Data and Sherlock Holmes

“Data! data! data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay.” (Adventure of the Copper Beeches)

As a lifelong Star Trek fans, as well as a Sherlock Holmes fan, this article from ScreenRant made my heart happy...

Data Is Never More Human On Star Trek: TNG Than When He's Sherlock Holmes

I found it to be an excellent reminder of how the ST:TNG writers incorporated Sherlock Holmes into the plot of the show. As the author writes, "Data achieved a certain level of humanity on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his time as Sherlock Holmes was an important part of his journey." Holmes fans may sometimes put just a bit too much emphasis on the detective's often cold, emotionless nature, but I think it's sometimes the glimpses of humanity through that exterior that really makes us love Holmes. And Data, too.

Warner Bros. parodies Holmes

I had almost forgotten about this 1956 parody of Sherlock Holmes that Chuck Jones directed for Warner Bros. I'm sure this is one of the earliest Sherlock Holmes parodies I ever saw (either this one, or Sherlock Hemlock from Sesame St.).

Daffy Duck is Dorlock Holmes, and Porky Pig is Mr. Watkins. The two live on Beeker St. in London (at No. 221 ⁷⁄₁₆). When we first see Mr. Holmes, he is working on his (tax) deductions. Eventually he tackles the Shropshire Slasher, with predictably hilarious results. (Especially the way Daffy says "Shropshire Slasher"...)

You can watch the cartoon at the link below. Enjoy!

Deduce, You Say - SuperCartoons

Sherlock Holmes Animated Films (1983)

In 1983, an Australian animation company called Burbank Films Australia produced animated films of the four Holmes novels (with slightly adjusted titles): Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear, Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four, Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse, and Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet. The animation quality is not great, and even though Peter O'Toole would seem to be a good choice as the voice of Holmes, his performances are...less than stellar.

Still, I suppose they are an interesting historical artifact, in a way. And honestly, as a kid who was interested in Sherlock Holmes, I probably would have loved these back in 1983.

Here are YouTube videos of the four films, so you can get an idea of what they look like. I can't recommend spending the time to watch them in their entirety, but if you feel like it, go ahead!

Granada TV Series Review: "The Bruce Partington Plans"

At long last, I'm resuming my series of reviews of the Granada TV adaptation of Sherlock Holmes adventures, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Watson. It's been a while!

"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans," a case from the collection of stories entitled His Last Bow, is popular with some Sherlock Holmes fans, as it contains one of the appearances of the great detective's brother, Mycroft Holmes. It is a fun tale of accidental murder, international intrigue, and traitorous behavior, all over submarine plans (the Bruce-Partington Plans of the title). I found the Granada adaptation to be an enjoyable, and quite faithful, adaptation of the source material.

Jeremy Brett seemed to me to be in great form in this episode, as he harnessed the humor and sudden bursts of energy that Holmes is prone to exhibit when he's working a case that he enjoys. Charles Gray, appearing again as Mycroft, is perfect in the role. Inspector Lestrade, who is the Scotland Yard detective who appears in the original story, is replaced in this episode by Inspector Bradstreet, played very capably by Dennis Lill.

The pacing is certainly not very quick by today's TV standards, but I quite enjoyed the leisurely way in which the mystery played out. Even the end of the case was played with less action than one might have expected, but something about the tone of the ending really worked for me. (I found Dennis Lill as Bradstreet most effective in this final scene.)

There aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles in the episode, to be sure (no murderous hounds foaming at the mouth, or venomous snakes creeping in the night), but I found "The Bruce Partington Plans" to be a very solid entry in the Granada series lineup (despite the loss of the hyphen in the title). I don't have a star rating system for these reviews, but if I did, I think I'd give this one a 4/5. Just good, solid storytelling.

Happy 170th birthday, Mr. Holmes!

I thought this was a fun little birthday pic to share.

Happy Sherlock Holmes' birthday to those who celebrate!

For more information on why we traditionally celebrate the Great Detective's birthday on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, this article from I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere will be of interest to many readers.

Wrapping up 2023 with a Sherlock Holmes movie!

Here we are, in the last several hours of 2023, and I thought I'd spend an hour and a half watching a Sherlock Holmes film that I'd never seen before: the 1965 film, A Study in Terror, starring John Neville as Holmes and Donald Houston as Watson, as well as Anthony Quayle as Dr. Murray, and Frank Finlay as Lestrade. (A young Judi Dench plays a small role, too.)

