A Literary Interlude

I bought a copy of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” because it came highly recommended. Both Mr Steven Moffat Sir and Ian Simmons (the later whom I actually talked to about it) had said it was terribly good. Plus the Popular Penguin edition was only $10. Who could say no to that?


To be honest I don’t know why I haven’t read them before. Sherlock Holmes contains so many of my favourite things- short stories, impeccable characterisation, stunning use of language and the late 1800’s. (If I had a time machine I would relocate to the 1800’s and simply commute from there.)


I’ve fallen head long into the world of 221B Baker St. There’s something quite intoxicating about the whole thing. 
The descriptions occasionally make me cry out with joy. I love words. I love the way words can come together to create something magical and I honestly think that modern books have lost a lot of that simplistic magical description that people like Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle were masters at. 
Holmes has quickly claimed a place among my favourite fictional characters of all time. I love the way he never does things by half. He’s always “throwing” the newspaper down and “lunging” across a room. 
And they’re funny, laugh out loud funny, which is a fair claim for a 100 year old book.


What place does all this literary garbage have on a blog about TV you ask. Well, I would have thought that would be obvious- Sherlock. As some of you may have gathered, I liked Sherlock a lot. So much so that in the months since then I’ve seen it all the way through more times than I would care to mention. And I’m almost bursting for the new series. So would I recommend reading the books before then?


I can’t tell you what affect a knowledge of the original stories will have. Honestly though, I don’t think it will be bad. Try watching “A Study in Pink” with auto-commentary. Its an hour and a half of Moffat and Gatiss fan-boying about the original stories. I’ve just finished reading “A Study in Scarlet” and the way they took the key elements from that story and turned it into something wholly new is masterful. I’m halfway through “Hound of the Baskervilles” right now and the only thing I’m more excited about than seeing how they modernise it, is discovering the solution to the mystery. I’m looking forward to being able to spot the subtle references from the stories on screen instead of visa versa. 


But there is certainly one drawback. I’m starting to form my own opinions about Holmes and Watson. So I’d really love to see Holmes pay violin more, and the lighter side he seems to have when discussing art and culture. Plus I think they should eat more toast. One of my favourite things about the stories is how many important scenes seem to occur while Holmes is in his dressing gown and he and Watson are eating toast and drinking coffee. 


Then again, I might just be particularly biased toward toast. 


Maybe this is a poor excuse for a post but have you SEEN the TV Guide recently. Its bloody dismal. The only glimmer of hope on the near horizon is Ashes to Ashes series 3.