It maybe hard to believe that the whole world does not know of Klinger vs. Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. One can read of the lawsuit in The New York Times, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek and hear of it on NPR. Certainly, it must be on the lips of every Sherlockian and every Sherlockian must have an opinion on the matter. It was a topic onI Hear of Sherlock Everywhere and Les Klinger has been interviewed by the Baker Street Babes. In brief, according to the Free Sherlock:
Klinger seeks to have the Court determine that the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson are no longer protected by federal copyright laws and that writers, filmmakers, and others are free to create new stories about Holmes, Watson, and others of their circle without paying license fees to the current owners of the remaining copyrights.
Klinger says that the litigation came about because he and Laurie R. King, best-selling author of the “Mary Russell” series of mysteries that also feature Sherlock Holmes, were co-editing a new book called “In the Company of Sherlock Holmes.” This collection of stories by major mystery/sci-fi/fantasy authors inspired by the Holmes tales, is to be published by Pegasus Books. “The Conan Doyle Estate contacted our publisher,” says Klinger, “and implied that if the Estate wasn’t paid a license fee, they’d convince the major distributors not to sell the book. Our publisher was, understandably, concerned, and told us that the book couldn’t come out unless this was resolved….
“This isn’t the first time the Estate has put pressure on creators,” Klinger adds. “It is the first time anyone has stood up to them. In the past, many simply couldn’t afford to fight or to wait for approval, and have given in and paid off the Estate for ‘permission.’ I’m asking the Court to put a permanent stop to this kind of bullying. Holmes and Watson belong to the world, not to some distant relatives of Arthur Conan Doyle.”
All eyes have been on Boston in the last 36 hours. As with others, we extend our heartfelt sympathy for the victims, their families and loved ones. As we spent 20 years in Boston, it is particularly gut wrenching to observe the goings on from afar, powerless to do anything to help.
Because we specialize in the written word, we thought that it might be helpful to reflect on a world that Vincent Starrett remembered and lived in some 70 years ago when he penned the sonnet "221B" that appeared in Profile by Gaslight. That sentiment is very much still in play in 2013 as we contemplate a world that explodes.
It didn’t take long after the short stories began appearing in the pages of The Strand Magazine in July 1891 for
Sherlock Holmes to be not only a hit, but something of a phenomenon. Robert
Barr’s parody, “Detective Stories Gone Wrong: The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs’’
appeared in The Idler in May 1892. In
November, 1893, Holmes first trod the boards in the musical satire “Under the
Clock” at London’s Royal Court
Theatre, just before “The
Final Problem” hit the newsstands.
After his supposed death at the hands of Moriarty at the Reichenbach, other
authors tried to fill the void with their own more-or-less brilliant
detectives—with or without more-or-less dullard sidekicks assisting them.
Holmes appeared on the silver screen before he returned to the pages of the Strand to
battle a demon hound in Sherlock Holmes
Baffled (1900). He is the most filmed fictional character in history. His
appearances in fiction, radio, stage, screen and advertising are legion. While
his presence in the popular culture has waxed and waned, he is a perennial;
always present to help those in need.
Holmes-inspired investigators that sprang up on American TV like
problem-solving weeds in the first decade of the 21st century
culminated in his return to the movies in the hugely successful Robert Downey
Jr./Jude Law franchise and the small screen with BBC Sherlock and now Elementary.
At the PBS Masterpiece/Sherlock question-and-answer event
held on May 2 in New York City that brought Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat,
wife and producer Sue Vertue and star Benedict Cumberbatch in close proximity
to several hundred avid fans, event host and Masterpiece executive producer
Rebecca Eaton asked Vertue (at about the 21:40 mark) about the rumors floating around that she had some
connection to CBS’s upcoming Elementary.
Mention of the show brought boos from the crowd. After Vertue dismissed any link
with the American production, Eaton added, “And we don’t necessarily wish it
the best, right?” Cumberbatch replied:
Well, Jonny’s a friend, you know, and
as we know with the Robert Downey, Jr. franchise there’s room enough for two,
so why not three? It’s fine. It’ll be different and I don’t think it will take
away the love from ours and there’s no need to be churlish…about it or what
they’re trying to do.
The crowd responded with applause. It was a high point for
Cumberbatch in an afternoon that had quite a few for him.
"It is
always a joy to me to meet an American,
Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and
the blundering of a Minister in far gone years will not prevent our children
from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which
shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes," - Sherlock Holmes in “The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor”.
