Friday, March 29, 2013

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

In my earlier Sherlockian days I would have been afraid to watch a movie like T.P.L.O.S.H.
I would have been, Sherlockianwise, to immature to appreciate the irreverence in this wonderful movie.

But with my use of Amazon Prime I am finding several Sherlock Holmes movies I have never seen before available to watch for free. And luckily this was one.

The movie stars Robert Stephens as Holmes, with Colin Blakely as Watson and one of my favorites and a past Sherlock himself, Christopher Lee, as Mycroft.

The film is divided into two parts.

The first seems to want to set some things clear about Holmes and Watson and has very little to do with the actual case that follows.

The second part is a mystery about a missing scientist and follows ( and could be the inspiration for ) much of the plot of Without a Clue.

Soon critics feel the film falls apart at this point because the movie then just becomes Sherlock Holmes on another case, but, isn't that the point of Sherlock Holmes after all?

Historically there are suppose to be two more 'episodes' in the movie, but they were removed once the movie went into wider release.

Watson is played wonderfully high-strung by Blakely and is definitely there for a comic element.

The sets and scenes are fantastic, being filmed at Pinewood Studios and on location in Scotland.

Although Stephens will not go down as one of my favorite Holmes, his performance did grow on me as the movie went along, showing a range of emotion modern viewers of the new 'Holmes' would find appealing.

With that said, I give it four pipes for fun.


A wonderful piece by Chris Allen at Buddy2Blogger

Chris Allen on buddy2blogger


Well said!

I know I will check out his books.

Chris Allen, author of Intrepid series

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Wish I had time for this. . .

Find Info here. . .

Of course, most of you already know this. . .

By the mid-1980s, advancements in computer graphics programs allowed matte painters to work in the digital realm. The first digital matte shot was created by painter Chris Evansin 1985 for Young Sherlock Holmes for a scene featuring a computer-graphics (CG) animation of a knight leaping from a stained-glass window. Evans first painted the window in acrylics, then scanned the painting into LucasFilm’s Pixar system for further digital manipulation. The computer animation (another first) blended perfectly with the digital matte, something a traditional matte painting could not have accomplished


Credit where credit is due. . . .

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I did not know this. . .

Dinosaurs! (1966, an audio dramatic version of The Lost World adapted and directed by Ronald Liss and recorded by permission of the Estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; MGM/Leo the Lion Records C/CH-1016)
in 1966, Basil Rathbone played Professor Challenger in Dinosaurs!, a radio-style audio adaptation of The Lost World released on MGM/Leo the Lion Records C/CH-1016. In this version, the character of Lord John Roxton was not included.

Basil Rathbone as someone other than Holmes in a Doyle production.



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Episode #18 - 'Deja vu all over again' - a review

I am not one hundred percent sure how I feel about this episode yet, but for now I have to say it was one of my least favorite so far.

The episode centers on 'Watson's' attempts and schooling to become 'Sherlock's' partner as a consulting detective.

After the introduction of a 6 month old crime, we then skip to 'Watson' attempting to break into and hot wire a car. We find out it is part of her training.

We then move to 'Holmes' being asked to take a case by his father, this case being the disappearance of a young woman some six months earlier. While discussing the case with the client, 'Holmes' comes  across another case involving the pushing of a young women into an oncoming train. Instead of 'Holmes' excepting the case, we see him passing it off to 'Watson', leaving us to assume he finds it to trivial or to related to his father or a good case for 'Watson' to learn on.

As Sherlockians most of us probably assume he has already found a relationship between the two or at least believes he has already figured it out so therefore can test 'Watson's' conclusions.

We find none of this to be true as the case goes on.

So they go their separate ways and attempt to solve their individual crimes.

After a brief interview with the missing women's husband, 'Watson' comes away with a hunch, or gut feeling that the man is the one responsible of her disappearance. No facts or deductions to back this up.

Well, I don't want to summarize the whole episode, but for me at about this point the whole story becomes pretty convoluted.

My first problem with the show is 'Watson' trying to become a consulting detective. Canonically Watson is a catalyst to Holmes, a steadfast companion and a reliable "I-got-your-back" person. Holmes is the Blood hound and Watson is the Bull dog. Most attempts by Watson, in the Canon, to become a detective result in disappointment.

Realizing in this day and age any female character can no longer be used just as eye-candy and must have (and should have) and active and equal roll, the results in this episode were disappointing.
Up until this point 'Watson' had been played and written as a very smart women who was not only able to be a spring board for 'Holmes', but was also able to actively contribute to the cases she was involved in. Her medical knowledge, and even her observation skills were of great help in many of the earlier episodes.

But tonight we seemed to be more on a path of a 'Sherlock' clone. Instead of her becoming the moral, social and emotional rock of the show, tonight she became another Sherlock wanna-be. Even going so far as to distance herself from her friends and other relationships. Watson was the social one of the Canon, not the isolated thinking machine.

