Sherlock Holmes (2013 TV series)

Sherlock Holmes
Шерлок Холмс
Sherlok Kholms

Official poster
Genre Crime drama
Created by
Written by
  • Andrey Kavun
  • Leonid Porokhin
  • Igor Pogodin
Directed by
Starring
Composer(s) Gary Miller
Country of origin Russia
Original language(s) Russian
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Ruben Dishdishyan 2.3
Cinematography Central Partnership
Camera setup Dolby Digital
Running time 704 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor Central Partnership
Release
Original network
Picture format HDTV
Original release November 18[1] – November 28, 2013[2]

Sherlock Holmes (Russian: Шерлок Холмс, tr. Sherlok Kholms) is a Russian television crime drama series[3] based on the Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, and was aired in November 2013.[4][5] Some of the stories have never been adapted before. It stars Igor Petrenko as Sherlock Holmes and Andrei Panin as Doctor John Watson. Eight episodes have been produced, while the first episode was aired in late 2013.

This is the last film role of Andrei Panin, who died before he was able to complete the dubbing of his lines as Dr. Watson.[6] However, they were able to finish the film almost entirely using the sound recorded on set, with only a small contribution by another voice actor.

Background

London in the 19th century is a grimy, dirty, dangerous place. Twenty-seven-year-old Sherlock Holmes (Igor Petrenko) meets with Dr. John Watson (Andrei Panin) - a veteran Army doctor who has just returned from the war in Afghanistan. They both live in cramped rented rooms in central London at a boarding house run by Mrs Hudson (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė). Considering his young detective friend to be a genius, Watson decides to write about the detective's talent, and discloses the mysteries to the whole world in his stories, which often embellish events, based on the cynical advice of a veteran Publisher (Alexander Adabashyan) with a keen sense of what sells.

The real Holmes is an awkward, intense, nerdy younger man. His violin playing sounds terrible, and he is neither a martial arts expert nor a crack shot Dr Watson makes him out to be. In fact, he doesn't even own a gun. Sherlock Holmes smokes cigarettes, but Watson comes up with the idea of the famous pipe for effect. The trademark Sherlock Holmes hat and cape were made up by Watson, as was Holmes' upper-class background. Neither of them is well off.

The two are often invited to take part in investigations by an inspector from Scotland Yard, Inspector Lestrade (Mikhail Boyarsky), whose search for the perpetrator often comes to a standstill. The genius investigator and the Doctor confront extraordinary villains: Professor Moriarty (Alexei Gorbunov), charming Irene Adler (Lyanka Gryu), and others.

Plot

The story begins when Dr. Watson, newly arrived and in search of lodging in London, runs into Holmes at the scene of a fatal accident, which Holmes immediately recognizes as murder. He ends up renting a room at Mrs Hudson’s, next door to Holmes. Mrs Hudson is a younger and more attractive woman than Watson makes her out to be. She has taken a liking to Watson, but has a problem with Holmes who has no clear occupation and disturbs other tenants with his violin playing and science experiments.

Dr. Watson shortly gets involved in his new friend's life full of exciting and dangerous adventures and becomes his loyal sidekick. He is also trying to build a private medical practice, and to make a name for himself as a writer. His heroic war poetry is turned down by the publisher who convinces him to focus on writing detective stories instead.

Production

"Holmes and Watson are characters which were screened, are screening and will be screened. I must say without exaggeration that this is like Hamlet. However, a director should venture upon this with something new of his own. Sherlock Holmes is literature for young people. Traditionally films are engaged in a search for the meaning of life, but this is a pure detective genre, adventure. In short, this is a direct test for professional self-determination"

Andrei Kavun[7]

The idea for a new Russian TV series about Sherlock Holmes was first announced in 2009, shortly before the release of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. But the choosing of the director and actors was much delayed, and the première was therefore put off for 3 years. The official production of the series only began in 2011.

Andrey Kavun, who is known for his work on the film "Kandahar", was appointed director.[8][9] Igor Petrenko was chosen for the role of Sherlock, and Andrei Panin was cast as Dr. Watson. For the role of Inspector Lestrade, Mikhail Boyarsky was chosen.

All surveys of Victorian England were held in eight months of filmings Russia, and the filmings were held in the vicinity of St. Petersburg - Vyborg, Kronstadt, Pushkin, Gatchina and Ivangorod. In total, the work on Sherlock Holmes, launched in September 2011, lasted 161 day of shooting. The filming was completed in May 2012 and the production was completed in late October 2012.

Influenced by Guy Ritchie's film, the role of the heroine, Irene Adler, was also expanded on during the show. Her love affair with Sherlock Holmes is one of the series' main storylines. She was portrayed by actress Lyanka Gryu. Kavun has also said he only plans to use the motives of the original stories, but will recreate the stories almost from scratch. The series will also assume that Watson's descriptions of the crimes have been embellished. Later he will try to adjust reality to his fantasies. As an example, Holmes' famous pipe will be replaced by cigarettes.[10]

Unlike most adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock in this adaptation is younger than Dr. Watson by 15 years.,[11][12] and the series was aired on channel Russia-1.

