The Hound Of The Baskerville Essay

According to Serena Davies, a reviewer for BBC One, '“The Hounds of Baskerville” took the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories, gave the original title just the smallest of tweaks, then had its wicked way with the rest of the tale,” (Telegraph.co.uk.). Davies is correct because the title might have only been changed by one letter, but the differences in the episode from the novel are mammoth. The episode “The Hounds of the Baskerville” in the series Sherlock produced by BBC is similar to the novel The Hound of the Baskerville because, in both the show and the novel, the monstrous hound is not a real monster, just a normal dog, but the drastic differences including, the setting of the story and the characters make the show more exciting

First, Stapleton is almost a completely different character minus the fact that they have the same last name. In the novel Stapleton was a new neighbor of Sir Henry, as well as a naturalist. Doyle describes him with “...small, slim, clean-shaven, prim-faced man, flaxen-haired and lean-jawed, between thirty and forty years of age, dressed in a gray suit and wearing a straw hat. A tin box for botanical specimens hung over his shoulder and he carried a green butterfly-net in one of his hands” (92). On the other hand, the Stapleton in the episode was an older woman with short brown hair who was a scientist at Baskerville. Another tweaked character was Sir Henry. In The Hound of the Baskerville the novel, Sir Henry was a relative of Sir Charles and was next in line for Baskerville Hall. While in the episode “The Hounds of the Baskerville” Henry Knight was a young man that lived near Baskerville and watched his father get attacked by a “hound”. 30 years later he stills believes that he sees the hound in the moor. Another character who’s identity changed was Dr. Mortimer. In the novel Dr. Mortimer was described as “...a very tall, thin man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between tow keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence” (8). On the contrary, the Dr. Mortimer in the show was a young indian woman who was Mr. Henry Knights therapist. The author changed up the characters because of the changing