The film pits the world's greatest detective against that most frightening of 19th-century killers, Jack the Ripper! To be honest, there's not really a whole lot of impressive deduction to be found in the film, but it is pretty enjoyable anyway. Neville is quite good as Holmes, and Houston is a solid Watson. Frank Finlay (who played Iago in Laurence Olivier's rather infamous Othello) is quite good as Lestrade, and Robert Morley's portrayal of Mycroft Hoimes is quite entertaining. I won't give away any of the plot, as part of the enjoyment of any Jack the Ripper film is trying to figure out the identity of the killer.

It's certainly not the best Sherlock Holmes film I've ever seen, but it's far from being the worst. Apart from some hairdos that looked considerably more mid-60s than Victorian in style, most of the costumes and sets looked pretty good to me. And the movie's pace is fairly quick, so it never gets boring. Overall, a pretty enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half! (You can watch the film at the YouTube link below.)

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back in 2024 for more Sherlockian fun!

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972)

There are several different film versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and a few of them are quite good. This made-for-television version from 1972 is not one of the good ones. For one thing, the overall look of the film is quite low budget. Star Trek fans (such as I) may find the appearance of William Shatner as Stapleton interesting, but Shatner appears a little out of place here. Stewart Granger looks considerably older than the usual actors who have portrayed Holmes, with his white hair. He's not horrible, he's just not very interesting. Bernard Fox as Dr. Watson is perfectly serviceable, but equally boring.

Reportedly, this film was intended to be the first of a series of made-for-TV films, but the negative reviews apparently put the kibosh on that idea.

Although there's little to recommend the film, I am sharing the YouTube video of the version below. Some Sherlockians may find it interesting, despite its low production values.

It's done!

It took a few days, but I have successfully migrated (almost) all posts from the Original Baker Street Babble on Weebly to their new home here on Tumblr. (I chose not to move just a few posts that were simply about features on the original blog that were new at the time, as they really don't apply to this blog.)

All of the migrated posts have hyperlinks in their title line, connecting them to the original Weebly posts. From here on out, there will be no new posts on the Weebly version of the blog, so it will serve as a sort of backup to this version. (Of course, that means that any dead links on the old site will remain dead. I don't intend to do any maintenance on the old site.)

If you're new to the blog, here are the different pages that you can access via the menu at the top of the page:

Posts: this speaks for itself. It's where all new posts live.

Inquiries: you can ask me any question about the blog or about Sherlock Holmes in general, and I'll do my best to answer it.

About BSB: this gives you some background on how I came to create the blog. I may update this page in the near future.

Links and Such: these are some of my favorite Sherlock Holmes links. I may add more info to this page someday soon.

Sherls on Film: YouTube video of some of the various iterations of the Great Detective that have appeared on film and TV.

Bookshelf: a virtual bookshelf (in flipbook format) of the canon of Sherlock Holmes stories and novels.

The Original BSB: links to the original version of the blog, which I will no longer update.

Pinterest: links to my Baker Street Babble Pinterest page.

Archive: self-explanatory, it enables you to browse through and search all the posts on the blog.

Enjoy the blog!

The Adventure of the Bloo Sparkly

Every year around this time, I encounter this remarkable GIF, a humorous animated retelling of "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." If you're a fan of this little seasonal tale from the canon, this will almost certainly bring a smile to your face!

(Many thanks to the folks at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, for bringing this little gem--ha, get it?--to my attention a long while back.)

Reblog: Sherlock Holmes, Style Maven

[As I was migrating posts from the original Baker Street Babble, I took a look at this post from 2019, and I thought it was pretty interesting and worth a reblog. Enjoy!]

As I've been catching up on Elementary, I happened to look at some pictures from earlier seasons of the show. I realized how much Jonny Lee Miller's look has evolved since the earlier days of the show.  For example, here is a shot from towards the beginning of the show's run...

Note the rumpled jacket, and the vest with a T-shirt underneath. The vest gives a hint of dressiness to the otherwise Bohemian sloppiness. Now here's a picture from a later season...

This is generally how Miller looks later in the show, a much more tailored, dressy look than earlier. Now, as you may have guessed, I am NOT any sort of style expert...far from it. But I do find the costume design on Elementary particularly fascinating, especially considering that Lucy Liu's wardrobe as Watson has drawn a lot of attention over the past half dozen seasons. An article from The Atlantic describes some of the stylistic history of the character of Sherlock Holmes, with particular emphasis on the costume design of Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Holmes in the BBC's Sherlock. Of course, the look of Cumberbatch's Sherlock is quite different from Miller's. See below...

