For Rumplestiltskin is My Name

One of my favorite fairytales as a kid was the tale of Rumplestiltskin. I know that this was my dad’s absolute favorite (and he’s not a big fairytale lover). We had a big book full of fairytales and bedtime stories. My parents would read us some of the stories to us when we were little, and my dad loved reading Rumplestiltskin’s story. The story of the funny little man who stomped his way through the floor when the maid-turned-queen guessed his name.

Now what has brought on my memories of Rumplestiltskin, you might be wondering? I think that most of those very few of you that actually read my blog are aware that I watch a TV show called Once Upon a Time. No, it’s not a British TV show, surprisingly enough.

Just a little background on the show: It’s about a bunch of fairytale characters that are stuck in our world because of a curse that Snow White’s evil queen cast, and they can’t remember who they are... except for the evil queen. Snow White’s and Prince Charming’s daughter escaped the curse when she was a newborn and comes across the town as an adult. It is her destiny to break the curse.

Each episode circulates around happenings in the town where the characters are trapped while at the same time, gives backstories to each of the fairytale characters. The pilot episode opens with this statement: “Once upon a time, there was an enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters we know... Or think we know.” Each episode proves that last part, “or think we know”. You think you know all about these fairytale characters and their stories, but then you watch their background and you’re like, “Oh. I never thought of that. I guess that makes sense. That’s cool” or something to that extent. Specifically, I remember Cinderella’s story. You think you know her story, but that was only because she told it a certain way... not the way it really happened.

Anyways, the most recent episode gave Rumplestiltskin’s backstory, which is why I decided to blog about it now. (I don't think I've included any major spoilers or anything in this post). Rumplestiltskin’s and/or his alter ego's character has been present in, I think, every episode since the pilot. I LOVE his character! Some might disagree with me, I can easily see why they might. He’s so creepy, so manipulative, and so unpredictable. Lots of people don’t like characters like him, but I love them. I love that he has his fingers in pretty much everything. He is extremely powerful and tricky; always has some sort of a plan brewing in his head. He tends takes people's most treasured possessions in his deals, which could serve as an explanation for why he bargains for children. Even though I keep finding out more about him, he still manages to remain as mysterious as before.

His alter-ego in the real world is Mr. Gold, a pawn-shop owner. He loves making deals, exactly like Rumplestiltskin. The pawn-shop owner is perfect for him because of the whole loving to make deals thing. He’s just as manipulative as Rumplestiltskin, always planting ideas in people’s heads, making shady deals, etc. It’s sort of been implied that he remembers who he is and the situation of the town, but we really don’t know, just making him all the more intriguing.

Another thing I love about him is that he’s not really a good guy, but he’s not a bad guy either. Just whatever is in the best interest of himself. We find out that he was the one that gave the curse to the evil queen, but then he told Snow White and Prince Charming how they would be able to break it once it was cast. Other adaptions often portray Rumplestiltskin as a villain; a conniving little snook who’s determined to gain everything for himself. But I think this show has it right. He's definitely not good, but he's not necessarily bad either.

We find out from his backstory where he got his extraordinary powers from, possibly why he often bargains for children, why the maid-turned queen had power over him when she learned his name, and that he is a coward. A coward sounds right to me. That’s why he goes for the creepy, sly, hover in the shadows persona. He usually makes people seek him out unless he “recognizes a desperate soul when he sees one”.

Also, I must praise the man who plays him, Robert Carlyle. He's a very versatile actor. Rumplestiltskin before he gets his powers is a snivelling little cowardly man, and after he gets his powers he turns slightly mad and creepy. Then Mr. Gold is ALWAYS cool and collected no matter what, but still maintains the creepiness that Rumplestiltskin had without the craziness.

Honestly, believe it or not, I could go on, but alas I will spare you and leave you with Rumplestiltskin’s little song from the original fairytale:

Today I brew, tomorrow I bake,

And the queen’s child I shall take,

For no one knows my little game

For RUMPLESTILTSKIN is my name!

Sherlock vs Sherlock Holmes- A Scandal in Belgravia

If you've been reading my blog lately, my last few posts have been a project that I've been working on. I'm comparing the TV show 'Sherlock' to the original Sherlock Holmes stories, trying to pick out as many references as possible. (See how this project got started here).