It has become a little tiresome in the show when clues are accidentally stumbled upon, but even more so tonight.

Not a whole lot of deduction was going on this evening.

The best use of observation tonight was in the references to the violin busker.

The show resulted in no firm conclusion, and in the end we are not sure why or how the young women was murdered. In the end, did the trunk really have anything to do with the case?
'Holmes' said no.
In this day and age when police, at least on TV, automatically check all emails and computers, the finding of the emails from the late women six months after the fact should get 'Gregson' fired.

When the episode first started I was hoping for something along the lines of Hound where Holmes sends Watson off to gather clues because he is unavailable at the moment. I realize for modern sensibilities it would have to be rewritten to place Watson in a strong light, but it could have been done.

Not only did this episode also lack the hookers, it also lacked the humor that has become a part of the show.

The acting was still good, although I am finding Millers 'Holmes' is not maturing very much.

But over all, at this point, I can only give the episode -



Monday, March 18, 2013

The country house in times of war.


For us Dowton Abbey fans. . .



How we do get around. . .

Many years ago, when I was much more involved with the Sherlockian Society 'Harpooners of the Sea Unicorn', I designed a stein for our members, which included their name and membership status, which they could take home and display, or leave at our English Pub meeting place for use during meetings.
While, today, exploring web data on the Harpooners I came across this add on 'ebay'.
I remember the name on the stein, while not remembering the person himself.
The stein has 'C.M.' on it which meant he was a Charter Member, having joined in the first year of the societies founding, 1989.
Having started the stein making in around 1990, it is one pretty old piece of memorabilia for the Harpooners.
Now, I don't remember any scandal in the club that involved the person named on the stein, so I can't imagine why they would want to sell it.
If you look hard enough, it is amazing what you find.

Glass Stein

If I remember correctly, we used the money we made on them (which wasn't much) to help fund the club.
We sold them for $18.95.

So, he isn't making to much on it.

Sorry they need to sell.


Helpful and interesting. . .


Credit where credit is due. . .

