[ SECRET POST #2503 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2503 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 105 secrets from Secret Submission Post #358.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[tweedisgood]

There's a great bit at the end of the BBC Radio/Bert Coules series, in LAST (best adaptation EVER, IMO) where Holmes calls Watson out on how he portrays himself as the "slightly slower friend" and Watson says it's part of his deliberate ploy as a writer: "I'm there for contrast" and plays the "East Wind" speech as if he were playing the part of "bit slow on the uptake" Watson to illustrate. It's magic.

[intrigueing]

Ehh...Tbh, I always roll my eyes a bit when adaptations try to "fix" Watson's supposed lack of intelligence in the originals. It a) implies that being really intelligent is the Most Important thing for a partner and friend to be and b) implies the reader is too dumb to read between the lines and notice the five bajillion times Watson has pulled narrative tricks to either gloss over his own contributions or suspicions, or to use foreshadowing and the law of conservation of detail to draw the reader's attention to clues about the cases they would never have picked up if they had been tagging along with Holmes irl instead of reading Watson's story, so that they feel smarter. It's not terriby hard to notice.

However, I haven't heard that particular episode (I have heard OF it, and yeah no sorry - canon hints were bad enough and that's not the kind of angst I either care to subject myself to or have any respect for, no matter how objectively "good" it is) so I'll reserve judgement. Plus Coules is after all usually great at replacing narration and filling in blanks in the action with new dialogue.

[tweedisgood]

All the adaptations with "not stupid" Watson have as far as I can see little to do with the originals (where Watson isn't any dimmer than the above-average middle class Joe) and everything to do with Nigel Bruce making him (on director's orders) a blithering idiot in the Universal films. IOW they are restoring canon Watson, not criticising him.

I didn't get any sense of angst from that version of LAST, I must say. Poignant, yes (how could it not be?) but beautifully underplayed and true. I did disagree with his version of retired Holmes and Watson as not meeting at all for ten years, but it was portrayed as Watson acting respectfully, not as "woe is me" in any way.

[intrigueing]

Yeah, I suppose you're right about the Nigel Bruce thing (I was uh, not exposed to any pop culturally-influenced adaptations of Holmes stories before I read the books, so I always kind of forget how widespread that is). But I dunno, I guess I usually feel they could do it a little more creatively, rather than simply having him show intelligence similar to, but not as impressive, as Holmes's, which is a tad boring.

Understated stuff is always a nice treat :) Hmm, maybe I'm mixing up information I've gathered about that adaptation of LAST with other stuff about Holmes and Watson parting rather abruptly and acrimoniously at the end of the radio version of the Casebook? Or perhaps that was just people overreacting...

[tweedisgood]

I think it must have been overreacting, tbh. The scene in RETI I think that was it) where Watson arrives at Baker Street to make his goodbyes only to find Holmes has packed up and gone, wasn't portrayed IMO as acrimonious, only as Holmes wanting to avoid an emotional scene. It played in character to me. But then I am unreasonably fond of the BBC radio series.

[(Anonymous)]

OT, but do you know how I could buy these audios online one by one? I know that I can get an entire volume all together on itunes, but it's a bit expensive and I would prefer to cherry pick the individual stories I want to hear or have been recc'd.

(If there isn't, I will take illegal downloads to, but I wanted to know if I could find a legal source first).

[tweedisgood]

Had a quick look just now but unfortunately I can't see one - they seem to come as sets or en masse. Mind you, imo they are all solid gold. Can you access BBC iplayer, because they are running Memoirs on BBC 4 extra currently?

Erm, I obtained mine via another fan *cough*fileshare*cough* and that site was taken down after all the fuss a year or so ago. If you want individual eps, PM me. Case, if this is not allowed here, please delete.