Apologies for the delay, and a very happy belated birthday to the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch

First, apologies. Had to travel a bit, then was a bit down with ill-health (not much pain, but bleeding from almost all orifices is a bit annoying), and then had to travel some more.

I live for my travels.

Anyway, a very, very, very happy birthday (belated) to the wonderful, lovely, fantastic, ethereal Benedict Cumberbatch! I hear he's in Ibiza officiating a wedding - wow, I'd get married every year if he'd officiate mine! Many congratulations to the wedding couple, too! Hope life gives you all you want.

You, too, Mr. Cumberbatch - for you, I wish - life, fate, the Gods, whatever deity you pray to - would grant you every single desire of your heart, no matter how big or small. I wish you a happy, long and successful life. I wish you your very own guardian angel. I wish you all the roles you've ever wanted. I wish you the spouse, the children, the dogs, the cats - whatever you've dreamed of. Be happy, be proud, because, to your fans, you're a hero, and we deify you, and we wish you all the happiness in the universe.

Take care.

Oh, yes, congratulations on the Emmy!

And yes, saw "The Fifth Estate" trailer yesterday; not much of a fan of Assange, but you were brilliant. I swear I've never seen an actor as versatile as you, or with such screen presence, or with that voice. You could be reading the telephone list and people would still pay to listen. You are a cornucopia of talent.

The Knight

And there's the knighthood in the bag... ;)

News and other things...

Have you seen this yet? Boy, D. Boland is supremely talented or what?

Among other news, Benedict Cumberbatch will be appearing in "The Imitation Game" as Alan Turing with Keira Knightley. Interesting.

There's a fantastic comparison of Khan Prime and our new Khan by these good people. Did you agree with the ratings?

Ooh, Khan.

Adore the character, the actor - everything.

I'm looking for a snapshot of the "evil" look just after the declaration "My name is Khan." That's a precious moment.

Been debating the new Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy versus the old one with a friend. Oh, well, I've always liked Peter, and I think Cumberbatch is a better Peter...but Alec Guinness probably wins over Gary Oldman.

Ciao.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Icon. Inerrant. Inspiration.

Dear God.

Just saw A Study in Pink (for the nth time). My grandmother hadn't seen it before, so, of course, it had to be put up on TV for her!

She loved it, of course. She's re-reading A Study in Scarlet these days, so she enjoyed it properly. Now she can't have enough, and she's watching The Blind Banker.

She says Benedict Cumberbatch reminds her of her favourite grandchild, my dearest cousin. Ah, well. I've always thought my cousin looked a bit like Orlando Bloom rather than Benedict Cumberbatch; but being a mathematician plus a pianist - he's certainly as intellectual as Sherlock...albeit more theoretical. The family's full of academic eccentrics.

Anyway, that wasn't the point. Found a nice article and a cool set of problems. Also, a nice collection of videos where everyone is gushing about Benedict Cumberbatch.

Need more Sherlock. Just Sherlock Season 3. Nothing else.

There's some talk of Sir Benedict being the twelfth Doctor. I don't think so, not really. In any case, I'd rather he finish Sherlock first. I adore Doctor Who, but Sherlock's just something else.

Jerusalem

His voice.

They have said, "Cumberbatch seems to be unique among rising stars in that he’s as popular for his voice as for his face and onscreen charm. I’d be hard-pressed to think of an actor under 40 whose voice is so immediately recognizable, and who uses it to such memorable effect."

Too true.

All places promoting tourism ought to get him to record something for them.

One hell of a talented man, our Sir Benedict.

Which reminds me, isn't it time they put him up at Madame Tussaud's? I mean, they've got Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, for heaven's sake...and for a nation obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, it's a crying shame Cumberbatch's Sherlock isn't there yet. Or even him in general - I mean, he's practically the best thing Britain has at the moment!

Here's an interesting link with a picture.

Art and Dedication

Benedict Cumberbatch has some super-talented fans.

A painting of his "Khan" by the very, very talented Yori Narpati:

A pencil-sketch of his "Sherlock" by the particle physicist (!!!) Suprabh Prakash:

A rendition of his "Hawking" by the lovely "Lulock":

One of his Christopher Tietjens by Planet715:

Marvellous dedication to a marvellous man.

Of course, there are many, many more...just hop over to tumblr or fanpop and you'd be amazed at the level of artistry.

Sherlocked.

*sigh*

I'm supposed to write a Sherlock Holmes play. Looking for inspiration.

This is lovely (from Sherlockology), but I need more material. Problem is, I am expected to write a period drama, with the Holmes of old, and I've come to think of Sherlock as Benedict Cumberbatch's avatar.

Perhaps I should try and convince the others to think about a modern Sherlock. But then, they'll say that there's too much of it at the moment, with Sherlock on one hand and Elementary on the other.

I need to stay up for a couple of hours and I'm feeling terribly sleepy. Why is it that when you need to stay up you feel sleepy the most?

Sherlock Episode 3 Season 3 will probably begin shooting in July/August. Hope they release it by fall - I know they said they won't, but I really hope they do. It is an excruciating wait, and while Sir Benedict is fantastic in a lot of places, nothing beats Sherlock.

I'm all SHERLOCKED. God help me.

How do I begin my play? Should I have an adventuress fall into Sherlock's arms much to his consternation and the bemusement of John? Or maybe Jane Doe could be a schizophrenic murderer? Should I take a page from Elementary and give him a female Moriarty? Nah. I'll use the hiatus.

I can imagine the start of the story on John's blog -

"Sherlock is not bad to look at, but it is not often that pretty young women fall at his feet. Jane Doe, however, did so. Literally.

