sherlock60 | Granada Discussion Post: The Illustrious Client

Let's talk telly in the discussion post for Granada's TV adaptation of The Illustrious Client. If you haven't seen this episode yet, you can find it at YouTube and on DVD. Follow me behind the jump for my random thoughts and impressions. Please add your own in the comments!

Canon discussion for The Illustrious Client is available in this week's canon discussion post.

- I love this Kitty, with her fiery temperament and her red hair hiding a secret. She's powerful and stirring. "Why, Kitty, why?" She moves even Sherlock Holmes.

- Glad to see post-hypnotic suggestion disappear as a reason why Violet is devoted to Baron Gruner. That plot detail was dumb in canon, and pointless to boot. Although having said that, I thought Gruner and Violet's relationship not convincing here. They have no realistic chemistry together. I can see a seductive older man with a dark reputation and a silver tongue seducing a young romantic and rebellious woman. But not these two.

- Porky Shinwell is my hero. "Right, who's first?" Fantastic. I wish Porky and Kitty were recurring characters. Maybe in their own spinoff. Porky and Kitty working out on the street for Sherlock Holmes, and in the downtime, fixing problems for people in the lower classes with fists, wits, and bravery. Yeah, I'd watch that.

- Porky is unarmed for his battle, but destroys his two opponents handily. But Sherlock Holmes, a renowned fighter, gets overtaken by his pair even with the benefit of his stick as a weapon. Age is creeping up on him.

- Canon Watson steals the newspaper proclaiming the murderous attack on Sherlock Holmes, too stunned to actually pay. Granada Watson dutifully hands over his coins. I wish he hadn't.

- We actually see Gruner's book here, and the pictures are indeed racy. Many are topless. On the other hand, Violet's photo couldn't possibly be any more chaste and proper. Would he have changed the picture later when he talked her into more risque acts?