Little Red Riding Hood

"Who's that I see walkin' in these woods?"
(Ron Blackwell, "Li'l Red Riding Hood," popularised by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs)

Among the best known and most popular fairy tales is "Little Red Riding Hood." There are actually several variations on the story, but all of them involve a girl who is going through the woods to deliver food to her grandmother and the wolf who lays a trap for her at her grandmother's house. Just as there have been several variations on the basic tale behind "Little Red Riding Hood," so too have there been a number of different interpretations.

The earliest printed version of "Little Red Riding Hood" was "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (literally "Little Red Riding Hood")" by Charles Perrault, included in his Histoires et contes du temps passé, avec des moralités. Contes de ma mère l'Oye in 1697. Interestingly, in Mr. Perrault's version Red Riding Hood is said to be an "attractive, well-bred young lady." This would seem to run counter to the image presented in more recent versions of  "Little Red Riding Hood" which present her as a child, the words "young lady" implying she is either a teenager or a young woman. At any rate, it would indicate she has come of age. Here I must point out that the French word petit, like the Engish word little, may be more indicative of Red Riding Hood's size than it is of her age. It must also be pointed out that in Charles Perrault's version, no woodsman arrives to save Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The story simply ends with the wolf devouring Red Riding Hood.

Of course, it seems likely that the tale of "Little Red Riding Hood" pre-dates Charles Perrault's printed version. There is a story from Chinese folklore, "Grandaunt Tiger," that superficially resembles "Little Red Riding Hood," but it is very doubtful that it is the original source of the story. Indeed, in "Grandaunt Tiger" the tiger devours the father and mother of the family before arriving at the family's house and trying to gain entrance in scenes more reminiscent of "The Three Little Pigs" than "Little Red Riding Hood." It seems much more likely that "Little Red Riding Hood" has its origins in Europe itself.

Indeed, in the early legends and myths of various European peoples, wolves often figure as voracious and vicious predators. The most famous example of this widespread belief may be found in Norse Mythology, in which Fenrir was a monstrous wolf so huge that he threatened even the gods. Indeed, not only did the early Germanic peoples apparently believe wolves were a threat to society, but they also believed in werewolves--shapeshifters capable of assuming the form of a wolf. The Norse Vatnsdœla saga, Haraldskvæði and the Völsunga saga all mention the úlfhéðnar, warriors who donned wolf skins and behaved as wolves (and perhaps became wolves literally). The Angles and Saxons may have an equivalent to the Norse úlfhéðnar. Our modern word werewolf goes all the way back to Old English werewulf (literally "man wolf"). Belief in werewolves survived among the various Germanic peoples beyond the conversion to Christianity. Indeed, in the 16th century individuals were still being tried for allegedly being werewolves. The most famous werewolf trial may have been German farmer Peter Stumpp, who was accused of being a serial killer, cannibal, and a werewolf. He was executed in 1589. Another famous werewolf trial occurred in France over a decade before the Peter Stumpp trial. French hermit Giles Garnier was convicted and executed in 1573 for allegedly being a werewolf.

The belief in wolves as threats to humanity is also found in legends from the Celtic peoples. In Irish mythology the hero Cas Corach slew the three wolf like daughters of Airitech. In Welsh legend Lylwelyn the Great of Gwynedd mistakenly killed his faithful dog Gelert after finding him covered in blood that he thought belonged to his infant son. Lylwelyn later learned Gelert was actually defending his son against a vicious wolf who tried to attack the boy.

Beyond the figure of the wolf, other elements of "Little Red Riding Hood" can also be found in earlier beliefs among the Germanic peoples. A recurring theme in the myths and legends of the Germanic peoples was the opposition between the safety of human society versus the dangers of the wilds. Indeed, this opposition is obvious in the Old English epic Beowulf. in which the mead hall of Hroðgar, Heorot, is the bastion of human society and Grendel the monster from the wilds. Grendel is called mearcstapa, "stalker of the marshes" and the poem often refers to Grendel dwelling in the fens. The opposition between the security of human society and the dangers of the wilds (the woods, the fens, the heath, and so on) is also reflected in the Germanic languages. In Old Norse another  word for outlaw (the word itself deriving from Old Norse útlagi) was vargr, a word also meaning "wolf." Outlaws are said to be skoggangr, "dwelling in the woods." In Old English another word for outlaw was wulfheáfod, literally "wolf's head." The wilds were not simply the dwelling space of outlaws and wild animals such as wolves, but the dwelling space of ettins (creatures like Grendel), malignant spirits, and other threates to mankind.

