Sherlock Holmes Is Awesome

August 11, 2018

When I was first introduced to the BBC show Sherlock I had already been reading the Sherlock Holmes stories. Study In Scarlet, The Speckled Band, were my favorites. I was at first upset that Benisnoot Cumberpatch did not look how I imagined Sherlock Holmes in my head. Nor did Martin Freeman look how I imagined John Watson. I quickly became enraptured by the show however. I enjoy both the original stories and the TV show immensely. Who doesn't love a good mystery? Of course before I found Sherlock Holmes I found the Great Mouse Detective, which is a great movie. And before the Great Mouse Detective was Scooby Doo. I guess I've always loved mysteries. I'm pretty sure the only reason I read Study In Scarlet was because I needed to read something for English class.

Once I became a fan and found out about the insanely long time between seasons I became very upset. The actors would be way to old and I would be raising my children into adulthood before the next season came out. So I started reading again. Let me tell you, the stories and show are very different but each are good in their own way. Something that always stays the same is the way I ship John and Sherlock. Johnlock forever.

SPOILER's AHEAD!
Something that really changed was John's reaction to Sherlock being not dead. In the show John was like 'You absolute A-hole!' and beats Sherlock up. An understandable reaction. In the story, Sherlock shows up to John's house and goes "Hey I'm Alive" and John goes "Neat!" Sherlock's death also was different. So was John marrying Mary. Lots of things were different. Finally, a part that made me mad when they changed it. Irene Adler. In the show Irene Adler is this sexy dominatrix. In the stories Irene Adler is a mysterious woman who outsmarts Sherlock Holmes and earns his respect in doing so. I feel cheated.
SPOILERS DONE!

Something I learned which was funny, was how crazy the Sherlock fandom is. Not just the modern one. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got sick of writing Sherlock he killed him off. What he didn't expect was the reaction of his fans. People protested by wearing black armbands in the streets and Doyle's own mother spoke out. Apparently women even beat him in the streets with their umbrellas! The magazine that had been publishing Doyle's stories almost went out of business when people cancelled their subscriptions out of anger. He got a letter than began by calling him a brute and Americans started "Let's Keep Holmes Alive" clubs. In fact we could say that Sherlock Holmes fans really started out fandom's. The show is basically fanfiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.

Here is Sherlock and John

Here is more Sherlock and John

Left to Right we have: Detective Inspector Lestraude, Mary Watson, John Watson, Mrs. Hudson, (Standing) Mycroft Holmes, (Sitting) Sherlock Holmes, and finally Molly Hooper.