“I fear there is not very much,” I answered. “Well, that’s true enough,” said he.

Finale, my dear Elementary!

Elementary’s first season is drawing to a close. Sky Living won’t be following the lead of CBS in the US, by scheduling the last two episodes back-to-back on the one night, instead they will be spread over 2 weeks.

In ‘The Woman’ (23/24), ‘flashbacks reveal Sherlock’s descent into addiction, while in the present he has to deal with the unexpected return of someone very important from his past.’ This episode is on Tuesday 21 May 2013, repeated Friday (24^th).

The final episode is listed for Tuesday 28 May, repeated Friday 31 May. The plotline for ‘The Heroine’ (24/24) reads: ‘After realizing that things (and people) are not what they seem, Sherlock tries to stop his archenemy’s elaborate plot to tamper with the relations between two European countries.’

For a sneak visual peak of the finale, click here.  Be warned, it contains spoilers!

If that’s not enough for die-hard fans, Sky Living’s website should be able to bridge some of the gaps in your knowledge. Elementary will return next year to Sky Living with season 2.

 

Surprise? Surprise?

Well, would you believe it! Co-creator Steven Moffat didn’t know there would be a Sherlock series 4 either.

 

Not his last bow!

Another series, another violin for the master sleuth to fiddle with.

 

Sherlock…..if you can’t get enough

Those of you who can’t wait for series 3 might like to watch a re-run of the first two series on Alibi, which started 9 May 2013. If you don’t have access to that channel, the re-runs are also on BBC Three.

You can catch-up with series 1, episode 1 for a limited period here.

 

Sherlock…..the never ending stories

And for those of you who want to read all about it, here’s a fairly recent story on the next series to be going on with, from the Telegraph. And harking back to episode 3 from the last series, the explanation of which will be forthcoming in episode 1 of the new series, here’s another piece from the Telegraph and also one from the Mail to mull over.

 

Warner Bros celebrates 90!

The famous Hollywood studio has reached a milestone, with Sherlock Holmes included in the celebrations, of course.

 

“I have never loved, Watson”

Read through this story and you’ll eventually get to the SH reference. Our quote above is from the Devil’s Foot, which, of course, you recognized.

 

Murdoch most influential

A new study has found that Murdoch Mysteries is one of the world’s most influential TV shows. How many of these Murdoch Mysteries had a SH or ACD theme?

 

Wake-up call

A lot of people have nightmares about this sort of thing so beware before you click! Does anyone know the SH connection?

 

“A whiff of the sea”

We thought that the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival, which runs from Saturday 25 May to Monday 27 May 2013, deserved a plug.

 

“I always welcome a touch of the dramatic”

 

The Hound – Newtownabbey bound!

Theatrical manifestations of Sherlock Holmes in our little province are like finding hen’s teeth so the news that the Chapterhouse production of Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles will be appearing here this summer will be warmly applauded.

It  has been adapted for the stage by Laura Turner and will be performed on Thursday 4 July 2013 at the Civic Square at Mossley Mill. This is in front of the Theatre at The Mill, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 5QA. 

Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles is an OUTDOOR performance lasting 2 hours, and will we understand take place come rain, hail or shine. The time has been set for 7:30pm (Grounds open at 6:30pm). Tickets are £13 & £10 (Concession). There is a Group discount of 10%, for 6 or more persons.

The Newtownabbey Borough Council’s (owners of the Mossley Mill site and theatre) website blurb, from which the above was extracted, also tells us:

‘Outdoors, in the eerie setting of the old Mossley Mill, join the dramatic detective duo, Holmes and Watson as they go on a mysterious adventure to the lonely wasteland of the desolate Devon moors, where something evil is afoot. When death stalks the Baskerville family, legend and superstition collide with the most heinous of crimes. On the moor nobody is safe, not even the bravest of men. Can Sherlock Holmes crack the mystery of the Hound of The Baskervilles?

Bring your best detective skills for an unforgettable evening of theatre, mystery and suspense under the stars, in the stunning setting of Mossley Mill Civic Square (the grass area in front of the Theatre at The Mill).’

This performance falls outside our normal season so we won’t be arranging a special sailing. Apart from the publicity it’s been given here, we’ll also be bringing it to the attention of those members who do not have email addresses. If you are interested in seeing the show, the website for online bookings is here.

Alternatively, you can book by phone – call 028 9034 0202.  Mon -Sat (Non performance days): 10am – 5pm. Mon- Sat (Performance days): 10pm – 8pm. You can also book in person. The Box Office is located in The Theatre at The Mill, Mossley Mill, Carnmoney Road North, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 5QA. 

 

And lots of other places too!

Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles is part of a nationwide tour by Chapterhouse which takes in many parts of England, one date in Scotland and also three venues in the south of Ireland. The latter dates are at Blarney Castle (27 June), Powerscourt Gardens, Enniskerry (28 June) and Ardgillan Castle, Balbriggan (5 July).