If you have not seen this show, I would not recommend reading on, as there will be spoilers.

SHERLOCK- EPISODE 4- A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA: written by Steven Moffat

(Read more about Moffat in 'A Study in Pink')

• This episode is based on one of SACD's most famous short stories, 'A Scandal in Bohemia'.
• John writes down his and Sherlock's cases on a blog for the public to read. This is where Sherlock's clients come from. The original stories ARE Watson's journals, that supposedly were published for the public and attracted clients.
• Some of Watson's blog titles are referencing actual original stories. "Greek Interpreter" vs. "The Greek Interpreter" and "The Speckled Blonde" vs. "The Speckled Band"
• In attempt to cover his face from press, Sherlock puts on a deerstalker cap. Although this is not a reference to the original stories, the deerstalker cap is completely canon in most movie/TV adaptions of Sherlock Holmes.
• Mrs. Hudson finds a bag of thumbs in Sherlock and John's refrigerator. (I mentioned this in 'The Great Game', but) In the original stories, Holmes would occasionally have random body parts lying around on which he would be performing experiments on.
• Sherlock doesn't feel the need to leave the flat to go to the crime scene. This is referencing two things in the originals. 1) Holmes doesn't actually need to leave the flat to solve the mystery a lot of the time, he just needs to hear the story and he'll have it figured out. 2) In 'A Study in Scarlet', he tells Watson that he sometimes doesn't feel like going to investigate a crime if it seems boring.
• The person who hires Sherlock about Irene Adler wants to remain anonymous.
• One of Irene Adler's professional names is "The Woman". This is referencing the original story, Holmes would never call her anything else except "The Woman" after the case.
• Irene Adler has some compromising pictures concerning the royal family.
• Sherlock dresses up as a vicar and then has John punch him in the face (and John goes a bit further than just one punch XD) in order to get into Irene Adler's home. In the original story, Holmes disguises himself as a vicar and fakes being attacked (although he's not actually hurt) in front of Irene Adler.
• John sets off the smoke alarm, making Irene look towards her hiding spot for the photos. In the original story, Watson throws a smoke bomb into her home and shouts "fire!", making her run to the hiding spot.
• "Upon hearing a smoke alarm, a mother would look towards her child. Amazing how fire can expose our priorities." vs. the original, "When a woman thinks her house is fire, her instinct is to rush to the thing which she values most... A married woman grabs her baby--an unmarried woman reaches for her jewel box."
• After Irene beats Sherlock (physically and mentally) she says, "This is how I want you to remember me, the woman who beat you." This is in reference to the original story, where Irene Adler was the only woman to ever outwit Holmes.
• Sherlock asks Mycroft if he thinks there's something wrong with the two of them because they don't care as much as other people. This is referencing the original stories, where the Holmes brothers often tend to lack normal human emotion.
• When everyone finds out that Irene is supposedly dead, Mycroft believes it might be a "danger night" for Sherlock, and John and Mrs. Hudson take precautions to make sure Sherlock is "clean". This is referencing Holmes's cocaine habit in the original books.
• Sherlock plays the violin when he's thinking. This is the same in the original stories.
• John says that Sherlock barely talks since he's depressed. This is referencing something Holmes said in 'A Study in Scarlet' when he was listing off his short comings. He said he would sometimes get down in the dumps and not talk for days.
• Mycroft invents a story to tell Sherlock about Irene, that she changed her name and is in America. In the original story, Irene got married, therefore changing her name, and moved to America with her new husband.
• John says that Sherlock won't even call Irene by her name, just "The Woman". This is the same in the original story.
• Sherlock asks to keep Irene's camera phone. In the original story, Holmes asks to keep a photo of Irene.

Sherlock vs Sherlock Holmes- The Great Game

I started a project where I'm comparing one of my favorite TV shows, BBC's Sherlock to the original Sherlock Holmes stories. A couple days ago, I did 'A Study in Pink'. I'm skipping 'The Blind Banker' for now because I'm still trying to figure out which story(ies) that episode is based on. (See how this project got started here.)

If you have not seen this show, I would not recommend reading on, as there will be spoilers.

