the early Holmes stories and Hardwicke fits the latter ones.
The set is gorgeously packaged in a double slip-case, green with gold embossing, with Holmes's sayings embossed on the inner case. The DVDs are packaged in two foldout cases, but at least the discs don't overlap. Also, the set is digitally remastered -- and the episodes look fantastic, much, much better than the original "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" box set release of the first 13 episodes (only). If you do have the original box sets of: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes", "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", and the Feature Film collection -- then you already have the material in this set (there are only a couple of extra features unfortunately) -- but the gorgous, book-like case, and digital re-mastering might make you want to pick this up as well. Check DeepDiscount.com for specials -- that's where I got mine for 20% off their standard low price.
---------------
Batman: The Animated Series V. 3
Ok, I love B:TAS -- As far as I'm concerned Kevin Conroy IS Batman (and he's wonderful doing the voice work of Batman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited as well. This collection features 29 episodes, both solo Batman and The Adventures of Batman and Robin. (B&R)
I do kinda' wish the folks at Warner Bros. would have seperated out the solo Batman series and B&R into seperate sets -- 'cause now I'll need to buy set 4 to finish off the collection, plus looking at Batman Beyond, and possibly Batman: Gotham Knight (I need to find out more about that one). But since I really, really, really prefer solo Batman to Batman and company, I just wish I had more choice about what I was collecting, rather than WB pushing B&R on me by putting it in the same collection. Overall, Volume 3 has some great episodes -- even crack!fic like "Make 'em Laugh" (come on "Condiment King"? "The Pack Rat"? -- Those sound like villians from The Flash!) And I do like what Bruce Timm and co did with Robin -- making him older, and more likely to challenge Bruce Wayne. But, again, fangirl here -- I want to see h/c and darkness in Batman --- and once Robin shows up any possibly of that just disappears. (Tho' I love the two-part "Robin's Reckoning", but that's on Volume 1. Still, Bruce's confession that he shut Dick out of the investigation into catching the man who murdered Dick's parents NOT because he thought Dick was too emotionally close to it to be effective -- but because he (Bruce) was terrified that he'd lose Dick -- I mean, wow!). And that's what B&R misses -- no angst, no h/c -- lots of fluffiness, right down to crack!fic.
Occasional crack!fic is fun -- and entire series of it, esp. in the Batman universe which is SUPPOSED to be the darkest character in the DC universe. No. -- I'm not having it. And don't get me started on Batgirl -- she needed to be thrown thru' the nearest wall, and forgotten about. I don't mind Barbara Gordon, actually. And Comissioner Gordon as a single father, is a nice updating of the mythology. (If it's an update). But Batgirl? She brings about bad memories of the 60s series, which although fun, certainly wasn't Batman.
---------------------
The Best of the Smother's Brothers Comedy Hour Season 3
I also just started watching "The Smother's Brothers Comedy Hour". Now, I'd first seen that historic series when it aired on E! - the Entertainment channel. This nice thing about how E! aired it was that they started with on camera interviews at the opening and close of every episode -- which rocked. The brothers are just nice, you know, and it's really fun to watch the two together, both when they are performing and when they are not. The third season set, which unfortunately is NOT the whole season, includes some of the more controversial episodes of the series (such as the one I just watched with Harry Belafonte). Apparently, there's also a lot of extra features. We'll see - WATCH THIS SPACE.
Also, included with my set 'cause I bought it directly from Time-Life is a film about the Smothers Brothers and the censorship issues they had with CBS and their show. Should be fun to watch, but I'm holding off until I've watched everything on the set. So, again, watch this space.
--Olivia
PS -- weather. Cold, cloudy, with some sun, but no snow or rain. According to NOAA current temp is: 39 F, (4 C), wind chill 35 F (not bad compared to temp), and get this -- NOAA now shows the latitude for my city -- 42.94N (The 45 parellel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole is not that far north of here).