I really do have a fascination about Sherlock and Conan Doyle.

By accident I live in Baker Street.


Any Sherlock aficionados?

The new BBC show, certainly. Benedict Cumberbatch is wonderful.

Read some of the original stories back in the day. Can't say it was ever an obsession, though.

Yesterday was A. C. Doyle's birthday... May 22. He was also an MD (eye doctor) and was close friends with Harry Houdini. Interesting man.

I really admire Conan Doyle's writing style.  In Sherlock Holmes novels, it almost feels like some kindly, world worn GP is narrating how impressed he currently is at this intriguing and enigmatic man.

That takes a lot of skill.

Arthur Conan Doyle was also a historian, and I've recently had the pleasure of reading his account of the Anglo-Boer War (which the British arrogantly call the 'Boer War', as if they had nothing to do with it). It was fascinating to read about such a familiar historical event from a completely different perspective to the one I was taught by my (Boer) teachers. But I digress.

I once met a lady whose birth name was Shirley Holmes. I figured she must've taken some flak as a child for having such a name, so I jokingly said "Wow, you must be glad you weren't born a boy, because then your folks would've named you Sherlock! LOL".

She gave me an indecipherable look, and answered: "Oh, you mean like my brother?".

That's right. They'd named their kids Sherlock and Shirley Holmes.

Winner.

I have read Sherlock Holmes a little bit. Sounds like Doyle is an interesting person.

I really love the BBC series (y'know, the one with Benedict Cumberbatch in it), I just love his nutty but awesome logic/reasoning style, he's totally nuts, but heck, what a genius! And an awesome one!

I read some of the books and enjoyed the recent BBC series.Not really got an obsession with it,I used to drive a bus to Baker Street when I was a London bus driver.

Bbc version is not as nutty as elementary.

Elementary, My Dear Watson.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/

Love the BBC Sherlock, really well done.  A lot of the writing is done by the actor that play the brother, who also wrote for Dr. Who.

And I share the same birthday with A. C. Doyle     

Georgie

I have to admit I lasted 10 mins of one episode of Elementary. I thought that was awful.

Quote from: Cindy. on May 24, 2013, 09:21:43 AM
I have to admit I lasted 10 mins of one episode of Elementary. I thought that was awful.

It gets better. Maybe 1/4 of Sherlock quality, by the end.

Yup Lucy Liu as Watson felt kind of weird...benedict and martin freeman are a much hotter pair! I remember reading some very hot fanfiction

When I was 11 the thing I wanted most in the world was an authentic deer-stalker hat. Got one for my birthday and wore it everyday for 2 years till the desklamp I used as a place to hang my hat was left turned on. Burned a huge hole in the wool! I still miss that hat...

I don't think I qualify as an aficionado, but I do love the short stories, especially Silver Blaze, The Speckled Band, and The Blue Carbuncle. The Hound of the Baskervilles is perfect, and would make a wonder film if all or nearly all of Doyle's narration and dialog were used - one really can't improve upon it. I used to read Sherlock Holmes to my son, and these are among my fondest memories.

The original texts were very 19th century. I recall an incident in one of them where Dr Watson, while he is still married, goes to visit Holmes, to find Holmes has used his revolver to shoot holes in the wall in the shape of a letter V as an indication of his patriotic loyality to his Queen.

Like all good psuedo science fiction, the stories stem just past the bounds of reality. The modern term I believe is cromulence. This seems to be a feature of almost all modern drama and most modern examples of crime drama.

The contemporary element was the portrayal of 19th century, English, high values. It is the adaptability of the characters into different eras which make the creations so successful.

I watched the second half of a episode of Sherlock a few nights ago, largely because of this thread. It was very Dr Who. in its production and direction. The psuedo science has managed to remain just the other side of preposterus. But the thinking process of the main character was, well, bit OTT.

One question: would it be a totally ungay thing for two men in their thirties to live together in 19th c London?

I fell in love with Sherlock as a young kid watching watching the old Basil Rathbone movies on Saturday afternoons on the tele. Boy was I ever surprised when I finally got around to actually reading the stories when I got older.

My wife, being a Master Book Nut, tends to pick up all things Sherly for me. I must have 3-4 collections, a ton of a magazine called "The Baker Street Irregulars" plus a lot of other Conan Doyle books

Some day I hope to have the time to read them

I loved the baker street duo when I was a kid. Not a fan of any of the modernizations. I saw the Seven-Percent Solution when I was a kid and it made me gag. It revolts me that the latest movies are turning the cleverest detective in history into some sort of action hero.

Haven't read any Doyle for more than three decades, though.