A League of their Own!

It's been quite a busy week, so I've had little time to work up new material although I have several items I want to talk about. Hopefully we'll be back to business as usual next week.

In the meantime, here's another one from the archives, a review of the movie version of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" originally written for Sci-Fi-London.

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is the latest in the recent spate of property plundering by Hollywood of its lesser regarded medium, the comic book, and therefore comes with a weight of expectation, not only as an adaptation, but also in comparison to the most successful comic book based films of the last few years.

From the root material created by British dream team Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen / The League / LXG" (Pick title as preferred) features a series of figures from literature of the Victorian-era brought together by the mysterious 'M' on behalf of the British government, to foil the efforts of the equally mysterious 'Fantom' to bring about the unthinkable. A World War! It is somewhat surprising that although the idea of vastly different characters being united in prose has been a staple of authors like Phillip Jose Farmer and Kim Newman for a long time, we haven't seen this concept (surely the highest of the high) translated to the screen until now.

As a movie in its own right, "The League" has much to recommend it. Sean Connery in the role of league-patriarch and Indiana Jones-literary antecedent Alan Quartermain is at his butt-kicking best, even so many years after receiving his bus pass. Indeed, the entire league acquit themselves admirably amongst the whiz-bang action and special effects wizardry that is expected from a blockbuster in this mould, despite material, such as a scene of two virtually indestructible characters playing slice and dice to the death, seeming derivative in its resemblance to a similar scene in the far superior X2.

Sadly, the film is severely flawed in structure and execution. With the insertion of Tom Sawyer (Shane West) and Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend) into the already large cast of characters from the comic-book (Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man and Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde) it becomes hard to keep track of all the characters and in a desperate attempt to justify their involvement in the plot the film becomes too 'busy', eventually degenerating into a situation where we have to follow four different branches of the plot at once. Additionally, the film suffers from the clumsy attempts to fill the less literary aware members of the audience into the backgrounds of these characters. Wordy and dull expository scenes, seemingly dropped at random into the action, leave the audience metaphorically tripped up and sprawling on their faces.

Impressive to look at, but as an action film it sacrifices much of the literary charm of the source material. Ultimately, a brave attempt at translating one type of comic book into another kind of film and therefore disappointing to both fans of the book and the regular moviegoer.

“You Get A Lifetime”

This post is the first of a few that will present items of mine 'from the archives...'. I've written for fanzines and other web pages in the past, so I'll use the opportunity to represent some old pieces of writing to get them back out there all in one place.

This one is a review of Neil Gaiman's “THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS” originally written for Sci-Fi-London.

Over a period of nine years from 1987 to 1996, Neil Gaiman reworked a mostly disregarded Golden Age D.C. Comics superhero, “The Sandman” into one of the premier horror / fantasy sagas of the last twenty years and working himself up from a virtually unknown journalist to the multi-award winning, multi-talented member of the so-called ‘British Invasion’ of the American comics industry that we know today.

Ending “The Sandman”, quite appropriately and deliberately, with the tale of William Shakespeare writing “The Tempest”, Gaiman laid down his pen and turned to other works, leaving others to play in the toybox of his creation with only a fatherly eye and occasional guiding hand. The epic novel for adults “American Gods”, children’s fiction like “Coraline” (now out in paperback) and the recently released “The Wolves in the Walls” as well as turning his hand to film and television scripting and directing the film “A Short film about John Bolton” kept him busy enough, but he also finds time to keep an online journal up to date.

And always he maintained that he would return to his best known creations, Dream of the Endless and his six siblings who are not gods, but something far, far more that gods bow down to. Now Neil brings us a plush hardcover anthology entitled “Endless Nights” where each of the Endless is given their moment in the spotlight. Some are proper stories, with a beginning, a middle and an end, that show who these Endless are and how they affect the mere mortals whose brief lives they touch upon, while others are more like poetry with indescribably gorgeous or indescribably strange artwork.

To touch upon everything this book has to offer would take more space than is available here, but the highlights for this poor-Sandman starved reviewer are the erotically charged (and with such a subject how can it be anything else) Desire story, “What I’ve tasted of Desire” (art by Milo Manara) and “The Heart of a Star” (art by Miguelanxo Prado), a tale of King Morpheus, that is by turns beautifully heartfelt, monstrously ugly and inestimably silly, which I suppose sums up the whole saga of “The Sandman” in itself.

