Granada Discussion Post: The Creeping Man

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Let's talk telly in the discussion post for Granada's TV adaptation of The Creeping Man. 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 Creeping Man is available in this week's canon discussion post.


- This is our last Granada episode to discuss, sadly. It has been a delight to watch them all with you! For many, the Granada series is the finest interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on film or television, and for good reason. Jeremy Brett, David Burke, and Edward Hardwicke do memorable work bringing Holmes and Watson to life with vibrance and authenticity. What is your favorite moment in all these episodes? For me, it has to be the jump over the couch Brett's Holmes makes to keep Watson from leaving before he hears Jabez Wilson's story in The Red-Headed League. I was new to Sherlock Holmes when I saw that scene for the first time. It was a bit outlandish, but at the same time it was also so purely human. It brought the character of Holmes to life for me in a way I hadn't imagined before. He doesn't do that in the canon story, but he would. That instant is part of the reason the character of Sherlock Holmes holds such a special place in my heart. I credit Jeremy Brett for that.

- We go out with a wild one, quite literally. We start with a man in an impressively articulated but still obvious gorilla suit, and we end with a man screaming like a monkey and swinging from a tree. There's a lot to take in. Was it all too much for you? How about Holmes locking Watson and the other man into the cage with the gorilla? If that wasn't a step too far for you, I'm not sure what would be. Hardwicke's Watson has even more right to be furious than canon Watson does in this case, and that's saying something. At least we get some priceless eye-rolling from him, and some deserved choice words for Holmes, although not for the gorilla incident!

- Edith deserves so much better from the worthless men surrounding her. Her supposed beloved lacks any sort of spine to believe her or stand up to her father at all. Meanwhile, her father is mutating himself into a monkey and threatening her in her sleep with… well, best not to think of it. But through it all, Edith is amazing. She puts her foot down and smartly insists that either Sherlock Holmes is brought in or her engagement gets called off. She even is good enough to be kind to her would-be step-mother, despite how repulsive the prospective marriage is. Run for your life, Edith! You're better than all these people!

- Imagine Presbury's attack from Alice's eyes. You're asleep in your bed. Suddenly, something breaks into your bedroom window. It's feral, screaming like a wild animal and smashing the glass. You realize to your horror when it comes into the room that it is in fact the old man you just broke off your engagement to… but he's not fully human anymore. AND HE WANTS YOU. So you press yourself against the door, whisper your begs for mercy, and fumble with the knob. Finally, the door opens… AND A CRAZED DOG JUMPS INSIDE, which immediately goes for the throat of the thing that was once your fiancé, right there, just four feet from you in the middle of your bedroom. WOW.

Comments

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Yay, Granada! I've been following, though not this time joining in, your second round of canon-love, and first of all THANK YOU for your dedication to the 60 for 60 project, which will always have a special place in my heart and own ficcing.

I entirely agree with those who see this as THE most faithful (and, for the most part, most enjoyable) version of the Holmes universe. I do adore the couch jump, but special mention to this whole sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Ru54zlkUU). Best canon Lestrade ever, Colin. Most human Holmes, Jeremy - indeed. The first shot of him in profile in this ep is lovely, incidentally - thinking "Hmm, puzzle. Need a Watson."

Watson is delightfully grumpy in this one! Hardwicke has a lot more spine than the Watson in the canon story.

Yeah, I'm seeing Alice as a very pretty maiden aunt.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much, Tweed! It's been great fun from the beginning, and I'm delighted you came along with us. I was impressed by you and your work well before you did, and I was so excited when you joined up. Thanks for being around for this crazy thing and everything else since. :)

And good heavens, that *is* a good clip. Colin really is the best Lestrade ever. He's competitive, but willing to give credit and admiration where it's due. And yes, Jeremy is marvelous here. His pre-packaged "Thank you" vs the heartfelt bare whisper of the same -- ah! And then the moment just after with two of them together there, a bit embarrassed at this little spontaneous expression of affection for one another so Holmes breaks it up to spare them both with a barked demand for some file. Wonderful, and the best thing about it all is that all that feeling is 100% canon dialogue compliant. It's what makes Granada special.

You mention the gap between canon Watson and Hardwicke here. Where do you stand on Watson? He varies pretty wildly in canon between rather meekly following along with whatever Holmes wants in some stories and then openly standing up to him in others. How do you prefer to imagine him? Who is your favorite adaptation Watson?

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Interesting question. When I said that Granada is the best adaptation, I ought to have qualified it with best *TV* adaptation, because above all I love and adore the BBC radio complete stories adapted by Bert Coules et al and brought to life by Clive Merrison (Holmes) and the late Michael Williams (Watson). My ideal Watson would have the puckish enthusiasm of Burke, the solid good sense of Hardwicke and the self-awareness of Williams. I can't choose just one.

Oh, and Russian Watson - definitely the prettiest.