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Entry tags:
Snuff, idiocy & Sherlock Holmes
Snuff Lures Tobacco Fiends With Whiff of Exotic History Wired.com
To be fair, I’ve considered the idea of snuff on and off and then dismissed it along with thoughts of Japanese pipe tobacco as too difficult to acquire, but with a list of UK suppliers, helpfully provided by this site, as well as the promise of being able to indulge in that tobacco hit in places where smoking isn’t permitted the idea is certainly growing on me. I really hadn’t thought snuff a viable option since things like chewing tobacco seemed to be more readily available and I’ll be damned before I end up indulging in something that requires me to go around spitting in public but there does seem to be quite a thriving market for the stuff. Of course whether or not I do take it up as a regular vice after sampling it will depend entirely on the experience and whether or not it makes me feel too much like Mycroft Holmes in the process.
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bad_rpers_suck delivers the crazies again and I still can’t figure out why exactly anyone would RP as a character asking for advice in the search for genuine advice based on a real world scenario. It just doesn’t make sense because even if your character could conceivably get into a similar situation to the one you encountered in real life why would they possibly have the exact same desires regarding the outcome or method of dealing with it as you’d employ? Using Pegasus as an example while he might conceivably run out of his favourite tea his response would probably be to go to mention it to Croquet only to find that Croquet had already obtained more, where as my response would probably be to flail around in a tea-less panic until I could secure more. Even in comparisons between characters their responses and the advice they’d give might not necessarily be appropriate to the situation. If someone insults Isaak at a café he might ignore them: Süleyman might throw them into the nearest canal; Dietrich might not offer advice on how best to handle that scenario: Radu might offer to flambé the culprit, the other patrons, the café and half of Venice in response.
But in other news, I’ve been watching the Russian Sherlock Homes adaptation which contrasts nicely with the Granada one.
Vitaly Solomin’s Watson is wonderfully proactive. This is a Watson who’s only just recovered enough to be up and about and who tends to forget that he’s sustained an injury that will prevent him being the military man of action that he’s always been before. He’s not at all resigned to his role as a retired army surgeon and is by no means content to just sit by the fire and read the papers, instead he’s quite apt to rush off into danger with or without Holmes as company. This Watson is all about doing what he can with a determination that sometimes isn’t matched by his ability to not get himself into trouble in the undertaking and while Watson’s mishaps do provide comedy they’re also not really demonstrations of Watson being a fool as can sometimes happen in various adaptations. Watson after all was designed to be almost clever enough to pick up on the solution, enough so that he’d drop clues or obvious mistakes for the reader to pick up but also slow enough to reach the solution so that the reader can congratulate themselves on discovering the answer before he does. Watson in that respect is a very clever creation because he’s slower on the uptake than the reader without appearing so lose that he appears farcical. Unfortunately, translating that into screen adaptation does sometimes tend towards his portrayal as a buffoon and certainly in the Granada version with Jeremy Brett as Holmes it was a little difficult for Watson to be anything else but eclipsed.
The Granada adaptation featuring David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson also seemed to portray a more resigned, older Watson who’d made peace with the fact that he really could be engaging in the sorts of levels of activity he’d been use to before. Granted, that never stopped him being charming to the various ladies who crossed his path but he was a far more sedate character. Vitaly Solomin’s Watson is far too enthralled by and engaged in his adventures with Holmes to find the time to stop and admire women. He may have women across three continents who can testify to his prowess but right now he’s too busy engaged in a bit of Boy’s Own adventure with Holmes where as either of the Granada versions would doubtless have found the time if not to stop and admire, at least comment on the charm of a lass to an entirely indifferent Holmes.