If we dig back further in the cinematic history of Sherlock Holmes, and take a look at Basil Rathbone, we see the same sort of contemporary look for the time period in which the films came out. I mean, check out the snazzy fedora...

And what's with the funky hairdo in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)? Nice modern suit, though (for the 1940s)...

Even when we get Sherlock back into his original setting of Victorian England, the dude is a snappy dresser.  Here's Peter Cushing in The Hound of the Baskervilles...

I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't mention the most famous stylistic choice of all time when it comes to Holmes...the deerstalker cap, first seen in one of Sidney Paget's illustrations, but first made popular by stage actor William Gillette.

Yes, Mr. Holmes has always been stylish, regardless of the era in which he appears. I suppose even the sloppy, rumpled Bohemian look of Robert Downey, Jr. has its own "style"...I mean, you just have to love the sunglasses...

Re-blog: Sherlock Holmes and the Mormons

[I originally published this post on the original version of Baker Street Babble on Weebly in February 2014. Enjoy!]

Anyone who's read the very first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, knows that the second half of the novel deals quite extensively with a sect that, at the time, was still somewhat in its infancy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons.  A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887; the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830.  So the founding of Mormonism was far closer in time to Doyle than Doyle is to modern readers.  

If you have ever met any modern day Mormons (I've met quite a few in my life), you might find the sect as described in A Study in Scarlet vastly different from the people you've experienced. Portrayed as more or less fanatical minions of Brigham Young, the Mormons in the Holmes adventure are pretty grim figures.  Hard to reconcile them with today's freshly scrubbed, shirt and tie wearing missionaries!

It's unclear to me how much research, if any, Doyle did into the sect he chose as his villains.  According to Wikipedia, Doyle's own daughter said, "... father would be the first to admit that his first Sherlock Holmes novel was full of errors about the Mormons." (One obvious example is the reference to the Angel "Merona," a misspelling of the Angel Moroni from The Book of Mormon.) However, I don't know if he was that far off base at the time, considering how different Mormons of that era were from modern Mormons. I've done a pretty considerable amount of study of Mormon history, and it's pretty clear that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, et al, were a great deal more fanatical than their modern descendants. Smith, after all, was killed by a lynch mob, after being imprisoned for his political activity. Brigham Young led a dedicated group of Saints out to the frontier country which later became Utah, a trip on which many died.  And we've all heard about the polygamy that was common among Mormon leaders of the time.  (To be fair, the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has declared that polygamy is completely incompatible with modern Church doctrine.) Doyle himself is reported to have said: "all I said about the Danite Band and the murders is historical so I cannot withdraw that, though it is likely that in a work of fiction it is stated more luridly than in a work of history." Debate still continues over A Study in Scarlet, and its depiction of Mormons.  

The article linked below is an interesting piece on the controversy, written from an ex-Mormon's point of view: Mormons believe A Study in Scarlet is inaccurate. According to some reports Doyle later was repentant about his treatment of the sect in his novel.  This article from The Salt Lake Tribune talks about Doyle's later dealings with the Mormons. Overall, I suppose the depiction of Latter-day Saints in A Study in Scarlet should be taken with a grain of salt. His treatment of the KKK in "The Five Orange Pips" still stands, though...

Reblog: Sherlock Holmes Comic Books- ONLINE!

[This is a post I originally wrote in February 2014, but it has been extensively edited from its original form, as several of the links that I posted at the time are now dead links. So I've only retained the couple of links that are still working in 2023.]

When I was a little younger, one thing I liked almost as much as I liked Sherlock Holmes was reading comic books.  We pored over Batman, Superman, Spider-man, the Teen Titans, the Justice League, and many more. But I don't recall ever seeing a Sherlock Holmes comic book.  Now, thanks to the internet, there are a couple of Sherlock Holmes comics that I can read right online!

The following links will take you to sites where you can read some Sherlock Holmes comic books (or manga, as the case may be).

First, we have a couple issues of a Charlton Comics adaptation of Holmes, originally published in 1955 and 1956.  You can read them here.

The other one is a manga version of "A Study in Pink," the very first episode of Sherlock. The text is based on Moffat and Gatiss's script for the BBC program. This free copy is from a Tumblr blog. It's worth checking out.

Merry Christmas from Baker Street Babble!