There is nothing in “Endless Nights” that would stop the casual reader from picking it up as the first example of “The Sandman” that they have ever read, but as a long time aficionado of the series I feel this is more of an “icing on the cake” situation where it would give more to the long term reader. Indeed, I suspect that the twenty pound price tag may scare of a large number of potential first timers, so while I can wholeheartedly praise this stunningly attractive tome, if you’ve come to the party late then I suggest you search out the trade paperback editions of the original series.

You’ll thank me for it.

Really.

2011 Postscript - Endless Nights is due to be reprinted as part of the fifth volume of the Absolute Sandman series due to be published in November.

"Better to burn out..."



The cast of The Fades (L to R):
Daniel Kaluuya, Lily Loveless, Iain De Caestecker,
Johnny Harris , Natalie Dormer

 Why is it that if we want to see some smart, genre-based drama, we have to turn to the americans? For science-fiction, at the moment, Fringe has to be the must-see show, for horror and the supernatural it's got to be True Blood. Outside of the Saturday night family slot, those of us in search of homegrown genre product have very little to choose from beyond the late night fare put out by Channel 4 or BBC Three. The former with Misfits and the latter having already done wonders by launching Torchwood and bringing us supernatural dramedy Being Human.

Recently BBC Three has launched its latest foray into horror with "The Fades." Set in a world where some of the dead  (the titular Fades) aren't ascending to wherever it is they go next (heaven, beyond, the other side etc) and some of them are, understandably, getting a bit pissy about it.

Enter Paul. He's 17 years old and he's more comfortable with his mate Mac and his knowledge of film and comics than with his twin sisters friend who he somewhat fancies (Sounds familiar to a good chunk of my readers I suspect). If normal teen/geek angst isn't enough, it also doesn't help that he can, in best 'Sixth Sense'-style "see dead people" and is receiving visions of the apocalypse. It turns out that he's an 'Angelic', one of the few who can see the Fades and, unfortunately, it looks like the dead are learning to regain some form of corporeality by killing and eating people.

Many of the cast and crew are recognisable faces and names from genre (whether that be the sci-fi/fantasy or teen genres) shows. Former Skins and Shameless writer Jack Thorne has created an original take on some of the standard supernatural tropes while combining it with many of the the themes and ideas found Skins, such as dysfunctional family relationships, mental illness and sexuality. His conception and realisation of the Fades themselves are a very nice compression of Vampire, Ghost and Zombie all-in-one handy supernatural package, while having two of our leads as 'geeks' gives us the opportunity to use discussion of other genre material as a short cut to describe the ideas to the audience, leaving us time to concentrate on more important things.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the cast has two members of two difference generations of Skins in it, Joe Dempsie and Lily Loveless, while Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Ellis and Claire Rushbrook will undoubtedly be recognised from their individual appearances in Doctor Who. The most recognisable face is likely to be unusual sight of This Life's Daniela Nardini sporting a dogcollar. However, it's Iain De Caestecker who has the hardest job leading the cast as Paul. Although a jobbing actor for a number of years including a stint as young Adam Barlow on Coronation Street, it is only now that he's making the leap to (borrowing the old theatrical term) juvenile lead. Physically he reminds me somewhat of a young Rafe Spall (Just thinner than Rafe was at that age) while his portrayal of poor confused Paul will strike a chord with any make geek of a certain age. He and Dan Kaluuya work together to show a strong, believable friendship between the two teens that makes them seem more like an old-married couple. (and indeed, if you hadn't worked that out they're seen sat at the opposite end of a bench to an old-married couple to subtly press home the comparison.) We'll see Iain next as the young James Herriot in "Young James" and I foresee a strong career ahead.

From the crew, Producer Caroline Skinner recently joined the team at BBC Wales to make Doctor Who and seems to have taken the director of the first three episodes, Farren Blackburn, with her to direct this years Christmas special. As a team, the production is slick and well presented. Edited to the cracking pace you'd expect from a modern set drama, the effects work (both practical and computer generated) successfully presents the more fantastical elements of the Fades and the Angelics without looking ropey. A special mention should be made of the full body prosthetic for the 'Chief Fade'. Wrinkly, old, emaciated, but vicious and blood-thirsty with it. A scary guy, just as he should be.

Regrettably, it's taken me a few weeks to get round to catching up on the episodes gathering virtual dust on my PVR, but I've now watched the first half of the series (up to a truly surprising cliffhanger) and strongly recommend that anyone who hasn't caught this yet leap on iPlayer as soon as possible to catch up on the show.