In Iona and Peter Opie's book The Classic Fairy Tales, they point out that the exchange between Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf (in which  Red Riding Hood says "My, what big eyes you have...") superficially resembles a dialogue between Loki and the giant Thrym in the Old Norse poem "Þrymskviða." In the poem Thrym has stolen the thunder god Thorr's hammer and demands the hand of the goddess Freyja in marriage before he will return it. Not wishing to marry Freyja to a giant, the gods dress Thorr as Freyja and send the thunder god and Loki to meet with Thrym. When Thrym observes that Freyja's eyes are a blazing red, Loki states that "she" has not slept in many nights. When Thrym observes that Freyja has an enormous appetite, Loki replies that "she" has not eaten for a long while either. While it would be ludicrous to theorise a relationship between "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Þrymskviða," ""Þrymskviða" does show that the exchange between Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf has a precedent in European folklore.

 While it would appear that "Little Red Riding Hood" has its roots in European folk beliefs, it is impossible to know precisely when it emerged. It seems likely that the fairy tale had existed for some time before Mr. Perrault published his version. Indeed, many variants may have existed, some under the title "The Story of the Grandmother," in France, Italy, and other parts of Europe. In "The Story of the Grandmother" the villain is not always a wolf. In a French version of the tale, the villain was a bzou, a werewolf. In an Italian variant of the tale, the villain was an ogre rather than a wolf. In some variants the wolf actually feeds the flesh of the grandmother to Red Riding Hood, making her an unwittng cannibal. In others the wolf tells Red Riding Hood to remove her clothing and pitch it into the fire before getting into bed with him. Some versions of the tale end much as Charles Perrault's version did, with the wolf eating Red Riding Hood. In other versions the grandmother and Red Riding Hood trick the wolf, in others it is Red Riding Hood alone who tricked him and survives. The best known version may be that published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, in which a huntsman arrives to kill the wolf, so that Red Riding Hood and the grandmother emerge from the animal unscathed. For much of the 19th Century, the sanitised versions of "Little Red Riding Hood," in which Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are saved, predominated.

Being a fairly old and popular fairy tale, there have been several different interpretations of "Little Red Riding Hood" over the years. One of the earliest interpretations of the fairy tale was put forth by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor. He theorised that Red Riding Hood's scarlet cloak represented the sun and the wolf represented the night, so that the fairy tale was essentially an expression of the daily cycle of the daylight giving way to night. If this sounds a bit far fetched today, as hard as it is to believe, explaining myths and fairy tales as solar myths was very popular in the 19th Century.

Biologist Dr. Valerius Geist much more recently argued that "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on the danger of actual wolf attacks. Dr. Geist maintains that wolves are in fact dangerous predators who present a risk to human beings. This is quite possible given reports of wolf attacks in Europe. Jean-Marc Moriceau in Histoire du méchant loup : 3 000 attaques sur l'homme en France noted that in France alone there were 3069 people killed by wolves, of which 1857 were not rabid, from 1580 to 1830. That having been said, wolf attacks in modern Europe are a rarity. Indeed, from modern observations of the animal it would seem wolves are shy animals who will actually abandon a kill when approached by humans. While it is possible that "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on the fear of actual wolf attacks, the data on wolves would seem to be conflicting as to how likely that is to be the case.

Indeed, it seems to me as likely that "Little Red Riding Hood" may have more to do with the fear of werewolves than the actual animal. As noted above, the werewolf trials of Giles Garnier and Peter Stumpp took place in 1573 and 1589 respectively. In Estonia from 1610 to 1650 there were a number of witch trials in which accusations of lycanthropy often predominated rather than accusations of magic. It would seem that in the 16th and 17th Centuries the belief in werewolves in Europe was still very strong, strong enough that individuals were tried and executed for being werewolves. Given that in one variant of "Little Red Riding Hood" it was a bzou, a werewolf, rather a mere wolf who stalked Red Riding Hood, this likely seems the case.