I stumbled over this delightful Christmas sketch of Sherlock Holmes last year right around this time, so once again, I use it to wish you a Merry Christmas!

May you enjoy all the season has to offer...

Moving into the new digs

"That done, we gradually began to settle down and to accommodate ourselves to our new surroundings."

(A Study in Scarlet)

The more I experiment with it, the more convinced I am that it's a good idea to move Baker Street Babble from its original home on Weebly to this new home on Tumblr. However...

As far as I know, there's no simple way to migrate all the posts I've written over the past ten years, so I've decided to do it in a quite painstaking way, one post at a time.

So, over the next few weeks or so, I hope to move most of the posts from the original BSB over here. I'm making the title of each post a hyperlink, though, so the reader can easily see the original post on Weebly if they so desire.

I encourage you to bear with me, as I make this move. In the end, I believe it will have been worth it!

The post that started it all

[This post from my original Corybanter blog here on Tumblr was what gave me the idea for starting Baker Street Babble almost ten years ago.]

Robert Downey Jr.’s sucky Sherlock Holmes

When I saw the first Guy Ritchie adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson, I actually thought it was pretty decent.  A little heavy on the action sequences, and light on the deductions, but not bad.  Recently, I’ve been trying to sit through the sequel, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows. I still think Jude Law does a pretty excellent job playing Watson, and Stephen Fry is great as Mycroft Holmes, but Robert Downey Jr. is little short of horrible as Holmes.  He’s a clownish buffoon of a character, a scruffy action hero who bears almost no resemblance to the Sherlock Holmes created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Maybe part of my disappointment this time around is that Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller do so well as Holmes in their respective versions (Sherlock and Elementary), that Downey simply pales in comparison.  I was captivated instantly by Cumberbatch’s performance, and having watched all the episodes of Elementary that have aired thus far, I am almost equally impressed by Miller.

I have been a Holmes fan since I was about 10 or 11 years old.  My great aunt gave me a paperback Holmes anthology, which I devoured, and my grandfather and I used to discuss Conan Doyle’s creation after I started reading all of the Holmes stories a couple years later.  (Grandpa was a big fan of Basil Rathbone’s Holmes…not my favorite.)  In my opinion, Cumberbatch and Miller are carrying on the tradition of Holmes actors splendidly, while Downey is a joke.  Just my little soapbox speech for today…

Welcome to the NEW (simpler) Baker Street Babble!

Baker Street Babble has lived on Weebly since I created it in 2014. I haven't really liked Weebly as a platform for the past few years, and so the blog has fallen by the wayside over the past year, for the most part.

Now that I've created Corybanter.com as a hub for all of my various blogs, I thought it might be nice to revive Baker Street Babble, but in a new, simpler format. So I'm trying out this new home for BBB here on Tumblr. I've used Tumblr off and on for many years now, ever since I started the original Corybanter blog back in 2009.

We'll have to see how things go, but for right now...

The game's afoot!

Granada TV Series Review: "Wisteria Lodge"

"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" was a rather lengthy, two=part story that was published as part of the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories collected under the title His Last Bow. The Granada TV adaptation is fairly faithful to its source material, despite having been simplified and shortened, in order to provide a bit more action and to fit into the 52-minute framework of a single episode. Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are both in good form as Holmes and Watson. (Unlike a couple other episodes during this season of the series, Brett doesn't seem to display much of the effect of the medication he was taking for his bipolar disorder.)

As the plot displays very little of Holmes's usual deductive prowess, most of the value of the episode for the viewer is the interplay between Holmes and the unusually competent Inspector Baynes, portrayed with excellent comic timing by British character actor, Freddie Jones. Holmes often seems both entertained and impressed by Baynes, and Baynes appears to respect Holmes, while also competing with him in a rather congenial fashion. So although I found the plot to be just a bit confusing (much like the original story), the banter between Holmes and Baynes is pretty entertaining.

A great improvement on the original material is the removal of much of the material from the story that tends to reflect the racism of Doyle's time: all of the "voodoo" plot line is removed, and other than a couple uses of the term "mulatto," most of the racist element is considerably toned town. Those elements, while reflecting Doyle's rather typical point of view for England in the Victorian age, add little to the plot, so I found the changes to be quite appropriate for our modern sensibilities.

Overall, while it was hardly one of my favorite episodes, it was enjoyable enough to watch, and for this viewer, at least, was a bit of an improvement on its source material. A decent, if somewhat inconsequential, installment in the Granada series. You may watch the episode below...