Sherlock Holmes

So what, you might be thinking. Another Sherlock Holmezzzz. And that would be a fair so what, given the fact that we’ve been swimming in Sherlocks since he first appeared in the 1880s. And I’m not just talking about adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes; I’m talking about Sherlock knockoffs on TV’s countless forensic dramas, including the “CSI’’ shows, “The Mentalist,’’ and “Bones,’’ not to mention the most Sherlockian of them all, medical detective Dr. Gregory House, who even has his own Watson — Wilson.

Sherlock Holmes is facing his worst enemy: declining crowds at theaters as movie attendance dips to the lowest level in 16 years. Robert Downey Jr .'s sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" debuted on top with a $40 million weekend, off 36 percent from the first installment's $62.3 million opening two years ago, according to studio estimates. Family sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" opened at No. 2 with $23.5 million, about half the business the first two "Chipmunks" movies did on their debut weekends.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is as merry a forced march as sequels get, and it has its pleasures, chief among them Robert Downey Jr. But the light has gone from the star's eyes and the thrill is gone from this franchise. It and he are brands that need protecting, and so we have a movie that keeps selling itself long after the sale has been made. Guy Ritchie is back in the director's chair, which means that macho men will banter lovingly and the camera will climb the walls like a speed freak.

Sherlock Holmes is facing his worst enemy: declining crowds at theaters as this year's domestic movie attendance dips to the lowest in 16 years. Robert Downey Jr.'s sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" debuted on top with a $40 million weekend, off 36 percent from the first installment's $62.3 million opening two years ago, according to studio estimates Sunday. The first movie opened over Christmas weekend, one of the busiest times for movie theaters. Distributor Warner Bros.

The Republican Party chairman is asserting the controversy surrounding Herman Cain isn't harming the party's chances to defeat Barack Obama. Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says he doesn't know "what's true and what's not" about the crossfire between the Cain and Rick Perry campaigns over revelations of sexual harassment allegations against Cain. Priebus tells NBC"s "Today" show it's not his job to be the "referee in here. " He says the Cain controversy is a fleeting thing and that "this issue and other issues are going to come and go. " Asked about the Cain-Perry...

LONDON — Edward Hardwicke, who played Dr. John Watson opposite Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes on television in the 1980s and ’90s, has died of cancer at age 78. Mr. Hardwicke died Monday in a hospice in Chichester in southern England, the Conway van Gelder Grant talent agency said yesterday. The English actor, who took on the Watson role in the second year of the series after David Burke dropped out, was an unflappable counterpoint to Brett’s brooding, high-strung characterization of the detective.

Central Square Theater is bringing back last summer's smash hit " The Hound of the Baskervilles ," a three-man Sherlock Holmes sendup that plays like a cross between Monty Python and those old Carol Burnett movie parodies. (Holmes: "I am the greatest detective in Europe!" Watson: "In your opinion. " Holmes: "No, in Europe!") From the Globe review :   Much of the fun comes from watching these three pros dash nimbly from role to role, ripping off Mallory Frers's appropriate costumes midflight and throwing on a beard or wig. The...

Professor James Moriarty has taken a lot of heat the last century for crimes he didn't commit. The archrival of Sherlock Holmes, who called his nemesis the "Napoleon of crime," appeared in only two of Arthur Conan Doyle's tales about the great detective. Yet in post-Doyle fiction about Holmes and in many movies, including Robert Downey Jr.'s sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Moriarty has loomed as the grandfather of all super-villains, the forerunner to Ernst Blofeld and many more James Bond baddies, along with legions of heavies that...

With his first novel Graham Moore joins the ranks of writers who, over the years, have sought to add to the Sherlock Holmes legend. “The Sherlockian’’ unfolds in two separate but related stories, told in alternating chapters. In the first, set in the late Victorian era, the detective is not Holmes, but his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, assisted by his friend, theater manager Bram Stoker, soon to be famous as the author of “Dracula.’’ The novel opens with Doyle gazing into the chasm below the Reichenbach Falls and vowing to kill off his most famous creation:...

