Hi All

[Juggler]

Hi all, I dont remember not being a fan of Sherlock Holmes, always enjoyed  mysteries and whodonits. I enjoy the films, the tv series and the short stories and novels of ACD. My favourite Series / Sherlock  is Granada,s Jeremy Brett. Ive had a good look around the forum and pleased to be here.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hi, Juggler -- welcome to Sherlock Forum!    We're pleased to have you here.

I don't think you'll find much disagreement around here that Brett is among the best (or *the* best) of the Victorian Holmeses.  Who's your favorite Watson (from the Granada series or elsewhere)?

P.S.:  Your avatar photo appears to be some sort of Reichenbach Falls scene.  Is it from a Brett episode, or Sherlock's "Abominable Bride," or what?

[Juggler]

Thank you. 

I think both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke were both great Watsons, and similar. I recall watching an interview with Edward Hardwicke where he said the biggest compliment he recieved when taking over the role, was that the crew kept calling him David !! 

I remember sat waiting for the BBC Sherlock to start, feeling a bit skeptical of this modern day Sherlock Holmes with all  of todays tech, but Martin Freeman played a great Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes. 

Yes my avatar is from the Reichenbach fall scene from the jeremy Brett series. 

[Hikari]

1 hour ago, Juggler said:

Thank you. 

I think both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke were both great Watsons, and similar. I recall watching an interview with Edward Hardwicke where he said the biggest compliment he recieved when taking over the role, was that the crew kept calling him David !! 

I remember sat waiting for the BBC Sherlock to start, feeling a bit skeptical of this modern day Sherlock Holmes with all  of todays tech, but Martin Freeman played a great Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes. 

Yes my avatar is from the Reichenbach fall scene from the jeremy Brett series. 

Welcome, Juggler!  Pleased you are here.

Your avatar alone will endear you to my good mate, Herlock Sholmes, fellow Jeremy Brett Sherlock fan.

It can't have been easy for Edward Hardwicke to take over from David Burke after DB did 13 outstanding episodes as Watson.  Burke was a vigorous 49 years old and resembled in every way my minds' eye conception of our soldier-doctor at that stage of his life.  Hardwicke was only 2 years older than Burke and Brett, but had the appearance and energy of a considerably older gent.  To me he is what Doctor Watson may have appeared like as a man of his later years, post 'Last Bow' when Watson was 62 years old.

Mssrs. Hardwicke and Brett went on to become really tight friends and worked together for many more years than JB and Burke had.  I think the working relationship with David Burke was collegial and professional, but EH and JB got much closer during their long association.  Mr. Hardwicke sadly passed away at 76 years of age, but Mr. Burke is still with us, 83 I believe, and still appearing in the occasional acting role.  He left the Granada Sherlock series regretfully after one season for family reasons:  His toddler son Tom, born with a cleft palate, required several corrective surgeries and DB did not like to leave his wife and child alone due to his work commitments.  Though it is a disappointment for the audiences not to have more of his Watson to enjoy, David's commitment to his family is commendable.  I think he made the best choice.  You can see Tom Burke, all grown up and  having inherited the parental acting genes (Mum is actress Anna Calder-Marshall) in The Musketeers series.  He is a handsome chip off the old block--and very close to his father to this day.

[HerlockSholmes]

I used to know the names of the two stuntmen that filmed the Reichenbach scene but I can’t recall them now. Brett rules of course👍

Welcome to the Forum Juggler.

[Juggler]

Hi Hikari, I had never known the reason for David Burke leaving,  (learning things already👍) what a shame for him, after getting such an iconic role and it being so successful.

I totally agree with you that David Burke did look every  bit the ex soldier-doctor, and Edward Hardwicke did look older and would of worked well in later stories, i hadnt thought about it till now, you make a good point.

Hi HerlockSholmes, yep Brett rules 

[Hikari]

32 minutes ago, Juggler said:

Hi Hikari, I had never known the reason for David Burke leaving,  (learning things already👍) what a shame for him, after getting such an iconic role and it being so successful.

I totally agree with you that David Burke did look every  bit the ex soldier-doctor, and Edward Hardwicke did look older and would of worked well in later stories, i hadnt thought about it till now, you make a good point.

Hi HerlockSholmes, yep Brett rules 

Jude Law is in the David Burke School of Watsons, in my opinion.   I was at first surprised that Jude agreed to the second-billed role as Dr. Watson owing to the fact that he is every inch an A-list leading man internationally, and the case could be made that he was more suitable for Holmes anyway.  Infinitely more suitable than Robert Downey, Jr. on a number of counts, being both British and tall, for starters.  

Both David Burke and Jude Law capture that quality which is a must for Watson, beyond a military bearing and appearing comfortable with firearms and a mustache--the Doc has got to be a chick magnet, his appeal to ladies instantly apparent, along with his courtly side.

We were discussing the Granada Sign of Four on another thread recently.  I really wish they would have gotten to that piece during Burke's tenure so that the romance with Mary Morstan could have been more of a facet.  In a perfect world, David would have been able to do the whole series and really stay with the character.  Jeremy Brett was very happy with Burke's replacement, and ultimately it was E. Hardwicke who had to work with Brett during the worst ravages of Brett's illness.  I would not want to have deprived JB of that friendship with his second Watson . . . but I am most fond of the first 13 episodes owing to my partiality for Watson #1 . . and also because it is heartbreaking to see the progression of JB's illness onscreen.

