#edward hardwicke

[pepaldi]

40 years ago today ..

An Iconic series, with an equally iconic theme, began.

[elinordash]

SHERLOCK HOLMES (1984-1994) ♦︎ 40th Anniversary ♦︎

“To me, the Sherlock Holmes stories are about a great friendship. The two men are interdependent; without Watson, Holmes might well have burnt out on cocaine long ago. And Watson leads a pretty dull life, enlivened only by his adventures with Holmes. I hope the series shows how important friendship is.” – Jeremy Brett

[puppetmaker40]

Photos from the Secret Life of Sherlock Holmes the play. I have access to an audio version but would have loved to see it live

[spooksicl-e]

he was a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and i had become one of them… i was a whetstone for his mind. i stimulated him.

[ofbakerst]

scaring the hell out of his new watson

[milquetoast27]

The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

GRANADA FANS. If you have not heard of this play, NOW IS THE TIME TO HEAR ABOUT IT. I'd been saving it for a rainy night and it was SOO good 😭😭Please allow me to elaborate.

[heads-up, there are no video recordings of it. I listened to the audio and followed along with the script. Not ideal, but still gave me a vivid image of what was happening on-stage.]

The nuance between screen and stage allows the actors to achieve different effects that are not possible with an on-screen adaptation. Characters do not turn to the camera and just tell you their innermost thoughts, but they can in a stageplay- and it's here that we really get to hear Brett and Hardwicke's ideas about Holmes and Watson- not much of it was unfamiliar as I'd read most of Brett's views in interviews, but it was really cool to get that confirmed in an official production that he worked on. Honestly, Brett had that feeling of "I can fix him" that I think exists in all of us Holmes fans, and totally went for it. The canon (and the Granada series) is rife with subtleties and 'show, don't tell', but it is honestly refreshing for once, to have such powerful emotion depicted dramatically and audaciously on a stage. It is all too often throughout the stories that Holmes and Watson are awfully reticent about their feelings. This play is an explosion of their private thoughts that leads to finally, thankfully, a wonderful reconciliation. I love it so much as it clearly advocates for open communication being a vital factor for a good friendship. There's a good reason for why that never happened in the canon; I think it has a lot to do with the shyness and reticence of the English, and I would not be surprised most particularly with Victorian men. But Holmes and Watson do still have their moments in the canon (e.g. 3GAR & FINA), and it's what makes them stand out so shockingly much in their time.

I appreciate that this play gives us viginettes of Holmes and Watson's life together all the way up to The Final Problem. It not only sets us up for the climax later, but also shows us specifically Brett's Holmes and Hardwicke's Watson. There were changes made from the original stories, and yet felt so wonderfully in-character and flowed really well through the actors. The play exclusively stars Brett and Hardwicke, and the purpose of redoing scenes from the canon, such as STUD, NAVA, or CHAS was to highlight the status in their relationship, for example Holmes's displeasure at Watson's marriage and subsequent loneliness- important scenes that communicate Holmes's dependence on Watson. These small glimpses also give us the much-needed humour for any balanced Holmes production! It not only communicates the warm and light moments that they shared, but also helps us get more invested in this particular pair on the stage, which is still vital, even if we're already attached to the characters.

The implications that arise from Brett's portrayal of Holmes is fascinating. He admits that he'd have been dead within two years without Watson, without the indispensible role he played in controlling his addiction and mental state. He admits of the lonely and awful childhood he shared with his brother. The fact that Holmes comes forward and tells us this himself suggests he is very psychologically aware of himself and how his mind works. He understands why he has addictions, the reasons for his barriers and difficulty with emotional vulnerability. Assuming Holmes is very interested in the criminal psyche, but also his own due to his eccentricities, it makes so much sense that he would psychoanalyse himself to this degree, but also be frustrated with how little he is able to move from his rigid mindset. This interpretation works so wonderfully for Brett's Holmes, and I am so glad for this portrayal he has given us. When it comes to canon Holmes, however, I feel that this is more likely to be unconscious. I can never shake how much of Brett is actually within his Holmes. While his comes close to the original, I still see them as separate people. Granada's adaptation tends to play up Holmes's melancholy/depression a little too far for me, like a far-away, mythical creature that can never be understood, because we never get much of an opportunity to see what he really feels (perhaps Eligible Bachelor or Master Blackmailer might come close). But I feel that almost defeats the character. To me, Holmes is flawed and troubled, but he is simply human. The Secret of Sherlock Holmes portrays this fact wonderfully, because all of those feelings are rising to the surface.

