Here's hoping people bother reading this...
Your Majesty, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I crave a boon. There has been much debate of late between myself and David as to who is the greatest Sherlock Holmes. Do not misunderstand me, there is no debate as to who would be better should the two of us don his well worn deerstalker. Dave is clearly cut from a Lestrade-like cloth, where as I would be the greatest Holmes of all. No; we merely seek to settle on the greatest Holmes thus far, and find ourselves at an impasse. We throw it open therefore to our online mega-buddies. Who is the greatest Holmes of them all? Rathbone? Cushing? Brett? Let the people decide.
posted by Humphrey on Friday, November 03, 2006
8 Comments:
Brett
Brett, no contest.
By choosing Brett, you are basically admitting you haven't watched any of Rathbone's work. Or that you've only seen those rubbish ones where he's fighting the Nazis.
Brett, every time. Closer to the original stories, for one thing. Well, at least in the first two series. Eventually you have Mycroft substituting and magical bullets flying about.
Plus, Brett was better looking, especially when his hair got messed up.
There are Holmeses for all seasons. Rathbone lurks in the grimy black and white of my memory, his Watson the epitome of bumble. Brett is about as good as the 80's and 90's could provide, struggling to show the less savoury aspects of the character. Cushing has no place at this table, thanks.
For me, it's Clive Merrison. Controversial, but there it is.
Excellent assessment Neil. No calls for Roger Moore? (yes he did) Noone standing up for Peter Cook? Fair enough. I just don't think Brett looks the part. He's too squat. Nor does he blaze with those suden bursts of energy we know and love. What about the recent ones like Richard Roxburgh or Rupert Everett? Any takers? Have people seen the excellent Murder Rooms, incidentally?
Brett looks every inch the part! Sometimes, especially in the earlier programmes, you'd be forgiven for thinking he sat for Sidney Paget. He has the limbs, the ticks, the intensity, and the vocal and physical bursts. The likes of Rathbone and Ian Richardson were always too venerable and nice for me. Peter Cushing comes second, and also has one of the very best Watsons in Andre Morell (Hammer's film version of 'The Hound of the Baskervilles').
No buns for mentioning Rupert Everett or Richard Roxburgh, though. Better sticking with Michael Caine in 'Without a Clue'. Always wanted to see Tom Baker's portrayal, too (he played Holmes and Moriarty in one stage show, once - said it was a failure, but sounds interesting all the same...)
Oh, and I did enjoy Murder Rooms. Ian Richardson does have a passing resemblence to Dr. Bell, too. And no programme with Rik Mayall as a villain is ever going to be bad.
Why no talk of Brent Spiner? His Data-as-Sherlock Holmes was the salvation of many an episode of Next Generation and not in the slightest bit a plot device to get him into a diverting jape on the holodeck where he could show off his Broadway theatre skills.
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