So the novel Pride and Prejudice I was not a huge fan of but I definitely enjoyed it more than than the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. The fanfics that I read were pretty good too. I think the reason that I enjoyed the book and the fanfics a little bit more than the vlog was because I could put my own spin on things. What I mean by this is, when I read a book I can picture the characters in my head and see them more how I want to. In the vlog videos, I had no say, Lizzie was who she was and I just had to sit and watch. My main complaint with the diaries was with the characters so I think the fact I could not picture them myself made me dislike them more and it wasn't as open to interpretation. If I had seen the diaries before I had read the book then my opinion would be completely different. I think I am biased towards what I experience first. But that kind of makes sense because in my mind that first version worked well and I enjoyed it so why change a good thing?

Some of the changes that were made in the fanfics were interesting, especially the plots (Prom and Canada?) I never take fanfics to seriously because if I start reading and decide I don't like it then I stop and pick a new one. In the Prom fanfic, Kitty and Lydia were not sisters, Lydia was a cousin and Kitty was some girl that went to the school. Since Kitty is not a very important character she usually gets cut or changed. In the diaries, she was an actual cat. Lydia is a bit more important but still not a "main" character so they made her into a family member, just not direct family.

In the fanfic Duty Calls, Lizzy and Darcy are much closer pretty immediately in the story. Lizzy is running from her mom because she doesn't want to marry Mr. Collins and Darcy helps to hide her from her mother. They seem to hit it off right away instead of having the awkward first encounter.

In the stories I read, it is still a very important plot point for Darcy to try to break up Jane and Bingley and of course the romance between Darcy and Lizzy. The only differences are the setting and reasons why.

It's Elementary My Dear Watson

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this show but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this episode and would love to actually watch the rest of the show. I really enjoyed that they kept Holmes' character very close to how he was in the stories. In the beginning of the episode he pretty much quoted the part about not taking in knowledge that is unnecessary, the episode also included his ability to play violin. His character still pretty much acts like an ass, but its only because people don't follow how his mind works and think they know more than him when they really don't.

It was also very interesting to see Watson played by a woman. I really enjoyed it and think that it is a good adaptation. Although, Watson's character was not the same as in the stories. Instead of being a sidekick, Watson is his "companion" because Holmes is in rehab from his addiction. The show is also building up to create more of a backstory for Watson. In the stories, Watson does not have all that much of a backstory.

In a way, Holmes being a recovering addict puts him in a bad light. It almost takes away from his brilliance because the idea of his addiction and need to be in rehab makes him seem incapable and untrustworthy. He seems to jump to conclusions and does not take as much time to think through his plans. Especially when he runs up and begins accusing the sister and actually ends up being wrong about it at first. I guess it was done this way to keep anticipation. If Holmes just solved it right away and then created a plan to catch the villain like in the stories, the viewers may get bored. Instead they create scenarios where Holmes’ first guess is incorrect and then once he finds more evidence, then he solves the crime and catches the villain.

Another issue that I have with the show is that in class we discussed how the original audience loved the stories because Holmes was a nobody who was self-taught and created his reputation on his own. In the episode of Elementary that we watched, he works for/assist the police. I know Holmes did this in a few of his stories but the way the show was filmed I felt like it portrayed him as being more involved with the police department, since they called him to help with the case. It is like every other crime solving television show. They could have made it a more unique show if they stuck to the original stories a little closer.

What's up Sherlock?

Growing up I have always heard of Sherlock Holmes and Watson but I have no experience of reading the stories. I had no idea what to expect when I began reading these stories, I always knew they were detective stories and were popular enough to create adaptations and movies over the years but I wasn't sure why they got so much attention.

I never learned anything about these stories in High school and never felt the need to really read them myself.  In all honesty, I haven’t really watched any adaptations of Sherlock Holmes either. I only see things that pop up in shows or from what people usually discuss or quote from the stories. I was definitely excited to learn about why it has remained so popular over the years.

I came into reading these stories with no expectations. As I was reading A Study in Scarlet and A Scandal in Bohemia I was fairly bored. The second story definitely picked up more but for the most part it was slow and not as action packed as I expected of a crime series (actually A Scandal in Bohemia wasn’t really a crime at all). I feel that the time period this takes place in has something to do with this because it is not all that relatable. The language that is used is not difficult in the way that Romeo and Juliet is but there are definitely words used that are not traditional and many people are not familiar with. It is definitely a story that more educated people or at least people with access to a dictionary would read.

The way in which Watson and Sherlock Holmes met was not what I expected. It also seemed strange to me that Holmes trusted Watson so openly and quickly in the story. Holmes also seems like kind of a sketchy character since he is more of an undercover crime solver. It almost resembles a hit man situation because he does his work under the radar.

So far I have not been all that impressed with Sherlock Holmes. I hope that as we get further into these stories, the better it will get and the more I will enjoy it. Maybe as the stories progress the characters will become more relatable and the audience can get more connected to them. I also hope that the “crimes” that Holmes helps to solve actually become crimes. 

The Beginning of the End

The end of this story is always the most talked about. Romeo and Juliet are two immature children who kill themselves just to be with each other (just crazy!). How can you love someone you have only known for a few days?  The relationship between these two is based off of lust more than love because the attraction is superficial, they do not know each other well enough to be in love. This is shown earlier in the story based on Romeo's relationship with Rosaline; once he realized she wasn't interested in him, he fell out of love with her very quickly,and once he saw Juliet he was immediately in love with her.

If there is anyone to blame it would definitely be Friar Lawrence. Romeo and Juliet were young and looked to Friar Lawrence for help; however, the Friar ended up getting them both killed. The Friar should have been more of the voice of reason instead of coming up with a plan that could go wrong in so many ways. He could have hidden Juliet until Romeo could come for her instead of staging her death. Communication was  much more difficult back then so the fact that the letter didn't make it to Romeo isn't all that surprising. Also if he had made it to the tomb quicker then he would have intercepted Romeo and been able to explain the situation before he drank the poison.

Friar Lawrence even got Paris killed in the process of this plan. Paris was one of the innocent ones in this story. He was minding his own business, going through the proper procedure to marry his wife. Romeo just came in and stole Juliet. I do not agree with arranged marriages but given the time period it was pretty common. Paris was just collateral damage in the mess of events that surrounded Romeo and Juliet's short-lived love story.

Lastly, the matter of the two families. How can the feud end so quickly after years and years? I guess both of the families new the feud was pointless but were just keeping it going because it was almost a tradition? The death of both of their children may have finally forced them to admit that neither side really knew the reason for the feud and they just decided to end it. Once again this is a side of the story where Shakespeare leaves out details because they aren't as important to the main plot of the story. What happened after that night? Did Friar Lawrence get arrested for assisting in the "murders"? Just a few questions that are left unanswered by Shakespeare.