The tour starts on 23 June in Barnsley and finishes on 4 September at Leominster. You can get more information including all the dates here.

 

“Hello! Here is something interesting.”

Sherlock Season 3

Looks like John Watson is going to tie the knot in the upcoming new season. Episode 2 will be called ‘The Sign of Three,’ which enthusiasts will take as a signal to the plot of ‘The Sign of Four.’ Having glanced over the Belfast Telegraph article, you may also wish to look here and here. And here’s a summary of the new season to date.

And no prizes for guessing who John’s partner is going to be in his forthcoming nuptials – look no further than Martin Freeman’s long-term girlfriend Amanda Abbington, who it was recently announced is joining the cast. The Daily Mail feature includes a video and if you really, really want more, you can get it here and here.

Sherlock producer Sue Virtue was pleading with fans not to give locations away as filming in London got underway in early April nor to engage in plot spoiling on social media. Filming of episode 1 is now complete and it’s currently in post production, as episode 2 filming starts to roll.

Virtue’s pleas haven’t quite deterred all the happy snappers, who’ve been catching Sherlock jumping off the roof of St. Bart’s Hospital, in what seems to be a re-creation of the end scenes of season 2, episode 3 when the sleuth fell to his supposed death. Mind you, we don’t actually get to see anything all that dramatic in these online versions, from the Sun and the Daily Star. They’d kept those shots for the print editions.

Meanwhile, in another time and another place, Benedict Cumberbatch is preparing to beam-up!

 

Elementary 2, my dear Watson

On the back of strong viewing figures it’s hardly surprising to hear that CBS has ordered a second season of Elementary. The series continues to top Sky Living’s chart so it looks like we’ll be getting second helpings too, here in the UK and Ireland.

Natalie Dormer, one of the big stars of Game of Thrones (which is filmed in Belfast’s Titanic Studios!) is joining the cast in May and will feature in the 2-part season finale. Her role will be that of Irene Adler, who to Sherlock is always “the woman.”  See Elementary on set here.

 

First class male

A Royal Mail First Day Cover stamp featuring the late great Peter Cushing has sold out on its first day. That said, there were only eighty copies available, though each was priced at £20.

Not to worry, even if your budget didn’t stretch quite that far you can still get a brand-new set of Great Britons stamps which includes said Peter Cushing for only £6.50. You can’t mistake the reference to 221B on the stamp but we’re not sure if the picture of the actor was taken from one of his many appearances as the Baker Street sleuth or in something completely different.

 

The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes

The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes at Hoxton Hall is Leslie Bricusse’s revised version of Sherlock Holmes: The Musical. It’s presented by the company called Morphic Grafitti as a Music Hall entertainment. Roger Johnson, who has been to see it says “it’s an entirely appropriate approach, as Hoxton Hall is an almost unique survivor from the early days of the Music Hall, being only four years younger than the larger and more famous Wilton’s. It’s almost worth going just to experience the building,” adds Roger, “but in fact the play is highly entertaining and the production is a knockout.” He also tells us that “It’s exciting, funny and tuneful, with fine singing and invigorating dancing – and how can you resist a show in which Mrs Hudson is sawn in half and reassembled before your very eyes?” The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes is on until 10 May 2013.

 

Volunteers, my dear Watson!

Portsmouth is looking for volunteers to help bring more of the Conan Doyle Lancelyn Green Bequest archive out of storage and make it accessible to the public.

 

Is Doctor Who too sexy?

We couldn’t possibly comment, but this article does have a SH reference, which gives you an excuse, if you really need one for reading it.

 

The game is a footballer

A former Wigan footballer has turned detective. With a commendable degree of restraint, we’ve managed to avoid the obvious puns.

 

I’m made up for you, Watson!

Sherlock has gone undercover in a new commercial for Benefit cosmetics, proof of continuance in the belief that Sherlock sells. It’s hardly likely to win any advertising awards, though.

 

Talking to the Babes!

If you want to know what Roger Johnson and Jean Upton have been talking to the Baker Street Babes about, just listen here!

 

The excitement is building

Could this turn out to be a real blockbuster? Move over Bob!

 

Over exposure

Here we go, again! It wasn’t exactly Conan Doyle’s finest hour, but there’s still an enduring fascination about those fairies at the bottom of the garden.

 

Is this the face of the future?

You may want to look into this. 

 

Top 20 Sherlock Holmes on screen

Whether you agree with this selection or not, it’s still worth a glance over.

 

Frank Thornton remembered

Actor Frank Thornton who died 16 March 2013, aged 92, will no doubt be best remembered for his role as Captain Peacock in the BBC’s hugely popular comedy series Are You Being Served? Delving deeply into a favourite box set, we spotted that he had donned a deerstalker in the guise of a Scotland Yard detective, in episode 3, ‘The Hold Up.’ That was part of the tenth and final series. Will we be watching this episode at the next Birthday Celebration?

