Line #19 Series/TheAdventuresOfSherlockHolmesAndDoctorWatson


1	%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExamples are not allowed on trope pages.
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3	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Russian_Holmes_and_Watson_8511.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:320: Tum-ti-tum-ti-tum-ti-ti-ti-tum...]]
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6	->''Элементарно, мой дорогой Ватсон''[[labelnote:Translation]]Elementary, my dear Watson[[/labelnote]]
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8	''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson'' (Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона) is a series of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' adaptations [[MadeForTVMovie made for Soviet television]] between 1979 and 1983, plus a theatrical feature in 1986. It is commonly known as "Russian Sherlock Holmes" in Western fan circles, although [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn the Baker Street scenes were actually filmed in Latvia]]. It stars Vasily Livanov as Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Dr. Watson. All episodes were directed by Igor Maslennikov.
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10	The series is generally true to the Doyle stories, but is more of an {{Adaptation Distillation}} than a straight page-to-screen conversion. The combination of the [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian British]] setting and the Russian sensibilities of the creators give the series an interesting blend of cultural influences. Livanov, Solomin, and many of the supporting actors give memorable performances - Livanov was even awarded an Order of the British Empire for his portrayal of Holmes - and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdtwg-aNTj0 opening theme]] is insidiously catchy. Among Sherlock Holmes fans aware of the series, it is still considered one of the, if not ''the'', pre-eminent adaptations of Conan Doyle's work. Another point in its favour is that it is not as political as some Soviet productions were - Holmes and Watson are not portrayed as proto-Marxist-Leninists, launching into AuthorFilibuster, and despite the rich opportunity to do so, the inequalities of Victorian life are not presented as flaws of modern-day capitalism. They did miss a trick by not having Holmes and Watson meet Karl Marx, however.
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12	The series is a cultural icon in Russia. The films are less well known in the West than the English-speaking Holmes adaptations, but the complete series has been made available on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAImJkUOjA&list=PLn0MOhK_-giqbN5e69d_gf17B09HpYE6K YouTube, with subtitles]], by Lenfilm.
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15	!!The Series
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17	* ''Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson'' (1979)
18	** Part 1, "Acquaintance", adapts the introductory scenes from ''A Study in Scarlet'' and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band".
19	** Part 2, "Bloody Inscription", adapts the mystery from ''A Study in Scarlet'', with the pocket watch scene from ''The Sign of the Four'' at the beginning.
20	* ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson'' (1980)
21	** Part 1, "The King of Blackmail", adapts "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", with the Diogenes Club scenes from "The Greek Interpreter".
22	** Part 2, "Deadly Fight", adapts "The Final Problem".
23	** Part 3, "The Tiger Hunt", adapts "The Adventure of the Empty House".
24	* ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (1981)
25	** 2-part adaptation of the eponymous novel.
26	* ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra'' (1983)
27	** 2-part adaptation of ''The Sign of the Four'', with the beginning of part 2 being an adaptation of "A Scandal in Bohemia".
28	* ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches'' (1986)(theatrical feature)
29	** Part 1 adapts "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" and "The Adventure of the Second Stain".
30	** Part 2 adapts "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" and "His Last Bow". Notably, the conclusion tries to [[CanonWelding thread all these stories together]], when they were unrelated in the canon.
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33	!! Provides Examples Of:
34	%%* AdaptationDistillation
35	* AdaptationNameChange: The boat from ''Literature/TheSignOfTheFour'' was renamed from "Aurora" to "Diana", because for the Soviets, the original name had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cruiser_Aurora associations]] which would have made the use of that name for the villains' ship highly inappropriate.
36	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Livanov's Holmes, while still restless, eccentric, and at times a bit of a {{Troll}}, is more gentlemanly and less troubled than some incarnations of the character.
37	* ArtisticTitle: Each episode begins with a montage presenting the opening credits through various methods of classical cryptography, such as holding a paper over a flame to reveal a message in invisible ink or covering it in dust then shaking it off to see what parts it has stuck to.
38	%%* BadassBookworm: Holmes, as usual.
39	%%* BoisterousBruiser: Henry Baskerville, before his nerve begins to fail him.
40	* {{Bowdlerise}}:
41	** Holmes doesn't use cocaine in this adaptation (thanks to Soviet censorship) although he still smokes like a chimney.
42	** Watson's military service takes place in the unspecified "East," not Afghanistan - probably because the Soviet Union had [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan its own military activity in the area]] at that time.
43	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Holmes is a bit nicer than usual in this version, but still decidedly eccentric.
44	* CanonWelding: ''The Twentieth Century Approaches'' blends together multiple stories from the canon, creating an arc in which [[spoiler: Col. Stark/Fritz from "The Engineer's Thumb" and Eduardo Lucas from "The Second Stain"]] were the same person, and both him and [[spoiler: Hugo Oberstein]] from "The Bruce-Partington Plans" were working for [[spoiler: Von Bork of "His Last Bow"]].
