Would you have any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure?

In The Hound of the Baskervilles Holmes and Watson bitch at each other in a very sweet manner. Watson's exasperation shines through when he mentions Holmes's attitude to art (' a subject he has the crudest ideas about..') and his lack of even the slightest interest when Watson explains to him that the earth travels around the sun and not vice versa. In return, Holmes is often rather mean to Watson:

"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it."

Poor Watson has got everything wrong, actually, although calling someone a 'conductor of light' rather than 'stupid' is a neat trick if you have the chutzpah. At the end of the book, when Watson is offended after finding Holmes hiding from him on the moors, Holmes is very sweet, almost parental in the care he takes to cheer Watson up- he's obviously not quite the emotional detection-robot he likes to pretend he is:

"Then my reports have all been wasted!" My voice trembled as I recalled the pains and the pride with which I had composed them.

Holmes took a bundle of papers from his pocket.

"Here are your reports, my dear fellow, and very well thumbed, I assure you. I made excellent arrangements, and they are only delayed one day upon their way. I must compliment you exceedingly upon the zeal and the intelligence which you have shown over an extraordinarily difficult case."

I was still rather raw over the deception which had been practiced upon me, but the warmth of Holmes's praise drove my anger from my mind. I felt also in my heart that he was right in what he said, and that it was really best for our purpose that I should not have known that he was upon the moor.

"That's better," said he, seeing the shadow rise from my face.

One thing that I never picked up from Basil Rathbone, the one thing that Jeremy Brett really brought to the part, along with the drama-queen tendencies, is that Holmes is very funny, albeit in a dry, sarcastic way.

"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback," said he.

"I am."

"I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect."

"Why?"

"Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so absurdly simple."

Drama queen Holmes:

"Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill. What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!"

For what it's worth, I think Stephen Fry would make a very good Holmes, precisely because I think he'll do very good things with Holmes's dry wit. There's no reason why he should fall into the trap of playing 'Stephen Fry'-- he didn't when he played Jeeves. Although you could argue that he is quite Jeevsian anyway, just less restrained. Instead I hope that Hugh Laurie doesn't overdo the comic approach for Watson. Watson is quite an intense sort of character really: loyal, brave and rather temperamental.

Answers to questions

cygny's questions:

( 1. Who do you consider your hero/role model? )

( 2. Which 'trivial' luxury item (not meaning big things like computer, hot water, etc...) do you feel you could not live without? )

( 3. If you have a pet, what's his/her name? If you don't, what would you name a pet if you had one? And why? (this is more like three questions, but hey, humour me :D) )

( 4. What's your favourite day of the week? )

( 5. What was your favourite holiday? )