BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » POLL: Would you watch Sherlock if ........

kazza474 · July 13, 2012 4:56 am

Simple question: if Ben wasn't the star of the show would you keep watching?
Same scripts, same co stars, different Sherlock.

Fetchinketch · July 13, 2012 5:06 am

That's actually difficult to answer, since I'm of the opinion that the chemistry between the two makes the show what it is. Take that away and it would not be worth watching, even if BC were still there. Give me two different leads with that same chemistry and it just might work.

kazza474 · July 13, 2012 6:26 am

So for you the show is all about the chemistry between Sherlock & Watson?

Wholocked · July 13, 2012 6:40 am

I didn't know Benedict existed before seeing him in Sherlock; so if it was a different actor I wouldn't know the difference. And as talented and amazing as BC is, he is by no means the reason Sherlock is so successful. Everything else about it is bloody brilliant too, starting and ending with the script writing.

SusiGo · July 13, 2012 7:19 am

I voted yes because I didn't know Ben either before I watched the show and I really got hooked only after having watched series 1 in English on DVD. So it wasn't love at first sight although by now I cannot imagine anyone else in the part. But the are so many brilliant things in it that I guess it would work with other actors - provided the chemistry's there.

Mattlocked · July 13, 2012 10:43 am

I could simply quote Susi word by word. The show is made so brilliant, would be fun anyway.

BUT if BC would stop now and they would go on with somebody else, I would probably not like it any longer.

SusiGo · July 13, 2012 10:57 am

Of course not - we're Benaddicted now (not my pun, I stole it somewhere).

hepzibah · July 13, 2012 2:37 pm

If the series had been made without either of our darling boys, we would have never known the difference! Doesn't bear thinking about

Having (embarrasssingly) said that, I would have still watched the series because, quite frankly, the British make the best television shows in the world. And this is from a very dinki di Aussie. I present for your consideration The Forsyte Saga, both old and new versions, Upstairs Downstairs, again both old and new, Downton Abbey, Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Morse and too many police shows to mention, and, of course, Doctor Who.

However, if either Ben or Martin decided to leave the show (noooo), I would stop watching because I would be too grief-stricken to function.

KeepersPrice · July 13, 2012 3:19 pm

I haven't watched much "Dr. Who" but apparently switching out the lead actor occassionally has worked out well for it, so potentially it could be done successfully in this show too. But OMG, it would be hard to replace BC. He is a tour de force and he has nailed this character every which way there is. If someone replaced him I'd still watch because of all the other great stuff the show contains - but I feel certain something vital would be missing. I'd need to be really convinced by the new guy to the point where I wouldn't be making comparisons any longer.

Fetchinketch · July 13, 2012 3:29 pm

"So for you the show is all about the chemistry between Sherlock & Watson?"

Absolutely! For others, the appeal may be different, but I am sure that is the only thing that has me obsessed with the show.

Chrissi · July 13, 2012 4:29 pm

Okay that's really hard to answer. I think I would still watch it but i wouldn't love it as much without Benedict.
It would be a nice series but not my favourite I guess.

Arya · July 13, 2012 4:30 pm

I doubt they would keep the show going without BC. I mean, apart from the amazing chemistry between Sherlock and John ( ), BC is the title character of Sherlock now. They wouldn't replace him.

Doctor Who is a sci fi show. They made a reasonable sci fi explanation in the show for switching the main actor. That's how they made it work. They couldn't do that with Sherlock.

sherlockskitty · July 13, 2012 4:59 pm

I voted YES. I'm a big fan of this character-- and as long as the show has brilliant writing, etc, and great chemistry between our heroes, I'll watch it. But if Ben or Martin weren't in it anymore I probly would not watch.

wait a minute...oh dear. oh well was gonna say something else but my brain has gone Sherlocked.