[Hikari]

2 hours ago, HerlockSholmes said:

I used to know the names of the two stuntmen that filmed the Reichenbach scene but I can’t recall them now. Brett rules of course👍

Welcome to the Forum Juggler.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0506450/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Herl, this IMDb entry lists Mark Boyle and Alf Joint as the two stuntmen who gave us that spectacular fall over the Reichenbach Falls.

[HerlockSholmes]

3 hours ago, Hikari said:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0506450/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Herl, this IMDb entry lists Mark Boyle and Alf Joint as the two stuntmen who gave us that spectacular fall over the Reichenbach Falls.

I’d been thinking of the name Alf but that was as far as I could remember. You beat me on the detective work there Hikari. I was going to look in a brilliant book on the series that I got around 6 months ago but forgot. Not very Holmes-like😃

[HerlockSholmes]

That book is called Grenada’s Greatest Detective by Keith Frankel by the way. Copies are just under £10 at the moment. Highly recommended.

[Juggler]

4 hours ago, Hikari said:

Jude Law is in the David Burke School of Watsons, in my opinion.   I was at first surprised that Jude agreed to the second-billed role as Dr. Watson owing to the fact that he is every inch an A-list leading man internationally, and the case could be made that he was more suitable for Holmes anyway.  Infinitely more suitable than Robert Downey, Jr. on a number of counts, being both British and tall, for starters.  

Both David Burke and Jude Law capture that quality which is a must for Watson, beyond a military bearing and appearing comfortable with firearms and a mustache--the Doc has got to be a chick magnet, his appeal to ladies instantly apparent, along with his courtly side.

We were discussing the Granada Sign of Four on another thread recently.  I really wish they would have gotten to that piece during Burke's tenure so that the romance with Mary Morstan could have been more of a facet.  In a perfect world, David would have been able to do the whole series and really stay with the character.  Jeremy Brett was very happy with Burke's replacement, and ultimately it was E. Hardwicke who had to work with Brett during the worst ravages of Brett's illness.  I would not want to have deprived JB of that friendship with his second Watson . . . but I am most fond of the first 13 episodes owing to my partiality for Watson #1 . . and also because it is heartbreaking to see the progression of JB's illness onscreen.

Yes i liked Jude Law as Watson and RDJ as Holmes. I didnt know what to expect with Guy Ritchie behind it,id only known him from London gangster films. It was a very different Sherlock Holmes film, which isnt always a bad thing. I enjoyed the story ,the  setting was really well done and the fight sequences. 

I dont know if i could picture JL as Holmes, but then i probably wouldnt of picturd RDJ in that role🤐.

Its a while since ive watched the Granada Sign of Four and i cant place EH romancing MM at all !! or imagine it. Yes it would of worked well with DB. Not long sinced watched The Sign of Four with Peter Cushing, Nigel Stock wasnt scared of a little wooing😀

[Juggler]

1 hour ago, HerlockSholmes said:

That book is called Grenada’s Greatest Detective by Keith Frankel by the way. Copies are just under £10 at the moment. Highly recommended.

Thanks for that. Ive never noticed that book come up when ive typed Sherlock Holmes into Amazon before !! Just ordered. 

[HerlockSholmes]

I hope you enjoy it Juggler.

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 1/25/2019 at 11:22 AM, Hikari said:

Mr. Burke is still with us, 83 I believe, and still appearing in the occasional acting role.  He left the Granada Sherlock series regretfully after one season for family reasons:  His toddler son Tom, born with a cleft palate, required several corrective surgeries and DB did not like to leave his wife and child alone due to his work commitments.

Now that is a bit odd.  I had heard that he left because he and his wife were both offered spots in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and they thought it would be a great opportunity for them to be together as a family, especially since they had a young son at the time.  But maybe both stories are true, and the surgeries were an extra incentive for the parents to make the decision they did.

On 1/25/2019 at 1:24 PM, Juggler said:

I totally agree with you that David Burke did look every  bit the ex soldier-doctor, and Edward Hardwicke did look older and would of worked well in later stories

I agree with both of you in a sense, though the way I look at it is this:  Burke was perfect as the Watson who had just recently met Holmes and was still totally in awe of him, whereas Hardwicke (my favorite of the two, by the way) was perfect as the Watson who'd already been with Holmes awhile and had become a bit more accustomed to his feats.  I've never figured out whether the episodes were written that way on purpose or whether it was more the difference in the two actors' styles.

If you compare Martin Freeman's performances in Study in Pink vs. later episodes, though, you'll see the same difference, so maybe it's canon -- or maybe Moftiss copied the Granada series?

[Hikari]

On 1/27/2019 at 12:05 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Now that is a bit odd.  I had heard that he left because he and his wife were both offered spots in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and they thought it would be a great opportunity for them to be together as a family, especially since they had a young son at the time.  But maybe both stories are true, and the surgeries were an extra incentive for the parents to make the decision they did.

I'd say the two decisions went hand-in-hand.  His child's medical concerns were the impetus for Burke to accept the offer with the RSC when he did.  I think he would have opted to stay with the show otherwise, at least for a few more seasons.  I saw an interview with him where he expressed that he would have loved to continue as Watson, but could not regret the reason he chose to leave.   Also that he knew he was leaving Jeremy in good hands with his replacement.

[Arcadia]

Bit late to the party, I know, but I just wanted to add my welcome to Juggler.

[Juggler]

9 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Bit late to the party, I know, but I just wanted to add my welcome to Juggler.

Thank you, its good to be here 👍

[Sheerluck]

Even later, but welcome Juggler.

[Juggler]

On 2/10/2019 at 2:38 PM, Sheerluck said:

Even later, but welcome Juggler.

Thank you 😀