Yet another new Sherlock project?

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Right now we've got the Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (the first was released in 2009, and the sequel will be released this December) and the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (Season 1 aired late last year, and Season 2 will be airing sometime in 2012), but it just isn't enough, apparently.

(Deadline.com link)

I suspect that this show won't actually get made, since new Holmes projects are always being announced and the vast majority of them never see the light of day. There was supposed to be a comedic film with Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell around the time of the first Downey film, and another TV show with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie not long before Laurie was cast on House, a show that could fairly be described as "Sherlock Holmes M.D." (Fry will be playing Sherlock's brother Mycroft in the second Downey film.)

If it does get made, you can surely expect a trendy "dark and gritty" version of Holmes that owes more to Law & Order and C.S.I. than Arthur Conan Doyle.

Wasn't the BBC series "dark and gritty".

If this turns out to be good I won't mind. Can't see them beating Benedict Cumberbatch's version though (wtf is up with his name?)

^ The BBC series isn't really the "dark and gritty" that I'm thinking of. I'm talking about movies and TV shows that are overly dark and depressing, that suck the fun out of the story, where none of the actors ever smile. Think about Batman Begins or Revenge of the Sith or Robin Hood, or pretty much every single crime drama on TV right now (Law & Order, CSI, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, etc).

Unfortunately, this is what a lot of people want. They say "it's supposed to be that way!" when you point out that Christopher Nolan's Batman films aren't fun at all, and Andrew Scott got a lot of criticism for the way he played Moriarty on the BBC series (fun, lively, a little over the top). The BBC series has some grit, but they're fun adventure stories overall, certainly not the kind of DARK DARK DARK stuff I'm alluding to.

I also don't expect them to beat or even match the BBC series, or even the Robert Downey movie for that matter. This is CBS, after all. I fully expect them to mold their Holmes series after their other crime dramas, none of which I find interesting in the least.

I think the new CBS series will probably just be an Americanized version of the BBC series. It's what American networks do.

I don't watch TV, but if CBS posts full episodes on their website I'll probably check it out.

But not if they make Sherlock do this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948[/youtube]

If that's the case, I hope they don't use the same plots and style, because it would be a waste of time. Simply remaking the BBC shows with a Holmes who has an American accent and operates in New York or Los Angeles won't be enough. If they're going to go ahead with this idea, they need to completely reinvent Holmes and make it their own.



Have you seen the BBC series, at least? It's excellent.

I believe that's what they did with The Eleventh Hour. I haven't seen the original British version, but I've read that it was basically re-set in the US. I enjoyed the US version, but I also want to see the British version to see how it compares.



I have, a couple of times actually. I thought it was an excellent re-imagining. I'm looking forward to the second series very much. The only disappointment for me is the series being limited to 3 episodes.

I thought The Dark Knight was fun

I can't believe that Moriarty got criticism for the way he was portrayed. He was perfect! That ending was extremely good. I was so disappointed when I realised it was the last one for the year. I understand this version is a little different, but I think it was a change for the better.

As for the CBS series... it would suck if it copied the same stories as the movie and tv series, but it's kind of inevitable. Both of them are going through the Moriarty storyline, and probably most of the adaptations in existence have done their own take on it.. To be honest I think the stories from the book are already overused. New adaptations should come up with their own stories. When I hear about the plot for the next series of Sherlock I just can't get that excited... I mean I've already seen these stories before, you know? I want something new.

Whether or not it’s a good movie is one thing, but I don’t see how anyone could find it fun. Iron Man is fun. The Dark Knight feels like Batman found himself in the world of Se7en. It’s so unrelentingly dark and depressing that it makes Tim Burton’s movies feel like Sponge Bob in comparison.



The scene in which Holmes confronts Moriarty near the swimming pool, I thought, struck a great balance in tone. Andrew Scott did the same thing Heath Ledger did in The Dark Knight. He was having so much fun with the role that the audience has fun with it as well, but he managed to seem genuinely psychotic and dangerous at the same time. I can only hope that Jared Harris will be able to do the same with his Moriarty in the next Robert Downey film.

Anyway, my point was that he was criticized simply for having fun with the character and being lively, instead of being grim and taking things far too seriously. Whether or not he did a good job apparently didn't matter to the people who were complaining, they just have a knee-jerk negative reaction toward anything that's not as dark and serious as possible, and I think that's a shame.



At this point, there's no point in adapting Arthur Conan Doyle faithfully. Even if you wanted to do that, it's already been done, so you might as well forge your own path. I think the Robert Downey film and the BBC series are both doing the right thing, taking elements here and there from Doyle and combining them to make mostly new stories.

If the CBS series actually gets made (again, I would bet money that it won't), I won't mind them using Moriarty, but they'll have to radically reinvent him as an American style Mafia boss or something. Purists will complain, but there's no reason to make yet another version of Sherlock Holmes unless you're going to make it distinct from the ones that already exist.

^

It was fun to see what the Joker would come up with next.

I had to look up who Jared Harris was. Turns out I recognise him from Mad Men. He's plays one of my favorite characters so I think he'll do alright.

Jesus! They're popping up like flies.

First there was the Robert Downey movie and its sequel, which is coming out later this week. Then there was the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch, which is getting a second season next year. Then there was the announced American series from CBS which prompted me to post this article. And now there's apparently yet another new show popping up.

In Russia.

Pictures at the article linked below.

(link)

There's no link..

Anyway it can't hurt. I hope it somehow matches the quality of 'Sherlock'. 3 episodes is too short...

The BBC series is brilliant, as are the new films. This CBS version could go either way really.

Huh?

^

I just saw the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes Saturday night, I liked it allot.

Korean television has one too! (fake link)

I'm confused.

Did I mention I'm stupid? You have to be fragile with my sensitive brain.



I was surprised at how much I liked it, since I didn't really like the stuff that Guy Ritchie had done before. I regret not seeing it in a theatre. I won't make that mistake with the sequel.

Edit: Typo.

Last edited by Jory on 13 Dec 2011, 1:30 am, edited 1 time in total.