Instructions
Do the preparation task first. Then, watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.
Preparation
Worksheets and downloads
Transcript
Wendy: The streets of London are full of history. But not all the famous characters associated with this city were real. More than a hundred years ago when people travelled by horse and cart and the foggy streets were lit by gaslight, one famous detective was leading the fight against crime. It was Victorian London, the time of Sherlock Holmes.
The fictional character of Sherlock Holmes has been popular ever since he was created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1800s. Since then, Holmes has appeared in many films …
Roland Carstairs: Mr Holmes?
Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone): Hello.
Wendy: … from black-and-white classics to Hollywood blockbusters and TV dramas.
Even though Sherlock Holmes wasn’t a real person, you can find evidence of him all over London. There is a statue of Sherlock Holmes near Baker Street. Just around the corner, you can find his famous address, 221B. Ah, look! More evidence of Sherlock Holmes, a pub named after him. Let’s pop in.
There are lots of Sherlock-related things inside the pub. The pub even has its own room which is supposed to look like Sherlock Holmes’s study with his famous pipe and laboratory instruments for his forensic or scientific approach to solving crimes. You can just imagine Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Doctor Watson discussing how to solve crimes here.
Dr Watson (Nigel Bruce): Well, whoever’s behind all this thing must be out of his mind.
Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone): On the contrary, my dear fellow. If my assumptions are correct, this little scheme has behind it the most brilliant and ruthless intellect the world has ever known.
Wendy: Roger Johnson is from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
What makes Sherlock Holmes so interesting?
Roger: He’s a hero, but he’s a flawed hero in a way. He doesn’t have superpowers in the way that, say, Superman does or the Marvel Avengers. He’s a real human being and you can feel with Sherlock Holmes, as you can’t do with Superman, ‘Yeah, I could be like that’.
Wendy: Why is he still so popular?
Roger: The main reason is that the original stories are so good. They’re very well written and they’re tremendous fun to read.
Wendy: The Metropolitan Police Heritage Museum shows the history of policing in London. Holmes was famous for his use of forensic or scientific techniques to solve crimes. His creator, Conan Doyle, visited police museums to gain inspiration for his stories. Alan Moss is a former policeman and historian.
Do you think it was useful for Conan Doyle to visit places like this?
Alan: He was really interested in real-life crimes, but actually making those crimes into a really good story.
Wendy: Police methods and crime-solving techniques have changed since the time of Sherlock Holmes. New technology means the scientific or forensic method is even more important.
So there’s evidence of Sherlock Holmes all across London. It looks like he’s going to continue being a popular fictional character for many more years to come. I wonder what Sherlock would make of today’s forensic work and policing techniques. I guess we’ll never know.
Discussion
Do you like detective stories and mysteries? Which are your favourites?
Comments
Do you like detective stories and mysteries? Which are your favourites?
You kidding me ? I'm crazy about them ! I think Sherlock Holmes is a very unique character and yeah , He's a superpower- less hero
.Which are your favourites?
After all of those compliments , I have to say that the Sherlock Holmes movie is not my favorite detective movie .My favorite is Tin Tin and Snowy.
I saw the BBC show of Sherlock Holmes and i loved it. Benedict Cumberbatch is my favourite actor. Robert Downey Jr. is great too, loved the movie.
I'm a big fan of Sherlock holmes.
I'm really into detective stories and films. Sherlock Holmes is my favorite. I've watched a BBC TV series and a couple of other films about his adventures with Dr. Watson and I really loved them!
I am not familiar with the stories of Sherlock Holmes and I am not really interested in him.
I do not like mystery stories. Sherlock story I saw it in a movie and I did not like it.
Yes i like, i like this histories because is so very interesting, the drama that in this histories used y so very entertainer
My favorite history is a book that name is scorpyo city by Mario Mendoza, and i like so much this history because is very entertaiment and is not boring and have so strong parts
This kind of stories have something very interesting that catch who is watching, the plot is very different from the rest which makes it too original. one of the things I like is the mix of different genres within the works, such as suspense, drama and sometimes humor.
my favorite series on detectives is CSI which deals in the investigation of murders, there is a large number of interrogations, suspects and technology that allows easier collection of evidence.
Yes, I like the stories about detectives, crime, investigation, and more if it is in ages like 1800.
I watched Sherlock Holmes movies, and it is so interesting, it makes you to want to see more and more, and is so funny too.
