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Monday 23 January 2012

Missing Sherlock

He's only been gone a week - and wasn't with us for long - but I'm missing Sherlock already. I know a lot of people criticised the series as not true to the Arthur Conan Doyle originals but I loved it. Obviously it wasn't intended as a word-for-word remake just with a modern setting, but more as a homage using the classic text as a starting point to re-imagine the stories from - in much the same way that Clueless or Bride and Prejudice do for Jane Austen's novels.
Anyway, sigh, no more Sherlock for now, so what was I to watch on Sunday evening?

Well, the BBC thought Birdsong would make a suitable replacement.Er, sorry, they didn't manage to convince me. I haven't read the book by Sebastian Faulks but have heard lots of good things about it - I just hope it's better than the televised version. I watched about 15 minutes - in which the most interesting thing was women's fashion - and gave in to boredom, even the horrific blowing out of a soldier's chest felt unrealistic.

I turned over and continued my search for entertainment with 127 hours - for a mere minute or two, till the trapped climber started playing with his penknife and thinking of chopping his arm off - too realistic and believable! Not for me.

A lot of channel hopping later I found myself half an hour into Working Girl - Melanie Griffiths wanting to make it big - with hair to match - in corporate America. Tired old rom-com or feminist statement? I didn't care really but settled down to watch it - yet again!

I hope there's something better on next weekend.....

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Sherlock or Watson?

I've been avidly watching the latest BBC series of Sherlock - and following the on-line chat that follows. What surprised me most was that alongside discussions of plot twists and Conan Doyle's original stories was a thread debating Sherlock's sex appeal. Now, I've enjoyed the series immensely but Sherlock as sex god? No thank you!
No doubt under the nerdy exterior he's very clever but he's selfish, opinionated, arrogant, rude.... the list of undesirable qualities could go on for ever! The most important person in his life will always be himself.

Sidekick John Watson on the other hand has the appeal of a cute cuddly dog - loyal, trusting. Equally caring and useful he's the sort of guy who would bring breakfast in bed, get up in the middle of the night to settle a crying child and know how to unblock a drain or fix the car. Sherlock's behaviour in a domestic crisis doesn't bear thinking about!
I know which one I'd pick.

The only snag is John's attachment to Sherlock - how can any woman, or man, come between him and the genius sleuth?

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My thoughts on the latest Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr