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Sherlock Holmes indeed one of the famous television program aired by the BBC

company in this era. This well known television series was aired for 90 minutes per episode and

each season contains approximately three episodes. Up until 2017, this television series has reach

up to four completed series. Steven Moffat and Mark Gratiss creatively adapt this show based on

the 80s famous writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyles work and successfully caught the attention of

the audience all over the world with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sherlock Holmes and Martin

Freeman as Dr John Watson, the famous duo. Considering that the television series is an

adaptation from the original stories, of course there are many elements that changed and adapted

to suit this generation and its entertainment needs. For this purpose, we will be looking at the

changes as well as elements that are kept same as the original in the first episode of the television

series, A Study in Pink versus its original story of A Study in Scarlet.

Looking at the first two minutes of the television series, we were immediately exposed to

a character that has a traumatic experience of being shot while in action in a war. We didnt

exactly know his name until theres a scene of this person sitting in front of his laptop, trying to

think of an idea to write a blog, a personal blog for Dr John Watson. He seems so stress and

gruesome of the latest incident that happened to him and appear to us that he didnt know how to

handle this situation, even after talking with his therapist, he still didnt know how to let

everything go. Meanwhile in the book, Sir Arthur first introduced us to the narrator of this story,

a doctor who got shot while in action in Afghanistan, later removed from the mission and

brought back to London, surviving on his army pension. Later on page three then we know his

full name of John Watson, which is for me a great introduction from Sir Arthur, to brought the

readers curiosity level, questioning and wanting to know who they are reading about. We can see

that just like the author, the television series started the show with something that brings
curiosity to the audience, with a shooting action going on, to bring suspiciousness to those who

are watching it.

Fast forward to the next important scene in the television series is three mysterious

suicide case happened with all victims eating the same pill to their death followed by a

newspaper press of Detective Lestrade explaining the situation of recent suicide. We were first

introduced to Detective Lestrade in this scene and apparently looking not confident at all

answering the questions. Now this is a bit different from the original text where Sir Arthur

continues Watsons narration with him accidently meeting his university colleague, Mike

Stamford in a bar. He invited Stamford for a lunch and they went there by a hansom. This

particular scene changed a bit in the TV series where instead of a bar, Stamford accidently

bumped into Watson in a park. Later on, they continue talking in the park while drinking coffee.

In my opinion, these changes are made to suit Watsons feeling in the series. In the

original text, Watson was seen more cheerful than in the TV series, where he looks so

traumatized. Therefore, his meeting with Stamford are seen gloomier as the weather at that time.

I also believe that the additional scene of press conference is to level up the audiences curiosity

towards the mysterious sudden suicidal acts. The usage of smart phones in this scene also

highlighted the importance of technologies in the TV series. In both TV

series and original text, Watson did tells Stamford that he might be needing

to find a flat mate due to Londons living cost with his army pension and

Stamford reaction was you are the second man today that has used that

expression to me. Later on he brought Watson to meet Sherlock Holmes.


After eight minutes, we were finally introduced to Sherlock Holmes

in the TV series. He was at the morgue, beating a crop for some

experiment. Here we were also introduced to Molly Hooper, a new added character to the TV

series. We can see that Molly had an eye to Sherlock; by the way she looks at him and changes

her appearance a bit (wearing a lipstick). In the original text, Stamford was the one who saw

Sherlock beating crop for experiments: Yes, to verify how far bruises may be produced after

death. I saw him at it with my own when he was chit-chatting with Watson during their lunch.

Later on, Stamford brings Watson to a chemistry laboratory in the hospital to meet

Sherlock. In the book it says: There was only one student in the room, who was bending over a

distant table absorbed in his work. At the sound of our steps he glanced round and sprang to his

feet with a cry of pleasure. Ive found it! Ive found it, but in the series, theres only Sherlock

Holmes in the laboratory which explains his first characteristic which likes to be alone while

doing his work. Here, the audiences were also introduced to Sherlocks cold and arrogant

manners which are completely different from the original text. The original text describe Holmes

as a friendly genius: He seized me by the coat sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the

table at which he had been working.


In the TV series, Sherlock just glancing at Stamford and Watson

when they both first enter the room. Watson did say something to

kill the silence but Holmes just get over it and ask Stamford to

borrow his phone. Since he left it in his coat, Watson offered his. As soon as Sherlock Holmes

has it, he asks Watson Afghanistan or Iraq? Watson seems unpleasantly surprised, unlike in the

original text, where he feels astonished when Sherlock tells him that he was from Afghanistan.

Stamford was quiet and smirking the moment because he knew who SH is while Watson looks

irritated by the question, not like in the original text.

