I'm friends with a couple of Conan Doyle fans. Serious fans. The fans who are spotting every clever little reference in Moffat and Gatiss' version that I wouldn't in a million years remember from when I read the books. They absolutely love this adaptation and it's really fun to watch them posting about it and it's given me more appreciation and enjoyment of it. (Also, there is a theory floating about the ether that this is a fake!Moriaty and is merely an underling.)
Why the popularity? I think maybe because drama on a Sunday evening has always been popular. I think the utter lack of it in recent years is reflected by the fact that people tuned in every week when we finally got something really good. I remember the hoopla when Foyle's War was cancelled and the fans went bats at ITV and got them to recommission a further three eps. That was merely feelgood drama with Michael Kitchen (who I think is a national treasure), so I'm stunned that nobody cottoned onto the fact that there's an audience out there, even in the summer, for more drama. Unless the budgets have got so damn tight and the writers just aren't out there who can produce quality. We're really quick to criticise the channels - but if it's lack of funding and quality of writing? I wish I knew someone with greater insight into this.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-08-10 06:55 pm (UTC)Why the popularity? I think maybe because drama on a Sunday evening has always been popular. I think the utter lack of it in recent years is reflected by the fact that people tuned in every week when we finally got something really good. I remember the hoopla when Foyle's War was cancelled and the fans went bats at ITV and got them to recommission a further three eps. That was merely feelgood drama with Michael Kitchen (who I think is a national treasure), so I'm stunned that nobody cottoned onto the fact that there's an audience out there, even in the summer, for more drama. Unless the budgets have got so damn tight and the writers just aren't out there who can produce quality. We're really quick to criticise the channels - but if it's lack of funding and quality of writing? I wish I knew someone with greater insight into this.