In his dotage, Thornton would play the role of a retired policeman called Herbert ‘Truly’ Truelove in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. Yes, it finally did run out (in 2010) of whatever had kept it going although you can still catch the repeats on Gold.

Frank Thornton also made a small contribution to our world in Billy Wilder’s classic The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) where he played a one-armed porter at the Diogenes Club, left in a state of angst by the refusal of Holmes and Watson to sign the visitors’ book.

A small but appreciative audience turned out for a somewhat late night showing of this homage to Baker Street at the QFT in Belfast on 18 April 2013, as part of the 13^th Belfast Film Festival. An informative talk by writer Jonathan Coe served as a very credible introduction, but it was a pity he didn’t make time to mention the local angle. The late Colin Blakely, a son of Bangor in the County of Down was hugely enjoyable in the role of Dr. Watson.

 

Another coincidence

In our last Bulletin attention was drawn to the remarkable coincidence of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes having last been shown in Belfast ten year ago to the month of its latest appearance, and at the same venue. Looking through our annals, another coincidence has been detected exactly ten years prior to the earlier screening.

The Crucifer of Blood, which took its inspiration from The Sign of Four, stopped off in Belfast for a 5-day run at the Grand Opera House (Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 April 1993). The play, which was on a nationwide tour, starred Mark Greenstreet, Susan Penhaligon, Michael Cashman and Michael Percival.

Writing in the Belfast Telegraph (7 April 1993), Grania McFadden concluded her review as follows: ‘Under Peter William’s direction this Victorian thriller treads perilously near the line marked ‘farce’, but just manages to keep its balance.’

Our indispensable webmaster Maurice aka ‘Spike’ Milligan, back in 1993 edited The Captain’s Log (a trim but short-lived little newsletter), in which he urged the crew to “grab the opportunity to indulge ourselves” as this was the first time in decades that a Holmes play had been staged in Belfast. Alex Kane arranged a special sailing and a party of crew turned up on the first night, and if memory serves us right, we all thoroughly “indulged ourselves.”

 

Archived at the British Library

Our website, which continues to be a work in progress, is now archived at the British Library.

 

Sailing Schedule

 

 

 

“One of the more liberal and, at times, most mischievous interpretations of both the Canon and the leading characters” [Alex. Kane]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Classic Holmes Film For Belfast

Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is being screened at the QFT Belfast on Thursday 18 April 2013 at 9.30pm as part of the 13th Belfast Film Festival.

Novelist Jonathan Coe, who says this 1970 cult classic is one of his favourites, will be introducing the film. The programme starts at 9.30, and with the film lasting 125 minutes, don’t expect to be leaving the cinema until around midnight. We aren’t organising a special outing, just leaving it up to members to make their own arrangements.

 

Booking

You can book online at Belfast Film Festival or at QFT. The price per person is £7.

You can also book in person at the Belfast Welcome Centre, 47 Donegall Place, Belfast, BT1 5AD. The Festival is a ticketless event so you’ll be given a receipt. Other events in what is a very impressive Festival line-up can also be booked there.

Alternatively you can just turn-up on the night at the QFT (from half an hour before the programme starts). However, to avoid possible disappointment, booking is the option we’d recommend.

 

Festival Programme

You can download a PDF of the entire programme brochure at Belfast Film Festival.

You can get a hard copy of this brochure (it’s free) from the Belfast Central Library, other Public Libraries in the Belfast area and also the Belfast Welcome Centre (see above). The QFT April brochure lists the film but doesn’t have anything else to say about it.

 

Down Memory Lane

For those who revel in this sort of thing, we can tell you that The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes had its Belfast premiere at the Avenue cinema (a Rank Odeon house) in Royal Avenue on Monday 22 February 1971. The building disappeared when the Castle Court shopping centre was built in the 1980s. The Avenue (previously the Regent, originally the Picture House) was directly opposite Garfield Street (still there).

The film ran at the Avenue for 6 days before moving out to the suburbs, for a 3-day run on Thursday 18 March at the Strand on the Holywood Road and also at the Majestic on the Lisburn Road. Both these cinemas were part of the ABC circuit, which also included “Ulster’s super cinema,” the Ritz in Fisherwick Place.

Further suburban sightings were also noted at the Stadium (Shankill Road) and the Broadway (Falls Road) the following month. Again, these were for 3-days runs (a normal feature in cinemas back then, particularly the suburban and provincial ones). Sadly almost all these picture palaces are now but a distant memory, the one exception being the Strand in the east of the city, now a 4-screen and still battling on in what is a fiercely contested market.

The Belfast Film Festival screening is not, as it turns out, the first time that the film has been shown in Belfast since the seventies. Ten years ago to the month (how’s that for a coincidence?) members of the Crew attended a public showing of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. The exact date was Friday 25 April 2003 and the venue was the same one as now – the QFT.

