I’ve noticed there has been lots of performative anger. I think this series has enough of its own voice that you couldnt give negative reviews before it was released.
And yet…
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Not groundbreaking, and they both has a forest gump style of Enola being present at actual historic events for no reason, but the first 2 are throwaway fun.
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RIP David Burke; a most engaging Watson who did a lot to reset the character away from being a buffoon.
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Well, that’s a shame, though I guess he had a good run at 92. I’m currently working my way through Season 1 of the Grenada series again and very much enjoying Burke, who’s probably my all-time favorite Watson. There’s just a hint of the “lovable but slow” Nigel Bruce-model Watson to him, but with Burke it’s not so much a case of eternal obtuseness as it is just being on a learning curve; as a mere mortal Watson is naturally always a few steps behind Holmes but he’s working on it. In “The Solitary Cyclist” Holmes is uncharitably blunt when he tells Watson his efforts at intelligence gathering were a complete failure and waste of time, and Watson is visibly crushed. But once we get to The Norwood Builder, Watson unearths and follows his own line of inquiry and contributes an important piece of the puzzle. He’s a partner and not just a sidekick.
With Burke, Watson’s function is not to prove to the audience how smart Holmes is by looking stupid in comparison, but instead to serve as his “human familiar,” conveying how singular and often odd Holmes can be, and softening the rough edges that might threaten to make him unlovable. When Holmes pulls off a miraculous display of reason, Watson beams with pride in his friend, and when Holmes displays an utter lack of concern with social niceties, Watson winces with mortification for…well, everyone in the room. I know that’s all there, or hinted at, in the original texts – the beauty of the series is its faithfulness to the source – but Burke brings it to life on screen wonderfully. What Jeremy Brett does in the role is beyond compare, in my estimation, but to the extent it works as well as it does, it’s because Burke’s honorable, chivalrous, patient Watson is there to bounce off. And you can sense Watson’s influence on Holmes, who sometimes makes an effort at good manners or offers up a kind word solely because of what it will mean to his friend.
I also like that Burke’s Watson seems so young compared to Bruce’s, or for my money even Hardwicke’s. And he’s quite handsome. It was a gutsy move to cast someone who didn’t just naturally fade into the background next to the lead actor. You can believe these two as contemporaries, and as friends.
It’s been a long time since I watched the later seasons so once I get there I may find I like Hardwicke better than I remembered, but I vividly remember the disappointment I felt when Burke left the show.
Glad we’ll always have these episodes to revisit. May he rest in peace.
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Interesting?
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Looks like Holmes is going to be re-animated…
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Bezos‘ mouth watering already: yesss, yesss, Bond animated…
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I’ve said this before, I’m not a big fan of animation in general - but after watching Blue Eye Samurai I can actually see an animated Bond succeed. Not as the major tentpole production; it’s probably always going to be a niche interest.
But I think that’s why an animated adaptation of You Only Live Twice for example might work. Or the original Moonraker. Books where the emphasis isn’t necessarily on the big set pieces and where recreating the original locations would be costly in relation to the budget. Animation could be the answer to this.
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I looked up the books this animated is based on. Im more morbidly curious now than anything else.
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Watched it…
PHOEBE WALLER BRIDGE presents PHOEBE WALLER BRIDGE
in enola holmes 3…i guess
It is very much a PHOEBE WALLER BRIDGE!!! star vehicle.
Edit: Was actually Millie Bobby Brown whose ego trip this is.
Gives you an idea how little an impression it made.
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Good news! Indira Varma and Olivia Williams are always brilliant.
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I found the first season fairly entertaining. But the most interesting figure to me was Moriarty - and one gets probably the most out of it if one forgets about any recognisable version of Holmes. Even the ‘Warlock Holmes’ parodies seem to be closer to Doyle’s creation than this.
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Most people ive talked to agree with you -Moriarty was the highlight and you could’ve easily, and possibly benefited, droping the Sherlock Holmes connections.
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Between Euros, Enola and Beatrice Holmes, I do wonder why Sherlock Holmes having a secret little sister is becoming common place…
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Young female audience.
Every target group must be hit.
Next up: Bond and his other siblings.
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Enola, most certainly.
The other 2 hoped the audience wouldn’t think of it.
Sherlock guessed right
Young Sherlock it was obvious to the point they made the right choice dropping it all at once.
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Not a fan of the Sherlock version because by that point I thought the series had jumped a whole family of sharks and I had trouble staying onboard with it. Maybe one of these days I will give it a second chance, see if it agrees better with me.
Ritchie’s series gets a free pass from me because here the sister serves the noble purpose of opening a triangle with Holmes and Moriarty - something Ritchie would otherwise only achieve with Holmes’ mother but then have to go into a slightly different direction.
In general though I’d rather pastiche authors and screenwriters left the sister angle untouched. Unless you plan to concentrate on her - as the Enola works do - it’s always going to be a ‘female Holmes’ gimmick. And if the sister was simply an ordinary Victorian woman, why bother?
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Proprietary, dear Watson: Conan Doyle estate wins battle over sidekick’s name https://share.google/7WyumR5KJVN54uLnd
This is an odd one.
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He wanted it for… leisure wear?
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