As we celebrate Independence Day and the bicentennial of the War of 1812 this year, let’s also reflect on
the profound effect America
and Americans have had on the Canon.
Frank Moulton
and Hatty Doran may have been two visitors from across the pond that Holmes welcomed to 221B with woodcock, pheasant, foie gras pie and “ancient and
cobwebby bottles”, but most Americans, in Watson’s pages, would be left off the guest list.
There is
Jefferson Hope, whose American virtue of tenacity is mixed with that equally
American desire for revenge, and tracked his fellow countrymen Drebber and Stangerson
to London with
deadly results. Revenge was also on the mind of Captain James Calhoun of the “Lone
Star”. Protection of the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan led to the deaths of three
members of the Openshaw family. Abe Slaney, “the most dangerous crook in Chicago” tracked Elsie Cubitt (nee Patrick) to Norfolk and was willing
to kill her husband to possess her. “James Winter, alias Morecroft, alias
Killer Evans” even wounded Watson during “The Adventure of the Three Garridebs”.
While it was worth a wound to Watson to see the great heart behind the great
brain, it’s doubtful the American criminal was on Watson’s Christmas card list.
Ex-senator J. Neil
Gibson, the Gold King, may have best exemplified the concept of “the Ugly
American” in the Canon. Arrogant, demeaning and used to buying his way, it took
the equally strong personality of Sherlock Holmes to put him in his place.
A better representative
of the United States
is John Douglas, amiable master of Birlstone Manor, a.k.a. Birdy Edwards,
Pinkerton detective extraordinaire. As John Douglas he was cheery and genial
and as Birdy Edwards, cool, tough and fearless, the qualities that most
Americans would like to see in themselves.
There is one
other to be mentioned; Altamont, the faux
Irish-American played by Holmes in his bid to fool and ultimately capture
German spy Von Bork. Holmes spent two years in America,
traveling from Chicago
to Buffalo to perfect his cover. It’s fitting to remember on this July fourth
that Altamont was described as ”a tall, gaunt man of sixty, with clear-cut
features and a small goatee beard, which gave him a general resemblance to the
caricatures of Uncle Sam.”
Holmes’ dream of a united Great
Britain and United States may be no closer to
reality in 2012 than in 1887, but the two countries are deeply intertwined in
the Canon. As we Americans celebrate the 4th with family and friends; barbeque hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob; and watch the rockets' red glare to the tune of "The 1812 Overture", remember Holmes himself, that quintessential Englishman, liked and occasionally was one of us.
Editor's note: James is a long-time Sherlockian and a huge fan of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. He is a contributor to the Baker Street Blog.
Editor's note: Recently, an opinion piece on The University Daily Kansan by Lou Schumaker took great issue with the narrator and individual responsible for bringing Sherlock Holmes to our collective attention: Dr. Watson. He referred to Watson as "underdeveloped," going so far as to say, "the only thing he's really good for is to compliment Sherlock Holmes and propose wildly inaccurate theories at crime scenes. He's boring and slow and lifeless and famous." So we asked one of our contributors to craft a response.
If one wants a biographer, one strives to find the best one. It is the better if he is also your dearest friend. The Great Detective of No. 221B, Baker Street, was that lucky. Without John H. Watson, M.D., the world would know nothing of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Opinions run rampant within the arts, and this is a good and wonderful thing. For me the fun of it all is the conjecture itself. But I also love “playing the game,” as Sherlockians love to do. Within that realm, Holmes would be the first to stand up and defend his best pal’s good name. And as an admirer of them both, I shall do no less.
But there is more to this than simply believing in the reality of Holmes, Watson and their adventures. The process goes much deeper. As for me, I adore looking between the lines of the text or the images on the large or small screen. Painting a complete picture of the characters makes me appreciate Conan Doyle’s work all the more, as well as its current incarnations.
Indeed it could be argued that Watson (or John as he is now called) is uninteresting or even downright dull. Well, if a wounded Veteran come home from service in Afghanistan (yeah, no relevancy to our times there!) to a glum future who by fate moves in with a wacky genius who fills his life with enough adrenaline-packed adventure to sustain ten lifetimes isn’t interesting, then I guess it isn’t interesting.
