I think the swing toward extreme rudeness probably owes a lot to the U.S. TV show House, M.D., which was a very popular mainstream show in the first decade of the 2000s and was loosely based on Sherlock Holmes. The title character, played by Hugh Laurie, was named in reference to Holmes (House is another word for Home) and his best friend Wilson was similarly inspired by Watson. The showrunners also took inspiration from the historical fact that Holmes's character was based on one of Doyle's med school teachers, Joseph Bell. House is a Holmes figure who's a doctor and runs a diagnostic department devoted entirely to solving medical mysteries no one else could figure out.
One of the main characteristics of the show was House's constant offensiveness and rudeness, which were used both for comedy and also as a sign of his unconventional genius and refusal to lie in order to be nice -- he was supposed to be a bastard, but one who would save innocent lives.
Mark Gatiss mentioned in his commentary on the first episode of BBC Sherlock that House, being the most recent and popular modern Holmes adaptation at that time, was an influence on how they pitched and wrote Sherlock.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-09-12 03:26 pm (UTC)One of the main characteristics of the show was House's constant offensiveness and rudeness, which were used both for comedy and also as a sign of his unconventional genius and refusal to lie in order to be nice -- he was supposed to be a bastard, but one who would save innocent lives.
Mark Gatiss mentioned in his commentary on the first episode of BBC Sherlock that House, being the most recent and popular modern Holmes adaptation at that time, was an influence on how they pitched and wrote Sherlock.