How Sherlock is faithful to the book

How Sherlock is faithful to the book

The 2010 BBC show Sherlock is a magnificent adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The creators of the television show maintained the primary characters of the original story. Sherlock is faithful to the stories portrayed in the book as it highlights a duet of a detective and a doctor solving complicated and mysterious crimes. In both the book and the television show, most vents occurred in London (Letizia, 2012). One main difference from the book is that the title of the first television episode is A study in Pink, while the title of the book is A Study in Scarlet. The title is different in the television episode since the plot revolves around the mysterious death of a woman that was dressed entirely in pink.

Additionally, Sherlock deduced the past of the victim, trough the patterns on her pink outfit and the information derived from her pink luggage that led him to further unveil critical cues behind the mystery. This contributes a vital meaning behind the title of the television episode (Letizia, 2012). The word Scarlet in the book title highlights the color red, which in the case describes the mysterious presence of blood that was found in most of the crime scenes.

Elements that are different in the show in comparison to the books

The book was published in 1887, which was set in the Victorian Times era while the television show was portrayed in the twenty-first century. The change in setting led to significant modifications of the television show. In the Victorian era, telegraphs and letters were the most utilized forms of personal communication. However, in the television show, a cell phone which can accomplish several forms of communication in one device was utilized.

The television show version of Sherlock’s access to modern technology allows him to solve cases more efficiently and fast. However, the criminal masterminds also have access to similar technology, and therefore it will enable both sides to have the same advantages (Letizia, 2012). In the book, all explanations and details of the criminal cases were given to Watson’s point of view through the journals described by the author. In the television show, the third person point of view is limited as it highlights the deductions of Sherlock and the manner that he obtains all his clues. Watson, on the other hand, still documents his adventures with Sherlock; however, he now publishes them in an online blog.

The vulnerabilities of Sherlock

In both the book and the television show, Sherlock is portrayed as an addict to opium and cigars. He had weaknesses in the manner that he became compulsive during his investigations and had little empathy for other individuals. Sherlock is portrayed as a self-indulgent main character with high acute ability in reading people and observant for minute details (Prosen, 2016). Sherlock’s hubris was his antisocial nature, which was his greatest strength. He effortlessly switched off his emotions and accepted all his flaws as byproducts of his character as a human being and was justified by his remarkable results in his cases, which made him better than other investigators.

Values of Sherlock

Being highly antisocial, Sherlock was portrayed as a character that rarely agreed with the status quo. From his misanthropic lifestyle, he seldom concerned himself with the daily norms of the society as he immersed himself in various doctrines that elevated his acute ability in solving cases. Sherlock, as a character, detaches himself from a culture that embraces the view that everything is negotiable, including facts and even moral decency (Prosen, 2016). His detachments lead to the development of his moral centeredness in comprehending the excesses that people will go to preserve their authority.

How Watson was portrayed

Watson is portrayed as intelligent in Sherlock. His ability to understand Sherlock allows the public to understand Sherlock can perceive his character differently than the marginal man he appears to be. His modesty and sensitivity compliment Sherlock even though his detecting capabilities are outmatched by the deductive reasoning skills of Holmes (Letizia, 2012). Since he was a doctor, this indicates a relatively intelligent individual, and his empathy is also valuable to Holmes.

How villains are portrayed

Villains in Sherlock are described as highly sadistic and intelligent individuals. One of the characters, Moriarty, is termed as the Napoleon of crime as his abilities allow him to commit criminal acts without being afraid of the consequences (Prosen, 2016). His attention to detail and his elusiveness makes Sherlock’s interest in him grow further. Some villains in both the book and the television show reflect on the character of Sherlock as a lonely individual with a superior mind. Moriarty viewed Sherlock as just another stepping stone in his pursuit of crime, which did not completely fulfill his obsession.

Significant elements in the television show that differ from the book

An essential aspect was the relationship between Sherlock and Watson. Both of them had a better connection with each other on the television in comparison to the book. This difference was directed to the audience to portray Sherlock as a more sociable person. The photograph in A Scandal in Bohemia used in the book was changed into a digital picture in the A Scandal in Belgravia in the television show. This change was done to highlight how easily a digital photograph can be duplicated compared to a physical one in the 1890s. The difference in the plot was executed brilliantly to fit into a contemporary setting, which highlights a faithful adaptation.

How the different times highlight the manner that the book and television show were created

Since the book was set in the Victorian Times, from the detective techniques used by Holmes, to the various resources at his disposal, it is clear that Sherlock Holmes portrayed in the book had several difficulties in completing his investigations fast. Sherlock Holmes from the book relies mainly on his mental abilities while the one in the television show utilized new technologies that sped up his investigations efficiently.