The original story have that funny details too and I think that it s one of the reasons wich make this character so famous.
Talking about mysteries, its a lot of tipes of storys with topics about mysteries, some more interesting than others, I like that but its some stories without sense, and are so boring.
So, most of stories about mysteries are very good but not all, some are bad and some are boring.
The topic of this video is very interesting, the plot of the history of Sherlock Holmes have really good development
Yes, I like this type of storys because I consider that are very interesting and entertaining. But in some cases are boring, because are long or are not resolved.
In my case I love a serie called " Scream" which deals with a series of murders. The murderer is a person who dresses a white mask and a black dress. And murderess in a peculiar way.
Until now i don´t know who is, but is interesting because there is always a different person.
The activity is good but the lack a little more difficulty due to my response was 8/8
yes i like it, becouse is an interesting way to have fun also with crimes that would be real situations in our life. I think that the way in which they are written and the passion they lead make us their spectators more and more anxious to continue seeing and / or reading.
my favourite detective is Sherlock Holmes becouse is a character that make us to be concentrate and to want more of him, a mean, he is a special detective and his life is so interesting .
I´ve never read stories like this but I would like to read them.
I really like detective stories and mysteries, those are very interesting. Sherlock Holmes is my favorite, but I want to read others.
I find the crime stories very interesting, but I have never been interested in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and that is why I have never seen one, but I think it is a good part of the streets of London and it would be nice to visit someday.
The video seems to me very good in the sense that it contains information that helps a lot for those who need the subject, but personally I have no interest in the subject because it is not in my tastes.
Good Bye.
I really enjoy reading or watching Sherlock Holmes, actually I think is very interesting. Maybe Sherlock Holmes is my favorite detective
I do not like it since this subject is not for me and it is not of my interest, I prefer the subjects that are of sports preferably that is of soccer since I love the soccer and much about so I can ask many things about that sport and I'm sure I'll answer them
Depends is one of the issues that catches my attention and the history of Sherlock Holmes is very funny and very intriguing, because the detectives do not like me very much nor the crimes are not my greatest pleasure.
I like this type of explication. She explained the history of this emblematic character for the british´s literature. I think Holmes is the best in his job, his superpower is the convising. Thanks to Holmes, we can enjoy the series, movies of detectives because this character introduces all the caracteristics that a good detective needs to become Sherlock.
This video is interesting because the form of Sherlock Holmes to solve the crimes is unique this detective have disappeared, today the technology are the best option to catch the suspect since these days there is a great advantage over them, Holmes was crazy because the way to catch the suspect was very rudimentary.
I like them because they are funny and they give curiosity, I do not see series but I really like the movie sherlock holmes between shadows. I liked to learn that sherlock holmes was not a real character and that everything was invented by arthur in 1800 but in london you can find evidence that sherlock holmes existed as for example in the museum of the police in londres and a bar that had things of the .
Hi, i have watched the Sherlock Holme´s movie protagonized by Robert Downey and i liked the way he realiced his work, because he is very persuasive when he is investigating about a case, like a killing or a stole. This iconic character from London´s live is very interesting and i would like to learn more about his life¡
I don't like detective stories but sherlock holmes is very interesting and is part of the history of London
I never watch this kind of films, but I read interesting books that the protagonist have a similar metods to solve the problems he had.
One of this: "El Tunel" by Ernesto Sabato
It didn´t have a "plot about detectives and mystery" but is interesting, especially for the form in which it was written.
I love all the books about Sherlock Holmes, because the stories tell about a man that resolve crimes using only his mind and his ingenuity.
I like sherlock homes because they are funny and they give curiosity, I do not see series but I really like the movie sherlock holmes between shadows.
Yes, I like the stories of detectives and mysteries, because there are interesting, i like too because the stories in many times have an unexpected end, I like it because most of the time detectives are heroes and help a lot of people.
My favorite series are CSI Miami and Hawaii 5.0 because they discover crimes and are excellent detectives.
Yes, they are very interesting because of the mysteries that have their stories, all the stories have an unexpected end and cause a lot of curiosity
I do not have a favorite series of detectives, but if I have a favorite series of mysteries that is called pretty little liars, I like it because it is very entertaining and just like the detective series has a lot of mystery and good links
yes, I love all kinds of historys ´cause the histories can show us to many different Worlds, they have the power to pop you into the history and that´s great!
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