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sherlock60Let's talk telly in the discussion post for Granada's adaptation of The Man with the Twisted Lip. If you haven't seen this episode yet, you can find it at YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video, and DVD. Follow me behind the jump for some of my random thoughts and impressions. Please add your own in the comments!
Note: Canon discussion is available in the canon discussion post. Thanks!
- The Man with the Twisted Lip is an atmospheric tale, and certainly Granada does a good job fleshing out the atmosphere as well. Upper Swandon Lane is hideous here. When Watson backs himself into the wall after watching one man attack another with a broken bottle, we sympathize completely with his horror. Even in the daylight, it's a terror, as poor Mrs. St. Clair finds when she gives a poor beggar child a coin and is instantly beset by a dozen desperate others. It's easy to romanticize Victorian London with Holmes and Watson, but this episode does an excellent job of reminding viewers why we should be ecstatic we live here in the modern day.
- I confess, I am completely partial to Edward Hardwicke's Watson, and he is terrific here, particularly in the early scenes with Mrs. Hudson and Kate Whitney. He is so respectful and kind, charming and funny. I just love him. And of course, Mrs. Hudson is marvelous here too, comforting Kate and commiserating with her about the grown little boys they both must deal with. Completely adorable.
- Personally, I found this story to work much better overall in text than in TV adaptation form. There's something off here, something a bit awkward and uncomfortable. The emotions feel wrong to me in places. One thing that strikes me in reading TWIS is Holmes' sympathy with Mrs. St. Clair, and his concern over telling her the truth as he believes it, that her husband is more than likely already dead. It's part of the reason why he's so relieved to have Watson with him to meet with her. But in the Granada version, Jeremy Brett seems to have taken the description of Holmes as "embarrassed" to be questioned by Mrs. St. Clair too literally, and that is the only feeling I get from him in that scene, unfortunately.
- Waking Watson after figuring out where Neville St. Clair went, Holmes calls his name several times, first simply, then in a bit sing-song voice. Finally, he tickles Watson's foot and that gets his attention. It's a rather silly moment, and also unusually playful and intimate. It's easy to slip into some slash goggles watching it.
Note: Canon discussion is available in the canon discussion post. Thanks!
- The Man with the Twisted Lip is an atmospheric tale, and certainly Granada does a good job fleshing out the atmosphere as well. Upper Swandon Lane is hideous here. When Watson backs himself into the wall after watching one man attack another with a broken bottle, we sympathize completely with his horror. Even in the daylight, it's a terror, as poor Mrs. St. Clair finds when she gives a poor beggar child a coin and is instantly beset by a dozen desperate others. It's easy to romanticize Victorian London with Holmes and Watson, but this episode does an excellent job of reminding viewers why we should be ecstatic we live here in the modern day.
- I confess, I am completely partial to Edward Hardwicke's Watson, and he is terrific here, particularly in the early scenes with Mrs. Hudson and Kate Whitney. He is so respectful and kind, charming and funny. I just love him. And of course, Mrs. Hudson is marvelous here too, comforting Kate and commiserating with her about the grown little boys they both must deal with. Completely adorable.
- Personally, I found this story to work much better overall in text than in TV adaptation form. There's something off here, something a bit awkward and uncomfortable. The emotions feel wrong to me in places. One thing that strikes me in reading TWIS is Holmes' sympathy with Mrs. St. Clair, and his concern over telling her the truth as he believes it, that her husband is more than likely already dead. It's part of the reason why he's so relieved to have Watson with him to meet with her. But in the Granada version, Jeremy Brett seems to have taken the description of Holmes as "embarrassed" to be questioned by Mrs. St. Clair too literally, and that is the only feeling I get from him in that scene, unfortunately.
- Waking Watson after figuring out where Neville St. Clair went, Holmes calls his name several times, first simply, then in a bit sing-song voice. Finally, he tickles Watson's foot and that gets his attention. It's a rather silly moment, and also unusually playful and intimate. It's easy to slip into some slash goggles watching it.
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Date: 2012-10-21 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-21 08:46 pm (UTC)I was puzzled as to why the Granada version says the bricks are for the daughter, whereas in the original they're for the son. Also in the Granada Watson gets to sleep at 4am and is woken two hours later, in the original he's woken at 4.25. Minor details, which I probably wouldn't have noticed had I not read the story and then watched the episode an hour later.