Sherlock Holmes in the Digital Age on PBS

Sherlock Holmes finally premiered on PBS tonight. I think a lot of us have been waiting awhile for this reenvisioning of Sherlock Holmes. The creators of this Sherlock and Dr. Watson have embraced the electronic world of the blog, texting, and unlimited information. I heard an NPR interview with the actors playing Sherlock and Dr. Watson who expressed that they believed that the amount of knowledge that Sherlock’s mind could process was a perfect fit with the digital age and the infinite amount of data available to us today. All fine objectives, but how was the execution?

TMI. Yes, too much information applied at a break-neck pace in an attempt to help the audience understand the power of Sherlock’s mental facilities. However, all the information feels contrived and did not stand up to the process of logical reasoning. In an attempt to create modern deductive reasoning by the great detective, the writers (and I understand the actors also pitched in to point out facts that Sherlock could use to deduce the truth) seem to have been overwhelmed by the amount of information available so that the logic fails us.

Despite its failings, I must admit that I am going to be watching next week. And that Dr. Watson’s strength of personality definitely grew on me over the course of the two hour premiere.

Let me know what you think of this reimagining. And inquiring minds want to know, let me know if you think that it is Sci-Fi.

All Things Sci-Fi

So I always say that I only read and watch sci-fi.  However, I think that the brave new world of science fiction is much larger and closer to our lives than what folks normally typecast as sci-fi.  For instance, westerns are all about pioneers on exploring a new frontier.  And of course, a space western like Firefly/Serenity just proves how comfortable and familiar the genres of westerns and sci-fi are together.  I have also always said that mysteries like Sherlock Holmes are true science fiction territory, with mysteries of science and the universe explored with logic and cutting edge technology and knowledge.  The recent movie interpretation of Sherlock Holmes set in a steampunk era just proves that connection.  I intend to cover all things sci-fi in these pages, and that includes more than you or I can imagine!