Of course, in the 20th Century the most popular interpretations of "Little Red Riding Hood" have delved into the subject of sex. It is hard to argue against such theories especially given Charles Perrault describes Red Riding Hood as a "attractive, well-bred young lady,." words which bring to mind a teenager or a young adult rather than a little girl. It was as early as 1912 that psychoanalyst Otto Rank provided a sexual interpretation of "Little Red Riding Hood," seeing the fairy tale as an expression of the infantile thought of cutting open the stomach to induce birth. In 1951 Erich Fromm, in The Forgotten Langauge, would go even further. He explained the red hood as representative of menstruation, and the fairy tale essentially being about a young woman who is confronted by sex for the very first time. Rather than wanting to eat Red Riding Hood, the wolf wants to seduce her. The fairy tale then serves as a cautionary tale for young women. The number of theorists putting forth the idea that the red hood is the hymen and the tale essentially about the seduction of a virgin are far too numerous to list here. In her 1975 book Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller also saw "Little Red Riding Hood" as essentially about sex, but cast the fairy tale in much more sinister terms. Quite simply, Miss Brownmiller sees "Little Red Riding Hood" as a tale about rape.

Regardless of how it is interpreted, "Little Red Riding Hood" may be the most referenced fairy tale in pop culture. Indeed, there have been several modern variations of the fairy tale in the form of short stories and novels. James Thurber altered the fairy tale dramatically in  "The Little Girl and The Wolf," in which the little girl dispatches the wolf with an semi-automatic pistol hidden in her basket. In 1940 Howard L Chace wrote  "Ladie Rat Rotten Hat," where the story in told in English, but not using the right words. In 1979 Angela Carter published the story "The Company of Wolves" in her anthology The Bloody Chamber. In "The Company of Wolves" the wolf is in reality a werewolf, who in the end is seduced by Red Riding Hood. As far as novels, in Wolf, published in 1990, Gillian Cross updated the story to modern times in a loose adaptation. In Laurence Anholt and Arthur Robins's children's novel Little Red Riding Wolf, the roles of the wolf and Red Riding Hood are reversed, with the Big Bad Girl stalking Little Red Riding Wolf.

As might be expected of a fairy tale, "Little Red Riding Hood" has been adapted as an animated cartoon several times. Among the earliest animated versions of the fairy tale is also among Walt Disney's earliest cartoons. In 1922 Mr. Disney produced a "Little Red Riding Hood" cartoon for Laugh-O-Gram Cartoons.In 1931, Walt Disney's archrivals the Fleischer Brothers produced their own animated shorts based on the fairy tale. "Dizzy Red Riding Hood" featured Betty Boop as the woman in the red hood. Surprisingly for an early Betty Boop cartoon, it largely eschewed a more sexual interpretation of the fairy tale. The wolf wanted to eat Betty, not seduce her.

While the Fleischers may have avoided touching on the subject of sex in their adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood," Tex Avery certainly would not. In 1943 Tex Avery produced "Red Hot Riding Hood," in which Red is a sexy nightclub entertainer and the Big Bad Wolf a patron of the night club who openly lusts after her. The short would prove so popular that he would make three sequels: "Wild and Wolfy," "Swing Shift Cinderella," and "Little Rural Riding Hood." In 1944 Friz Freleng directed "Little Red Riding Rabbit," in which Bugs Bunny is what Red Riding Hood is delivering to her grandmother. Mr. Freleng would also eschew sex in this animated short, with the wolf concentrating instead on eating the tasty rabbit Red Riding Hood brought her grandma.

"Little Red Riding Hood" has been referenced in a few films, most notably Neil Jordan's 1984 movie adaptation of the same name of Angela Carter's  "The Company of Wolves," in which the wolf is in actuality a werewolf. Beginning with La Caperucita Roja in 1960, Roberto Rodriguez would direct three films based around the fairy tale. The others were Caperucita y sus tres amigos (1961) and Caperucita y Pulgarcito contra los monstruos (1962). The 1996 film Freeway was a modernised version of the tale, recasting the wolf as a dangerous serial killer and Red Riding Hood as a sexually abused teenager. In 1996 David Kaplan directed a short based on the fairy tale, entitled "Little Red Riding Hood," starring Christina Ricci in the title role. In the 2001 short Falsehood, director Kenneth Liu recast the story as a legal drama, with the Big Bad Wolf on trial. In 2003 Giacomo Cimini directed Red Riding Hood, a horror film loosely based on the fairy tale in which the "wolf" is the imaginary friend of an obviously psychotic Jenny McKenzie (the "Red Riding Hood" of the title). The 2010 SyFy television movie Red recast "Red Riding Hood" as a werewolf hunter.

