The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I was surprised when I started watching the first episode and recognized the dialogue that I thought was created by someone much more recent. the new BBC show Sherlock is nearly a word for word remake of this show, at least the first episode. Funny how even in what you think is original programming they still have to go back to the past to get the good stuff.

The Sheldon Reynolds-produced Sherlock Holmes series (which was the first and (to date) only American-produced Holmes series) isn't exactly what I would call the definitive version of the world's most famous detective, but it's very evocative of 1950s television. Ronald Howard is a bit more traditionally handsome than we usually get for Holmes, but he does a good job with what he's given here. H. Marion Crawford's Watson tends to slip between "capable companion" and "Nigel Bruce-ian fog". Meanwhile, the stories zig-zag between decent for television (including, as mentioned previously, a few scattered adaptations and lifts from the source) and the downright silly ("The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" tested my patience in this regard). A nice rainy-day time-killer, but David Brett is still THE TV Holmes in my book.

My first introduction to Holmes was through movies, and I was in for a shock upon reading the books. I'd expected them to be plodding, with events occurring in the vicinity of a rather melancholy Holmes who merely put the pieces together, baffled everyone, and descended back into the crypt until called upon again.The stories were a surprise, with Watson having a full life of his own (and not being a complete idiot) and their friendship much more natural. The biggest shock of all was that Holmes was human. He wasn't the android which I'd been lead to expect at all. He played jokes, he jibed with his friend - though just in fun rather than out of apparent malice, and he had moods other than 'melancholy at home' and 'melancholy while working'.The air having been cleared there, my view might be slanted, but in opposition to most other viewers who were slanted. The movies that I saw in my EARLY childhood turned me off from Holmes and Watson for quite some time. Any comparison that I make to them won't be fond memories of what I first saw, and condemning the show to mediocrity for not being what I first experienced. Quite the contrary. The characterizations are refreshing, the writing is good, the actors fit the roles from the stories quite well. The sets are good - not fantastic, but good - but that hardly even draws attention, given the fact that the action very rarely relies on 'how well the entire set fits together'.Complaints? Only 2. Sometimes the writing seems to get a bit too jolly. Though I'll say that if I'm given a choice between a jovial prankster who happens to be a genius and a brooding robot whose only pleasure in life seems to be abusing his 'friend', I'll take the former. The other is that Sherlock doesn't quite as assiduously avoid women in this series. It's a point so minor it hardly rates as a complaint, but it IS a clear alteration from the original, so I thought I'd point it out since by the end of "The Case of the Texas Cowgirl" it's perfectly clear. (Though, again, SUCH a minor point. They weren't on the case at the time, and in the stories he did say that his lack of desire for female companionship was to avoid distraction - and since he wasn't on a case, or even seeking one at the time of the example I mention, I don't think that's a deal-breaker at all.)All in all, if you enjoyed the stories alone, the series should be a nice diversion. Sherlock-lite, if you will. If you enjoyed some version other than this series - well, I hate to be tautological, but by definition this will not be that other version. Your mileage may well vary.