Last edited by sherlockskitty (July 13, 2012 5:00 pm)

veecee · July 13, 2012 6:04 pm

Hard to imagine. Hard to answer. If it were a new show and I had never seen BC in it, sure. But now... I guess I would give it a try but, really, the chemistry between Ben and Martin is a big part of the appeal. Not to mention Ben's appeal all on his own.

Sammy · July 13, 2012 8:08 pm

Interesting!
I voted yes because - as many of you - I didn't know Benedict as an actor very good before watching Sherlock so I would have watched it with another lead as well.
It's difficult to imagine the situation where Benedict leaves and the rest of the crew stays... that's never nice so I guess Sherlock would loose a lot of viewers.
But - given the fact the hypothetical new lead would be brilliant - it would still be an amazing piece of TV so who would I be to not continue watching it?

But of course it's out of question to argue that I would want anyone else to take his parts... neverrrr. ;)

deerstalker · July 13, 2012 10:33 pm

Voted Yes- because the writing is all I would wish in a show. Nonetheless, I am happy Ben is Sherlock- I did not know his work before and it is great to discover an actor of that caliber. Cumberbatch is fascinating.

Irene Adler · July 14, 2012 9:19 am

I guess that if I hadn't ever seen Benedict playing Sherlock, if it had been another actor from the start, I would have been hooked exactly the same. I love the other characters and actors, the scripts are awesome and the production is great. So I would be exactly as hooked as I am. Of course, if the actor playing Sherlock was good enough.

But now... I really can't imagine anyone else playing Sherlock.

Morton · July 14, 2012 10:18 am

I voted YES. Reason being I was a big fan of Jeremy Brett as Holmes, wonderfully played and the chemistry with his Watson Ed Hardwicke was very good and I love this modern day version with Ben and Martin even more. BUT if the actors didn't have that chemistry and the Sherlock wasn't as superbly portrayed I'd watch but not be as devoted.

Sherlock Holmes · July 15, 2012 1:18 am

This question really made me stop and think for a moment. I've always been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was little so for me it's the characters that are really important not the actors, which is why I love all the other adaptations too.

They successfully replaced Watson in the Jeremy Brett series, I don't know what it would be like if they'd decided to replace Holmes....

Like you said, in Doctor Who it's OK to change lead actor because the Doctor regenerates and takes on different appearances. If they did it in Sherlock it would kind of just be really weird. I hate it in soaps when they just randomly change the actor without any kind of explanation and expect you just to all accept that this is the same person. Having said that, it does still work and after a while you DO accept it.

I think it would also work better in Sherlock because there's such long breaks in between series, so if they announced that Benedict was no longer in it, chances are the fans would have a long time to get used to the idea and perhaps they could release a few teasers featuring the new actor. There would be a lot of responsibility resting on his shoulders though...to be honest I'm not sure I really would like it very much if they did this.

The Jeremy Brett series stopped when Brett died....and Benedict Cumberbatch is the Brett of our generation. He will always be considered as one of the great Sherlock Holmes actors....Basil, Brett, Benedict...

IF they'd made the series to start off with without Benedict then it wouldn't have made any difference and of course YES I would watch it...I didn't even know who he was before I started watching the show. If they changed actors in the future...well, I guess I'd still have to put YES because I'd still watch it even if I don't like the idea...

If they were going to do something like that, they should change both actors (Sherlock AND John).

hepzibah · July 15, 2012 1:20 pm

I have already replied to this topic, but I have even more opinions to offer ( what a surprise, you cry!),

I find when an actor leaves a series (no, Benny, don;t you dare ) and the show is mainly character-driven, the show is rarely the same, for example The X-Files was rubbish after David Duchovny left, even though his replacement, Robert Patrick was pretty good. There just wasn't the same magic. Can you imagine Friends or Seinfeld without one of the main characters?

Sometimes it doesn''t make too much of a difference, if the show is mainly plot-driven like the various Law & Order and CSI franchises. Actors come and go but it is the plot that matters.