Raffles in the modern age

[satanassa]

The second series of BBC's drama 'Sherlock' aired recently and it got me thinking. Just as this show is a re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes in the 21st century, could there be a feasible re-imagining of Raffles in the 21st century? There would have to be a lot more computers and electronics of course, maybe hacking into bank accounts and such? What

Comments

[derien]

That it would look a little bit like The Stainless Steel Rat with Bunny instead of Angela. :)

[derien]

And - it would be AWESOME. ;)

[cicak]

There's lots of things to consider (I've been idly planning this fic for ages), because I think Raffles is quite tied to Victorian society, so he'd have to now deal with ubiquitous CCTV and Crimewatch and electronic surveillance. There's also the difference in what modern professional cricket is like compared to the Victorian age (TV broadcasts and photojournalism, but I could see Raffles going and playing in the IPL rather than at country houses when those bits come up), but fundamentally I think it'd transfer well enough, people still buy beautiful jewellery and investment pieces of art that can be stolen!

[missmorrichan]

How timely, seeing as I've only just gotten around to finally (finally) watching the first season of Sherlock less than a week ago (yes, I'm a terrible Holmes fan, stop looking at me like that). While I was watching, my mind wandered to Raffles, too, though in this case it was along the lines of "I would love some sort of crossover episode where modern Sherlock and Watson face off against modern Raffles and Bunny." In any case!

I'm certain, given enough creative thought, that it could be made to work. cicak has already addressed some of the major concerns, the principal one being Raffles tied almost inexorably to Victorian society. But I think the most important issue is to maintain character integrity! The essence of their characters don't really rely on the Victorian era: you can have arrogant, charismatic, emotionally-closed jerks and loyal, resilient, beleaguered sidekicks no matter what the time period, no? And considering they did such a brilliant job with Holmes and Watson, I don't see why our favourite crime-perpetrating duo

[kalypso_v]

I thought about this during the first series of Sherlock (apart from anything else, I think Benedict Cumberbatch might have made a rather good Raffles - imagine him planning to kill the fence - though I think it would be a mistake for him to attempt it after Holmes). The main problem, it seemed to me, was that Raffles' argument about cricket being a good cover for crime, because it wouldn't occur to people who knew him as a famous cricketer that he might also be a burglar, wouldn't work any more. The tabloid press spend so much time hanging round international cricketers trying to catch them doing something dodgy (whether match-fixing or sex) that it would be very difficult to commit the crimes without being spotted. Heck, they'd be hacking his phone to find out what he and Bunny were planning for the evening. In fact, if you did update it, I'd consider making Raffles' nemesis a journalist rather than a detective.

[storyfan]

Benedict would have made an excellent Raffles - absolutely stellar.

[cicak]

The first time I saw the promo photos for series 1 of Sherlock I emailed my friends complaining how unfair they'd cast the perfect Raffles as Sherlock Holmes. I still think its a shame, the hair and everything are almost exactly Hornung's original description of Raffles.

[kalypso_v]

Exactly, if he could be persuaded to keep the dark curls! "I see his indolent, athletic figure; his pale, sharp, clean-shaven features; his curly black hair; his strong unscrupulous mouth. And again I feel the clear beam of his wonderful eye, cold and luminous as a star, shining into my brain - sifting the very secrets of my heart."

And I can see him so clearly in Wilful Murder, which they didn't attempt with Valentine - Cumberbatch would bring it off perfectly: "He had been leaning back in the saddle-bag chair, watching me with keen eyes sheathed by languid lids; now he started forward, and his eyes leapt to mine like cold steel from the scabbard. They struck home to my slow wits; their meaning was no longer in doubt. I, who knew the man, read murder in his clenched hands, and murder in his locked lips, but a hundred murders in those hard blue eyes."

[altopiano]

I think it would be a great idea to try, even if only as a fic! One problem with doing it for TV is that BBC Sherlock already seems to have quite a lot of the qualities and character traits of Victorian Raffles. In fact I'd say he's more similar to Raffles than to Victorian Holmes, so it would be difficult to make a modern Raffles character who didn't simply look like a rip off of Sherlock. He'd have go a lot further down the anti-hero route, and it would take a really good actor to keep him sympathetic and not make him just seem like a jerk. *g*

And then there's the lovely Bunny... For some reason, I'm having great difficulty imagining a modern day version of Bunny! How on earth would they convey his wonderful innocence, naivete and nobility of character without making the audience cringe? I suspect they'd be tempted to turn him into a *shudder* girl.

[kalypso_v]

I did wonder whether Gareth David-Lloyd might make a good fist of Bunny (I don't think he's quite pretty enough, but I gather other people don't have that problem). Not with John Barrowman as Raffles, though; he may have blue eyes and charisma but I don't think he'd sell me the fierce intelligence.