Sherlock Holmes Compare And Contrast

Since the first story of Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr John Watson was published in A Study in Scarlet in 1887, both of them and their stories has been one of the most popular fictional characters. At first, the story did not attract public interest and attention. However, it became a huge success after four years since it was published. This result made Conan Doyle decided to extent the story to a series of sequels(Porter 2012: 5). Actually, Holmes and Watson were featured in fifty-six short stories and published in four novels(Porter 2012: 145). Even though the first story of them is written nearly 130 years, the popularity is not declined. Thanks to modern media, such as television programs and films, and the Internet, the adaptations

of their companionship in those original stories have been broadcasted several times. Especially in these five years, Sherlock Holmes is the most popular adapted worked. For example, there are two films of Sherlock Holmes (WarnerBros 2009) was acted by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and it is going to release the third one in 2016. In TV-series, Sherlock (BBCOne 2010) and Elementary (CBS 2012) are the representative adaptations.
Sherlock Holmes, as a consulting detective, is undoubtedly the most famous one and has attracted millions of fans worldwide, including me.

His sign has built in people’s mind. The cloaked and hunting capped figure raises a blowing curved pipe; this image has deep planted in people’s mind. Although Holmes in those modern adaptations is different, they are observed the prototype of him from these characters. However, there are various interpretations of Watson in 21st century. Dr John Hamish Watson, the veteran war doctor (Porter 2012: 5), and the close companion of Holmes, his image is not as vivid as Holmes. In the most recent series and films I have mentioned above, every screenwriter, director, and actor/actress has their own image about Watson, the indispensable presence to Holmes and the whole series. To be frankly, the remarkable new images of Watson in Sherlock and Elementary are barely similar, even comparing them to the original. In these two, I am more interested in the latter, especially the adaptation and transformation of casting and interpretation of Watson because the producers chose Lucy Liu, a woman to play, although it is not the first attempt to replace Watson with a female as the well known sidekick of Holmes. It was a challenge when it broadcasted just after very recent adaptation in a film and a television show, which leaded it to either a revolution or a disaster. Now, in mid 2015, Elementary was just ended its third season, and the fourth is coming in

this fall. It supposes to be enough time to prove its success. As a television series which adapted one of the most famous fiction, it should present the contemporary significance. Otherwise, it can be an original creation rather than adaptation. Thus, whether this modern adaptation has meaning and value, or it is just another way for television companies to win ratings, is a worthwhile inquiry issue. Therefore, in this dissertation, I am going to analyse if Liu’s Watson is a revolution or a kind of demagogy, since it as one of the adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories causing a lot of controversies, and most of them are against Liu’s Watson. Accordingly, it will start from the original way of Watson’s image and his general images in the recent adaptations. Following by this, the methodology and theory are analysed and argued. The case study which I present after theory focus on the adaptation of Elementary, Liu’s interpretation and image of Joan Watson. What can we learn?