"The Fades" intelligently mixes exploration of life, death, mortality, love, sex and many other aspects of teen living in the UK with flesh-eating monsters and references to Neil Gaiman which can only make the show feel like it was produced by people like us and for people like us. For once, it's a secret we need to be sharing with others rather than keeping it ourselves.

Find out more at the http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/thefades

"Never been a faker..."

Going to the cinema, especially as a family, can be an expensive business these days. An average trip to our local multiplex (2 Adults, 1 Teen and 1 Child plus associated beverages) can cost upwards of Forty quid, so you can imagine it doesn't happen terribly often, especially with the high profile new releases. Frankly, I've lost count of the number of films in the last few years I missed at the cinema. However, Vue Cinemas have an early morning weekend strand called KIDS AM which prices family films at (currently) £1.25 a ticket. So, that's the four of us for less than a fiver. A veritable godsend that has meant we've been able to see recent films like Cars 2 and Rango for a reasonable price and all we have to do is sacrifice the Sunday morning lie-in.

Last Sunday I finally caught up on a recent film from my all-time number one greatest film-making hero. Yes, we went and saw "Spy Kids: All The Time In The World" from the worlds best known medical guinea-pig turned all round film-making renaissance man, Robert Rodriguez. 

I should go on record as saying that my favourite film of all-time is Rodriguez debut, "El Mariachi." It's generally a great, enjoyable action film, but the simple achievement of making it for $7000 makes it even more impressive. Take the DVD of the film with its director's commentary and 10 minute film school feature in conjunction with Rodriguez' diary "Rebel Without A Crew" and you have pretty much all you need to know about low-budget film-making. To describe reading the "Rebel" diaries as a transformative experience might be a little innacurate as I'm sat here blogging about it rather than a film-maker myself, but I did learn alot which has proven useful in scripting and film-making in the past.

Unlike some of his contemporaries (Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith being the obvious examples) Robert Rodriguez hasn't stayed in just the one style of film, be it action, horror, comedy, etc. While he's continued to work in the same vein that made him (Recent actioners include Sin City and Grindhouse follow-up Machete) Rodriguez has always made time for more family-orientated fare with films such as Shorts, Sharkboy & Lavagirl and the aforementioned Spy Kids franchise and I've loved them just as much as his more adult aimed movies. As a family-man himself Rodriguez obviously prides himself on making films that will entertain his own kids as well as the adults that accompany them.

"All The Time In The World" is a reboot and sequel to the series, working from the same premise as the first film. 'What if you found out your parents were spies?'. New tweens Rebecca and Cecil's (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook) father is career-obssessed and has no time for them while they in turn have no time for their step-mother (Jessica Alba taking over from Antonio Banderas as the retired spy). When Alba's character is called out of retirement to confront the suitably bonkers villain, The Timekeeper and his sidekick Tick-Tock, the kids find themselves accompanied on a mad adventure accompanied by a talking robot dog (voiced by Ricky Gervais) which leads them to take over as the next generation of Spy Kids from their predecessors (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara are all growed up!)

While plenty to be had here for new and old fans of the series (References to the first three films abound including a very brief cameo from Danny Trejo) Rodriguez has learnt the lessons of "Spy Kids 3D" so that this time the characters and themes aren't overshadowed by the action and adventure. Indeed, it has to be said that the FX work here is far beyond the green-screen work of the previous film, but with it being grounded in the real world it works much better than the Kiddie-Matrix stylings of "Game Over." The theme of this film is making time for your family because you don't know when that time will run out. As with any film of this genre it's a little heavy-handed on the theme, but you know what you're getting when you walk in the door, so you can't complain when it delivers what you expect.

A word about Aroma-scope or, as we all usually call it, Smell-o-vision. The third Spy Kids film was in 3D, so obviously someone wanted to find somewhere else to go with the fourth. At strategic points throughout the film you're asked to scratch and sniff a card that you are given but, to be honest, its a one-note gag and was entirely unnecessary. The film stands up in its own right and, speaking as someone who isn't bothered about 3D either, that's all it needs to do for me.