"Little Red Riding Hood" has also been referenced in at least one play. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods sent up many fairy tales, among them "Little Red Riding Hood." In Into the Woods, the wolf clearly lusts after Red Riding Hood and has no intention of simply eating her...

"Little Red Riding Hood" has also figured in various advertisements over the years. In 1953 in print ads Max Factor advertised a lipstick colour called "Riding Hood Red," which they boasted "would bring the wolves out." A commercial from the Fifties for Snowdrift Shortening parodied the fairy tale. In a 1963 print ad Hertz portrayed Red Riding Hood as a nubile young woman driving to her Grandmother's house in her "little red Hertz." A 1997 commercial for Sprint Caller ID service featured the Big Bad Wolf calling a beautiful, young woman (Red Riding Hood), who ignores the call when she sees it is from "B. B. Wolf." In 1998 movie director Luc Besson directed a commercial for Chanel No. 5 featuring actress Estella Warren as "Red Riding Hood," who retrieves a bottle of Chanel No. 5 before going out for the night. As she leaves, her pet wolf howls. Another 1998 advert, this one for Honey Nut Cheerios, featured Kesley Grammer as the voice of the wolf and actress Carrie Fletcher as Red Riding Hood. In a 2001 advert for Pepsi One, actress Kim Cattrall played Red Riding Hood.

"Little Red Riding Hood" has also been referenced in several songs, where there should be no surprise that the sexual element dominates. In fact, sex permeated the first song about Red Riding Hood, "How Could Red Riding Hood (Have Been So Very Good)" by A. P. Randolph, to such a  degree that it became the first song ever banned on radio when it was published in 1926. In 1958 "Little Red Riding Hood" was the Big Bopper's B-side to his single "The Big Bopper's Wedding." While the sexual element dominates the Big Bopper's "Little Red Riding Hood," the song actually owes as much to "The Three Little Pigs" as it does the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." The most famous song about  Red Riding Hood could well be "Li'l Red Riding Hood," written by Ron Blackwell and released by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1966. The song is sung from the point of view of the wolf and draws upon lines from the fairy tale to make it clear that the wolf has something other than in mind that eating Red Riding Hood....

Over the years "Little Red Riding Hood" has been explained as a solar myth, as the result of actual wolf attacks, as a tale of sexual awakening, and in a number of other ways. Regardless, it remains one of the most famous and popular fairy tales of all time. Regardless of which interpretation of the fairy tale proves to be the most predominant in the future, it seems obvious that "Little Red Riding Hood" will remain one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time.

TV Writer Coleman Jacoby Passes On

Television writer Coleman Jacoby, who with his partner Arnie Rosen wrote material for Jackie Gleason and later wrote for The Phil Silvers Show, passed at the age of 95 on October 20, 2010. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Coleman Jacoby was born Coleman Jacobs on April 16, 1915 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was still a child and his father deserted his family, so that Mr. Jacoby was placed in the Jewish Home for Babies and Children at age 7. He studied art and when he was 16 years old moved to New York City. He made a living painting murals for nightclubs and later started writing material for stand up comedians. It was gossip columnist Earl Wilson who suggested he change his surname to Jacoby because he thought it sounded well.

Coleman Jacoby broke into radio writing material for Bob Hope. He later wrote for Fred Allen and The Gay Nineties Review. Mr. Jacoby entered television writing for the legendary Your Show of Shows. He then teamed up with Ernie Rosen and together the two were hired to write material for Cavalcade of Stars, starring Jackie Gleason, on the DuMont network. Messrs. Jacoby and Rosen created many of Mr. Gleason's signature characters, including playboy Reginald Van Gleason III, Joe the Bartender, the Poor Soul, and others. It would be Messrs. Jacoby and Rosen who would team up Gleason and Carney, a partnership which lasted for decades. It was on the first skit featuring Reginald Van Gleason, who was being shot for a magazine advert for alcohol. In the role of the photographer, the two writers suggested Art Carney. Messrs Jacoby and Rosen continued to write for Jackie Gleason after he left DuMont for CBS.

Coleman Jacoby and Ernie Rosen would later write fifty episode of The Phil Silvers Show (AKA You'll Never Get Rich or Sgt. Bilko). The two wrote for Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine in 1962. The partnership dissolved when Mr. Rosen became producer on The Carol Burnett Show. Afterwards Mr. Jacoby produced children's television specials with his wife.

