If You Like Mysteries, Why Not Try the Source?

Rosa (and the rest of my family) watches a lot of mysteries, often in the background of doing other things, but there are some she'll give her whole focus to, and I'll watch with her. When we got a couple of new streaming services, she went through all of Midsommer Mysteries. The show follows a formula but that one is well done and I'd join in when I was around. Recently, she caught up on Father Brown. (Also formulaic, as they all are, but the strength and likeability of the characters works well in its favor.) We watched the newer seasons together. My favorite of the recent ones is the Brown spin-off Sister Boniface. It has the same excellent execution as it's parent show, and an even more likeable cast. Plus it's filled with self referential humor, including shout outs to all sorts of Sixties, British Pop culture. (Doctor Who, The Steed and Peel Avengers, James Bond, etcetera) For added bonus points, the good Sister's Dad is Geoff McGivern, the original Radio Ford Prefect!

When we ran out, I suggested the same thing my Mom told me when I started on Encyclopedia Brown and Nate the Great as a kid, "If you like these, why not try the source?" Meaning the birthplace of serialized eccentric Detective fiction- Sherlock Holmes. We went with its greatest adaptation, the four series starring Jeremy Brett in the title role by Grenada television for ITV.

They are amazingly well done, and highly true to the text. The "chubby doofus" version of Watson, largely inspired by Nigel Bruce, is nowhere to be seen. Watson, while not as brilliant as Holmes, is an intelligent and experienced military doctor. He has his own areas of expertise, is physically capable in a chase or fight, and has more empathy and far better social skills than his compatriot.

Jeremy Brett threw himself into the role (probably to the detriment of his own health) and became the great detective. Aside from being older than the character was in the Doyle stories, (especially in the later seasons) he matched the mannerisms perfectly. The melancholy, the violin, the fighting skills, the drug addition, the disguises, the bursts of brilliant energy, the moments of compassion... they're all there. 

David Burke was equally talented as Watson, yet the change after the first season to his self chosen successor Edward Hardwicke was seamless and had no drop in quality. 

All the iconic roles were cast perfectly. Charles Gray as brilliant but lazy Mycroft, Rosalie Williams as the ever fussing Mrs. Hudson, and Colin Jeavons (Max Quordlepleen himself!) as Inspector Lestrade all put an indelible stamp on characters taken straight from the stories.

Watching these, (or reading the books) is a reminder as to how much of fiction the original Sherlock Holmes stories influenced.

Holmes and Watson are both well dressed, (the deerstalker is only for country trips, never for the city) with impeccable taste in food and tobacco products, just like James Bond would eventually be. The international back stories of many suspects and victims also mirror Bond's world travels.

Some of the adventures take them out to various woodland estates, for crimes that match the newer "English Countryside" mystery shows. 

The relationship of the emotionally distant, Edwardian dressed, genius Holmes, and the less intelligent, but still above average in smarts, and also brave and compassionate Watson pre-dates the Doctor and his Companions. 

I feel like over time, writers have put a great deal of Mrs. Hudson into Bruce Wayne's steadfast, doting and long suffering butler, Alfred.

The tropes that the Sherlock Holmes detective stories established are so strong, that it is surprising how many of them they defy. Holmes does not always arrive "in the nick of time." There are several stories where the killer is caught only after a final murder of someone the Great Detective was supposed to save.

Sherlock does look down on "blunt instrument" type policemen. (And similar minded individuals.) Yet, he does show respect and even friendship towards Lestrade and some other competent inspectors. In fact, there are times where he insists on taking no notation or accolades for his work, and leaving it to Scotland Yard to get all credit for the arrest. 

However, there are multiple cases where Sherlock and John determine the crimes committed are completely justified and have no qualms about letting the criminal go on their own, well before the representatives of the law arrive. 

For any fan of mystery stories, I cannot recommend the Sherlock Holmes tales highly enough. And there is no doubt in my mind that Jeremy Brett and his fellow cast members inhabited those roles better than any performer before or since.