These are two significant different characteristic of Sherlock Holmes, one who is very

friendly and warm, and the other one is cold and serious, when introduced to new person: in this

case, Dr John Watson. In the original, when introduced to Watson, Sherlock cheerfully asked him

to see what he was working on: Come over here now! He seized me by the coatsleeve in his

eagerness, and drew me over to the table at which he had been working but in the adaptation,

Sherlock never asks Watson to come over and look at his toys. Theres a sense of tension build

because not only he didnt answer Watsons questions, he continue throwing questions and hints

of being potential flat mate. Plus, there are not much changes of the way the laboratory was

described. In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was

precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar, because in the TV series, there is a brownish solution

in a jar where Sherlock did the experiment.

In the TV series, Sherlock was in rush so he left Watson, hanging on all the information

given by Sherlock, with all the deductions he made of his background as well as the flat hes

been eyeing on. Meanwhile, in the original text, Stamford said We came here on business,

stating that Watson actually looking for a flat mate and Sherlock looks excited about it:
Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms with me. This particular

excitement didnt shown in the TV series for who we knew Sherlock Holmes is very cold man

from the two minutes scene of himself, Watson and Stamford in the laboratory. Before he left to

the morgue, since Watson was a bit mad and frustrated that he the fact

they didnt know about each other and be looking out of flat and

Sherlocks detailed deduction of his background didnt help at all.

Watson left speechless but Sherlock did tells him his name and the

address theyll be looking out the next day.

At home, Watson googled Sherlock on the internet to find out who he really is before he decided

to move in with him. He later found out Sherlocks blog entitled

The Science of Deduction. We can see here that his tension in the

laboratory upscale his curiosity of this strangely genius person.

Again, the use of technology was highlighted in this modern

adaptation, as compared to the original text where Watson moved in first, and later by the week,

stumbled upon an article about him in a magazine. Both original and the adaptation have a scene

where first Watson was a bit skeptic of Sherlock deduction theories but later when he explained,

Watson was able to understand more. Either way, he was proud of his theories that he created.

The difference is place where Sherlock explains his deductions on Watsons background. In the

original, Sherlock explained it right after Watson arguing the theories, however in the adaptation,

Sherlock later explained to Watson in a cab on their route to the crime scene.

The sequences of scenes are a bit jumbled up in the adaptation, solemnly to suit the plot

and characters better. However, some scenes are kept similar but some are added or cut from the

original. All of these actions have meaning and contribute to the intention of the script writer as
well as the director of the TV adaption.

For example, in the adaptation, Detective

Lestrade came by himself to Sherlock

Holmes, stating that the recent suicidal case left a note, which then excites him the most because

he loves solving puzzles. Note that this is actually Watsons first time seeing Sherlock

excitement, or let call it: smiling over something. He was excited from his room, as soon as

Lestrade left, proving how he kept his emotions from what he calls outsiders, and downstairs

meeting Mrs. Hudson before he left to the crime scene. This is a bit different from the original

where Sherlock at first reluctant to go to the crime scene: Im not sure about whether I shall go.

I am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in shoe leather

that is, when the fit is on me, for I can be spry enough at times.

My opinion is, unlike the adaptation where there is a twist in the

suicidal cases on the fourth victim, the original only has one

strange case, so with Sherlocks excitement for rare things, probably a simple case didnt excite

him, thus the adaptation was made with few linked suicidal cases.

Moving on, we can see in the movie that before Sherlock left the flat, he said that he

might be needing food to the landlady, Mrs. Hudson, and she clearly emphasized that she is just

the landlady, and not the housekeeper. Now, about Mrs. Hudson, in the original, there is no

background or even character of the landlady being named. This is because women in that era

didnt have any voice over or to the men. They are told to obey, stay quiet, and do the chores as if

they get paid for it. As time changes, in the adaptation, the character landlady was given a name,

background, and actually plays a vital role in the series. Mrs. Hudson is one of Sherlock most

trusted person in the adaptation and him being solitude as he is, the circle of trusted person in his
life is very precious and limited. Plus, she appear to be very certain in the adaptation, of her role

as only a landlady, but nice as she offers Watson a cup of tea, showing her good manner. Next

scene was Sherlock coming back to the flat and offering Watson to come with him to the crime

scene. This scene is quite similar to the original but there is a twist done to the adaptation. In the

adaptation, Sherlock invites Watson because he realizes that he actually misses the thrills Watson

had when he was in Afghanistan, while in the original, Sherlock invited Watson

if you have nothing better to do. Then they went by hansom which changed

to a cab in the adaptation, again, due to the advance of technology.

In the cab, Sherlock realizes that Watson was still unclear

of what happen, because everything happens to fast, in a day, unlike the

original where it takes weeks to get to this particular scene. Sherlock then

explained to Watson on how he deducts his background details, which

Watson finds it extraordinary. Sherlock, being solitude himself in the adaptation, or in the

original, seems pleased to the compliment. Soon after, they arrived at the crime scene, I notice a

difference in the appearance of the house in Lauriston Gardens, where in the original the house

was described as: a small garden sprinkled over with a scattered eruption of sickly plants

separated each of these houses from the street, and was traversed by a narrow pathway,

yellowish in colour, and consisting apparently of a mixture of clay and of

gravel. In the adaptation, the house look

grayish, with no sticky plants separating

houses but rusty fences. Again, the

changes are made due to the changes

happened in this era, where houses are separated by fences.


