While it's encouraging to know that Sherlock Holmes is being considered for cinematic outings from time to time - the last big screen flourishes having occurred with Young Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Reinvented
The first announcement occurred a couple of weeks ago when it was announced that none other than Warner Bros. were interested in backing a film by Madonna's soon-to-be-ex Guy Ritchie. In this gritty, action-based dramatization, we'll see a "reinvention" of the character as Ritchie rewrites an upcoming comic book by Lionel Wigram. According to the article, the focus will be on adventure, with Holmes's skills as a boxer and swordsman being highlighted. Rumor has it that Robert Downey, Jr. will take the lead.
If you ask me, the stories already have a good deal of adventure to them, and Holmes is already imbued with superhero-like powers that he doesn't need to be rewritten or sexed-up for the big screen. When will screenwriters and directors realize that they've got the makings of the perfect hero the way the character was written?
"Frankly Hilarious"?
The latest ugly rumor is that none other than Sacha Baron Cohen - yes, that's right, Borat - will team up with Will Ferrell to play Holmes and Watson in a comedy. How they'll manage to work the potty humor for which they're known into a treatment about the detective and his colleague is a mystery to me. One of the producers is Judd Apatow, who's been responsible for recent comedies such as Walk Hard, Knocked Up, Talledega Nights, and the 40 Year-Old Virgin (all titles meant to inspire confidence in his comedic judgment, I suppose).
But according to the co-president of Columbia Pictures, "Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet, and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious."
At least they're sticking to the right genre.
Has It Come to This?
I'm not trying to be a spoilsport here - publicity for the great detective is important as we try to keep his name in the spotlight - but think of the children! In these days when books are getting less attention and kids get more information through video games, the Web, multimedia and text messaging, we need to be circumspect with the material we're presenting to them.
What will coming generations think if they're introduced to Holmes and Watson via recent questionable productions like Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking
Think of what the world would have been like if the Granada Television series with Jeremy Brett
What do you think? Chime in with a comment below.
P.S. In case you're wondering, this is no joke, unlike my successful hoodwinking of many outlets with my April Fool's Day prank.
. And Holmes wrote his own scholarly piece on his apicultural studies, entitled 
