Rupert Everett is playing Sherlock Holmes tonight on Masterpiece Theater.

[tjdee]

Apparently on a channel called...PBS?
:silly:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/silkstocking/index.html

A curious choice certainly--but I think he's going to do a great job. Love Rup... plus, he calls George Bush Baby Doc and thinks all entertainment is on a road to shitsville....gotta love the cantankerousness!

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. Neat.

I'll set the Tivo.

[Reciprocity]

2. I watch PBS more than the mainstream networks.

CSI and the evening news along with some sports is all I watch on non cable . On the Dallas PBS they have a great show from Britton called Rosemary and Thyme, that I love, with Posh Nosh filling out the hour. Rick Steves, Daisy Cooks!, Monarch of the Glen, Antiques Roadshow, and Rick Bayless are just few I can name off the top of my head that I like and love on PBS.

AS far as the new Sherlock Holmes. I'll watch him but, in opinion he does not have the look and feel of Sherlock Holmes from what I've seen in the trailers, this may change. My beloved and greatly missed Jeremy Brett is a hard act to follow.

[tjdee]

7. Well, Rupert says it's a return to the Doyle Holmes.

Though, the one he talked about what Basil Rathbone....

Anyway, Rupert's deal is that he feels that Sherlock has been sanitized. The guy was an opium addict, for pete's sake. So I think he tries to delve into what kind of guy is smoking up (in Victorian England no less) and then solving crime with a precision that's almost psychotic. A criminal solving crimes, as it were.

I've not seen any trailers, just the stills, so it's possible I'm overoptimistic--but most of the reviews have been very good for his performance, even if the (non-Doyle) story itself has some problems/oddities.

[Reciprocity]

10. I'm glad to hear about the reviews !

Well the deal is, is that it was legal to use both morphine and cocaine (he injects himself with a solution of 7% cocaine and 93% saline solution.) Both drugs were legal in the Victorian England time, and could be bought at the corner drugstore. In my opinion Holmes suffered from a bipolar disorder and he was self-medicating.
Here some symptoms.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe.

Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include

Increased energy, activity, and restlessness Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood Extreme irritability Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another Distractibility, can't concentrate well Little sleep needed Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers Poor judgment
Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down" Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions Restlessness or irritability Sleeping too much, or can't sleep Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolar.cfm

So yes the Holmes in the books was a very dark person of whom he never allowed people to get close to. Watson is about the only one who ever knew anything about what made this guy tick. Holmes's work is about the only thing that made him interesting. Without it he was an empty shell.

[AmyDeLune]

11. Doyle's father was an alcoholic

artist with little money. He was institutionalized for his alcoholism, developed epilepsy, and insisted that he could see faeries (he illustrated them in great detail). Quite an interesting fellow in his own right and one can see his influence in the creation of Holmes too.

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/01/art-stacy.php

[hickman1937]

15. Wow. Thank you.

Something to look into.

[supernova]

3. Ga! It competes with Rome on HBO!

PBS? :dilemma: HBO?

[philosophie_en_rose]

6. It's on three times tonight.

So you can watch both.

[hippiechick]

4. I've been looking forward to this !

PBS is about the only thing I watch anymore ... (I'm cable-free)

I love Monarch of the Glen, too, BTW :)

[Az]

5. Just a comment on Holmes

I am a fan of Doyle's ficticious detective as well. But one has to realize that he actually is a cryptoracist/classist. In the world Holmes occupies people cannot be anything but what they are born to be. Doyle was a staunch classist. He did not believe that people had a potential to be anything beyond the class they were born to. And this is reflected in Holmes.

Holmes is able to predict aspects of people because in his world identity fits class and class extolls identity. Thus the man with the limp and calloused fingers could only be a former army stenographer.

[tjdee]

9. Oh sure.

I'd agree with that, I think....but I haven't read any Holmes in a long time. My general impression while reading it then I think, which is why I'm excited about Rupert's performance, was that he wasn't as much Mr. Victorian Society as you'd expect.

But generally I think you are correct.

[Lavender Brown]

12. Reading the Holmes stories is pretty surprising if you saw the films or tv

shows first. In the very first story, he's shooting up. :o

[ikojo]

13. During Victorian times (and increasingly becoming so

now in the US) people were pretty much constrained by the class into which they were born. Son's became what their father's were and daughters married people of their own class.

[Az]

19. True but

Doyle's position didn't just lean towards profession. Its what got him in trouble with the Fairies. He could not concieve that a pair of lower class girls could outwit an upperclass gentleman.

It is a classist belief that people are only capable of what their particular class allows. Its not just an economic situation. It is believed that they are limited mentally as well. Contrained by their station.

[ikojo]

23. Many people in this country also believe that if you are wealthy it

must mean you are intelligent. Poor people are seen as being less intelligent as well as less industrious. The Calvinists believed that wealth proved one's favor with god. Poverty indicated one had fallen out of favor with god.

There are plenty of poor people that are very intelligent but because of their class position they lack the education and vocabulary needed to convey their thoughts.

[gollygee]

8. It sounds interesting

and I love Rupert Everett. I'll have to set the tivo.

[Reciprocity]

14. Coming up for me at the top of the hour. n/t

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

16. It's pretty good, from what I remember

Since watching it, there's been weekly repeats of the Jeremy Brett series' "The Adventures...", "The Return..." and now "The Casebook..." which I'd not seen, plus I download many of the radio shows available at:

http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/radio.php

so I've had quite a lot of Holmes in one year! Everett & Hart were both good & the whole film was a lot darker than the Brett' Holmes (and obviously nothing like Rathbone). You'll enjoy it and as always, it's great to see British TV making it across the Atlantic.

[tjdee]

17. Ooh it's on!

And LOL, it starts with ole Sherlock tokin' on the drugs!

[Reciprocity]

18. It was good.

It started out like the opening scene from the movie "From Hell". In the movie Johnny Depp is in an opium den and his mind sees the victims of Jack the Ripper. Just like Holmes does in this movie. Also the ending has the same music selection that ends "Masters and Commanders The Far Side of the World." Nice touches. I like the mix of old stand by phrases and new plots. I can't say he is up to Jeremy's standards but those are big shoes to fill.

[tjdee]

22. Indeed--I liked some of the touches he added.

I very much liked how, the first time Watson brought up the case, Rupert furrowed his brows, looked down, almost like "Oh crap, I don't think I can take this again"... I thought his facial expressions in the presence of the families said a lot. Every Holmes I've seen up to now is quite the businesslike fellow (from what I remember, it's been a while) but I thought Rup inserted some very nicely placed emotional touches.

Not related, but I loved how he told Watson's fiancee "Ah well, we live and learn". That was great!

[Beausoir]

20. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the heads up.

I just wish Rupert hadn't had so much facial "work" done. He looked cadaverish. But a good performance. And Dr. Watson was fantastic!

[tjdee]

21. I know! No wimpy Watson!

I was so excited for poor Watson, LOL! I don't think I've ever seen a Watson I've liked better. Actually, I was a bit disappointed that Watson was the one to rush to the Duchess (??) and figure out where they were keeping her. I'm old school, LOL, a part of me still felt Holmes is the only one who should have a brain!

Rup looked kind of strange for sure at times, but I chalked that up to the makeup people? They laid on the eyeliner a bit thick...