The screening of the film, under the banner of the cinema’s “Desert Island Movie” series had been arranged by our own Alex Kane, and the following month he wrote this capsule review for Chronicler (no.4, May 2003).

“Those of us, who gathered to watch The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes at the QFT, enjoyed one of the more liberal and, at times, most mischievous interpretations of both the Canon and the leading characters. Fortunately, as with many of the parodies, the audience left the cinema with their memories enriched and their understanding of Holmes and Watson deepened.”

“Let us judge the situation by this new information”

 

BBC Sherlock: It’s Four & Maybe More!

Benedict Cumberbatch has been telling Radio Times that a fourth series is definitely on the cards, contrary to the popular perception that Series 3, due to start filming today (18 March 2013), will be the last one.

Cumberbatch has also revealed that he is keen to carry on with Sherlock, even beyond  a fourth series, provided that it can be fitted into his hectic schedule, something he shares in common with Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman.

 

“An Absolute Stonker”

Following a read-through of the script, Cumberbatch has also been talking to Radio Times about the up-coming Series 3. “You are in for an absolute stonker of a resurrection. It’s going to be a treat,” Cumberbatch told them.

In the first Episode of the new series, viewers are going to get the solution to the unresolved problem of  Series 2, Episode 3: How did Sherlock survive his fall from the roof of St Bart’s Hospital?  

Transmission of Series 3 on BBC One is not expected before late 2013. 

Sherlockology Fansite News

 

Sherlock Unravels Mystery Tweeter

Benedict Cumberbatch recently turned real-life detective to foil a nosey neighbour, according to the Daily Star.

 

Can Leslie Klinger Free Sherlock?

One of the world’s leading Sherlockians Leslie Klinger, who is also a prominent attorney, has filed a civil lawsuit in the US federal court against the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd to determine that the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are in fact in the public domain.

Klinger was planning an anthology of new stories involving Holmes and Watson but the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd informed his publisher that a licence fee must be paid to the Estate for the publication of the book or they would convince major distributors (e.g. Amazon) not to sell it. The publishing company, understandably concerned about the possible implications, has therefore put the book’s publication on hold.

As its stands at present, all but 10 (The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes collection) of the 60 original stories still enjoy copyright protection in the US. Klinger’s arguement goes that these non-copyrighted books have fully established the characters of Holmes and Watson and as they are in the public-domain, therefore should be construed as free to use.

Klinger’s considerable body of literary work includes editorship of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library and The Grand Game.

A Free Sherlock website has been set up to promote the campaign and you can also read what Klinger has been saying about the matter on his own website.  

To try and get a handle on the story, this New York Times report is particularly worth reading, as indeed are the links here, here and here. Naturally there’s a lot of overlap.

 

‘Gently the music fades away’

According to the experts, a violin belonging to Wallace Hartley leader of the S.S. Titanic orchestra is the genuine article. The violin, which is thought to be worth a six figure sum, is due to go on display at Belfast City Hall next month (no exact dates yet). The BBC News story can be read here.

Conan Doyle wrote a tribute to Hartley and his fellow musicians who played on as the tragic liner went to her watery grave that fateful night in April 1912. You can read the poem within this article.

Visit Titanic Belfast

 

‘Holmes would talk of nothing but violins’

Still on violins, police have been looking into the possibility that a Stradivarius recovered in Bulgaria recently, was stolen at a London train station more than two years ago. The violin is possibly worth $1.8m. The Reuters report can be read here.

This story would have been of particular interest to Holmes whose own violin was a Stradivarius, which he had purchased ‘at a Jew broker’s in Tottenham Court Road for fifty-five shillings’. In the same story (Card), Watson revealed that the violin was now ‘worth at least five hundred guineas’, proof if it was needed, that Holmes had more than one string to his bow.

 

Prepare for a Giant Rat Story!

What is it about Giant Rats that piques the interest of your average Sherlock Holmes enthusiast? We pin the blame on Watson’s reference to “the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared” (Suss). Regrettably, we still can’t read Watson’s account, but we can see this latest giant rat story here.

 

They’re having a laugh!

Whatever way we look at it, the most famous Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles, doesn’t quite come across as a bundle of laughs. So why is it then that so many people want to send it up? Is it something to do with the Hound itself that sends otherwise sensible folk into fits of helpless laughter? Your guess is as good as ours, but while chewing it over, here’s news of a new Hound comedy that might be heading down your way. No sign of it coming over to this neck of the woods, though you never know when it may turn up.

Comedian Joe Pasquale (he’s the one with the squeaky-voice) leads the cast of Ha Ha Holmes! in a nationwide tour starting September 2013.

 

Reviewing “Little puzzles”

You may remember reading about John Addy’s latest monograph, 100 Sherlockian Word Puzzles in Bulletin 109. You can now read more about it in our member Joe Marino’s new review.

 

STOP PRESS!

BBC Sherlock New Episode Title Revealed!