publication order of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

(BCA) = Beeton's Christmas Annual
(LMM) = Lippincott's Monthly Magazine
(TSM) = The Strand Magazine
___
(HW) = Harper's Weekly
(M) = McClure's
(C) = Collier's
___
(AM) = American Magazine
(HIM) = Hearst's International Magazine
(L) = Liberty
first publication datestitles of storiescodesnarratoraction
011887 Nov (BCA)A Study in ScarletSTUDWatson
021890 Feb (LMM)The Sign of FourSIGNWatson
031891 Jul (TSM)1. A Scandal in BohemiaSCANWatson1888
041891 Aug (TSM)2. The Red-Headed LeagueREDHWatson1890
051891 Sep (TSM)3. A Case of IdentityIDENWatson
061891 Oct (TSM)4. The Boscombe Valley MysteryBOSCWatson
071891 Nov (TSM)5. The Five Orange PipsFIVEWatson1887
081891 Dec (TSM)6. The Man with the Twisted LipTWISWatson1889
091892 Jan (TSM)7. The Adventure of the Blue CarbuncleBLUEWatson
101892 Feb (TSM)8. The Adventure of the Speckled BandSPECWatson1883
111892 Mar (TSM)9. The Adventure of the Engineer's ThumbENGRWatson1889
121892 Apr (TSM)10. The Adventure of the Noble BachelorNOBLWatson
131892 May (TSM)11. The Adventure of the Beryl CoronetBERYWatson
141892 Jun (TSM)12. The Adventure of the Copper BeechesCOPPWatson
151892 Dec (TSM) (HW)13. The Adventure of Silver BlazeSILVWatson
161893 Jan (TSM) (HW)14. The Adventure of the Cardboard BoxCARDWatson
171893 Feb (TSM) (HW)15. The Adventure of the Yellow FaceYELLWatson
181893 Mar (TSM) (HW)16. The Adventure of the Stock-Broker's ClerkSTOCWatson
191893 Apr (TSM) (HW)17. The Adventure of the "Gloria Scott"GLORWatson
201893 May (TSM) (HW)18. The Adventure of the Musgrave RitualMUSGWatson
211893 Jun (TSM) (HW)19. The Adventure of the Reigate SquiresREIGWatson1887
221893 Jul (TSM) (HW)20. The Adventure of the Crooked ManCROOWatson
231893 Aug (TSM) (HW)21. The Adventure of the Resident PatientRESIWatson
241893 Sep (TSM) (HW)22. The Adventure of the Greek InterpreterGREEWatson
251893 Oct, Nov (TSM) (HW)23. The Adventure of the Naval TreatyNAVAWatson
261893 Dec (TSM) (M)24. The Adventure of the Final ProblemFINAWatson1891
271901 Aug — 1902 Apr (TSM)The Hound of the BaskervillesHOUNWatson
281903 Sep (C) (TSM)1. The Adventure of the Empty HouseEMPTWatson1894
291903 Oct (C) (TSM)2. The Adventure of the Norwood BuilderNORWWatson
301903 Dec (C) (TSM)3. The Adventure of the Dancing MenDANCWatson
311903 Dec (C) (TSM)4. The Adventure of the Solitary CyclistSOLIWatson1895
321904 Jan (C) (TSM)5. The Adventure of the Priory SchoolPRIOWatson
331904 Feb (C) (TSM)6. The Adventure of Black PeterBLACWatson1895
341904 Mar (C) (TSM)7. The Adventure of Charles Augustus MiIvertonCHASWatson
351904 Apr (C) (TSM)8. The Adventure of the Six NapoleonsSIXNWatson
361904 Jun (TSM) (C)9. The Adventure of the Three Students3STUWatson1895
371904 Jul (TSM) (C)10. The Adventure of the Golden Pince-NezGOLDWatson1894
381904 Aug (TSM) (C)11. The Adventure of the Missing Three-QuarterMISSWatson
391904 Sep (TSM) (C)12. The Adventure of the Abbey GrangeABBEWatson1897
401904 Dec (TSM) (C)13. The Adventure of the Second StainSECOWatson
411908 Aug (C) (TSM)The Adventure of Wisteria LodgeWISTWatson1892
421908 Dec (TSM) (C)The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington PlansBRUCWatson1895
431910 Dec (TSM)The Adventure of the Devil's FootDEVIWatson1897
441911 Mar, Apr (TSM)The Adventure of the Red CircleREDCWatson
451911 Dec (TSM) (AM)The Disappearance of Lady Frances CarfaxLADYWatson
461913 Nov (C) (TSM)The Adventure of the Dying DetectiveDYINWatson
471914 Sep — 1915 May (TSM)The Valley of FearVALLWatson
481917 Sep (TSM) (C)His Last BowLASTAnonym1914
491921 Oct (TSM) (HIM)The Adventure of the Mazarin StoneMAZAAnonym
501922 Feb, Mar (TSM) (HIM)The Problem of Thor BridgeTHORWatson
511923 Mar (TSM) (HIM)The Adventure of the Creeping ManCREEWatson1903
521924 Jan (TSM) (HIM)The Adventure of the Sussex VampireSUSSWatson
531924 Oct (C) (TSM)The Adventure of the Three Garridebs3GARWatson1902
541924 Nov (C) (TSM)The Adventure of the Illustrious ClientILLUWatson1902
551926 Sep (L) (TSM)The Adventure of the Three Gables3GABWatson
561926 Oct (L) (TSM)The Adventure of the Blanched SoldierBLANHolmes1903
571926 Nov (L) (TSM)The Adventure of the Lion's ManeLIONHolmes1907
581926 Dec (L) (TSM)The Adventure of the Retired ColourmanRETIWatson1898
591927 Jan (L) (TSM)The Adventure of the Veiled LodgerVEILWatson1896
601927 Mar (L) (TSM)The Adventure of Shoscombe Old PlaceSHOSWatson
The first publication dates refer to the first or only magazine listed for each story. Where a second
magazine is listed, publication dates can range from the same month to several months later. As is
shown, of the 60 stories, 58 of them appeared in The Strand Magazine.Titles with a blue background appeared in The Strand Magazine as Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Titles with a green background appeared in The Strand Magazine as The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
The date of 1892 given by Watson for WIST conflicts with what is told in EMPT.
In THOR, the next published story after the two narrated anonymously, Watson claimed authorship
of them: "In some I was myself concerned and can speak as an eye-witness, while in others I was
either not present or played so small a part that they could only be told as by a third person."

A fun site for some insight. . .

The Victorian Era.

Found this site (actually a while ago, while working on another paper ) while doing research for an upcoming paper. Lots of fun stuff.


Monday, March 4, 2013

Follow up on the post from Friday Feb 15th

A follow up to my post from Friday Feb 15th, and where it all started.

If you know Phillip Shreffler you know of what she speaks.

Tell it like it is Babe.

March reading list. . . . and a busy one it is.

1884  March  4  STUD
1884  March 29 YELL
1888  March 20  SCAN
1890  March 18  COPP
1892  March 24  WIST
1893  March 15  3GAB
1897  March 16  DEVI


Have Fun!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

The family and I have been out. . .

 . . . to spend a little time in the snow this week. I look forward to getting back in the swing here tomorrow.



Conan Doyle
Lovers of Swiss ski holidays have the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to thank. He had fallen in love with the sport in Norway and thought Switzerland offered the perfect terrain. He imported some skis and encouraged two Swiss brothers to join him. They practised at night to avoid being teased by the locals. Conan Doyle later wrote: “I am convinced that the time will come when hundreds of English men will come to Switzerland for the skiing season.”


And if that isn't enough. . . .