Holmes has a fear of women?

I disagree. I think that Holmes is a bit disappointed by them as, with one notable exception, Conan-Doyle portrayed them as rather stupid people who let their emotions drive them. Whether this was a fault of Conan-Doyle's or of the attitude of male society at that time, I couldn't possibly comment.

After all, Holmes was never afriad of Irene Adler was he? Impressed and respectful, certainly but never afraid.

.AWD

I have to agree with Alex D. Holmes disliked women, but he did not fear them. For instance, Watson mentioned more than once that Holmes had a peculiar ability to set women at ease and to strike up a small familiarity. He was also able to get himself engaged to one, over the attentions of a rival. This is not the behavior of a fearful man, which Holmes never was. Besides, a defeat by one would not cause a fear of the entire sex; remember that Holmes was beaten three times by men, and was not affected.

My vote for the best Sherlock Holmes has to go to Basil Rathbone. I will admit that my opinion may be persuaded by the fact that he was the first Sherlock Holmes I became familiar with on the late shows when I was a teen. There are other reasons that I prefer Rathbone, though. He seemed to be more of an action hero than Jeremy Brett, although both portray the intelligence part of the role well. The other problem I have with Brett is that he seems to be more cruel in his criticisms of Watson, even though the Watson he's paired with seems less bumbling than good ol' Nigel Bruce. Bruce does provide a sort of "comic relief" in contrast to the suspenseful situations encountered by Rathbone/Bruce. There seems to be less suspence in the series with Brett. I'm sure some of you will disagree with me, but that's part of what discussions are all about.

As for what actor(s) should play Holmes, I think a younger Leonard Nimoy would have made a great Holmes. It could be considered the "LOGICAL" choice, if you catch my drift. I'd even go so far as to suggest that Spock may have been partially modeled after Holmes. Does anybody have any idea if that's the case? -- "Lemosh"

As to the fact of Spock heres a URL that should explain most of anything http://pw2.netcom.com/~davescot/main.htm. And has anyone notice how much Poirot and his assistent(can't remember his name) are so much like Holmes and Watson. Except for the fact that Poirot doesn't critize him as much:)

Hannah

As for Spock being modeled after Sherlock Holmes, I remember that in one episode of TOS he (Spock) quotes "after you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, etc.," then attributes it to an ancestor! Sir Doyle...or Sherlock Holmes? Poirot's assistant is Captain Arthur Hastings, and there are quite a few similarities. In one of the stories Poirot himself links Watson and Hastings together. However, the differences are enough to make the similarities not incredibly remarkable. Also, Hastings does get quite a bit of ribbing from Poirot - more frequently than Watson by Holmes, though not as severely.

HANNAH, Thanks! The URL you mentioned proved VERY interesting indeed. It included the quote mentioned by Jennifer as well. I notice you also have an interest in the Titanic. Have you read the book "Sherlock Holmes in Orbit", which is a collection of science-fiction stories by several authors, all of which involve Holmes? To be sure, there are a couple of lame stories in the bunch, but overall the book is a keeper. One of the stories also involves the Titanic. DEREK would also find it entertaining as one of the best stories in the book has Holmes solving a case of crop circles, not to mention becoming an "instant" auto mechanic.

DEREK - a quick answer to your earlier question of Ian Fleming as Sherlock Holmes. I have a couple of videotapes, with 2 episodes each, of an old British series starring Ron Howard (not Opie) as Holmes and an actor named Ian Fleming (not 007's creator) as Watson. I would guess this would be the Ian Fleming you'd heard about. I initially had though it was the same guy, but that wasn't the case. -- Lemosh

No, I haven't read the complete book. I've read a few stories, though. Sounded interesting. I'd forgotten the name of the until you mentioned it. Thanks!!!

Hannah

Has anyone read a book called the Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes? It cracked me up. Some of the stories where just strange, but U have to read this book.

Hannah