News has just reached us that Mark Gatiss has confirmed the title of the first episode of Series 3.

 

Latest Seeing and Observing

 

 

 

 

 

“The little things are infinitely the most important”

Click on the Links!

 

Museum Piece

Something  is amiss at one of London’s top tourist attractions, The Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street, apparently.

Before you avail yourself of the story links provided, we should point out that the Museum’s claim that their site is the genuine 221B (this is not the subject of the current dispute) has no more (or no less) veracity than any of the many other identifications put forth by scholars over the years.

And there’s another point worth making, it’s about the so-called Blue Plaque on the front of the building which proclaims that this was the home of the legendary detective.  In fact this is not an official Blue Plaque but was erected by the Museum’s owners some years ago.

That all said and done, here are the public accounts from the Telegraph and the Mail about the current story.

 

Elementary Update

Elementary resumed on Sky Living on Tuesday 26 February 2013, following a mid-season break. Here’s a chance both for a quick catch-up and a peek at this week’s episode.

Elementary is on Sky Living every Tuesday at 9pm (Sky and Virgin only). The weekly repeat is now on a Friday at 8pm (last week it was Saturday, just to be confusing).

For those who might like to know more about the show’s soundtrack, this will be music to your ears.

To get the even bigger picture, Sky Living’s Elementary page is the site to see.

If you are a fan, do get in touch with us. Or if you have given up on the show are you taking a second look? Do let us know. Last week’s episode (11/24) was a really good one, a forerunner, perhaps, of even better to come.

 

It’s Murdoch, Holmes & Doyle!

Episode 4 of the new Season (6) of the popular Canadian detective series Murdoch Mysteries (Monday 26 February 2013 on Alibi) was a strong Sherlock Holmes/Conan Doyle one.

A slow-burner perhaps for the first few minutes, but then it really lit-up and took off. The plot centred around a man who thought he was Sherlock Holmes, so not exactly a new concept there, and  we also got a bemused Conan Doyle  brought in to have a word with his creation (that’s been done before too, hasn’t it?). But original or not, none of that takes away from the fact that this was a hugely enjoyable episode, nicely worked throughout.

This series has ventured into SH/ACD territory on two previous occasions (both in Season 1), but this was by far the best of the lot. Great stuff!

The above is your website editor’s take on the episode. Is he talking through his deerstalker or making sense for once in his lunchtime?  Let’s have your own take on this.

Yannick Bisson answers YOUR questions!    

More Murdoch Mysteries!

Alibi TV Listings 

 

An Instore Story!

The ITV hit-series Mr Selfridge (Series 1, episode 7) on Sunday 17 February 2013 also had a strong Conan Doyle content.  A book signing promotion brought the famous author to the high-end department store and then in a hugely original twist, Doyle persuaded the owner to let him hold a séance in the store.

You can still catch the episode on the ITV Player, for a limited period only.  Please let us have your feedback on this episode.

Incidentally, John Sessions who played Doyle in the programme had two roles in the last ever Two Pipe Problems episode (I Love a Lassie) on Radio4 (see also item which follows).

 

A Good Life

The fulsome and richly deserved tributes paid to the actor Richard Briers who died on 2 March 2013, have roamed the length and breadth of an impressive body of work on stage, screen and radio. But nowhere, as we far as we can see, did they include a link to our own world. 

We refer to Two Pipe Problems, a warm and whimsical little series of comedies which started with a pilot episode in 2007, and then ran for five series each of two episodes, from 2008 until last year on BBC Radio 4.

The setting was the Old Beeches Home for retired thespians with Richard Briars (William Parnes) and his co-star, the wonderful Stanley Baxter (Sandy Boyle) investigating a series of quirky little mysteries, drawing on their experience gained from playing Holmes and Watson together on TV back in the sixties. These were by no stretch of the imagination Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but that didn’t stop us enjoying them for what they were.

The Crew watched an episode from one of Briar’s many hit series, Ever Decreasing Circles (Series 3, episode 2) together back on 6^th January 2013 at the Birthday Celebration. The excuse for showing it was that the plot included some mild detection and a nice little Sherlock quip near the end. It is also one of our Purser’s favourite comedies. But more important than all that, it was extremely funny and we all laughed a lot.

This BBC News story includes a nice picture of Richard in a deerstalker (from his Monarch of the Glen series).

The Guardian has a trip down memory lane in a life in clips.

We’ve included obituaries from the Mail, also the Independent and the Telegraph in case you missed them.

 

Did Sherlock Holmes exist?

This article may be 10 years old but it’s still worth reading. And yes, of course he did!

 

A Lowering of Standards?

How do you connect Sherlock Holmes with the recent flag controversy at Belfast City Hall? Not a problem, if you’re a blogger on the Daily Mash.

And regular Belfast Telegraph columnist Lindy McDowell has somehow managed to work Sherlock into the same subject too. We were falling over ourselves to see the Sherlock on stilts she refers to but our search for this tall story has ended, for now, in abject failure. You might say that we don’t have a leg to stand on.

