a couple of video clips I'd like you to view

I wanted to compare these representations of Sherlock Holmes:

Here's Jeremy Brett as Holmes, in the final scene of the BBC episode "The Six Napoleons."
(Try to ignore the fact that the "Black Pearl of the Borgias" is clearly a marble.)

And this is Jeremy Brett as Holmes in "The Empty House" (the episode in which Holmes returns and Watson finds out that he did not, in fact, die with Moriarty). Start watching at about 4:50--the end of the clip is the beginning of Holmes's revelations about how he survived, which are not that interesting, but the interchange between Watson and Holmes after Holmes's reappearance is in many ways characteristic of the way Holmes treats Watson.

In a less fond moment--Holmes often abuses Watson, telling him how unintelligent he is. This may be the worst of those scenes. Poor Watson. This clip also alludes to their conflict over Holmes's cocaine habit, something the BBC played up in order to reform Holmes in the episode "The Devil's Foot" (a change from the Conan Doyle stories based on the fact that the series had a large youth audience). You can ignore the last little bit--I don't really understand why YouTube aficionados are so fond of setting random bits of television to irrelevant music.

This is Basil Rathbone as Holmes--possibly wittier? (In this clip, you get very little, luckily, of the Worst Watson Ever.)


And finally, the most recent: this is Robert Downey, Jr., as Holmes, demonstrating the analytical approach that Holmes uses. This scene is a little gross (at least if you hate boxing), but characteristic of the direction of this film (it's Guy Richie). For context, at the beginning of this clip, Holmes is getting his ass kicked. Holmes is, indeed, described as a boxer in the Conan Doyle stories.


And, last of all: a short clip from the opening of the BBC miniseries of "Pride and Prejudice," which introduces the Bennetts. Skip to about 2:30 if you want to miss the credits.