Lots of bond-style gadgets and visually dizzying action will keep the kids entertained throughout while Dad's like myself can appreciate Jessica Alba in a skin-tight catsuit (and the movie geeks can puzzle over Jessica Alba being Alexa Vega's aunt. They aren't THAT far apart in age.) Credit also to the supporting cast with Joel Mchale as the spy-hunting father and Entourage's Jeremy Piven who play it absolutely straight in role's that scenery-chewing would pull us right out of the film.

Whether you are previously familiar with the Spy Kids franchise or not you and your family will enjoy this mini-Bond epic for what it is, a pure escapist entertainment, and whether we see a Spy Kids 5 or not you should make time to sit down with the kids for "All The Time In The World."

"We are the Sherlock Holmes, english-speaking vernacular...."

"He is the Napoleon of Crime, Watson, the organiser of half that is evil and nearly all that is undetected in this great city..."

— Sherlock Holmes, "The Final Problem"

by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle

So spoke the great detective on the subject of Professor James Moriarty, styled as Sherlock Holmes arch-nemesis by their creator Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. Despite only appearing directly in two stories of the Holmes canon ("The Final Problem" and "The Valley of Fear") and being referenced in a handful of others, he has gained an importance alongside the great detective that is, possibly, ill-deserved. While Conan-Doyle himself described the adversarial

relationship as a months-long battle of wits culminating in the well-known wrestling match at the Reichenbach Fall, this all happened in the pages of one short story. It is only through the embellishment of the canon by other writers and by films, television, radio and

theatre that Moriarty's stature has become equal to that of Holmes himself. 


Kim Newman's "Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles" is not the first time an author has expanded Moriarty's role and told tales from his side of the fence (Former James Bond novelist John Gardner, detective and science-fiction writer Michael Kurland and fantasy author Neil Gaiman have all written stories with Moriarty as the 'hero'), but it is, potentially, the most entertaining take on the subject. 

"The Hound of the D'Urbervilles" expands to novel-length a number of previously published short stories which run to a template of, as the author puts it, "one Doyle 'guest star', one other Victorian literary source, a parody title" and "a 'case' that doesn't turn out so well." "A Shambles in Belgravia" therefore is Irene Adler plus "The Prisoner of Zenda" equals the anti-"A Scandal in Bohemia". Written ostensibly by Colonel Sebastian "Basher" Moran, formely of the first Bangalore Pioneers, Moriarty's right-hand man and the chief protagonist of "The Empty House", "Hound..." takes us though seven 'cases' from Moriarty and Moran's first collaboration "A Volume in Vermillion" through encounters with the characters and situations of H.G. Wells, Thomas Hardy, Sax Rohmer, J. Milton Hayes and others through to an ending with "The Problem of the Final Adventure."

Styled (by the use of the character of Moran himself) as one part boys-own rollicking adventure yarn, one-part Holmesian pastiche and one-part comedy tale, much of the fun of the book (As with Newman's "Anno Dracula" series) comes from playing 'spot-the-reference.' The author is a noted expert on movies and genre fiction and his knowledge of his subjects (and research into them where there have been holes) fairly pours out onto the page successfully bringing to mind the feel of the victorian literature that it emulates.

Highlights abound.

• "Shambles..." starts with the single-greatest line associated with anything Sherlock Holmes-related, "To Professor Moriarty, she is always that bitch."
• "The Greek Ivertebrate" makes merry with the thorny issue of the multiple Moriarty brothers referenced in the canon (the Professor, the Colonel and the Station master) and which of them is called James.
• Moran scoffing at the references to various depictions of Moriarty in other fictions including as a time-traveller, a hologram and as Holmes himself.

With, not one, but two new interpretations of Moriarty on the screen thanks to the BBC's Sherlock and the Hollywood Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, this volume is a timely release. It can't, and doesn't, pretend to present a definitive version of Holmes adversary and potentially could put the Holmes purists into a state of apoplexy (I imagine their reaction to be somewhat like the more reactionary Doctor Who fans, only with more walking sticks and Horlicks...), but as a purely escapist entertainment or as a primer to other pieces of genre fiction that you may not have previously encountered then it can only be strongly recommended.

Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman. Titan Books. RRP £7.99
With thanks to Matt Anson

Recommended Further Reading:-
The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung
The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu or, The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
Carnacki the Ghost-Finder by William Hope Hodgson
A Bid for Fortune: or, Dr Nikola's Vendetta by Guy Boothby
Dr. Mabuse The Gambler by Norbert Jacques
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar by Maurice Leblanc
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
The Jewel of the Seven Stars by Bram Stoker
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (Recently republished by Titan Books)

"I like Big Books..."