STONEHAM - "Antoine Feval" is a curious excuse for a play. The one-man comedy, now at Stoneham Theatre, is more of a showcase for an actor than a compelling story, let alone the mystery spoof it intends to be. That's not necessarily bad, and Tom Souhrada certainly pulls out all the stops for his performance, but there's not much here for him to work with. "Antoine Feval" opens with Barnaby Gibbs (Souhrada) recounting his experience with a con artist and thief named Antoine Feval.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is as merry a forced march as sequels get, and it has its pleasures, chief among them Robert Downey Jr. But the light has gone from the star's eyes and the thrill is gone from this franchise. It and he are brands that need protecting, and so we have a movie that keeps selling itself long after the sale has been made. Guy Ritchie is back in the director's chair, which means that macho men will banter lovingly and the camera will climb the walls like a speed freak.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law bicker and banter and bob and weave with significantly diminishing returns in this sequel to the 2009 smash hit "Sherlock Holmes. " Director Guy Ritchie once again applies his revisionist approach to Arthur Conan Doyle's classic literary character, infusing the film with his trademark, hyperkinetic aesthetic and turning the renowned detective into a wisecracking butt-kicker. But what seemed clever and novel the first time around now feels stale and tired; a lot of that has to do with the grimy, gray color scheme, which smothers everything in...

Professor James Moriarty has taken a lot of heat the last century for crimes he didn't commit. The archrival of Sherlock Holmes, who called his nemesis the "Napoleon of crime," appeared in only two of Arthur Conan Doyle's tales about the great detective. Yet in post-Doyle fiction about Holmes and in many movies, including Robert Downey Jr.'s sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Moriarty has loomed as the grandfather of all super-villains, the forerunner to Ernst Blofeld and many more James Bond baddies, along with legions of heavies...

There's good news for fans of Sherlock Holmes and "Downton Abbey": They're both coming back to PBS next year. A two-part examination of Bill Clinton's presidency, a look at some celebrity family trees by Louis Gates and a series on American infrastructure hosted by a former "Survivor" contestant are all part of PBS' new spring schedule, the public broadcasting service said Wednesday. An abrupt season ending to "Downton Abbey" with several unanswered questions — including whether the show was even going to return — led to angry phone calls from many fans,...

The Republican Party chairman is asserting the controversy surrounding Herman Cain isn't harming the party's chances to defeat Barack Obama. Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says he doesn't know "what's true and what's not" about the crossfire between the Cain and Rick Perry campaigns over revelations of sexual harassment allegations against Cain. Priebus tells NBC"s "Today" show it's not his job to be the "referee in here. " He says the Cain controversy is a fleeting thing and that "this issue and other issues are going to come and...

Central Square Theater is bringing back last summer's smash hit " The Hound of the Baskervilles ," a three-man Sherlock Holmes sendup that plays like a cross between Monty Python and those old Carol Burnett movie parodies. (Holmes: "I am the greatest detective in Europe!" Watson: "In your opinion. " Holmes: "No, in Europe!") From the Globe review :   Much of the fun comes from watching these three pros dash nimbly from role to role, ripping off Mallory Frers's appropriate costumes midflight and throwing on a beard or wig. The conceit is that they're members of a...

Sherlock Holmes is facing his worst enemy: declining crowds at theaters as this year's domestic movie attendance dips to the lowest in 16 years. Robert Downey Jr.'s sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" debuted on top with a $40 million weekend, off 36 percent from the first installment's $62.3 million opening two years ago, according to studio estimates Sunday. The first movie opened over Christmas weekend, one of the busiest times for movie theaters. Distributor Warner Bros.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law bicker and banter and bob and weave with significantly diminishing returns in this sequel to the 2009 smash hit "Sherlock Holmes. " Director Guy Ritchie once again applies his revisionist approach to Arthur Conan Doyle's classic literary character, infusing the film with his trademark, hyperkinetic aesthetic and turning the renowned detective into a wisecracking butt-kicker. But what seemed clever and novel the first time around now feels stale and tired; a lot of that has to do with the grimy, gray color scheme, which...

LONDON — Edward Hardwicke, who played Dr. John Watson opposite Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes on television in the 1980s and ’90s, has died of cancer at age 78. Mr. Hardwicke died Monday in a hospice in Chichester in southern England, the Conway van Gelder Grant talent agency said yesterday. The English actor, who took on the Watson role in the second year of the series after David Burke dropped out, was an unflappable counterpoint to Brett’s brooding, high-strung characterization of the detective.

With his first novel Graham Moore joins the ranks of writers who, over the years, have sought to add to the Sherlock Holmes legend. “The Sherlockian’’ unfolds in two separate but related stories, told in alternating chapters. In the first, set in the late Victorian era, the detective is not Holmes, but his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, assisted by his friend, theater manager Bram Stoker, soon to be famous as the author of “Dracula.’’ The novel opens with Doyle gazing into the chasm below the Reichenbach Falls and vowing to kill off his most famous creation:...