My ratings of every Sherlock Holmes adaptation I've ever read/heard/watched
No idea why I'm doing this. I have two assignments due. Keep in mind my memory is not perfect and feel free to disagree.
- Original stories and novels by Arthur Conan Doyle
I've read all of them, believe it or not. I was a bored kid. Conan Doyle really was a genius - to this day not a single adaptation has managed to surpass him in mystery construction. The adventures are unpredictable, believeable and very clever. As for characters...I love the original Holmes and Watson, but most others could be replaced by cardboard cutouts, and the besties themselves occasionally suffer from being Victorian. Doyle, like most of his contemporaries, is terrified of emotional honesty. But I'm willing to explain it away by saying it's Watson himself who doesn't want to bare his heart too much.
- Additional stories by Adrian Conan Doyle
Yep, that was Conan Doyle's son. Look...he tried. The spirit of the original is definitely there and he nails the characters, but main draw of the original stories - the mysteries - is not the same. They just aren't as clever! Holmes' deductions are too far-fetched, to the point where I sometimes want to tell him “yo Sherlock, that was bullshit right there”. Not worth a read. Sorry, kid.
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - the Soviet adaptation
Mysteries (same as original) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Am I biased because of nostalgia? Highly likely. But I love this show with all my heart. My favorite Dr. Watson by a mile, and the Holmes is far more kind and calm than you're probably used to seeing. The chemistry between them is awesome (the actors were actually friends!!!). Even the most basic background characters are charming. The acting goes a bit more into theatre than I would like, though, and the small budget definitely shows, especially to a modern audience. And of course, they couldn't go to London, so they had to settle for other European cities, which just ain't it.
I'm glad they tried to put a little more sauce into the besties, but Watson ended up kind of unlikeable and Sherlock turned straight. I wouldn't have a problem with the latter if Irene Adler was interesting, and I'm pretty sure she did some crazy shit in those movies, but I barely remember her at all. Sad! The mysteries aren't that mindblowing, which is actually good because it's easy to lose track of what's going on when Guy Ritchie is Guy Ritchie-ing. Speaking of - it's a blockbuster, it looks and sounds amazing, but I don't find it particularly memorable.
- The BBC Sherlock with Cumberbatch and Freeman
This one is hard to rate because there is a big drop in quality in the middle of the show. I only really like the first two seasons. To them, I'd give 4 stars for mysteries and 5 stars for characters. But I can't just ignore the absolute shitshow that came after, can I? Okay, I can say one thing for certain: I love this show's visual style. I think it's the best way to portray Holmes' thinking, and the locations are so memorable and well-designed. The first two seasons were also funny as fuck. If the characters in Ritchie's adaptation can be too mass-market, here they all come with their own little...weirdnesses and annoyances, which sometimes make them more endearing (MOLLY HOOPER I LOVE YOU) and sometimes make me want to scream and tear my own hair out in a bad way (congratulations Martin Freeman, that's the worst anyone has ever done it).
- Sherlock & Co. from Goalhanger
They made Sherlock Holmes into a podcast! Sherlock & Co. is the perfect modern-day adaptation because it does the same things that Doyle did - tunes into the Zeitgeist and connects the crimes to the anxieties of modern life! Ah, but Doyle is still unsurpassable. The only adaptation where I've been able to solve some mysteries before the big reveal, which, ironically, is disappointing. Incredible characters: loveable, complex, believable. Least homosexual adaptation despite being the most recent one. I don't mind at all, their friendship is adorable and Marianna is a great addition to the dynamic.