 

What’s in a name?

No Holmes connection whatsoever with this story, but it happened to tickle our fancy. While we’re on the subject of names, one wonders if there are still “some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers” living in London? The Canonical reference is, in case you’d forgotten or didn’t know, from The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

 

Going Begging

Every time we come across a beggar story, it’s hard not to think about The Man with the Twisted Lip, which sort of gives us an excuse to run this one.

 

Catch-up Corner!

Murder on the Victorian Railway   Valid until 6 March only!

Mark Billingham’s Rule Book of Crime Broadcast on Radio4 Extra, Saturday 2 March 2013. Only 6 days left!     

Miss Marple – Nemesis (1/5)  Starring June Whitfield, there are only 7 days to go with this one!

                                                                                  

NEW SEEING and OBSERVING  It’s well worth a look!

 

Did you click on all the Links provided?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Anything remarkable on hand?” he asked. “Oh, no, Mr. Holmes–nothing very particular.”

 

There’s no stopping BBC’s Sherlock!

Not that long ago we heard that Sherlock Series 3 could be the very last one (the stars are too busy doing other stuff, apparently!). Not so says Mark Gatiss! He claims that the BBC hit series could run and run…for the next 20 years at least!  What’s he talking about?

No joy at the recent NTV Awards for Sherlock, but perhaps these Virgin Media Awards will be some small consolation.

Martin Freeman has been talking about the new Sherlock Series 3, due to starting filming in March this year. We’ve got the story for you!

And what’s this, from The Sun, about Freeman aka John, saying that he’ll happily punch Sherlock?

Sherlock  is a licence to print money!  Did you know that? Neither did we, but here’s the proof from the Daily Telegraph.

 

Dial M for Murdoch!

Murdoch Mysteries is back again on Alibi TV – this is Season 6. Episode 4 – ‘A Study in Sherlock’ is likely due on 25 February, if we’ve got it right. The Alibi blurb says “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also makes an appearance when his supposedly fictional creation, Detective Sherlock Holmes, becomes entangled in a violent robbery.”

This is not the Canadian detective’s first foray into SH/ACD territory. The previous episodes were numbers 4 and 6, way back in Season 1. For the dedicated Murdoch Mysteries fan, this is the link to an  Episode Guide.

You’ll find Season 6 news here, here and here.

For more on the specific SH episode, try here.

To watch the Season 6 Trailer, click here!

 

20 Million Bowled-over by Elementary!

Actually 20.8 million to be precise. That was the number of viewers who tuned in or more likely stayed watching, when Elementary episode 13 was broadcast immediately after the Super Bowl Final on Sunday 3 February 2013 in the US.

Can we really believe that those viewers were all glued to the show? Is it not more likely that many of the audience were still talking about the Final and maybe occasionally glancing at the screen in the background? You might want to figure that out as you glance over this and this.

 

Elementary Returns!

Nearer home, Elementary returns to our screens on Sky Living (Sky and Virgin only) on Tuesday 26 February 2013 at 9pm, with episode 11. Will you be re-engaging or giving it a miss? Do let us know!

To keep up to date, the Sky Living Elementary page is only a click away.

Still on Elementary, here’s a Lucy Liu story to glance over.

 

Café Royal  Reopens!

We’re delighted to hear that the Café Royal is back in business – it’s now the new Café Royal Hotel. We’d thought it had been consigned to history, having been more or less raised to the ground in 2008 by the wrecker’s ball.  

The Canonical connection is Illu, of course.  Just across the road from the Café Royal  is Piccadilly Circus and another historic Holmesian site, the Criterion (Look out for the new plaque there! There are now two plaques on view.).

Café Royal History  Café Royal Images

Criterion Restaurant History  Criterion Restaurant Images

Criterion Restaurant Sherlock Holmes Plaque Images (and a bit more!)

 

Has crime fiction lost the plot?

You can find the story here.

 

Wacky ways to spot a true Brit

You’ll hardly be surprised to hear that our hero has a role to play in this story, it’s from The Independent.

 

What would Inspector Lestrade say?

You may have heard the recent news that foreigners could soon be helping to run police forces in the UK. Lestrade and Gregson et al would have had a deal to say about this, if they’d still been around.  And we hardly think that Holmes would have kept his mouth shut.

 

Why Michael Winner was a man without Honours 

We never knew that the recently deceased Die Hard Director and Food Critic had any Holmesian connections, until we read this Daily Mail piece.

 

For Sale sign on ACD’s former home

Conan Doyle’s former home at Hindhead, Surrey is back on the market. Here’s the BBC News item.

And we’ve just had news (forwarded by Roger Johnson) that another former Conan Doyle residence is up for sale.

 

Father Brown

We have to confess that this is not exactly Holmesian, but nevertheless it’s an article worth reading if you enjoy the genre. What did you think of the recent BBC series, by the way?

