Friday Sherlock Links Compendium (July 27 - August 2, 2013)

by Scott Monty August 03, 2013

"It was by concealing such links in the chain that Watson was enabled to produce his meretricious finales."

- 'The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier'

A weekly roundup of links from across the web related to Sherlock Holmes, courtesy of Matt Laffey from Always1895.net. We welcome your comments and feedback, and if you have any material to include in the weekly roundup, please send to always1895 @ gmail.com.

Only one week to go until Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Place in Minnesota! I hope to see many of you there. For those Sherlockian Twitter users posting from the conference or following from home, it’s been officially decided that the hashtag #SHMN13 will stand for Sherlock Holmes Through Time & Place. See you soon!

221B Con - “Watsons Through Time" (52:10) “Recorded live at 221B Con, this panel was all about all the Watsons through ALL OF TIME! Well, as much as we could fit in just under an hour. Panelists were Kristina Manente (Curly), Ashley Polasek, Eddy Webb, and Roane." The original panel subtitle was “From ladies’ man to comedic buffoon, how have representations of John Watson changed over time" and the panelists do a great job weaving current and vintage Sherlock Holmes adaptations in along with the Canon. An overarching theme is - predictably but alas still necessary - the ‘Watson is not stupid’ theme, and of course plenty of time is spent discussing, analyzing and giggling about the Sherlock and John (BBC Sherlock first names rule applies here) dynamic. The word on the street (OK, on Twitter) is that a few more 221B Con panels are set to be released - I’ll put 6,000 pounds (though “I am a poor man") that “Fandom: What the Hell is Wrong With Us?" wins out. 

[At some point, you’ll develop a soft spot for Nigel Bruce so don’t be too harsh on him now.]

[Confirmed bachelor: John H Watson?]

Sherlock Peoria begins “Watsons Through Time and Gender" by commenting on the above 221B podcast "Watsons Through Time": “It’s a good podcast for anyone to listen to, but I’d especially recommend it to those who think the new Sherlockians are all airheaded Cumberbatch swooners. A lot of good thoughts can be heard there from the panelists and the audience, as well as the recognizable voice of Howard Ostrom, Sherlockian film expert extraordinaire." Brad Keefauver’s foray into the topic of ‘Watson and Gender’ is motivated by a phenomenon he noticed occurring during the 221B panel discussion: “Watson was being defined by his relationship with Holmes as much as any other characteristic, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the charm of a given Watson didn’t prejudice the view of that relationship just a tad…" Read on for Keefauver’s insights into the changing role of Watson, and in particular how said changes might be motivated by a gender shift within the Holmes world. 

221B: The Sherlock Holmes Web-Series is developed by Filmmaker Carter deLaat and features, for all intents and purposes, the first Sherlock Holmes adaptation featuring a female Sherlock: “It’s 1891 and military doctor, John Watson has returned home to England after a long and dangerous Afghanistan campaign. Seeking lodgings at an affordable price, he finds himself at 221B Baker St. Where he meets a young, volatile, brilliant and eccentric woman…named Sherlock Holmes…While not the grand Sherlockian mystery most are used to, 221B emphasizes the domestic side of the mystery solving duo, often leading to comedic, puzzling and dangerous results. Giving a fresh perspective to the English Icons." Episode One: No Place Like Holmes was released on Vimeo (a free video streaming site like YouTube) on July 23, 2013 and Episode Two: Fire Trap was released this week. The series will consist of five episodes total each with a running time between 5 and 8 minutes. Check out 221B: The Sherlock Holmes Web Series blog for new episodes, bios, extras and more.

[Promo poster for 221B: The
Sherlock Holmes Web Series.]

Leslie Klinger, scholar, attorney, annotator, editor, liberator of the Canon and Sherlockian celebrity “was asked today to suggest my favorite books for a beginning Holmesian collector/scholar. Here’s the list that I created for my UCLA Extension class on "Sherlock Holmes and His World," which will be on October 26 this year. Click to download a PDF of Klinger’s: The Cornerstones of a Definitive Collection - which seems to be a condensed version of The Shaw 100 - and includes many of my personal favorites such as D. Martin Dakin’s A Sherlock Holmes Commentary (1972) and Edgar Smith’s Profile by Gaslight: An Irregular Reader About the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1944). In related news, Klinger just officially announced his next publishing project: The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft, set to hit bookstores (and my shelves!) in the Fall of 2014.