When it comes to the two versions of Holmes, while Jeremy Brett’s was wonderful it’s Vasily Livanov’s that I’d happily hop into bed with. Again here there seems to be something of an age contrast. Jeremy Brett’s Holmes was younger, spry and rife with cocaine twitches while Vasily Livanov’s seemed older, more secure in his position in the world and far more prone to humour. Perhaps the latter aspect may be a reflection of Russian culture itself but Russian Holmes certainly seemed more inclined to be good humoured about everything than the rather highly-strung Granada version. There’s such a sharp contrast between the portrayals and yet both versions are beautifully canonical, they’ve merely taken different aspects to magnify. The Granada version is the one that as a teenager you’d aspire to be, with all that energy, intellect and glorious eccentricity but it’s very easy to see how that might mellow into the Russian version with time and a lessening sense of needing to prove oneself.
Interestingly, which again may be a cultural issue, Russian Holmes seemed far more touchy-feeling with his Watson than the Granada version ever was. They stand closely together or talk with scan inches between them were the Granada version always seemed to separate Holmes and Watson by distance, props and even the virtue of one being sitting while the other one stood. That may have been done to display the gorgeous Baker Street set to greater advantage at times and there certainly is a cultural impetus to put physical distance between yourself and another man but until I’d watched the Russian version the latter had never occurred to me while watching the series. Interestingly, Granada Holmes and Watson can still stroll arm in arm down the Strand which suggests that physical proximity is allowed under the public eye which regulates how far it can extend where as their Russian counterparts regulate their own physical proximity to each other regardless of venue. The proximity issue in fact reminds me of something a sociology teacher once described where, I believe it was, Arabic-speakers naturally moved closer due to a closer distance between conversing parties being the comfortable norm for then which would invariably trigger the Brits they were conversing with to back away since the British norm is to maintain a good distance.
Russian Moriarty was another phenomena in so far as he was absolutely terrifying, as in ‘I wet my pants and ran away’ terrifying. Granada Moriarty was interesting but the Russian version really captured his absolute menace in very little visible screen time. Russian Lestrade on the other hand was hilariously incompetent to the extreme. I’m not quite sure that I like that portrayal entirely but he was amusing enough as occasional comic relief which meant that there really was no way to compare the Russian version with Colin Jeavons’ in the Granada series.
Overall both series have their virtues and I’ve enjoyed each equally to the point where I wouldn’t be at all able to pick one over the other really. And they both sport equally distinctive and lovely theme tunes which doesn't hurt either.
To be fair, I’ve considered the idea of snuff on and off and then dismissed it along with thoughts of Japanese pipe tobacco as too difficult to acquire, but with a list of UK suppliers, helpfully provided by this site, as well as the promise of being able to indulge in that tobacco hit in places where smoking isn’t permitted the idea is certainly growing on me. I really hadn’t thought snuff a viable option since things like chewing tobacco seemed to be more readily available and I’ll be damned before I end up indulging in something that requires me to go around spitting in public but there does seem to be quite a thriving market for the stuff. Of course whether or not I do take it up as a regular vice after sampling it will depend entirely on the experience and whether or not it makes me feel too much like Mycroft Holmes in the process.
bad_rpers_suck delivers the crazies again and I still can’t figure out why exactly anyone would RP as a character asking for advice in the search for genuine advice based on a real world scenario. It just doesn’t make sense because even if your character could conceivably get into a similar situation to the one you encountered in real life why would they possibly have the exact same desires regarding the outcome or method of dealing with it as you’d employ? Using Pegasus as an example while he might conceivably run out of his favourite tea his response would probably be to go to mention it to Croquet only to find that Croquet had already obtained more, where as my response would probably be to flail around in a tea-less panic until I could secure more. Even in comparisons between characters their responses and the advice they’d give might not necessarily be appropriate to the situation. If someone insults Isaak at a café he might ignore them: Süleyman might throw them into the nearest canal; Dietrich might not offer advice on how best to handle that scenario: Radu might offer to flambé the culprit, the other patrons, the café and half of Venice in response.But in other news, I’ve been watching the Russian Sherlock Homes adaptation which contrasts nicely with the Granada one.
