I probably didn't make myself clear (nor did I know that the fictional Sherlock Holmes is in his twenties in the first story).
In America, in 2010, the series was talked about not only as a take on Sherlock Holmes in the twenty-first century. It was talked about as a kind of bildungsroman like "David Copperfield": i.e., how Sherlock Holmes became the "man" he would later become. I recall this distinctly. Having had a truly nightmarish movie-going experience at the debut of the Downey+Law movie, trapped mid-aisle unable to run from the noise, CGI, and worst of all, other humanoids actually enjoying it, I flinched turning PBS a month later and seeing "Sherlock," whose production I hadn't been aware of (else I'd have skipped the Guy Ritchie monstrosity). I thought perhaps the BBC had made it as a kind of reparation.
The few articles I could find about the series referred to this "Sherlock" as a portrait of the detective before he reached maturity, which seemed only reasonable, considering B. Cumberbatch's age. So my original post comes from realizing nearly seven years later that the Rathbone-esque mid-life detective's cases have already been solved by the "boy" Sherlock. And, since they have been solved, this fourth season can take creative liberties in the way "Mr. Holmes" took liberties. The series can end any way the writer/producers want it to.
reply
share
sanddragon939
8 years ago
Okay...I sorta get what you mean.
Well, Sherlock certainly wasn't in any sense intended to be a 'prequel' to ACD's Sherlock Holmes canon. By definition it was a reboot/alternate universe series about 21st century versions of ACD's characters and stories.
In a broad sense, Sherlock does follow the trajectory of the ACD stories. So Watson gets married and Holmes is presumed dead for a few years before returning. But that apart, the series has always been its own animal. And yes, with Series 4, they are making a significant break with canon by giving Watson a child. At the same time, Sherlock serving as an 'asset' of the British intelligence services against terrorist threats is reminiscent of Sherlock ending up as a British spy during WW1 in the original canon. So yes, things will be different but may end up in similar directions.
Formerly sn939
reply
share
HannahLee_3
8 years ago
I do remember some comments by Mofftiss a while back that the show would have Sherlock evolving into the detective known in ACD canon, but it was more from a character/personality standpoint. So the character we meet in ASiP is much less polished and less gracious than the Holmes of ACD canon. He's the same guy, but less in control and mature, compared to canon-Holmes.
Neither of them suffer fools, but canon-Holmes shows compassion, something Sherlock in ASiP didn't. But as the show has progressed, we've seen the character evolve. For example, Sherlock of ASiP probably would have done the brutal deduction of Molly at the ASiB Christmas party, but never would have apologized. He probably wouldn't have paused to tell Henry to look at the dog in HoB so he could move past his fears, because he would have been too busy gloating that he'd solved things. Etc, etc.
Have a lovely day - John Finnemore
reply
share
sanddragon939
8 years ago
Well...you could look at it that way. Although its not like the character Sherlock has evolved into is necessarily a whole lot closer to ACD's Holmes. Rather, he's a nicer more developed version of Benedict's Sherlock.
Its worth noting that the ACD canon didn't really give Holmes much of a 'character arc'. Holmes was pretty much the same character in 'His Last Bow' that he was in 'A Study in Scarlet'...the only differences being he was older and far more famous and renowned. ACD's stories were pretty episodic - barring 'The Final Problem' and 'The Empty House' (the only two cases where one was explicitly a sequel to the other). The only significant development was things like Watson getting married and moving out (and later moving back in once his wife died)...and given how the stories tended to jump around chronologically, that didn't matter much.
In stark contrast, this show has a tighter continuity and had to give Sherlock and John character arcs.
Formerly sn939
reply
share
hilaryjrp
8 years ago
Well, Sherlock certainly wasn't in any sense intended to be a 'prequel' to ACD's Sherlock Holmes canon.
Nuh-uh. That ain't what the press was in 2010. I'll devote the coming week to finding articles from the era, if I can. The series was definitely envisioned--at least by significant numbers of people online--as a coming of age work.
It appears that this IMDB board has been divested on thousands of posts, some discussing this exact subject. The "maturity" of the character was discussed with particular intensity after A Scandal in Belgravia.
To be continued.
reply
share