The BBC "Sherlock" is a worldwide hit but I read that the USA is *not* so enamoured and viewing figures there are quite low.
I love the original Holmes tales (though Poe's Dupin is the original and the best) so I enjoy this modern updating but the series does strike me as a bit smug and self-congratulatory. Too much style over substance perhaps? Still, there are classy moments and I never miss an episode. IMHO Jeremy Brett's Holmes is the best-ever representation. Astonishing performance. Truly brilliant. Popular entertainment as high art! My fave Holmes story was "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches". A key plot element is the auburn hair of the central character. A young woman applying for the job of a governess is offered excellent wages thanks to her red hair. Is the employer a sexual fetishist? Is something sleazy going on? Because Holmes is asexual the "Copper Beeches" plot adds an element of sexual frisson which is all the more effective thanks to the background of period respectability and decorum. On a side note: we Brits call the Sherlock period Edwardian. When we use labels like "Victorian" or "Edwardian" do Yanks (or Europeans for that matter) refer to it by some other designation? After all, Ed and Vicky were not *your* sovereigns. (Though you are always welcome to rejoin the club and become loyal subjects of Liz II.) I've never seen US series "Elementary" - would you recommend that?
