This will probably be my gift to me this Christmas. Or at least my post-Christmas gift to me!!
I've been waiting for the BBC to release the Sherlock Holmes television series Peter Cushing starred in after taking over the title role from Douglas Wilmer in 1968.
From what I have seen online, it has become my second favorite Sherlock Holmes series next to the one Jeremy Brett starred in for Granada Television. And for a lot of the same reasons as the Granada series such as the costumes and the actor playing the title role. I like Cushings sharp, energetic and occasionally rude take on Sherlock Holmes. Which is very much the way the character was written in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story.
Although, he doesn't have that maniac spark that I really liked about Jeremy Brett's take on Holmes. At the same time that's the reason I liked Cushing's Holmes.
Much like Basil Rathbone, Douglas Wilmer, Robert Stephens and much later Jeremy Brett, I like seeing people's approach to the character. In the same way as Doctor Who or James Bond, each actor brings something different to the table. And much like both of those series's, it's inevitable you have your favorites. And Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett are definitely mine.
What delights me even more is to find out that there WAS a proper adaptation to A STUDY IN SCARLET. Although, there are a few deviations from the original story, this one sticks pretty close to the original text. I thought the only adaptation was a 1930's starring a rather portly Reginald Owens as Sherlock Holmes, which had very little in common with the story except for sharing the same name.
