Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Baker... the full list of actors who have taken on the role of Sherlock Holmes is so long that the super sleuth himself might struggle to remember all the names.

And now, Holmes has broken the record for having more film and TV portrayals than any other literary character.

The consulting detective has been depicted on the big and small screen a total of 254 times.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation beats the next most popular character, Hamlet, by a total of 48 appearances.
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Guinness World Records, which awarded Holmes the record, called him a ‘literary institution’.

Claire Burgess, a Guinness adjudicator, said: ‘This title reflects his enduring appeal and demonstrates that his detective talents are as compelling today as they were 125 years ago.

1455: The Good News | Thich Nhat Hanh

exceptindreams

Gestalt Prayer

«I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine.»

«Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem. If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge.»

andtey

198: One Star Fell and Another

Know When To Fold ‘Em, Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run…

by Wendy Keller

Four Steps to Handling Conflict with People You Love

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One of my favorite sayings at times like this comes from a sales book published in the 1960s( before I was even born!)  I read it when I was about 18, working in sales as an agent for a modelling agency:

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”

Just agree to let go. Return to your own life, your own inner peace, your own serenity. Other people will do as they will. If you engage, you fuel their fire. Let yourself be yourself and allow their drama to slip past you without trying to change What Is.

On the importance of Dr. Watson

"If you look at any good version of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson is every bit as important as Sherlock Holmes, and some would argue more so, because he's our conduit to Sherlock Holmes. He's the person to whom, in a way, the story happens. We are more emotionally resonant with Dr. Watson than with Sherlock Holmes because Sherlock Holmes is a hard man to empathize with."

(Source: NPR interview; you can read the highlights and listen to the full audio HERE

"In fact, Cumberbatch’s performance as Sherlock is Doctor-y in tone and swagger. Fans who gobble Cumberbatch up in the role have designated him as a Hot New Thing; after movie roles in “War Horse” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” he’s now filming Peter Jackson’s upcoming “The Hobbit” and landed a villainous part in J.J. Abrams’s “Star Trek” sequel.

He’s quite something, all right, but I can’t be the only one who finds this particular version of Sherlock to be a little grating. He’d be almost unwatchable if it weren’t for the tender devotion and counterbalance Martin Freeman brings to the role of Watson. In Cumberbatch, we get a Holmes who is not merely vain or aloof; he is so socially tone-deaf and brusque that I’d place him on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. “Get out! I need to go to my mind palace!” Sherlock shrieks at Watson, et al. — which means he needs to enter a trance state in which his superior memory and observation skills launch a quick-edit rush of images and clues.

Rather than ask for help at being a kinder and more well-adjusted grown-up, Sherlock is too often a petulant know-it-all, which grows tiresome and makes a viewer painfully aware that each episode is 90 minutes long."

(From The Washington Post; the entire article is here )

"That warming touch comes from the show's take on the relationship between Sherlock and Doctor Watson — played, in two of the best performances you'll find anywhere this season, by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The limits of the friendship are undefined (Watson constantly bristles that people think they're gay, one of the few times such a running joke avoids growing stale), but what's clear is Sherlock has grown to count on Watson as a friend, and that Watson has begun to see through some of Sherlock's ego-driven bluster.

Not that it's any easier to be friends with Sherlock in these three films than it was in the first. As so amusingly played by Cumberbatch, who has imbued his character with a singeing intelligence and an offbeat sexual allure, Sherlock is a constant source of insulting ill-timed truths, a showoff who just can't help himself. It's no wonder Freeman's equally amusing Watson tells him "I always hear 'punch me in the face' when you're speaking" — the wonder is that Freeman also makes Watson's bond with Sherlock perfectly believable."

( From USA Today; the entire article is here)

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

We regret to inform you that The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will not be honouring Jeremy Brett with a posthumous Award.  Our petition, dossier and letter were discussed at the Academy’s Television Committee meeting which took place at the end of January.  However, despite all of our support from several leading actors, producers and directors, the Board of Trustees decided that their initial decisions on posthumous Awards would not change.

Ms. Kelly Smith, Head of Television and Video Games within BAFTA relayed the information to us, saying:

     To confirm BAFTA Awards are given for excellence in particular categories at our awards ceremonies for their work in the Awards year.  These awards may still be presented to someone who died between the completion of their award-winning performance and the date of the ceremony itself.  In keeping with this policy, Heath Ledger for example won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, even though he died before the date of presentation.

     The Academy also honours individuals with either Special Awards or Fellowships, which recognise outstanding contribution to the film, television or video games industries for overall bodies of work.  However, our Board of Trustees decided a number of years ago that these honours should not bestowed posthumously.

So… we couldn’t get BAFTA to recognise Jeremy’s talent and work.  But we are however proud to have made a try for it.  We are also very proud and thankful for all of the support which we received, be it from actors, television executives, producers or directors.

Most of all, we would like to say a big big THANK YOU to all of Jeremy’s fans and admirers who joined us on our venture.  Thanks to you and to your belief in what we were trying to do, Jeremy Brett and his work received a big bag of publicity all over the world.  We shall forver be grateful for that.

To our critics, and especially to those who thought our campaign “unrealistic”, we would like to point out that from the start, our contact at BAFTA, as well as past and present members of the Academy thought that we may indeed be able to achieve something.  Had this not been the case, none of our work would have been discussed at any official meetings.  We did not succeed.  But we tried.  We did our very best.  We could have done nothing more.

On a last note, we would like it to be known that we are very grateful for the politeness shown us by Ms. Smith.  It was indeed a pleasure to correspond with her.

For those whom it may interest, we shall continue to update you as to what will become of our team.  Please stay tuned.

Once again, THANK YOU for your support!

“Should flow like water after summer showers,
Not as if raised by mere mechanic powers.”

In reference to its style, Dr. Johnson, who was himself greatly distinguished for his colloquial abilities, says that “no style is more extensively acceptable than the narrative, because this does not carry an air of superiority over the rest of the company; and, therefore, is most likely to please them. For this purpose we should store our memory with short anecdotes and entertaining pieces of history. Almost every one listens with eagerness to extemporary history. Vanity often co-operates with curiosity; for he that is a hearer in one place wishes to qualify himself to be a principal speaker in some inferior company; and therefore more attention is given to narrations than anything else in conversation. It is true, indeed, that sallies of wit and quick replies are very pleasing in conversation; but they frequently tend to raise envy in some of the company: but the narrative way neither raises this, nor any other evil passion, but keeps all the company nearly upon an equality, and, if judiciously managed, will at once entertain and improve them all.”

(from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861)

“Friendship is no plant of hasty growth,
Though planted in esteem’s deep-fixed soil,
The gradual culture of kind intercourse
Must bring it to perfection.”

(from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861)