 

Strange goings on!

Here’s a most unusual story to mull over, it’s from the Guardian.

 

Perhaps we should have drawn a veil over this one?

The Holmesian connection, tenuous though it is, with this very sad story is Veil, and yes, we know that was about a lion not a tiger.

 

‘Art in the blood’

Holmes’ grandmother was the sister of the French painter Vernet (Gree), which gives us an excuse to run this piece.

What other references to the world of art can you spot in the stories? Scratch the surface – there are more than you might imagine.

 

And Finally

Please let us have your feedback on any of the above items or anything else you wish to mention. We particularly welcome News for possible inclusion in our Bulletins. Please include sources and dates and we do like to see accompanying working links too.

Some of the links in this Bulletin (and our other ones) may not be accessible in your region (i.e. outside UK/Ireland). This is beyond our control!

 

 

 

 

 

“I understand you think out little puzzles”

John Addy of The Musgraves Sherlock Holmes Society  has published a new 100 Sherlockian Word Puzzles monograph.  The booklet contains 100 specially designed word puzzles to challenge and entertain you.  John says that he has taken place names, personal names and phrases from the Sherlock Holmes stories and created puzzles based on the age-old formula of hiding meanings within words, numbers and symbols. Each puzzle is headed by a short clue and answers can be written in the boxes beneath. In the boxes at the top right of each puzzle, readers are invited to record the story title in which the answer first appears using the standard short titles, so you therefore get two puzzles in one.

Answers and some brief explanatory notes are included at the end – if you need them.

You can order 100 SHERLOCKIAN WORD PUZZLES (A5, stapled, 68-pages, cream card cover) direct from John Addy, 184 Bradford Road, Otley LS21 3LT. Please make cheques for £6.50 (incl. UK postage)  payable to J Addy.

Email: john.addy22@btinternet.com

See the sample flyer below if you want to know more. {Click on image to view in separate page, then click again on image to enlarge. To get back to this website page, click on the ‘Back’ buttton.}

 

 

“There are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.”

 

BBC Sherlock Awards News

If you are a dedicated BBC Sherlock fan, you’ll definitely want to vote for the series (Drama category) and Benedict Cumberbatch  (Drama Male Performance category) in the latest National Television Awards (NTAs).

You only have until 12 noon on Wednesday 23 January 2013, so make haste! Vote here now! 

Benedict Cumberbatch collected the ‘Best Actor in a Mini Series or TV Film’ for Sherlock at the recent Satellite Awards.

However, there’s been disappointment too. Despite being nominated for ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television’ at the recent Golden Globes (Click & Scroll Down to No.23), Benedict was beaten by Kevin Costener (for Hatfields & McCoys).

The Sherlock series itself didn’t fare any better. It was nominated for ‘Best Mini Series or TV Film’ at the Satellite Awards but failed to collect anything.

 

BBC Sherlock Series 3?

Despite the fact that filming hasn’t yet started (March seems to be the date), we are told that Sherlock Series 3 will be on our screens by the autumn. Radio Times.com has more.

 

Even More BBC Sherlock Stuff!

Talking about Sherlock, did you see the Doctor Who Christmas Special which had a number of nice Sherlockian touches? This review, from the brilliant Sherlockology website (the unofficial BBC Sherlock fansite) is worth at least a glance over.

There was lots of praise for the BBC’s Sherlock around the turn of the New Year, which you’ve probably read at least something about. In case not, here’s a chance to rectify any shortcomings.   And if that’s still not enough, there’s more and still more to chew over.

TV Producer Beryl Virtue (BBC Sherlock and much more) was this week’s guest on Desert Island Discs (BBC Radio4, 20 January). There’s a repeat on Friday (25 January) at 9am and you can also catch the show here.

 

Elementary takes a break

With Sky Living’s double bill screening of Elementary episodes 9 and 10 just before Christmas, viewers here had managed to catch up with their counter parts across the pond for the first time since the series aired on CBS in September. Now however, the gap has widened again. Those of us with access to Sky or Virgin in the UK/Ireland will have to be patient and wait till next month before the season resumes on Sky Living.

Sky Living is promising that there will be a continuous run of the series from then on with some episodes shown only days after screening in the US. No precise dates yet, however.

 

Elementary grabs more viewers!

It was full steam ahead however for CBS on 3 January 2013 with the screening of  episode 11 – ‘Dirty Laundry.’  This achieved a very pleasing 11,440,000 viewers, up on the most recent figures for the last episodes (10,570,000 average over episodes 6 – 10) before the brief holiday break. Episode 12 – ‘M’ on 12 January not only maintained that position but even slightly bettered it with 11,480,000 viewers. Now there’s going to be another short break before viewers in the US will get to see episode 13, on 31 January.

 

Elementary: Now it’s Moran or is it Moriarty?

