(Re)Discovering the Detective

(Re)Discovering the Detective
By Andrew Uys

Long before I was a fan of Batman or Richard Castle, I idolized the deductive skills of a certain Mr. Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories filled my childhood, and ever since, I've had a passion for criminal mysteries and the quick-witted men and women who solve them. Since those early days, I've discovered Magnum PI, Law & Order, The Mentalist, and two of my favourite shows — Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire.

The thread here is obviously an enjoyment of detective stories. More personally though, my reading tastes have gravitated more towards those seekers who can discern the truth of a crime through the study of their fellow man. 'Crime fighters' who win not through brawn, chance, or the foolishness of their foe, but rather through the keenest devotion of the human mind to the task at hand. In that respect, there is none so skilled as Sherlock Holmes.

Now I’m in my early 30s, and I haven't returned to the original Sherlock Holmes stories in nearly twenty years, but that is about to change. For I have recently been introduced to the BBC's Sherlock, and it is one of the best pieces of storytelling I have ever enjoyed. Quite possibly better than even Conan Doyle's original works. Before I am tarred and feathered for such an exclamation, I would like to share a little about the people responsible for this fantastic new show.

If you take the time to listen to the commentary included with the first episode, you hear Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss sharing how much they enjoyed Conan Doyle's stories at an early age. It also quickly becomes apparent how well versed they are in all the subsequent adaptations and spin-offs. And they state outright that as they developed the pilot of the show (and that is a rather good tale in its own right), they considered EVERYTHING canon. At least to start with. From there they set about building their own world of Sherlock Holmes. One that is very modern -influenced by events and concerns that shape our own day-to-day lives.

To me, this is perfect. The executive producers of Sherlock hope (and, I would hasten to add, have succeeded) to recreate the 'essence' of those Sherlock Holmes mysteries that they enjoyed so much in their youth. They want to both honour the richness of Conan Doyle's world and make their stories connect in a fresh and exciting way... much like how Conan Doyle made his readers feel that Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson could be solving a crime just a few doors down from where they lived.

And in all of this, I haven't even begun discussing how this new show opens us up to a great discussion of 'translation.' Needless to say, Sherlock is more concerned with keeping to the spirit of the original than with making a literal, word-for-word adaptation. My ideas about translation and how this relates to adapting books to TV to movies (and variations thereof) stem from reading Walter Benjamin back in university. It’s a topic I'd love to revisit, and when I do, I'll definitely be using this amazing show as a prime example of "how to get it right."

I'm not entirely convinced that I have even scratched the surface of why I like the BBC's Sherlock, and I've only touched on the larger topics and creative ideals that this show and the men and women involved in it cause to leap about in my head. Still, that is why UysFaber will be devoting its first podcast of 2012 to discussing Sherlock and why it engages its viewers on a level that few other shows seem to achieve.

After the podcast I hope to have honed my thoughts further, and I will have the chance to write a follow-up piece. Till then, give Sherlock a try. If by the end of the third episode you aren't enjoying it, you might want to re-evaluate whether you have any good taste at all... ;)