Vitaly Solomin’s Watson is wonderfully proactive. This is a Watson who’s only just recovered enough to be up and about and who tends to forget that he’s sustained an injury that will prevent him being the military man of action that he’s always been before. He’s not at all resigned to his role as a retired army surgeon and is by no means content to just sit by the fire and read the papers, instead he’s quite apt to rush off into danger with or without Holmes as company. This Watson is all about doing what he can with a determination that sometimes isn’t matched by his ability to not get himself into trouble in the undertaking and while Watson’s mishaps do provide comedy they’re also not really demonstrations of Watson being a fool as can sometimes happen in various adaptations. Watson after all was designed to be almost clever enough to pick up on the solution, enough so that he’d drop clues or obvious mistakes for the reader to pick up but also slow enough to reach the solution so that the reader can congratulate themselves on discovering the answer before he does. Watson in that respect is a very clever creation because he’s slower on the uptake than the reader without appearing so lose that he appears farcical. Unfortunately, translating that into screen adaptation does sometimes tend towards his portrayal as a buffoon and certainly in the Granada version with Jeremy Brett as Holmes it was a little difficult for Watson to be anything else but eclipsed.
The Granada adaptation featuring David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson also seemed to portray a more resigned, older Watson who’d made peace with the fact that he really could be engaging in the sorts of levels of activity he’d been use to before. Granted, that never stopped him being charming to the various ladies who crossed his path but he was a far more sedate character. Vitaly Solomin’s Watson is far too enthralled by and engaged in his adventures with Holmes to find the time to stop and admire women. He may have women across three continents who can testify to his prowess but right now he’s too busy engaged in a bit of Boy’s Own adventure with Holmes where as either of the Granada versions would doubtless have found the time if not to stop and admire, at least comment on the charm of a lass to an entirely indifferent Holmes.
When it comes to the two versions of Holmes, while Jeremy Brett’s was wonderful it’s Vasily Livanov’s that I’d happily hop into bed with. Again here there seems to be something of an age contrast. Jeremy Brett’s Holmes was younger, spry and rife with cocaine twitches while Vasily Livanov’s seemed older, more secure in his position in the world and far more prone to humour. Perhaps the latter aspect may be a reflection of Russian culture itself but Russian Holmes certainly seemed more inclined to be good humoured about everything than the rather highly-strung Granada version. There’s such a sharp contrast between the portrayals and yet both versions are beautifully canonical, they’ve merely taken different aspects to magnify. The Granada version is the one that as a teenager you’d aspire to be, with all that energy, intellect and glorious eccentricity but it’s very easy to see how that might mellow into the Russian version with time and a lessening sense of needing to prove oneself.
Interestingly, which again may be a cultural issue, Russian Holmes seemed far more touchy-feeling with his Watson than the Granada version ever was. They stand closely together or talk with scan inches between them were the Granada version always seemed to separate Holmes and Watson by distance, props and even the virtue of one being sitting while the other one stood. That may have been done to display the gorgeous Baker Street set to greater advantage at times and there certainly is a cultural impetus to put physical distance between yourself and another man but until I’d watched the Russian version the latter had never occurred to me while watching the series. Interestingly, Granada Holmes and Watson can still stroll arm in arm down the Strand which suggests that physical proximity is allowed under the public eye which regulates how far it can extend where as their Russian counterparts regulate their own physical proximity to each other regardless of venue. The proximity issue in fact reminds me of something a sociology teacher once described where, I believe it was, Arabic-speakers naturally moved closer due to a closer distance between conversing parties being the comfortable norm for then which would invariably trigger the Brits they were conversing with to back away since the British norm is to maintain a good distance.
Russian Moriarty was another phenomena in so far as he was absolutely terrifying, as in ‘I wet my pants and ran away’ terrifying. Granada Moriarty was interesting but the Russian version really captured his absolute menace in very little visible screen time. Russian Lestrade on the other hand was hilariously incompetent to the extreme. I’m not quite sure that I like that portrayal entirely but he was amusing enough as occasional comic relief which meant that there really was no way to compare the Russian version with Colin Jeavons’ in the Granada series.
Overall both series have their virtues and I’ve enjoyed each equally to the point where I wouldn’t be at all able to pick one over the other really. And they both sport equally distinctive and lovely theme tunes which doesn't hurt either.
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