Category: How Not to Go Mad

“You Have Visited Japan”: A Modern Take on Sherlock Holmes from Fuji TV

~ inconstantreader (@janice_e) ~ Leave a comment

Last fall, Japanese network Fuji TV aired a new series called Sherlock: Untold Stories, aka Sharokku. Set in modern-day Tokyo, it features the detective Shishio Homare, who is assisted by Junichi Wakamiya, who, in an interesting twist on the formula, is a psychiatrist.

The protagonists are quite young, and it definitely feels as though its vibe is closer to BBC Sherlock than to other Holmes adaptations. Unfortunately, only two of the 11 episodes have thus far been given English subtitles, but with all the time you have now, you can learn Japanese, right?

I can’t vouch for the show, as I haven’t watched either episode yet, but it seems to be getting very positive ratings on sites catering to fans of Japanese TV.

You can watch all of the episodes, including the two with subtitles, here. Fuji has released an English-subbed trailer, so perhaps they plan to produce a version with full subtitles. We can only hope. I’ve included that trailer here; take a look, and see if it interests you.

“Keep Your Distance and All Is Well”: The Sherlock Holmes COVID-19 Survival Guide

~ inconstantreader (@janice_e) ~ 1 Comment

From the talented Mark Chellew, President of the Sherlock Holmes Society of South Australia, we present the Master’s guide to surviving the pandemic. We very much hope you’ll take his recommendations to heart.

(Many thanks to MX Publishing for sharing this.)

“I Have My Eye on a Suite in Baker Street”: Tour the Sherlock Holmes Museum from Your Shelter

~ inconstantreader (@janice_e) ~ 1 Comment

A singular addition to our post the other day about virtual tours of museums to enliven your confinement! Our friends at MX Publishing have dug up a video tour of the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker St., N.W., London.

“Then he opened a door and showed us into a large room furnished as a museum.” [PRIO]

Please note that MX is running a #bookstotrees promotion, planting a tree for every book purchased from their site in 2020. They’ve planted 272 trees at the time of this post, with a goal of 1,000+ for the year. You need some more Sherlockiana to read while you’re sheltering, right?

“It is not eight o’clock, and a Wagner night at Covent Garden!”: Opera from Your Couch

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Illustration by Sidney Paget, 1891, for “The Red-Headed League”

For those who enjoy opera—even when it doesn’t feature the famous contralto Miss Irene Adler—the Metropolitan Opera in NY is streaming a different performance from their Live in HD series each night, providing one more way to enjoy cultural experiences while confined to your home.

Selected upcoming performances:

  • March 29: Wagner’s Tännhauser (Holmes loved Wagner, per REDC)
  • March 31: Rossini’s The Barber of Seville
  • April 1: John Adams’s Nixon in China
  • April 4: Verdi’s Macbeth

Check the full schedule and available supplementary material at the Met’s site.

Streams can be watched on their website or via the Met app for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TVs. Each performance will be available for 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. the following day. Full details on accessing the broadcasts can be found on the website.

Thanks are due again to JeanMarie Zubia!

Art in the Blood: Visit the British Museum and Others While Sheltering in Place

~ inconstantreader (@janice_e) ~ 1 Comment
From BBC Sherlock’s “The Great Game”

Our member JeanMarie Zubia (The Persian Slipper) forwards this list of free virtual museum tours to help relieve your cabin fever (and keep you from watching even more hours of Netflix) as we wait out the zombie apocalypse COVID-19:

You can also visit nearly anywhere on Earth via Google Street View.