Murder Rooms – The Dark Beginnings of
Sherlock Holmes
Period drama
Britain
BBC / Icon
R4 DVD
What
is it about Sherlock Holmes that a fictional character should command such
respect down through the years? At least in literary terms he was one of
history’s first true detectives, using observation and clues to build a picture
of a crime. Until then detective work seemed to be a matter of a making a
plausible guess as to the likely type of criminal then finding someone to fit
the profile.
Holmes
is accepted as having been based by Arthur Conan Doyle on Professor Bell, his
tutor at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Bell assisted the police with
forensic work. He believed that crimes could be solved in the same way as a
medical diagnosis, by accurate observation and interpretation of the clues (the
symptoms). This was regarded as a wild idea at the time but there was no doubting Bell’s successes. The first episodes show
Professor Bell demonstrating his techniques to a class of sceptical medical
students. We see Doyle gradually coming to respect Bell’s abilities, the
conflict of Bell’s ideas with police practice of the time, and the tragedies of
Doyle’s personal life. Professor Bell’s prickly personality and more thorough
examinations often showed up the deficiencies in police work. This did not win
him any friends among the officers until they grudgingly came to accept his
techniques.
Bell
insisted that the details of his cases should be kept secret and eventually
destroyed – the notes on each case were only for reference. Doyle based his
Sherlock Holmes stories on the case notes.
Doyle’s
notes were sketchy and ambiguous. This was because some of the cases, and
therefore the people, could be identified by the notes. Doyle himself was ashamed
of his family’s poverty and of his father, who was in an asylum. This is
mentioned in the series but no conclusions are drawn apart from noting it as a
problem for Doyle. Bell was able to deduce Doyle’s family circumstances from
Doyle’s father’s watch in a demonstration of his technique..
The
show first aired in 2000. It was followed by four extended films using the same
subtitle. Ian Richardson starred throughout as Dr Bell and carries off the part
with tremendous authority. His depiction is far better than the traditional and
rather wooden Basil Rathbone version of Sherlock Holmes from the black and
white film days. Richardson adds life to “Holmes”, and a passion that is
missing in other depictions. His self-assured, irascible Bell contrasts well
with the untested and still somewhat unbelieving Doyle.
There
were further episodes written but never produced due to problems between the
BBC’s drama diivision and film division. There is
still plenty of interest in Holmes. Dare we now hope that the undoubted success
that will accompany the DVD release might lead to the other episodes being put
into production?
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