Coleman Jacboy was a gifted television writer who would have an enormous impact on the history of television. Indeed, with Coleman Jacoby and Arnie Rosen, The Honeymooners might never have come to be, as it was the two writers who first team up Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, who would go onto create the legendary series. In addition to working with Mr. Gleason, Mr Jacoby also wrote for the classic Your Show of Shows and The Phil Silvers Show. He had a natural gift for comedy, adept at creating funny situations as well as writing one liners. Because of this, he created a good deal of classic television comedy.

Dino De Laurentiis R.I.P.

Movie producer Dino De Laurentiis passed on November 11, 2010 at the age of 91.

Dino De Laurentiis was born on August 8, 1919 in Torre Annunziata, Campania, Italy. The first film he produced was L'Amore Canta in 1941. During World War II he produced no films, but following the war he began movie production again with Aquila Nera (1946). It was early in his career that he began producing movies that would be part of the Italian New Wave, including Riso amaro (1949), Europa '51 (1952), Fellini's La Strada (1954), and Fellini's Le notti di Cabria (1957). Even early career as a producer, Mr. De Laurentiis' output could be diverse. While producing Italian neorealist films, he also produced comedies featuring Toto (Totò terzo uomo in 1951 and Totò a colori in 1952), as well as sword and sandal epics such as Ulysses (1954) and Attila (1954). Later in the Fifties Mr. De Laurentiis would expand into English language films, including an adaptation of War and Peace (1956) and This Angry Age (1958).

The Sixties would see Dino De Laurentiis continue to produce a variety of films. He produced such sword and sandal films as Maciste contro il vampiro (1961), Barabbas (1961), Le pillole di Ercole (1962).  He also continued to produce comedies, including The Fascist (1961), Il re di Poggioreale (1961), and Il diavolo (1963). He also produced spy and sci-fi films such as Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), Danger: Diabolik (1968), and Barbarella (1968). In the Seventies Dino De Laurentiis moved away from Italian language films and more into English language films. He produced the films Serpico (1973), Tough Guys (1974), Death Wish (1974), Mandingo (1975), Three Days of the Condor (1976), the ill fated and ill advised remake of King Kong (1976), The Brinks Job (1978), and the cult classic Flash Gordon (1980).

In the Eighties Dino De Laurentiis; output slowed, but he still produced several films,  including Ragtime (1981),  Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Dead Zone (1983), Dune (1984), Manhunter (1986-the first film to feature Hannibal Lecter), and King Kong Lives (1986). From the Nineties Mr. De Laurentiis produced such films as Army of Darkness (1992), U-571 (2000), Red Dragon (2002), and The Last Legion (2007).

Unlike many producers, Dino De Laurentiis produced a diverse number of films. He produced everything from neorealist classics (La Strada) to high camp (Barbarella). He also had his share of flops (Hurricane in 1979). He also produced films for which the critics lost no love (the most obvious example being his remake of King Kong). Regardless, he produced an extraordinarily large number of films, many of which are regarded as classics today.

Gene Shalit Retires from the Today Show

After 40 years with the show, movie critic 84 year old Gene Shalit retired from The Today Show. His run on the show is among the longest of anyone in broadcast history. Indeed, he may well have been with Today longer than any other on the air personality.

Prior to his stint with Today, Mr. Shalit had been the senior movie critic for Look magazine and wrote the "What's Happening" column for Ladies Home Journal. He joined Today in 1970, replacing Joe Garagiola at the desk in 1973. He also wrote a daily radio essay for,"Man About Anything," for NBC Radio from 1969 to 1982. Mr. Shalit did not simply review movies for Today in his "Critic's Corner" segment, but he also reviewed books and plays, as well as covering everything from professional baseball to passenger trains. Reportedly Gene Shalit is not entirely retiring, but is leaving Today  to "pursue other activities."

With his "Critic's Corner" on The Today Show, Gene Shalit became one of the most recognisable critics in the United States Even had it no been for his status as a regular contributor to Today, he would have been easily recognisable, with his curly hair, heavy glasses, handlebar moustache, and often colourful bowties.

My family having watched Today regularly when I was a child, Gene Shalit was the first movie critic to whom I was ever exposed. While I did not always agree with his reviews of movies (most notably, I disagreed with his review of Flash Gordon in 1980), I always understood why he liked or disliked any given film. And unlike some movie critics, Gene Shalit truly loves movies, a love which showed throughout every review he did for Today. He had an enthusiasm for film that only a few other critics possess. It is for this reason that I always enjoyed Mr. Shalit's reviews, as well as his extensive use of puns. While many of Mr. Shalit's puns were, well, bad, they were always funny.