[The day I found Profile by Gaslight for the insane price of $5 was one of my happiest book buying days ever.]

Dan Andriacco posted reviews of his two most recent releases: The Disappearance of Mr James Phillimore reviewed by The District Messenger, newsletter of the venerable Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and The Amateur Executioner reviewed by fellow mystery author Kathleen Kaska. I have yet to read Andriacco’s novella about Mr James Phillimore ("who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world" from THOR), but I have had the pleasure of reading The Amateur Executioner (co-authored with the equally talented Kieran McMullen) which can best be summed up as a virtual who’s who of London during the Edwardian era. On a side note, for a ranking/discussion of some of the most intriguing sounding untold Holmes cases, see the website of Mr Randall Stock and his The Top 10 Untold Tales of Sherlock Holmes. Also, congratulations to Dan ‘Dutch’ Andriacco for having received his official John H Watson Society certificate of charter membership - my mailbox and I (i.e. Baron) were also recently honored with a JHWS certificate. 

[Cover of Dan Andriacco’s The Disappearance of Mr James Phillimore on MX.]

Better Holmes & Gardens reviews Paul D Gilbert’s "The Annals of Sherlock Holmes, (2013, Robert Hale Press) a collection of three stories inspired by canonical references (to both unpublished cases in Dr. Watson’s dispatch box at Cox and Co., at Charing Cross, and fringe characters from published stories)." The first story is "The Dundas Separation Case”, a tale inspired by a reference made in “A Case of Identity"; the second story explores just what the meaning is behind those famous lines “the depth to which the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day" in ”The Abernetty Mystery" from “The Six Napoleons;" and in the final tale we see Watson reunited with Mrs. Cecil Forrester, former employer of Mary Morstan, in ”The Adventure of the Reluctant Spirit." Gilbert’s previous, well-regarded pastiches include The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes and The Giant Rat of Sumatra. Ms Jaime Mahoney in her review gives high marks to Gilbert’s latest dive into Watson’s (seemingly infinite) Tin Box: “Gilbert has summoned a Sherlock Holmes who is in full possession of his powers, and does not hesitate to use them completely. His Watson is at equal turns admiring and exasperated, but always at the Detective’s side. Everything about them is authentic and familiar, as comfortable as a visit to Baker Street and an old dressing gown." 

[Gilbert’s distinct cover art in a style that can be seen on many of his books.]

Free Sherlock, Sherlockian annotator and defender of the faith Leslie S Klinger’s blog devoted to updates regarding Klinger vs the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd., summarized the latest legal developments in this historical case and posted a variety of related documents (Eg. for a good time click to download a PDF of Stamped Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment): “Following the entry of a default order against the Defendant, Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., Leslie Klinger has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment asking that the Court enter a judgement against the Estate" - which I assume cam only mean that we’re very close to seeing just where future pastiche authors and other creators of Holmes -related and -inspired content stand in relation to the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. For a variety of opinions regarding this case from around the internet, see Free Sherlock’s Opinions page.

Peter Cushing Blog and the related Peter Cushing Facebook contain a wealth of information and pictures, as well as contests and other fan-related hi jinks  on the late, great Peter Cushing. Sherlockians of course know him best for his adaptation of the Great Detective: first in 1959 for the Hammer films’ adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, then in the late 1960s for BBC’s Sherlock Holmes and finally his 1984 Sherlockian swan song The Masks of Death. In 1971, Cushing also recorded an unabridged version of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Mr Cushing was also in a little movie from 1979 called Star Wars as Grand Moff Tarkin.  

[Peter Cushing has a posse!]

Hello You Creatives posted various images from a campaign by Grey Tel Aviv. Via Taxi called "The Right Book Will Keep You Company”. (Thanks to DaysOfStorm for the tip!)

[Part of me really loves this image, but another part of me can’t help but feel a little creeped out by the scene - which kind of makes me love it even more.]

Sherlock Holmes For Dummies’s Steve Doyle dug up this old newspaper ad: “I love vintage advertising like this, which is a 1970s-era magazine ad for the airing on WHAM-TV (Rochester, New York) of the Basil Rathbone Holmes films. The Rathbone films syndication package was pretty common back then, and many Sherlockians of a certain age credit their entree into the hobby with weekend TV viewings." 

["Sherlock Holmes: Is the old man as harmless as he looks? Could he be guilty of a hideous crime? Be in on the excitement when Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr Watson (the late Nigel Bruce) solve even the most baffling mysteries….Every Sunday [in] your living room!"]