SHERLOCK- EPISODE 3- THE GREAT GAME: written by Mark Gatiss

(Gatiss is the co-creator of the show along with Steven Moffat. They are both hard-core Sherlock Holmes fans and work hard to stay true to the original stories. Gatiss also portrays Mycroft Holmes [Sherlock's older brother] in this adaption.)

• This episode was mainly based on the short story 'The Bruce-Partington Plans' although there were many others sprinkled throughout.
• Sherlock shoots a smiley face into a wall in his flat. In the original stories, Holmes shoots the initials "VR" into the wall.
• Sherlock sits around his flat, doing random (even dangerous) things when he's bored. This is the same in the original books.
• "I don't know what's got into the criminal classes. Good job I'm not one of them." vs. the original "It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal."
• John tries to think of some small cases for Sherlock, but Sherlock declines.
• John finds a severed human head in the refrigerator. In the books, Holmes would sometimes have random body parts lying about on which he would be performing experiments.
• John keeps a blog about Sherlock's cases. The original stories are written in a fashion that are basically Watson's journals about Holmes's cases.
• Sherlock expresses his annoyance over how John depicts him in his blog. In the original stories, Holmes occasionally criticizes Watson on how he writes his stories.
• Sherlock doesn't know that the earth goes around the sun because if he ever did learn it, he deleted it from his memory. He compares his brain to a hard drive on which he only stores really useful information. In the originals, it is the same except he compares his brain to an attic in which he stores only certain things.
• Mycroft visits Sherlock at 221B with a case about some missing/stolen plans to a missile program called the Bruce-Partington Plans and a dead man who apparently jumped off a train. This is the same in the original story, except it's not missile plans, it's submarine plans.
• Sherlock deduces that John slept on Sarah's lilo, but Mycroft corrects him saying it was the sofa to which Sherlock stands corrected. In the original stories, Mycroft has Sherlock's same deductive powers in an even higher dose than his brother.
• "Never mind your usual trivia, this is of national importance." vs the original "You must drop everything, Sherlock. Nevermind your usual petty puzzles of the police-court. It's a vital international problem you have to solve."
• Sherlock asks Mycroft why he doesn't investigate the case himself to which Mycroft says that the case requires too much legwork. The original stories appraise Mycroft as more genius than Sherlock, but extraordinarily lazy. In this original story, he specifically complains that this case will require too much running around.
• "I'd be lost without my blogger." vs the original "I'd be lost without my Boswell."
• Five beeps/pips are left as a message on the phone for Sherlock and he goes on to explain about some old secret societies that used to send warnings through lemon seeds or orange pips. The reoccurring pips on the phone are in reference to the original short story 'The Five Orange Pips'
• The bombs being left at different locations is in reference to an original story by SACD (although I can't pinpoint exactly which one at this time)
• Sherlock has John analyze some shoes to see what he can deduce from them, saying an outside eye is very useful to him. Holmes has Watson do the same thing in one of the original stories, except with a hat.
• The dead man found on the train tracks had no ticket and was last seen by his fiancée.
• The argument Sherlock and John have about caring about people dying is similar to a discussion Holmes and Watson had in the original stories
• Sherlock has a "homeless network", where he has homeless people on the lookout for him all over the city. In the original stories, Holmes has "the Baker Street division of the police force", where he has a bunch of scoundrel boys on the lookout for him all over the city.
• John finds out that Sherlock has been trailing him the entire time he's been investigating a crime supposedly on his own. This is a shout-out to one of SACD's novels, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' where Watson thinks he is investigating on his own when Holmes is actually following him the whole time.
• The body of Andrew West fell off the top of the train at a turn in the tracks. It was the same for Cadogan West in the original story.
• The man who stole the Bruce-Partington plans did not mean to kill West. In the original story, the man who stole the plans was not involved in the murder at all.
• Jim Moriarty is, of course, the updated version of Professor James Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes's arch-nemisis. He's supposed to be like an evil version of Holmes.
• Jim is the world's only consulting criminal, where people come to him with their problems and he sets them up with ways to accomplish their crimes. In other words, he never does anything himself. This is basically the same in the original stories, Moriarty is the brain behind everything, but never does anything himself.
• -"Everything I have to say has already crossed your mind." -"Probably my answer has crossed yours." This bit of dialogue was taken directly from one of Holmes's and Moriarty's famous confrontation scenes in 'The Final Problem'.