45	%%* CoolOldLady: Mrs. Hudson.
46	* EntertaininglyWrong: Watson's belief in the first episode that Holmes is a criminal mastermind. He does have the right skill set for it and he knows all kinds of disreputable people.
47	* EverybodySmokes: At least most of the men seem to, although in Holmes and Watson's case this is true to Doyle canon.
48	* EyeRemember: Holmes conducted some experiments to verify the trope. Baloney, according to him.
49	* EvilCripple: It takes some time to notice, but Moriarty [[RedRightHand can't move his neck]].[[note]]An interesting inversion of the original, whose head constantly sways from side to side in a "curiously reptilian fashion".[[/note]]
50	* FaintInShock: Watson faints [[spoiler: when Holmes reveals himself alive and well]]
51	* FatalFlaw: Moriarty's love for the dramatic.
52	* FoodPorn: The big Victorian breakfast scene in the first episode. Did the camera really need to linger on the table for that long?
53	* FriendshipMoment: Many. Holmes and Watson are particularly affectionate in this version, possibly due to Russian social norms for close friends, and Solomin and Livanov have excellent chemistry.
54	** Solomin and Livanov [[LifeImitatesArt befriended each other during filming]] and remained fast friends until the Solomin's death in 2002.
55	* GeniusBruiser: Holmes. Dr. Roylott (villain of the ''Speckled Band'' story) comes to Watson and Holmes, demands they stop the investigation and threatens them by bending an iron poker. After Roylott storms out, Holmes rather casually straightens it out. And of course he is a former boxing champion.
56	* GeniusSlob: Holmes. It appears to be a matter of principle with him: he doesn't even let Mrs. Hudson dust his things.
57	%%* GentlemanDetective: Holmes, of course, in an eccentric sort of way.
58	* HijackedByGanon: Charles Augustus Milverton is part of Moriarty's gang.
59	* IconicOutfit: The cape and deerstalker make their inevitable appearance, though in the more correct context this time, as a back-country outfit it was in the first place.
60	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: In "Acquaintance", Helen Stoner's twin sister Julia only appears in one scene, and it's always clear which is which, but to make sure they're visually distinguished by their hairstyles, with Helen's hair being conspicuously shorter than Julia's.
61	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Holmes, in the scene with Watson's pocket watch. His chain of deductions regarding Watson's alcoholic older brother winds up hitting a few sore spots and provokes a DudeNotFunny reaction from Watson. To be fair to Holmes, Watson did ask Holmes what he could infer from the watch.
62	* LargeHam: Creator/NikitaMikhalkov, one of the hammiest persons in Soviet cinema, as Henry Baskerville.
63	* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdtwg-aNTj0 DAAA da da da da-da-da-da-da!]]
64	* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Holmes and Moriarty [[spoiler:although it turns out Moriarty decided to cheat by bringing in Moran with a gun.]]
65	* MasterOfDisguise: Holmes, as per usual. Though Livanov's distinctive voice is kinda of a giveaway.
66	* MrFanservice: Vitaly Solomin's Watson is quite easy on the eyes if you like boyishly handsome blond men in tweed, and Holmes is rather dapper in his own way.
67	* ObviouslyEvil: This version of Moriarty is ''incredibly'' sinister looking.[[note]]And also, perhaps not coincidentally, ''the'' closest any live actor has come to actualizing Sidney Paget's depiction from the original ''Strand'' story.[[/note]]
68	* OlderThanTheyLook: Solomin's Watson is quite boyish looking for someone who, given the age of the actor at the time of filming, is probably around forty.
69	* PluckyComicRelief: Russian version of Lestrade is more funny and friendly than usual.
70	* SavedByThePlatformBelow: That's how Holmes survives the battle with Moriarty. An InvokedTrope, since he took the time first to study the potential battlefield.
71	* SherlockScan: Used straight quite often, naturally, but also subverted for comic effect. Just after Holmes manages a series of astute conclusions about Watson's disreputable brother based on his watch, he gives an incredibly detailed description of a random passerby. Watson, now thoroughly bemused, is willing to accept the results - at which point Holmes reveals the object of the scan to be his own brother, Mycroft.
72	** The second scan in the series (first being Holmes' deduction about Watson's military service) is performed by Mrs. Hudson of all people.
73	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Holmes, sort of. He is smart, and he does play chess, but the context (a friendly game with Watson) is more in line with the Russian view of chess as a normal recreational activity.
74	* SparedByAdaptation: In the original books, Watson's wife dies during the time Holmes was faking his death. In the series, she isn't introduced until much later, and is still alive in the last part.
75	* StoicSpectacles: Holmes wears little round reading glasses in a few scenes.

Context Series / TheAdventuresOfSherlockHolmesAndDoctorWatson