Today’s post is more or less the opposite of the previous two.
This evening I had the privilege of hearing Bonnie MacBird read an excerpt from her new Sherlock Holmes pastiche Art in the Blood. It was a simple drawing room scene, in which our famous detective and his loyal sidekick Dr. Watson meet with a prospective client, a beautiful and highly intelligent french chanteuse.
Yet from this apparently simple introductory conversation, the war of wits that rapidly developed between Holmes and the lady in question was breathtaking. The precision of verbal strike and counter-strike between the two quick witted opponents was a wonder to behold, a thing of pure beauty.
I remember thinking, listening to this intricate and brilliant dance of words and ideas, that it would be difficult for any mere movie adaptation to do justice to such a moment.
And then I remembered something my mother once told me, while reminiscing about her childhood. “The best special effects I ever saw,” she said, “were on the radio.”