Mr. Holmes and Mr. Holmes

So yeah, there's a lot of Sherlock just floating about and now that I've reviewed both of the relevant entities, I thought I'd do some comparing. Why are we so fascinated with this one fictional character and his mythos? Why is there still such a prevelance for stories featuring him, even though they're far, far removed from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle? To be honest, I have no idea, really. But perhaps I can have a stab at it. I do like to think I know a thing or two about a thing or two.

For those who read my short-lived Televisual blog, I tried to think about crime fiction and why it intrigues us. It is basically seeing the darkness that is within all of us realised. Sherlock Holmes is, of course, the very definition of crime fiction, using a private 'consulting detective' to do the cases that the police just can't solve themselves. Because of his maverick genius and difficult to deal with manner, he is both respected and ignored by his collegues, with one notable exception.

Watson is Holmes' only real friend, and even then that friendship can be quite easily stretched. Watson is a very typical device as an audience surrogate, he is new to Sherlock's world so we can see everything quite neatly through his eyes, rather than the more confusing and jumbled world of Sherlock himelf. It's an enduring set of stories that haven't quite left the public interest, especially since they're now in the public domain and quite free to molest to our own purposes.

So, to compare the two versions of Sherlock I've just seen and talked about. Who does what better? Let's think...

Sherlock himself: The BBC
Dr. John Watson: The BBC
Irene Adler: The BBC
Professor Moriarty: Hollywood
Misplaced Grandeur: Hollywood
Fight Sequences: Hollywood
(Discombobulate)
Myecroft Holmes: The BBC
Use of Forensics: The BBC
Detective Lestrade: Hollywood
Unreal Cleverness:The BBC
Watson's Love Life: Hollywood

I mean, these are just my personal opinions, so I shall agree that many people wouldn't agree. I think the tally there puts the BBC ahead by one, which seems about right. Even though it's set modern day, I think the anarchoristic soul of the work is best represented by Moffat, Cumberbatch and Freeman, while Ritchie, Downy Jr. and Law are there for the big explosions, the stupid fun and the swish sword fighting that Hollywood is so very set up for. Moriarty's plot in the BBC version was stupendously awesome, but the actual part was nothing compared to the Hollywood version, despite that particular plot not being up to much.

It's kind of a good thing that we have both, really. I watched the last episode of the BBC version on January the 15th (my birthday), a mere few hours after leaving the cinema to see Game of Shadows, so I had the benefit of being able to look at them next to each other, as it were, and compare what I could. Be glad we have both. I'm not sure anyone will ever hit Sherlock Holmes spot on, and I'm not sure that anyone ever should. For something that hasn't left the public eye for so long, we should never stop changing him or moulding him, each time crying out that this one is the most faithful adaptation.

After all, he's the most portrayed character in screen history, he's bound to have been through a few facelifts.

INSIDE MEN

So yeah, despite the fact that I've just been rambling about one of the best shows the BBC has done in a long time, Inside Men is undoubtably one of the best shows the BBC has done in a long time. The whole thing, from start to finish, was a masterpiece of cunning, power, crime, violence, greed and self.

I don't think I've ever seen a more powerful piece of character transformation, or a more detailed and rigorous plot that seems so firmly entrenched in its own structure that the characters blend seemlessly into the whole as if they were just along for the ride in their own lives. Which they kind of were.

It centres around a Bristol based Counting House, a warehouse that spends its time counting money for banks, bookies and cash machines. It's employees are tempted every day, because every day they have to look at stacks of more money than they will ever earn in their lifetime. And so what does that temptation do?

To be honest, if I were Securicore or some company like that, with armoured vans and more CCTV than a prison, then I'd ban my staff from ever watching this show. It was dark, gritty, detailed and had all the right elements of a true masterpiece. I simply cannot rate this show highly enough. Buy it on DVD. Now. Right now.

Next up: WARHORSE