Really I do.
I don't very often agree with many of the things said there.
And sometimes, I admit, I am not smart enough to understand what is actually being said.
Many of the connections are elusive to me, and I often wonder how they pertain to the subject.
But, none-the-less, I faithfully follow the blog.
And, again I admit, sometimes I even find myself agreeing with some of it. (I fight that urge as much as possible.)
The author of the blog is knowledgeable on most things Sherlockian, and also has a wealth of knowledge about lots of shall we call it 'trivia' that he is able to weave into his Sherlockian discussions.
But what is most important about the blog is the fact that it makes me examine my feelings about some of the subjects it brings up, and where I stand on those things. And for the most part it makes me defend my Sherlockian convictions and test them and see where I stand in the end. (My opinion is not changed very often, but it is always good to look at another side of things.)
Now how much of the blog is firmly tongue-in-cheek and how much is pure. . . what ever, we may never know for sure. That is part of the allure of the blog (Yes Brad, you are alluring.)
So, Sherlock Peoria, thanks for making me a better, I hope, Sherlockian. (It even has its own 'label' on my Label list.)
(Are you going to have your summer reading list this year?)
Brad may not believe me, but I agree with you. Interesting discussion on "Sex, Sherlock and Me". This is the comment I submitted (minus the typos):
ReplyDelete"I've taken a lot of heat for my absolute rejection of Elementary as a Sherlock Holmes incarnation, and the fact that I can have those thoughts and embrace fanfic as a valid way of exploring Sherlock will, as usual, seem utter hypocrisy to those critics." I don't think you're a hypocrite in this regard, just confused. "BBC Sherlock" fanfic is not an exploration of the Canonical Holmes, anymore that "Elementary" fanfic is. Rather, it's an exploration of a TV show and the relationship the viewers have with the actors-as-characters. They are so many degrees of separations between exploring the relationships between Cumberbatch/Sherlock and Freeman/John, Andrew Scott/Jim Moriarty and Mark Gatiss/Mycroft Holmes, Rupert Graves/Inspector Lestrade and Gatiss/Mycroft, Louise Brealey/Molly Hooper and Scott/Moriarty, etc., etc., and exploring the superior body of work written by Arthur Conan Doyle and the actual characters he created that it's no wonder old school and not so old school Sherlockians don't get what the fuss is all about. Whatever it is, it's not the Canonical Sherlock Holmes.
Either he's confusing BBC Sherlock with the Canon or he thinks BBC Sherlock and the Canon are the same thing. Perhaps he's pulling everyone's leg or trying to get those old school Sherlockian's goat. Whatever he's doing, I once again believe we need new nomenclature to clarify what everyone's talking about.
I guess it's all fanfic in the end, but some of it is so out there I can find very little to bring it into da iscussion.
DeleteP.s. just got my Watsonian package today and really looking forward to going through it.
DeleteI'll need a new "Watsonian Wit". I think the point Brad is trying to make is that BBC slash fanfic is a new part of the Sherlockian world. Either "Sherlockian" means one who's interest is in the original 60 stories written by Doyle and the associated media that has arisen from Doyle's work and how it is related to said opus or it means anything that Brad likes that has a guy with a deerstalker. He's trying to claim that slash fanfic about Cumberbatch/Sherlock and Freeman/John tells us something about Doyle's characters. It doesn't. It tells us something about how fans of a TV show feel about the actors-as-characters. Whether they're named Sherlock Holmes and John Watson or Joe Blow and John Smith, the fans reaction to the actors-as-characters would be the same. Brad would not feel so warm and cuddly about "Elementary" slash fanfic as Sherlockian and is the test of whether he has a valid point or just talking through his hat. It is an interesting discussion and would make a fascinating debate if Brad believed in have differing opinions up on his blog.
DeleteHey, I see my piece made it into the Watsonian. I didn't think I got it in on time. So yes, I do owe you another.
DeleteI agree, I think Brad is getting confused about what is good Sherlock Holmes stuff and what is, if you like it, fanfic that really has nothing to do with Holmes except what he complains about, just using the name.
Brad gives us his future view of Sherlockiana in Friday, May 1, 2015 "Meanwhile, back in Ye Olde Printed Canon". Is it to be personal "headcanon" from now on instead of Higher Criticism and exploring what Doyle wrote?
ReplyDelete