Sherlock - Episode Two.
Well I feel it is time to review Sherlock - Episode Two.
The creators of this series have mentioned their fondness for the Rathbone films and their intention to be just as irreverant with their new series. I think they have achieved this but not in the way they might have wished.
The Rathbone films (and I'm talking about those made by Universal) went from the entertaining to the absurd. In my opinion, the best were those that were largely devoid of any obvious references to the period in which they were set (the 1940s). The worst Rathbone films were those that were too rooted in the 40s. The most striking example of these being "The Voice of Terror" where Nazis were practically falling out of the trees by the end.
With the second episode of the new Sherlock we seem to have swapped Nazis for Chinese gang members. I was honestly waiting for Charlie Chan to make an appearance at some point. After the excellent start with "A Study in Pink" we have gone downhill. I can only hope the last episode takes us back to the original heights.
If I were feeling ungenerous I would be forced to say that this most recent episode was written by someone who is not a major Holmes fan but who loves Dan Brown. The reason being that the symbology and the visual effect of having the symbols hanging in the air around the characters reminded me very much of Tom Hanks in the Da Vinci Code.
I don't think you need to be a Holmes fan to write for this new series but you do at least need to understand the original stories. Without understanding their essence you simply cannot write Holmes adventures (Victorian or modern). If we wanted Dan Brown we'd read his books or watch the films.
The creators of this series have mentioned their fondness for the Rathbone films and their intention to be just as irreverant with their new series. I think they have achieved this but not in the way they might have wished.
The Rathbone films (and I'm talking about those made by Universal) went from the entertaining to the absurd. In my opinion, the best were those that were largely devoid of any obvious references to the period in which they were set (the 1940s). The worst Rathbone films were those that were too rooted in the 40s. The most striking example of these being "The Voice of Terror" where Nazis were practically falling out of the trees by the end.
With the second episode of the new Sherlock we seem to have swapped Nazis for Chinese gang members. I was honestly waiting for Charlie Chan to make an appearance at some point. After the excellent start with "A Study in Pink" we have gone downhill. I can only hope the last episode takes us back to the original heights.
If I were feeling ungenerous I would be forced to say that this most recent episode was written by someone who is not a major Holmes fan but who loves Dan Brown. The reason being that the symbology and the visual effect of having the symbols hanging in the air around the characters reminded me very much of Tom Hanks in the Da Vinci Code.
I don't think you need to be a Holmes fan to write for this new series but you do at least need to understand the original stories. Without understanding their essence you simply cannot write Holmes adventures (Victorian or modern). If we wanted Dan Brown we'd read his books or watch the films.
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