Garp
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BONUS: 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' [1982] [TV]
I was brought up in the UK in the 70s, which should tell you a few things: I owned a Chopper bike, I watched 'Swap Shop' on the BBC on Saturday mornings, Roger Moore was my Bond and Tom Baker was my Dr. Who.
While waiting for my copy of the BBC's 2002 version from the library, I watched Tom Baker's attempt at the famous detective, as found online. This was a multi-part adaptation, and unfortunately not all the parts are intact - at least, not as far as my meagre research could uncover. No matter, I knew the story well enough by now, so filling in the missing sections wasn't overly strenuous.
What we are left with is a straight-faced, unadorned and rather flat telling of the tale. With so much missing, Baker's Holmes is little more than a cameo. He is adequate in the role, but it was difficult - if not impossible - to separate him in my mind from the famous Time Lord. Terence Rigby as Watson is a hollow Nigel Bruce and Nicholas Woodeson plays the tiniest Sir Henry so far imagined. (The poor man can't help his stature, of course, but he is comically small and completely unfit for the role.) Will Knightley as Dr. Mortimer looks like a young Ben Whishaw, so much so that I thought he might be his Dad. He's not; he's actually Keira Knightley's Dad, strangely enough.
Not a thing is special about this version. It looked and felt like a filmed stage production, with a barely-moving camera, fake sets and occasional over-the-top dramatics so that those in the back could tell what was going on. If you're looking for a Tom Baker fix, there's an entire series of far better stuff to seek out, of course, and if you want an entertaining 'Hound' retelling, then look pretty much anywhere else.
I was brought up in the UK in the 70s, which should tell you a few things: I owned a Chopper bike, I watched 'Swap Shop' on the BBC on Saturday mornings, Roger Moore was my Bond and Tom Baker was my Dr. Who.
While waiting for my copy of the BBC's 2002 version from the library, I watched Tom Baker's attempt at the famous detective, as found online. This was a multi-part adaptation, and unfortunately not all the parts are intact - at least, not as far as my meagre research could uncover. No matter, I knew the story well enough by now, so filling in the missing sections wasn't overly strenuous.
What we are left with is a straight-faced, unadorned and rather flat telling of the tale. With so much missing, Baker's Holmes is little more than a cameo. He is adequate in the role, but it was difficult - if not impossible - to separate him in my mind from the famous Time Lord. Terence Rigby as Watson is a hollow Nigel Bruce and Nicholas Woodeson plays the tiniest Sir Henry so far imagined. (The poor man can't help his stature, of course, but he is comically small and completely unfit for the role.) Will Knightley as Dr. Mortimer looks like a young Ben Whishaw, so much so that I thought he might be his Dad. He's not; he's actually Keira Knightley's Dad, strangely enough.
Not a thing is special about this version. It looked and felt like a filmed stage production, with a barely-moving camera, fake sets and occasional over-the-top dramatics so that those in the back could tell what was going on. If you're looking for a Tom Baker fix, there's an entire series of far better stuff to seek out, of course, and if you want an entertaining 'Hound' retelling, then look pretty much anywhere else.