In the adaptation, as soon as they arrived in the crime scene, they met with a new added

character, Sergeant Sally Donovan. I believe that the addition of a non-white woman, working as

a sergeant in the adaptation is a great addition. It tells everyone that nowadays, everyone matters,

not only all woman had a voice, they also capable of working in an important industries with a

high position. However, Sergeant Donovan whom the first one met Sherlock outside of crime

scene, didnt seems pleased to have him there. This is very different from the original where

Sherlock Holmes are always invited and welcomed to help at crime scenes. It is indeed kind of

you to come, he said, I have had everything left untouched. In the adaptation, Sergeant

Donovan wasnt the only one that didnt pleased to see Sherlock at the crime scene, but also a

new character, Anderson, the forensics in charged at that night. He didnt seems to have a good

relationship with Sherlock either, which mentioned before in the adaptation. With new characters

in the crime scene added, the writer of modern adaptation decided to combine the role of

Detective Tobias Gregson and Detective Lestrade into just one character, which is Detective

Inspector Gregson Lestrade. He then takes both Sherlock and Watson to the exact crime scene

where a woman in pink clothing was found dead. This is a vital change happen from the original

where originally it was a man found dead, in such an unexplainable, horrified facial expression.

As Lestrade asked Sherlock to take a look at the victim, he was annoyed at the presence of

Lestrade and appears to be rude by telling Lestrade to shut up, whereas he didnt even talk.

Again, this is very different from the original where Sherlock respects Lestrade and Gregsons

opinion very much. In the adaptation, Lestrades character was nothing than a desperate detective

trying to solve a puzzle. Moving on, the adaptation still kept Sherlock ways of finding the clues;

using magnifying class and by looking around the room. He immediately figure out that the

scratched letters on the word of rache that means revenge even though Anderson trying to imply
that rache might actually means a revenge happened. Unlike the original, the writing was done in

a dark spot in the room, written in blood. However, the

adaptation still captured the pain of the writer, writing using blood

and scratching wooden floors.

Other difference spotted was the role of Watson in the crime scene,

where in the original, Watson stays as an observer but in the

adaptation, Sherlock even asked him to analyze the condition of the

victims body, even though he already knew the condition was. He did that to prove to Lestrade

and the rest of the forensic that his colleague really is a capable doctor, immediately gain the

trust from them. It was indeed for me a good action of Sherlock, despite his cockiness. However,

he stills staying himself and be rude by telling other peoples didnt work their brain very much.

His kindness is very rare and very well cherish by the audience plus for me it added a little bit of

jokes to the movie, a genius joke, perhaps. He then completed the analysis by deducting the

victims background, secrets and plans. The deduction was really a well thought of the writer for

the adaptation because it wasnt explained in the original.

Next, one of the vital changes happened in the adaptation was the

changes in the clue from the victims. In the original, the victims ring

was an important clue, while the adaptation goes with a pink suitcase.

Plus, in the original, the vital clue, the ring was present at the crime scene, unlike the adaptation

where the suitcase wasnt there at all. The switch is important, for me at least, because of the

scene where Sherlock finds out that all of these was actually a serial killer action. In the original,

Sherlock finds the witness of the tragedy, but with the switch and the absence of the suitcase, the

writer manage to cut the scene short but still very well thought of. With the cut scene from the
original, the writer of the adaption manage to add more conflict of Sherlock lifes where he deals

with a lot of curiosity from other people, due to his way of thinking as well as hatred built on his

rudeness. Therefore, it explains a lot why Sergeant Donovan didnt seems to like him that much,

even when they set up a drug bust in his flat later on, everyone that has issue with Sherlock

volunteered. The writer of this famous adaptation also added one more very important character

in this TV series, which is Sherlocks brother, Mycroft to expand the plot of this story,

considering this should be a television series.

Fast forward to the adaption, after Watson was introduced to Mycroft, back to find out

that Sherlock had found the suitcase, then chasing the wrong people in a cab, to be back again in

the flat where they set up a drug bust, finally Sherlock finds the relationship between Rachel and

the victim. He later knows that the victim actually wrote Rachel to direct them to the killer.

Using the technology, he then manages to locate the smart phone, which is kept by the taxi

driver. He then secretly went away to have a talk with the cab driver, because he was very

curious on how he made all these victims eat the poison. The plot and the storytelling of the

adaptation definitely changes, due to the need of continuity of the series. Few characters added

and cut to meet the plot. Unfortunately, for me as one of a favourite audience for the TV series, I

watched the series before I read the book, therefore, I found out that the adaptation was better

than the original. However, I do find that the writing and plot development that Sir Arthur did

was truly remarkable, therefore, I am glad that Moffat and Gratiss did an amazing job in adapting

the original book into something that fits this era and its entertainment needs.

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