The third adaptation is from the BBC series, Sherlock Season Two episode two, “The Hounds of Baskerville” (2012) starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. It aired on May 13, 2012. The Gatiss and Moffat story begins with a flashback to a child running in the darkness with the sound of a dog pursuing the child. The audience learns that the child is the character, Henry Knight who witnessed his father’s death at Dewer’s Hollow, a location in the moors of Dartmoor. Recently, Henry found footprints and suspects the Baskerville army base nearby which does research on animals. Holmes and Watson travel to Dartmoor to investigate. They encounter a local resident of Grimpen Village using the hound to draw tourists. They show Henry visiting his therapist, Dr. Mortimer about the incident on the moor. Sherlock uses his brother, Mycroft identity to gain entry unto the secret base. They meet Dr. Frankland and Dr. Stapleton on the base. Sherlock inquires about Blue bell, the bunny that Dr. Stapleton’s daughter emailed Sherlock about. Mycroft finds out that Sherlock is using his identity and sends a text message asking what he is doing. Henry Knight continues to have flashbacks from the night of his father’s death and see the words, “Liberty” and “in”. Holmes learns that Dr. Frankland worked with Henry’s late father on the H.O.U.N.D project in Liberty, Indiana. He also learns that Henry’s father disagreed with Dr. Frankland. Sherlock does an experiment on Watson using the Baskerville labs and tea to induce a hallucination where Watson swears that he hears and sees the hound. Henry becomes suicidal and is on the moor. Sherlock realizes the fog is drugged. Holmes and Watson come upon Henry and Dr. Frankland on the moor at the hollow. Holmes solves the mystery that Dr. Frankland murdered Henry Knight’s father and drugged the fog to create the hallucination of the hound. Dr. Frankland had to discredit Henry because the memories were returning of his father’s murder.
Gatiss and Moffat’s adaptation contrasts with Doyle’s original story. They used some of the same character and location names but changed their relationship with each other and Doyle’s version. For example, Baskerville Hall became the Baskerville army base where the animals are mutated. Doyle’s heir to the Baskerville estate is Sir Henry Baskerville while in Sherlock; Henry Knight is the character who has been traumatized by the hound. Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore are the domestic servants in the original story and in this one; Barrymore is the General of the Army base. Dr. Mortimer is Henry’s therapist and a woman instead of the town doctor and does not summon Holmes on the case. The hound is not an actual dog but a hallucination. The attempted murder of Henry is not for the estate but to keep him quiet about his father’s death. The original story’s gothic feel is lost in this version with only a subtle appearance by the last scenes with Sherlock, Watson, Henry and Dr. Frankland in the drugged fog.
On March 10th, 2016 the CBS television series, Elementary, aired their Season Four episode sixteen titled “Hounded” which is their adaptation of Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901). The episode was directed by Ron Fortunato and written by Robert Doherty and Robert Hewitt Wolfe starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. Henry Baskerville inquires for Sherlock and Watson to investigate the death of his brother, Charles Baskerville, from a strange creature that was chasing him. Henry is the heir upon Charles’ death of the Baskerville money and estate. The description given to Holmes and Watson is that a giant wolf, growling and glowing eyes was chasing Charles. Their leads bring them to Baskerville Genetics and a conversation about a war dog. They learn that Charles Baskerville stole ideas from inventors and then, made money off the inventions. Henry hears a sound like a dog and Sherlock and Watson instruct him to go to the swimming pool. The mechanical hound jumps into the pool and they find that it has a Baskerville patent on it. The story of Charles Baskerville money lies with Hugo Baskerville, a railroad baron. They also learn that Stapleton is a cousin and in line to inherit the money. They decide to make it look like Roger Stapleton murders his cousin. A Ms. Lyons appears to collect the inheritance and is a niece. They arrest the niece for the murder and the crimes.
The episode contrasts with the original story in that the hound is a mechanical robot, Baskerville hall is Baskerville Genetics and a trust, the character Ms. Lyons whom is a niece in their story and takes upon the role of Jack Stapleton from the story in that she was the mastermind behind the death of Charles Baskerville. This adaptation was successful in its modernization of the story while still capturing the essence of Doyle’s original story. Doyle’s Sherlock in Baskerville plays more of a second string to Watson as the readers’ watch as Watson accompanies Sir Henry Baskerville to Baskerville Hall and Dartmoor. Sherlock lurks in the background and comes to the forefront upon the moors. In this episode, they show Watson investigating the crime and following up with the leads which parallels the story in how Watson sends reports to Sherlock. Leitch argues, “The Holmes adaptations, in other words, take as their primary referent not the particular story they are ostensibly adapting—A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and so on-but the franchise as a whole” (Leitch 213). Wolfe and Doherty’s interpretation of Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901) leaves the essence of the mysterious creature, family ties and inheritance.
Works Cited
Leitch, Thomas. Film Adaptations and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of the Christ. John Hopkins University Press , 2007. Print .