Vinnie Jones is to play Sebastian Moran in an upcoming episode of Elementary. The report in the Daily Mail suggests that Holmes thinks that he could really be his arch-nemesis Moriarty.

In another upcoming episode of the show, Hollywood star John Hannah has been cast as Sherlock Holmes’ old drug dealer from London, England.

 

Elementary: Behind the Scenes

For those of us who like to catch a glimpse of what’s happening behind the scenes, here’s the show’s writers take on Elementary.  

 

Elementary: Critical acclaim

Our previous reports on critics’ reactions to Elementary have centred on the Pilot episode so here is a chance to read what they had to say about some more episodes.  

 

No Gongs for Elementary yet

Elementary was nominated for ‘Favourite New TV Drama’ in the recent People’s Choice Awards (US) while Jonny Lee Millar was also nominated for ‘Actor in a TV Series Drama’ at the Satellite Awards (US). No gongs at either, we have to report. The Satellite link also includes the bits re BBC Sherlock & Benedict Cumberbatch.

 

Young Sherlock Holmes Remake?

It wasn’t a box office success first time round (Amblin Entertainment for Paramount Pictures in 1985), so why is Paramount thinking of remaking Young Sherlock Holmes (it was actually Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear in the UK)? The Wrap.com has been following the story.

 

Judi Dench for Mrs Hudson?

Will Judi Dench play Mrs Hudson in a new Sherlock Holmes TV series based on a recent book? More’s the point, is there any substance to a report that there’s going to be a series in the first place? Incidentally, Roger Johnson tells us that Judi Dench has played Mrs Hudson before, in a BBC Radio4 production of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

 

Murder in the Library: An A-Z of Crime Fiction

The British Library takes a quirky look at the history of crime fiction, from its earliest roots to the present day, in a new ‘free’ exhibition in The Folio Society Gallery, Murder in the Library: An A-Z of Crime Fiction (18 January to 12 May 2013).

Featuring familiar and loved writers, such as Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, alongside the obscure and unexpected, former footballer and England Manager Terry Venables and burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee to name but a few, the exhibition will showcase never before seen manuscripts, beautiful printed books, rare audio recordings, artworks and intriguing artefacts from the Library’s outstanding British and North American collections.

Exhibition highlights will include Arthur Conan Doyle’s manuscript of The Adventure of the Retired Colourman.

There are also some related events – namely 3 lectures plus a family workshop.

Our thanks to the District Messenger (Late Late Extra) for the tip-off and the British Library Press Release for the above. The British Library website will tell you  much  more and also allow you to book for ticketed events.

 

Sherlock to CSI: Mystery Writers seek Science Accuracy

Here is an article worth reading, from the BBC News website. 

 

Full steam ahead for the Tube

London’s Tube, while not a major feature of the Canon, is nevertheless mentioned in a few of the cases (anyone like to tell us which ones?). It was the Tube’s 150^th birthday the other day (10 January 2013), which gives us a great excuse to mention a really good article (with some nice pics too!) from the Mail.

If you are really keen, here’s another Tube piece to mull over and here’s another one.

 

Shades of RedH?

Perhaps this story might remind you of the plot of  one of our favourite cases, The Red-headed League?

And even though there’s absolutely no SH connection whatsoever, here’s another one about a botched robbery, which is hard to lick.

 

Beano at 75!

Perhaps little or nothing to do with our world too, although there have been the odd flashes of you know who in its pages down the years, but we can’t let the Beano comic’s 75^th birthday go past without a mention.  BBC Radio4 had a nice little documentary about it on Monday 14 January 2013. You can catch-up with A Menace to Society here.

Actually, there is one reference on the comic’s own website to Sherlock at the moment. Find out what it is here. 

 

Tall Story

The Shard looks like just the spot to take the practice of ‘seeing and observing’ to  new heights. Whatever would Mr Holmes have made of it?

 

And Finally

We always like a few good quotes or misquotes so here’s a nice little piece to wrap this Bulletin up. Click & Scroll Down for the SH bit.

 

SEEING and OBSERVING – This week’s Guide is here.

Sailing Schedule  Click & Scroll Down for next RSS. 

 

 

 

 

“Pray be precise as to details,” said he.

 

The NTV Awards: Sherlock Needs You!

The National Television Awards (The NTAs) Shortlist is now open. 

The BBC’s Sherlock is a strong contender for the Drama category but is facing intense competition from Doctor Who, Downton Abbey and Merlin.

Benedict Cumberbatch (for Sherlock) may be odds-on favourite to collect the Drama Performance Male award but it can’t be taken for granted. He’s got to see-off Daniel Mays (Mrs Biggs), Colin Morgan (Merlin) and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) first.

You can vote free online. Vote here now!

Alternatively you can vote by phone – 0901 888 2013.

You have until 12 noon on Wednesday 23 January 2013 to make your vote count.

Further details are available online and also in the new Radio Times (12 – 18 January 2013).