"I like big books and I cannot lie.
You other readers can’t deny
That when a kid walks in with "The Name of the Wind"
Like a hardbound brick of win. Story bling...."

- Baby Got Books
by Jim C. Hines
(with apologies to Sir Mixalot)

I can remember the very first "BIG" Doctor Who book that I possessed as a fan of the series. (We're defining Big as a book that is less for reading and more for battering small animals to death with.) It was a remaindered (or possibly second-hand) copy of Peter Haining's "25 Glorious Years."

It purported to give an overview and insight into the history of Doctor Who between its birth in 1963 and the silver anniversary year of 1988. The background to the shows production was still relatively new to me at the time. I'd just started reading Doctor Who Magazine and I was slowly picking up the Target novelisations here and there, so names like Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman were fresh discoveries. The gospel according to Peter Haining (because that's what it felt like, a holy book) was an easy read and had lots of pictorial material to break up the text. I can't remember how many times I read and re-read that book, losing myself in the wonder at what a (for want of a better word) big subject it was. In later years "25 Glorious Years" was joined by many similar books, alot of them written by Peter Haining, and to be honest as I got older I realised they weren't very good. It turned out that Haining wasn't a fountain of knowledge. He was a 'gun-for-hire' who could make a living out of churning out these books which weren't strictly accurate in places. He was eventually supplanted by other books from other writers like David J. Howe and Gary Russell. (Keep an eye on that second name, we'll come back to him later.) Writers who actually did proper research and had a true love of the series legacy. And I bought them too.

But I still remember the first Big book...

This Christmas will see many a fan, old and new, have their book shelves weighted down by further chunky tomes. "The Brilliant Book 2012" follows up on last years similarly titled "The Brilliant Book 2011" as an official guide to the production of this years series of Doctor Who. Covering the period from last years Christmas special "A Christmas Carol" through to "The Wedding of River Song" editor Clayton Hickman blends interview material with the main leads (Matt, Karen, Arthur and Alex) plus Clan Chief Big Boss McSporran (Steven Moffat) with factual and fictional information about each episode.

A breakdown of the story accompanies the runners and riders and where you've seen them before plus for the stats freaks there are plenty of numbers about each episode to keep you going. Favourite scenes, deleted scenes, and fantastic facts are present to cover everything you are likely to need to know about the episode in question. Highlights from the additional material include a factual page on former President Richard "Tricky Dicky" Nixon (reminiscent of the attempts at such items in Doctor Who annuals of old, only accurate), a comic strip adaptation of Neil Gaiman's unused opening scene for "The Doctors Wife" (Revealing Rory is a big fan of The Beatles) and a guide to "The Changing Hats of Doctor Who" (from Hartnell's Astrakhan to Matt Smith's cowboy hat.) I confidently predict the line "I wear a stovepipe. Stovepipe hats are cool" next year.

Each episode also comes complete with a piece of art by Lee Johnson which are reminiscent of the glory days of Andrew Skilleter and Alister Pearson's covers for the BBC Videos and novelisatons. Slickly presented, wittily written, by turns informative and entertaining it's everything Doctor Who should be. Only shame is that it's shrunk in size so it no longer sits comfortably alongside the aforementioned old annuals (or for that matter its own predecessor). Minor gripe, but you know how anal some fans can be.

And speaking of anal fans, have you ever thought about what we used to do in the days before Wikipedia and the internet? What did we do if we had a burning need to find out the answer to a particular question? (Which planet did Captain Cook find Mags the werewolf on in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy?" Vulpana. Easy!) Reference bricks like "The Universal Databank" and the unfinished multi-volume "Encyclopaedia of the Worlds of Doctor Who" spring to mind, but is there a place for that sort of book in the modern era?

BBC Books and Gary Russell (There's that name again) certainly think so with the latest edition of "Doctor Who: The Encyclopaedia." Four years on from the last edition (as Gary points out in the introduction) and thats a great deal of new Who to fit into the book, but fit it he does, covering all free-to-air Doctor Who between "Rose" and "The Wedding of River Song" taking in "Attack of the Graske", the animated specials, The Adventure Games and special charity episodes from ABADDON to ZYGONS.

