omg: a modern Sherlock Holmes from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss? I’m so there

First Moffat makes Jekyll now Sherlock. Could this be the beginning of a series of modern re-imaginings of classic novels? I am so there.

Now for the inevitable guessing of which novel will follow. Hawkins, i.e. Treasure Island set in modern times with Long John Silver as a Somalian pirate with a tragic backstory? Nemo, in which a descendant of the titular captain fights against polluters, pirates and other sea based villains from his high tech sub? Crusoe, where...oh wait, there's a series by that name already. Robinson, a compelling drama in the vein of Cast Away? The possibilities are endless.

(I came up with these from the top of my head and for the life of me can't fathom why all of them involve the sea. Weird.)

can't wait for your review - it's the only thing on tv to watch this summer

you guys get Mad Men - we get this

Looks great and I'm glad they incorporated their first meeting as most adaptations don't mention it. I think everyone's written a SH fanfic at onetime or another..strangely most of them watch DW as well.

Cumberbatch(great name)looks good and just slightly unconventionally handsome to work and as a fan of MF, it's good to see him again though playing his everyman role again.

"you guys get Mad Men - we get this"

Given that I'm not a fan of MM, I'd gladly trade.

If Freeman is in it I'll watch it. He was great in The Office and Hitchhikers Guide.

For a trailer to Sherlock see => http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSQq_bC5kIw

Squee!!

You have seen The League of Gentlemen, of which Mark Gatiss is a member, right? And his novels aren't bad, either.

I like both actors so, hopefully, this will be interesting though I wish it wasn't modernized.

PBS has been advertising this in Masterpiece, apparently for the fall though I haven't seen it on their schedule yet.

Someone asked Moffat this on twitter

@steven_moffat Isnt Sherlock Holmes--Doctor Who without all the cool powers?

and he replied

Some would say it's the other way round. But in fact it's BOTH WAYS ROUND!!!!

... a cross between Withnail and I and The Bourne Ultimatum ...

Sign me up.

He later elaborated by saying this

Moffat also described the differences between the characters of the Doctor and Holmes, calling the pair "opposites".

"I think the Doctor is more human," he said. "I think he's more playful, and more ordinary and more distractible. They are sort of opposite. The Doctor is an alien, a remote outsider, who aspires to be one of us. He likes playing around with us. And Sherlock Holmes aspires to be a Time Lord.

"It’s obvious now that the only difference between “mainstream popular entertainment” and “fan fiction” -- apart from the quality issues; most fan fiction is indeed dreadful and unreadable -- is whether a fan fiction writer has the access to get his fan fiction published or produced."

Yes, that second point is one difference.

Another issue is that the copyright has probably run out on books by Austen, Doyle, Dickens, etc.

As for the quality of fiction vs. fan fiction, I submit that the quality difference is partly an illusion created by how fan fiction is put on websites without much in the way of vetting or editing, while normal fiction includes a lot of crap that never makes it past the slush readers that suffer through it for us.

I've never seen a full episode of the League of Gentlemen but I really liked the film - very Pirandello. Also Michael Sheen was in it, always a good thing.

Do give The League of Gentlemen another shot, MaryAnn, I'm sure it'll grow on you. In a previous life I subtitled all three series for Dutch telly, which was a blast. The three writer/actors played practically ALL roles and there's a buckload of (horror) film references scattered throughout to boot. Mark Gatiss's inept vet in the first series is a standout.