1182 replies to this topic

[zencat]

All of his episodes? Nice!

[zencat]

Is everyone aware of Titan's "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" books? They've scooped up the publishing rights to several long out-of-print pastiche novels and have reprinted them as a uniform set. Some good long-of-print titles in here, including the Holmes-War of the Worlds adventure.

[marktmurphy]

Yeah I bought a couple a little while back: I read the Egypt-y one (is it Secret of the Scrolls or Sphinx or something?) which was quite fun and also the one which rewrites Holmes and Watson's first meeting to have Watson as an agent of Moriarty, which I haven't got my teeth into yet.

[Royal Dalton]

All of his episodes? Nice!

Not sure of the details yet, but the ten complete episodes should be on there. The two incomplete episodes (The Bruce-Partington Plans and The Abbey Grange) might be included as extras.

[Mr. Blofeld]

If anybody doesn't have it, Amazon has "The Crimes of Dr. Watson" on sale for $9.95. It's a fun book, sort of a mystery you have to solve with included clues - well worth that price...

I own it; the packaging is lovely, but there are far too many red herrings when the solution is supposedly staring you in the face...

Also, throwing off the Holmes timeline by a year? Not cool.

[Brisco]

All of his episodes? Nice!

Not sure of the details yet, but the ten complete episodes should be on there. The two incomplete episodes (The Bruce-Partington Plans and The Abbey Grange) might be included as extras.

Ten episodes??!! Wow! I was only aware of four as surviving in their entirety. That is awesome! I really do hope they include the surviving fragments as well, in order to be as complete as possible. This is the best news I've heard since Network first announced their black and white Callan seasons back in January! Where did you get this information? And are we talking about Region 1 or Region 2 here? Either way, I can't wait! I've just been watching Wilmer as the Thinking Machine in Season 2 of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, and particularly yearning to see his Holmes series.

Thanks for making my day!

Brisco

[Brisco]

The Big Finish audiobook Holmes vs The Ripper is being released currently.

http://www.bigfinish...sherlock-holmes

That's the one that's based on a play by The Avengers' Brian Clemens, right? Has anyone heard it yet? I'm certainly intrigued by the Clemens angle!

[Brisco]

Crucifer of Blood

I apologize if I'm reiterating something that's already been discussed here, but if it has, I missed it. Anyway, I was surprised to discover the Charlton Heston/Richard Johnson Sherlock Holmes movie, The Crucifer of Blood, at Best Buy today--multiple copies no less! Apparently Warner released it the same day as the Downey Jr. movie and I must have missed it then. But I'm thrilled to have this on DVD at last! The old DVD-R copy I used to have was so murky it wasn't worth watching, but this new official version looks very nice indeed. I know it's a weird one, and it's odd that they do nothing to address Heston and Johnson's advancing ages, but I just like both actors so much that I can excuse the strange casting.

I was sorry that Sony's A Study in Terror (which has had an undated preorder listing on Amazon for quite some time now) didn't finally materialize when the new movie hit DVD. Who knows if we'll ever get it in R1 now. I really hope so, because I love that one! I'm surprised that only Warner decided to cash in on their own release with a new Sherlock release that day--unless you count Acorn's Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Set 2 (which is excellent, if not exactly Holmes). Is Crucifer the only unreleased Holmes title they've got in their vaults? I would have thought WB controlled the Frank Langella version of the Gillette play that aired on HBO as well; it's too bad they didn't release that too. But I am thrilled to have a good copy of Crucifer at last!

[zencat]

Don't forget Andrew (The Bond Files) Lane's new Young Sherlock Holmes series is set to launch June 4. Looking forward to these.

Official website:
http://www.youngsherlock.com/

Book 2!
http://www.amazon.co.../dp/0330511998/

[Matt_13]

Don't forget Andrew (The Bond Files) Lane's new Young Sherlock Holmes series is set to launch June 4. Looking forward to these.

Official website:
http://www.youngsherlock.com/

Book 2!
http://www.amazon.co.../dp/0330511998/

You think these will be of a similar caliber to the Young Bond novels, Zen?

[zencat]

I don't know. We'll see. I'm sure everyone involved is holding up the YB novels as the bar.

I like that we'll get two books this year (remember that was the original plane for YB). Not crazy about the title of Book 1, Death Cloud, but I really like the title for book 2, The Red Leech. Hope it sticks.

[Arbogast777]

...but I really like the title for book 2, The Red Leech. Hope it sticks.

Ba dum, ching!

[zencat]

LOL. I didn't even intend that.

[marktmurphy]

I've read some of Andy Lane's books before (Doctor Who ones; one's a Holmes crossover!) and he is a very decent writer. It's hard to second guess of course, because I never liked Higson's writing before Bond. Lane's Who book was certainly better in the sections where the Doctor wasn't around and it was just Holmes and Watson, though!

[zencat]

The first book already has dozens of (good) reviews on Amazon. Guess there are proofs out there, but I haven't been able to score one.

[zencat]

Good review of Death Cloud HERE. Also Red Leech cover art already on Amazon.

[marktmurphy]

Good review of Death Cloud HERE. Also Red Leech cover art already on Amazon.

Ah, that sounds fun: I'm in.

Funny to see Sherrinford is his uncle now: in the last book I read by Lane he was his dad!