We move further into speculation, but I think Brett's Holmes has also a fairly healthy understanding of the difference between social constructs and necessities, which take more importance in a queer/neurodivergent reading of him. He understands that his upbringing was due to an "accepted convention", and we see time and again how Holmes disregards social conventions or constructs and does his own thing. It's why he gets frustrated at others for not understanding him, but also accepts that it will never come easily to people. That's why he's very lucky for Watson (and Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade!) :)

Holmes's darker emotions, and Watson's fierce devotion are displayed most prominently throughout. When Watson comments on Holmes's childhood, Holmes lies about it, woeing internally over how much he conceals, to even someone as close to him as Watson. He privately shares his desire to be "found out", because sharing his feelings to Watson is too difficult. His friend takes his word for it, appreciative of the times Holmes is able to speak frankly about himself. Holmes wants to be open, and Watson wants to listen, but it's Holmes's barriers preventing it. This feeling and experience is so raw and human, and something I would imagine would resonate with many people.

The latter half of the play focuses primarily on Holmes's cocaine addiction. Pastiche writers really like that sore spot, huh. Watson's perceptiveness and powers of observation are on full force in this play. Watson can tell when Holmes is high (as a medical man, most likely), and even deduced that Holmes may still be living by Mycroft's body language. But when it came to Holmes's return from the Great Hiatus...

Something that canon Watson seems to completely forget is his anger towards Holmes. In the story, he is so star-struck and relieved that he barely considers any other feeling. Hardwicke does briefly touch on this in the Granada episode with "I thought I would be as trustworthy as your brother," but it really doesn't go further than that. In The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, Hardwicke goes FULL FORCE. This is what we needed!!! It was a powerful, hair-raising performance. When Holmes has clearly not understood the harm he has done, Watson leaves. Actually slams the door. And when he returns, he makes it very clear to Holmes why he is hurt. And yet, his devotion remains, for when Holmes starts explaining his creation of Moriarty, it takes a while before Watson is fully convinced. Watson is extremely compassionate and empathetic, yes, but he's also very grounded and level-headed, and he must draw the line somewhere. It doesn't take him long to forgive Holmes, but he knows his anger has a place in that room, and allows it to be. I appreciate that it's taken just as seriously as Holmes's troubles.

The only reason either Holmes or Watson are able to communicate so finely with each other- even through shouting and crying- is because of their emotional awareness. It's what makes their relationship work, because they are both aware of how much they mean to each other. When they move past the difficulty of sharing such feelings, their bond grows stronger.

[jazzandpizazz]

actually the best scene ever

[sarnie-for-varney]

Holmes decorating his chemistry set with Christmas ornaments and ribbons! 🥹

Sorry for the cut-off dialogue. There were cutaways in between that I took out.

[noa-nightingale]

I am reading Bending the Willow by David Stuart Davies and I simply have to share this quote:

'Before we started filming anything and I had got the job, Jeremy rang me and said, "Darling heart, we must have a meal." And we met up in a restaurant in Soho. He was terribly sweet. He was aware that I had a little bit of an inferiority thing about being an actor's son, which I know today is irrelevant. But Jeremy was sensitive to this. I can remember him leaning over the table to me and saying, "It's your turn now." This was very touching.'

This is Edward Hardwicke speaking about Jeremy Brett.

[overagardenwall]

Granada Holmes Masterpost

Originally provided by granada-brett-crumbs on their blog, I have re-uploaded the series on Google Drive for everyone to watch the show in beautiful HD. I highly encourage downloading the series from the Drives, just in case one day I too may have to delete them in case my storage is too full for me to keep them. I will update this post should that day come and give everyone plenty of time to do so, but hopefully it'll be one that's very, very far in the future.

For the first half of the series, go to this lovely link For the rest of the episodes, this one

And for anyone who needs subtitles, granda-brett-crumbs has given me the link for them as well (hello!), so thank you GBC!

Enjoy everyone!

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

I found this on Pinterest a while ago and I can't get over it ... How close they are sitting to each other ... Holmes's arm somewhere behind Watson's back ... aaaaaaahhh

[elinordash]

SHERLOCK HOLMES (1984 - 1994) ↳ 4x02 | The Devil’s Foot

[matterofgayordeath]

I saw the crescent🌙

You saw the whole of the moon🌑

[spooksicl-e]

little granada!holmes drawing i did as a request over on insta:]

[ofbakerst]

[yamy-brett]

"Watson and Holmes are two halves of the same person. They are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s a brilliant creation their friendship, and it needs both, you can’t have the one without the other, it’s impossible." Jeremy Brett