Sherlock and Hansel and Gretel

Sherlock, Series Two just finished airing in the UK although it won't air in the US until May. My John is a huge fan of the series and can hardly wait for it so I am tempted to order it from the UK for his birthday. Yes, we own a Region 2 reading DVD player although most computers handle them, too. Sometimes we can't stand to wait or miss shows that don't get released here for a long time. I, in other words, am a BBC junkie. We're also Sherlock junkies and our first trip to London included time at 221B Baker Street.

But why am I posting about it here? Well, SurLaLune reader Aliza from the UK emailed me to let me know that the third episode features a Hansel and Gretel subplot. It was intriguing, so I thought I would share to inspire those who can catch it in rerun or anticipate watching it in May or whenever it appears in your area.

From Aliza:

Concerning fairy tale retellings, a British TV Modern remake of Sherlock Holmes from BBC 1 named "Sherlock" has used the fairy- tale theme in it's latest episode.

The last of six hour and a half episodes named "The Reichenbach Fall" that was released this Sunday somehow managed to add Hansel and Gretel into the plot.

James Moriarty, Sherlock's nemesis starts by warning Sherlock ominously that "every fairy tale needs an old fashioned villain."

Later, two children go missing and Sherlock finds a "Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales" Book left in their nursery by Moriarty. From different clues he devises that the children are hidden in an abandoned candy factory.

Moriarty took the two children and gave then lots of candy and sweets, but as Sherlock discovers, the wrappers are coated with mercury.

Because of this, the more candy the children eat, the more poison enters their bodies and the quicker they die.

I found the idea and the mixing of the tale in the show very interesting. I wonder if the show was following the currant trend of bringing fairy tales into everything or doing for their own personal reasons.

The show as a whole is also worth a look at. Even though Sherlock Holmes is no fairy tale, the show takes the old and well known story to a new angle by placing the characters in a modern setting.

Here is more information about the show and the episode if you are interested:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018ttws
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b2vl4

Hope this information was somewhat useful,

Aliza

Thanks for sharing, Aliza. I probably wouldn't have known about this until May!