[Brisco]

TVShowsOnDVD has the cover art and details for BBC/WB's release of the Wilmer series now! No mention of the fragments, sadly, but eleven full episodes are still way more than I was aware existed! These were an hour, like the Cushings, right? If so, I don't see how they can fit all that on just two discs, but that's what's listed. (Double sided maybe? I didn't think anyone did that anymore.) I cannot wait for this September release!!!

[zencat]

Fantastic. Thanks for posting.

[marktmurphy]

I saw an episode or two of the Wilmers at the NFT (as it was then) at a screening attended by Jim Fanning himself a few years back. It was okay; nothing to get too excited about to be honest.

[Royal Dalton]

From the few episodes I've seen, I think it's a good series, and Wilmer was great as Holmes. But, production-wise, you have to take it for what it is. Plus, these episodes only exist as 16mm telerecordings. So, they'll look a bit creakier than they would have originally. Especially if they haven't been cleaned up and VidFired.

It's a shame it doesn't look like the incomplete episodes are going to be on there, though. There's also a 2005 BBC documentary that Douglas Wilmer featured in called The Man Who Loved Sherlock Holmes, which was about the mysterious death of Holmes expert Richard Lancelyn Green, who Wilmer was something of a father figure to. I thought that would have made for an interesting extra.

The Wilmer series is getting a Region 2 DVD release, as well. So, we'll have to wait and see if that's any different.

[Brisco]

From the few episodes I've seen, I think it's a good series, and Wilmer was great as Holmes. But, production-wise, you have to take it for what it is. Plus, these episodes only exist as 16mm telerecordings. So, they'll look a bit creakier than they would have originally. Especially if they haven't been cleaned up and VidFired.

It's a shame it doesn't look like the incomplete episodes are going to be on there, though. There's also a 2005 BBC documentary that Douglas Wilmer featured in called The Man Who Loved Sherlock Holmes, which was about the mysterious death of Holmes expert Richard Lancelyn Green, who Wilmer was something of a father figure to. I thought that would have made for an interesting extra.

The Wilmer series is getting a Region 2 DVD release, as well. So, we'll have to wait and see if that's any different.

I'm assuming the quality will be comparable to last year's BBC release of Anna Karenina and Shakespeare's Age of Kings with Connery, which are certainly watchable.

I read a long New Yorker article about Green, but wasn't aware of that doc. Sounds fascinating! Yes, I do wish they had included that. Would have been good. Too bad. As you say, perhaps the R2 version will offer more extras...

[Royal Dalton]

Yeah, the picture quality should be similar to those (depending on the condition of the prints, of course).

As an example, here's a screen grab from my (vhs) copy of The Illustrious Client.

[jrcjohnny99]

Anybody see the two Christopher Lee Holmes tv movies from the early 90s?
I just picked them up in a box set; I've never seen them and as a huge fan of Lee's i'm quite excited, tho i've seen only very average reviews.
Anybody have any thoughts on these? should I lower my expectations before I watch?

J

[zencat]

I've started reading Andy Lane's first Young Sherlock Holmes book (Death Cloud). Four chapters in. So far so good.

[Brisco]

Cool! Please keep us appraised, Zencat. I definitely want to hear your review! I'm still on the dubious side, myself, but if you think it measure up to Young Bond I could be persuaded to try it... So is it third person, then, or does Holmes or some Watson-surrogate narrate it? Do they call him "Sherlock" the way Higson calls young Bond "James?"

[zencat]

Yes, it's third person and he is called Sherlock. So far it's less of a Sherlock Holmes story than a mystery-adventure with a boy named Sherlock Holmes. So far he is a very normal boy, not really what I would imagine a real young Sherlock to be (I think he'd be a MAJOR nerd into bug collecting or whatever and pretty darn anti-social). It has some fun nods to the canon, but so far it doesn't capture the essence of the original as Charlie's Young Bond does. But all this is just fine. The mystery is good and writing is breezy and it's moving along beautifully.

[marktmurphy]

I meant to pick this up when I saw it in the bookshop the other day, but I found a copy of the Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in the library the other day so I'm getting through that right now!

[zencat]

Yes, it's third person and he is called Sherlock. So far it's less of a Sherlock Holmes story than a mystery-adventure with a boy named Sherlock Holmes. So far he is a very normal boy, not really what I would imagine a real young Sherlock to be (I think he'd be a MAJOR nerd into bug collecting or whatever and pretty darn anti-social). It has some fun nods to the canon, but so far it doesn't capture the essence of the original as Charlie's Young Bond does. But all this is just fine. The mystery is good and writing is breezy and it's moving along beautifully.

Finished, and my thoughts above remain pretty much my thoughts. If anything, the book becomes less Sherlockian and more Bondian as it goes along. In fact, it's very, VERY Bondian, with a girl and a mega villain and a henchmen and a torture scene, etc. Sherlock is really a YA action hero in this, much more fighting than deduction. But, hey, I enjoyed it! It was my Young Bond book for this year. It's certainly what I think young readers weaned on Alex Rider etc. want and expect from a YA book, and Lane delivers.

I'm excited about the next book, Red Leech, which is going to be set in America. Again, more Bondian than Sherlockian, the series is going to globe trot -- this book was England and France, the official website promises upcoming books set in Russia, India, China, among others. I say bring it. I'm onboard.

Good interview with Andrew Lane here:
http://bookzone4boys...-author-of.html

[Trident]

Zen, do you think it's perhaps 'entwicklungsroman'? Getting more 'Sherlockian' as it keeps on?