Today will simply not be the same without Gene Shalit in his "Critic's Corner." And he will be a hard act to follow for any critic who takes his place. Gene Shalit was always one of the few critics whose opinion I value, and one of the few who seemed to share my love for film.

Sherlock

The past few weeks PBS aired the three episodes of Sherlock on their anthology series Masterpiece (under that show's Mystery! heading, once its own series). For those of you who have never heard of Sherlock, it is a show which updates Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to the 21st century. It aired on BBC One in July and August. This October and November it made its American debut on Masterpiece.

Of course, Sherlock is not the first time that the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have been updated to contemporary times. There was a time when nearly every adaptation of Sherlock Holmes movie was set in the modern era; then again, given Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the last Holmes story in 1927 ("The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place", only those films made in the Thirties can truly be said to be anachronistic. It would not be until 20th Century Fox's classic adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce,. that Sherlock Holmes would be placed in the Victorian milieu with which we generally identify him. Surprisingly, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce would also star in the first movie in which Holmes and Watson were truly updated to the contemporary era. Beginning with Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), the classic Universal Sherlock Holmes series placed the pair to the World War II era. Since that time nearly every adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, either to film or television, has placed the detective in the Victorian Era. In fact, Sherlock is the first TV show to place Holmes and Watson in a contemporary milieu.

Sherlock was developed by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, both veterans of Dr. Who. Mr. Moffat had also written for the series Coupling, while Mr. Gatiss has written for The League of Gentlmen and adapted H. G. Wells' First Men in the Moon for the BBC. It was during their train trips from London to Cardiff (where production for Dr. Who is located) that the two, both Holmes fans, discussed updating the detective. Finally they discussed idea with producer Sue Vertue, Mr. Moffat's wife. The series was produced by Hartswood Films, BBC Wales, and WGBH (the Boston PBS station responsible for Masterpiece). Benedict Cumberbatch, who has appeared in films from Amazing Grace (2006) to Creation (2009) was cast as Holmes. Martin Freeman, who had played Arthur Dent in the movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), was cast as Dr. Watson.

For those who may be doubtful about the success of a Holmes updated to the 20th Century, there is no need for concern. In many respects Sherlock is more loyal to the Holmes of the Canon than most of the recent adaptations in the Victoria Era. Benedict Cumberland's Sherlock Holmes is bohemian in the same way the Holmes of the Canon was, his flat at 221B Baker Street is a bit of a mess, while Holmes himself clearly dresses for comfort and practicality rather than fashion. Like the Holmes of the Canon, the Holmes of Sherlock is also sorely lacking in interpersonal skills. He is cold and unemotional, displaying little concern for his fellow man. He is forthright in his words to the point of being rude. The only thing that keeps Holmes from being an egomaniac is that he is quite right that he has a keen intellect sharper than the average police officer. At the same time, however, there can be no doubt that Holmes is a brilliant detective. In an instant he can pick up on details that the average person misses, and in a matter of no time come to a conclusion based on those details. His skill at deduction is unmatched.

Just as the Holmes of Sherlock is very much in keeping with the Canon, so too is Mr. Freeman's Watson. Just as the Dr. John Watson of the Canon, the Watson of Sherlock served in the military and was wounded in battle. Just as the Watson of the Canon was intelligent and capable, so too is the Watson of the Canon. Both tend to be much more ethical and moral in their outlook than Holmes, and both have the compassion for their fellow man that Holmes sorely lacks. Just as the Dr. Watson of the Cannon published accounts of Holmes' adventures as short stories, the Dr. Watson of Sherlock chronicles the pair's adventures on his blog.

One of the taglines of the series is "Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures," and in this respect the show is much loyal to the Canon than previous Holmes series. The three episodes aired so far adapted two of the classic Holmes stories, "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Dancing Men," while the third is an original episode that captures the flavour of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories perfectly. Each of the three stories feature a bizarre, seemingly unsolvable mystery, a nefarious plot, and villains who would make the average Bond villain seem pale in comparison. Over all, Sherlock does very well in capturing the bigger than life feel of Mr. Conan Doyle's work.

