There is no character, fictional or factual, as beloved by the media as Sherlock Holmes. He has been adapted for the stage, video games, anime, and of course for film and television. From his conception to the present day, no less than four interpretations of his persona have imprinted themselves in the collective memory. In the subsequent years, their respective audiences were certain that they have found their living impersonation of Holmes, and a few decades later, a new one would come along. It had started with the original, which took the world by storm. The next milestone was Sherlock Holmes played by Basil Rathbone, who fought the Nazis and contributed to victory in the Second World War, convincing many that no-one will ever better this characterisation. But in fifty odd years, that would change as Jeremy Brett presented the Holmes who could have stepped straight off Doyle’s pages. Yet more years have passed, and today’s Sherlock Holmes is a technologically savvy sleuth with a socialising problem, perfect for modern viewers.
This thesis explores the influences on each of the four versions. It discusses questions such as: which version was impacted by the contemporary times and why? What made a specific version right for those exact conditions? How did money influence the adaptation? What happens when creators listen to fans too much? And, last but not least, how do adaptations influence each other? I have analysed each interpretation and attempted to dissect the reasons behind them. I have arrived at the conclusion that while there are many influences behind each adaptation, some unique and some overlapping, there is one that connects all: Sherlock Holmes must appear whenever the world is in chaos and moral order needs to be re-established.
|