As for Watson being ordinary? Yes, that is true. However, that is precisely the point. He is not a superhero, nor does he have the lightning mental reflexes of his best friend. He is normal, just like the viewers/readers. As the lens through which the audience sees Sherlock Holmes (or just plain Sherlock), the late Edward Harwicke said it best when he remarked that Watson “is the audience…Watson really is everyman.” Compared to a genius like Sherlock Holmes, most people would look dull. The differences between these two characters make them all the more intriguing. Yes, scenes without Holmes can tend to be less than stellar at times. In those circumstances, I remember the old phrase about absence making the heart grow fonder.
With the flatmates of 221B Baker Street, it’s all about balance (yes, even when they’re arguing). As ying is to yang, the two men complement each other. Particularly in the BBC’s Sherlock, their weaknesses are largely balanced by their strengths. It serves as both a point of conflict and as a plot carrier. They are so vastly different in all the obvious ways while being strikingly similar just underneath the surface. Like we all are. And who doesn’t love seeing them tell each other off? The witty banter between Sherlock and John is genius script writing, and pays homage to some of the conversations that surely their Victorian counterparts must have engaged in.
Upon a further look beneath the surface of both the text and screen versions, questions arise (at least for me): When Holmes had an injury, who dressed his wounds? When he craved the cocaine bottle, who took him out for a walk or some other nonsense to get his mind off of it? When Mrs. Hudson had an ache, who helped her to soothe it? When one of the Irregulars had a sprained ankle or an infected foot (from not wearing shoes), who tended them and asked for no money? When Sherlock says something a little too snarky for polite conversation, who is there to jerk him up short? Holmes himself might have said that such contemplations are “of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles” [TWIS].
If I had to select one enduring quality about John Watson, it would be this: he doesn’t give a rip about the spotlight. The man knows himself and is comfortable in his own skin. True, his blood pumps at the thrill of the chase, but that is true for many people. Watson’s observation (and participation) in Holmes’s cases gives us that bird’s eye view of the Great Detective. As for doing nothing, he was a writer. This meant that he was prone to observation. While he did not possess the ability as adeptly as his associate, it still paid off. After all hanging in the background and later committing what he saw to paper (or to his laptop) made Holmes’s name a household word. I would hardly consider that a fault.
Furthermore, Watson makes up half the crime-sleuthing duo that inspired countless others ever since. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have one of the most enduring friendships in the history of English Literature. Without that, the stories mean very little.
If my closest friend, the greatest detective who ever lived, regarded me as, “the one fixed point in a changing age” [LAST], let me just say I wouldn’t be worried about what anyone else thought. Enjoy the stories, the films and the episodes for what they are, and take from them what you will. Holmes and his Boswell will continue to be reincarnated in countless adaptations. There will always be those, as Holmes would say who turn what “should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales” [COPP]. Some directors and actors will get it right for our personal tastes, and some will not. Some adaptations will find favor, some will not. But this is immaterial. For as the penultimate lines of Vincent Starrett'spoem declare, “though the world explode, these two survive...”
And that is all that matters.
Editor's note: Jennifer has had a life-long interest in English and American literature (particularly of the 19th century), and grew up watching both the Rathbone/Bruce & the Granada incarnations of Holmes and his Boswell. Some of her favorite authors are Charles Dickens, George Gordon Lord Byron, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. One of her two current efforts include research into the Holmes Canon for a collection of short stories centered around Dr. Watson. The other is a historic fiction novel-in-progress dealing with reform methods for London prostitutes in the Victorian Era. She has a decade of experience in the field of 19th century living history, and enjoys sharing little tidbits and musings on her blog.
--
The
casting of Lucy Liu as Doctor Joan Watson in CBS’s upcoming pilot "Elementary" is exciting buzz, pro and con, on
the internet. This gives us Sherlockians an entryway into the creation of a
television show whose source material we know better that the producers
(probably, let’s give them some benefit of the doubt), and the ability to
speculate on future content based on innate knowledge of American TV tropes.
Of
course, "Elementary" is not the first show to be based on a
successful British counterpart. If we go back to the 1970s, "All in the Family" was based on the British sitcom "Till Death Do Us Part" . "All in the Family"
(incidentally on CBS) broke new ground by having comedic episodes dealing in
race, the Vietnam War, rape, abortion, women’s lib, and many facets human
sexuality in frank language. I believe it was the first time on US television that the sound
of a flushing toilet was used as a punch line. It ran from 1971 to 1979, was
the number one rated TV show for many of those years, and had a number of
successful spinoffs, including: "Archie Bunker’s Place", "The Jeffersons", and "Maude". There are other US remakes that
could be mentioned, but the point is redoing a British TV show is not an
inherently bad idea.