A second series of three episodes of Sherlock is set to air in the United Kingdom in autumn 2011. There is no word yet on when they will air Stateside (although that they will is pretty much a given). In the meantime the series is available to watch at PBS' Masterpiece site until December 7. The series is also available on DVD in both Regions 1 and 2. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, a fan of good mysteries, or a fan of rousing adventure stories, I urge you to check Sherlock out. You won't be disappointed.

Jill Clayburgh R.I.P.

Actress Jill Clayburgh passed on November 5 at the age of 66. The cause was chronic leukaemia.

Jill Clayburgh was born in New York City on April 30, 1944. She attended Brearley School and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in theatre in 1966. She made her debut on Broadway two years later in 1968 in The Sudden & Accidental Re-Education of Horse Johnson. Miss Clayburgh would appear again on Broadway several times, in the plays The Rothschilds (1972), Pippin (1972), Jumpers (1985), Design for Living (1984), A Naked Girl in the Appian Way (2005), and a revival of Barefoot in the Park (2007).

Jill Clayburgh made her television debut on an episode of N.Y.P.D. in 1968. Her film debut was in The Wedding Party (1969). In the Seventies she appeared in such films as The Telephone Book (1971), Portnoy's Complaint (1972), The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973), The Terminal Man (1974), Gable and Lombard (1976), Silver Streak (1976), An Unmarried Woman (1978), Starting Over (1979--for which she was nominated for an Oscar), and It's My Turn (1980). She appeared in such shows as Medical Centre, Maude, and The Rockford Files.

In the Eighties Miss Clayburgh appeared in the movies First Monday in October (1981), I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982), Shy People (1987), and Beyond the Ocean (1990). In the Nineties she appeared in the movies Pretty Hattie's Baby (1991), Whispers in the Dark (1992), Rich in Love (1992), Naked in New York (1993), Going All the Way (1997), and Fools Rush In (1997). She appeared on the shows Law and Order and Frasier. She was a regular on the show Everything's Relative. In the Naughts she appeared in the films Never Again (2001), Falling (2001), Running with Scissors (2006), and Love and Other Drugs (2010). In the Teens she will appear in the film Bridesmaids (2011), her final film. She was a regular on the shows Leap of Faith and Dirty Sexy Money. She appeared in the shows Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Nip/Tuck.

Actor Robert Ellenstein Passes On

Actor Robert Ellenstein passed on October 28 at the age of 87.

Robert Ellenstein was born in Newark on June 18, 1923. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps. Following the war he attended New York University and graduated from the University of Iowa. It was in 1947 that his career began at the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. He made his debut on television in a pilot for an unrealised TV series based on the comic strip Mandrake the Magician. That same year he made his movie debut in Rogue Cop. Throughout the Fifties he appeared regularly on television, on such shows as The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Soldiers of Fortune, The Whistler, The Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, Omnibus, Robert Montgomery Presents, Gunsmoke,  The United States Steel Hour, Climax, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Zane Grey Theatre, Man With a Camera, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Steve Canyon, Mike Hammer, Rawhide, One Step Beyond, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, and Michael Shayne. He appeared in such films as Illegal (1955), The Garment Jungle (1957), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), The Young Lions (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The Gazebo (1959), and Pay or Die (1960).

In the Sixties Mr. Ellenstein appeared in such TV shows as Thriller, The Lawless Years, Hawaiian Eye, Ben Casey, Checkmate, 77 Sunset Strip, The Untouchables, The Defenders, The Rogues, Combat, Get Smart, Bonanza, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Virginian, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Ironside, and Mission: Impossible. He appeared in the films King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961), Deathwatch (1966), and The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968).

In the Seventies Mr. Ellenstein appeared on Marcus Welby M.D., Columbo, The Rockford Files, McCloud, Quincy M.E., Hawaii Five-O, and A Man Called Sloane. He appeared in such films as Love at First Bite (1979). In the Eighties into the Nineties Robert Ellesntein appeared in the films as Brewster's Millions (1985) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). He appeared in the shows Magnum P.I., Murder She Wrote, Moonlighting, Hooperman, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ER.

Robert Ellenstein had a long career on stage as well as television and film. He appeared in many productions in Los Angeles, including King Lear, Hamlet, Rocket to the Moon, and others.

Robert Ellenstein was a very talented actor who appeared in a wide variety of roles. He played everything from one of the heavies, Licht, in North by Northwest, to authority figures, such as the President of the Federation Council in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He was one of those many actors, who although  he never achieved stardom and never played the lead in a movie or a television show, added a good deal to any movie or show he appeared in with his excellent performances.