Cast

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Domestic viewers
(millions)
1 - 2"221B Baker Street"Andrey KavunIgor Pogodin, Leonid PorokhinNovember 18, 2013TBA

Dr. John Watson, a former military and medical officer, has just arrived in London after having been wounded during his service in Afghanistan. Alone without friends and family he starts looking for a flat, but he soon meets a stranger, a young man who seems to disturb the work of the local policemen from Scotland Yard as well as their chief, Inspector Lestrade. The young man describes himself as a private detective named Sherlock Holmes, together him and Watson decide to share a flat. Watson however soon realises that he might be putting his life in danger by sharing a flat with his new friend.

Loosely adapted from "The Adventure of Black Peter", "A Scandal in Bohemia", and "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton".
3 - 4"Rock, Scissors, Paper"Andrey KavunIgor PogodinNovember 19, 2013TBA

Peter Small, an old friend of Dr. Watson, dies while visiting Watson in his flat at Baker Street. Holmes tries to find the murderer, but begins to believe that Small was connected to a Band of Cabmen that have been committing crimes without ever being caught. The only clue to them is an old picture that was taken years ago, during their studies. But after Sherlock Holmes is visited by a young woman named Irene Adler comes in his flat, the picture is gone.

Loosely adapted from The Sign of Four and "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax".
5 - 6"Clowns"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 20, 2013TBA

A photographer is killed by bomb explosion in central London, and Holmes has to find the connection between the stolen picture and the bombing. He soon learns of the kidnapping of Irene Adler and understands that he has to sacrifice something in exchange for her release.

Loosely adapted from "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans".
7 - 8"The Mistress of Lord Maulbré"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 21, 2013TBA
Four women have been murdered and while the police arrest a suspect and prepare to bring him to court, Holmes and Watson work around the clock to prevent his death.
9 - 10"The Musgrave Ritual"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 25, 2013TBA

Holmes's friend, Sir Reginald Musgrave, asks for help. He is scared and on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to the fact that he is 33 years old which means he needs to pass a mystical rite of passage after which he would become the full owner of the entire heritage of the Musgrave family. Reginald's father was murdered during this same ceremony. In Musgrave Castle in Northern Scotland, Holmes and Watson discover an encrypted key to the treasures of Charles I of England which according to the legend lies hidden in the castle.

Loosely adapted from "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual".
11 - 12"Halifax"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 26, 2013TBA
After Watson has published his memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, he as well as his partner become more and more famous in London. Nevertheless, Sherlock and Watson are soon facing eviction from their apartment in Baker Street. Meanwhile, a redheaded Lord who has learned about Holmes's abilities decides to ask for help. On the same day, a remarkable incident occurs at the National Bank when a man named Ebenezer Buckley comes to trade a suitcase of banknotes for pure gold. When Buckley comes out of the bank, the police suddenly appear and kill him. Holmes makes the assumption that there is a direct link between the redheaded Lord and Mr. Buckley's death, and that the happenings are only part of a bigger, cunning plan of someone who wants to undermine the economy of the British Kingdom.
13 - 14"Holmes's Last Case"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 27, 2013TBA

During a Christmas party taking place in the estate of Count Brachear, the organiser is killed under unknown circumstances. Holmes and Dr. Watson are called in to deal with the case. Watson is extremely surprised when Holmes manipulates the evidence and setsInspector Lestrade on the wrong track. During the investigation Holmes receives a message from a mysterious woman, in fact it is a call for help from Irene Adler. Ignoring Watson's warnings, Holmes goes to find and rescue Irene, even though he knows that it could be at the cost of his own life.

Loosely adapted from "The Adventure of the Final Problem".
15 - 16"The Baskerville Hound"Andrey KavunLeonid PorokhinNovember 28, 2013TBA

Three years after Holmes's death, Dr. Watson is married to Mrs Hudson and his stories about the famous detective have been successfully reissued. A small memorial museum has opened in the house on Baker Street. But life is boring without incidents and cases. So when the doctor is approached by a young girl with a request to find out the reason for the death of her lover, Watson tries to solve the case. Soon he discovers that the murder was committed after the disappearance of secret documents. Watson realises that he needs a reliable partner, and surprisingly he finds one.

Despite the title of the episode, it is not an adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The episode is primarily a loose adaptation of "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans".

Reception

The series has received mixed reviews. Part of the audience did not recognize the series as a direct adaptation of the books' characters. Vasily Livanov, who played Holmes in the classic Soviet TV series "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson," sharply criticized the show.

The main role of Sherlock Holmes which portrayed by Igor Petrenko was criticized for his similarity to Guy Ritchie's Holmes although Andrei Panin and the art directors were recognized as brilliant.

Wide resonance were received among viewers of the series about the monologue about migrants' Thaddeus Sholto by actor Igor Sklyaro (at the end of the fourth episode). On his monologue he criticized the migratory policy in ways that seems to criticize the modern Russia policy in same issue. The director and co-writer, Andrey Kavun, admitted in an interview that "It was a lot of controversy with the channel producers, which required me to cut the monologue. But then I decided to leave it, because this monologue is about England, and Russia, and what happened in England in the late 19th century is very similar to what is going on in Russia today. These phrases sound more and more, and I decided to throw a stone to fly spray."

See also

References

External links

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