tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post9033872903875950836..comments2024-03-28T21:13:53.845+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: When is it right to reboot a classic?Dave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-83555477864086813822012-04-30T21:02:37.172+01:002012-04-30T21:02:37.172+01:00The J J Abrams "Star Trek" film was good...The J J Abrams "Star Trek" film was good fun, but I don't think it brought anything particularly new to the characters. Have I missed your point?Tom Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04876610474895605257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-5734920330727454652012-04-30T19:04:30.836+01:002012-04-30T19:04:30.836+01:00"Sherlock" was entertaining and interest..."Sherlock" was entertaining and interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing the second series. The two Guys talk about how the aspect of "Sherlock" that kept them hooked was not the crimes and the solutions, but the relationship between the two leads. And this is exactly why I love my favourite Holmesian adaptation: the Clive Merrison/Michael Williams radio series produced by Bert Coules for the BBC.<br /><br />The series went for nine years (and has continued with occasional pastiches written by Coules), and is famous for being the only series in any media to adapt the whole canon of Holmes stories. There were frequent guest-stars: Peter Davidson, Kevin Whatley, Brian Blessed, Judi Dench (Williams' wife), and more.<br /><br />But the real genius of the show, the reason I come back to it over and over again, is the characterization of Holmes and Watson, and the relationship portrayed between the two. Merrison's Holmes is loud, irritating, adventurous, more than a little bi-polar... and somehow still very likeable; you can see why he would fascinate a thoughtful, observant man like Watson. <br /><br />And Williams' Watson is just wonderful. He is, seemingly, a slow, contemplative, conventional man. But, as the two Guys said of 'Sherlock's' Watson, his friendship with Holmes allows him to indulge in his secret vice: adventure and intrigue, and he is revealed as a dashing, heroic, and romantic character. Williams is simply the Best Watson.<br /><br />The conversations (more often arguments) between the pair are my favourite part of the series: Holmes's selfishness and eccentricities and Watson's frustration and exasperation are always conveyed with a sense of the real trust and affection the two feel for each other.<br /><br />Not all the plots hang well together - simply because not all the original stories were particularly well conceived ("The Yellow Mask", The Veiled Lodger"). In such adventures the relationship between the two friends often takes prominence. "The Musgrave Ritual" is a good example, where, on a cold, wet afternoon, Holmes recounts an early adventure to Watson... merely as a way of avoiding tidying the flat!<br /><br />I think my favourite adventure, though, is "The Lion's Mane", told originally by Holmes some time after the two friends have parted. The Merrison/Williams version is brilliant, and - if you can find a copy - I recommend it.Tom Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04876610474895605257noreply@blogger.com