Given the nature of the book it's obviously not something you'ss spend time sitting down and reading from cover to cover. It's big (400 pages),  it's chunky, it's full of lovely images spread throughout the last 6 seasons of Doctor Who, but it will only be something that you dip into from time to time when you want to know an answer or feel a compelling urge to read up on the full history of a particular character. (Amy rates a whole two pages to herself while Rose only manages one-and-a-half.)

My favourite entry filed under "I did not know that" indicates that Bowie Base One from "The Waters of Mars" was built in Liverpool (Given my blog name, it's a given I'd check for any Merseyside references.) I'm pretty observant, but that one completely passed me by which proves just how much work will have gone into making this book as detailed and comprehensive as possible. Gary Russell himself has expressed an interest in a 'classic' Who volume of the encyclopaedia and if the level of quality displayed here can be kept up then I would support the idea.

In closing, I do wonder if today's new generation of fans will remember their first big books in the same way. They're still published. They're shinier. Prettier. Definitely more accurate. Will they hold the same level of fascination?

Doctor Who: The Brilliant Book 2012. Edited by Clayton Hickman. Published by BBC Books. RRP £12.99
Doctor Who: The Encyclopaedia by Gary Russell. Published by BBC Books. RRP £25.00

The Strange Case of the Random Rewatch

I found myself recently twiddling my thumbs and without anything on telly. I had only enough time to watch something about an hour long. The large pile of films that I haven't watched yet was therefore out so I reached for my complete Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes collection.

Although I'd started working my way through the Granada TV adaptation of the Holmes canon I had, annoyingly, forgotten where I had got up to, so with a sigh I decided I would have to start again.


To Sherlockians, the first story is "the one." That is not to say that it eclipses all that followed, but it is undoubtedly held representative of the canon and in all retellings it is the one that you will come back to time and time again. Therefore, I expected to find rewatching "A Scandal in Bohemia" to be a bit of a chore to be honest. I know the story in text, telly and radio versions inside out (not to mention back to front given the Leslie Klinger annotated set of the canon I have in pride of place on my bookshelf.)


Imagine how pleasantly surprised I am to find it is still compulsive viewing even on the umpteenth time round.


Jeremy Brett was always brilliant, (It goes without saying really) but I don't think I'd ever really paid attention to some of the subtleties of his acting before. Facial expression, physical mannerisms, all representative of an actor utterly consumed by the role.


Being more familiar with Edward Hardwicke as Watson I'd more or less forgotten how good David Burke is. A younger and slightly less fuddy-duddy Watson than Hardwicke and certainly not the slightly idiotic portrayal of, say, Nigel Bruce. Let's face it, Holmes would never hang around with a complete berk. Burke's Watson is a smart man in the prime of his life (barring 'the wound' that invalided him out of Afghanistan). It is only in comparison to Holmes that he is made to look inferior or to feel stupid, not that he actually is inferior or stupid. Indeed, Holmes himself often compliments his friend (in a slightly back--handed manner to-be-sure) when Watson tries to use what he has learnt of Holmes techniques even if his deduction prove to be wide of the mark.


I'll always have fond memories of the sumptuous Baker Street set on the Granada backlot which I had occasion to visit when the Granada Studios Tour was still open. It's amazing to think that its actually only a very short street and in comparison to the Coronation Street set around the corner, it is positively tiny. It's rare for me to compliment ITV on period drama, (Frankly the BBC have always been superior when it comes to period/costume drama) but the Granada team had the Victorian era of Holmes down perfectly.


I subsequently moved on to "The Dancing Men" and "The Naval Treaty". The supporting cast can usually be trusted to throw up some notable mentions. The Derbyshire constabulary represented by Kryten Mark 1 from Red Dwarf. David Ross in "The Dancing Men" and Blake himself, Gareth Thomas in "The Naval Treaty" as our examples herein.


As a period adaptation of the original canon I still feel that these episodes can't be beaten, so I'm very glad that the modern Holmes for the 21st Century (the Benedict Cumberbatch TV Series and the Robert Downey Jr movies) are going in a different direction rather than trying to beat an already superior product. The last couple of attempts at aping the Brett Holmes on television, both produced by the BBC suprisingly went somewhat wide of the mark. Richard Roxburgh in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (during that period where played three different victorian literary characters... badly) and Rupert Everett in "The Case of the Silk Stocking" really only had one thing to recommend them and that was Ian Hart as Watson.


And after writing all that I'm in the mood for another episode.


Come Watson, the game's afoot...