Me and Sherlock were on our way back to Baker Street after an "absurdly simple" case (according to Sherlock, anyway; I thought it was at least an 8) which ended with Sherlock reducing two policemen to tears, when a rather attractive young woman came running at us. She skidded to a halt in front of Sherlock, grinned beatifically and threw her arms around his neck with an "Oh, darling!"

I don't think I have seen Sherlock look so flabbergasted before. He shot me a pleading a look and tried to disengage himself, but Jane Doe fainted at his feet."

A weakness?

Apparently Sir Benedict Cumberbatch has a "weakness" - he finds it difficult to learn by rote.

Er...is that supposed to be a weakness? Most seriously high-IQ people I know can't learn by rote - well, other than the ones that have synaesthesia or an eidetic memory - but that's not learning by rote; that's an additional gift.

The very fact that Benedict Cumberbatch assimilates and performs the chain of deduction that flash lightning-fast through Sherlock's brain is an attestation to his brilliance. This man is a genius.

What is our fascination with weaknesses, frailties, vulnerabilities? Why do we need to know? Why can't we just let him be the demi-God like persona he appears to be and worship him from afar?

When we deify someone, we blow them out of proportion so much that when it turns out that they're only human, we're sorely disappointed and want to bring them down. It is despicable.

Let the man live in peace, really. Admire him for his brilliance, for his talent and let him have his privacy. He deserves his life, too. He deserves to be happy, too.

The brilliance of Cumberbatch

This is going to be a sappy fangirl post.

I've just seen Episode 2 of Parade's End. While it pains me to admit that I identify with Sylvia (it is uncanny, really)...Benedict Cumberbatch as Christopher Tietjens is nothing short of brilliant.

Just last night, an old friend and I were discussing Star Trek, Sherlock and the general awesomeness of our dear Mr. Cumberbatch. It was a maudlin discussion that started out with a panicked call from another friend to me looking for late-night hearse services for his aunt who had just passed away, which led me to delve into my network of friends familiar with the required city...and this old friend (he's always been bit of a life-saver for me) came to the rescue and my bereaved friend (let's call him BD) was put in touch with the right people.

So, the old friend (let's call him OD) and I were up for a bit chatting across BBM (I don't think either of us would admit it, but it was probably because we were waiting to hear from BD that all funeral arrangements were in order) before we retired. (Well, I also had a bit of editing to do, but that's a different issue.) So, obviously, "hearse" lead to "The Empty Hearse" and to Sherlock (we're both Sherlock crazy) and Star Trek: Into Darkness. He said Cumberbatch was a brilliant Khan, and I echoed his thoughts. Then OD texted a prophecy - "If he doesn't get distracted (or led astray) on the way, Benedict Cumberbatch is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest phenomena in acting the world has ever seen." However, OD went on to express his fear that Cumberbatch may be typecast into the brainy/bad guy mould - which would be a crying shame, because the man is so, so talented and can play a humongous range of characters - from the goofy Martin Crieff (Cabin Pressure) to the ephemeral Sherlock to the sinister Khan...but Hollywood tends to typecast people. OD also wished for a couple of no-brainer rom-com Hollywood flicks with Cumberbatch in the lead (with a gorgeous actress as a bimbo) - it wouldn't require much acting on Sir Benedict's part (he would probably just need to strut around looking internationally handsome), but it would firmly establish him as a "hero" and then he could go back to his difficult and challenging roles. I was like, "You want him in a chick-flick?" (No offence to chick-flicks - I'm a young woman myself, and I love my chick-flicks and the sappy sweetness they bring.) 

But then I thought about it, and realised that OD's idea is actually brilliant - we can easily imagine Benedict Cumberbatch in a period drama - say, as Mr. Darcy. But him as a Mills and Boon hero? I mulled over it for a while...and guess what? He would pull it off as spectacularly as he pulls off everything else, and he'd be even more of a heart-throb than he is at the moment. He's a charmer, that one, if the interviews are anything to go by...and an actual modern-day romance - a chick-flick of Hollywood's usual epic proportions would show him in a different light.

The next idea we discussed was with Cumberbatch in a super-hero franchise as the superhero. This, I'll admit, I lapped up immediately - it is, after all, my favourite genre. Benedict Cumberbatch with a light-saber - wow, no Jedi would look as cool. Benedict Cumberbatch as Bruce Wayne/Batman (no offence to Christian Bale - he was absolutely fantastic in The Dark Knight Trilogy) would be ephemeral. Take your pick of DC/Marvel superheroes...

A few years later, I can imagine him as the perfect Bond, too. Not just a video game, Mr. Cumberbatch - you'd be the perfect James Bond. Suave, charming, seductive, deadly.

If this man were in India, a few decades later, we'd probably have temples dedicated to him.

In Transition

Benedict Cumberbatch, In Transition: An Unauthorised Performance Biography - by Lynnette Porter is due to be released soon. The cover is out - and it looks intriguing. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

I looked him up on Cumberbatchweb last evening. Is this man for real? How could he have done so much and still be in his thirties? I'm impressed, to say the least.

Here's the cover:

Benedict Cumberbatch has the kind of presence on reel, pictures - well, any media that I have come across (was listening to his Angel Islington the other day from "Neverwhere" - by God, he is brilliant) - that is quite rare and which most actors would kill to possess. The audience is immediately drawn to him, regardless of whether he is the hero or the villain. All I am hearing about the new Star Trek: Into Darkness is how cool Khan is. Someone eclipsing Spock? Unthinkable in the past - but when Khan is played by Benedict Cumberbatch - what do you expect? Of course it becomes all about Khan. He is so self-righteous, so passionate, so magnificent, you actually cry with him for his family. "Towering presence of evil", he's been called. I'd say magnetic. Compelling.

This man is amazing. Extraordinary. He brings out every character he plays to perfection - so much so, that after him, so cannot imagine anyone else in that role. (Yes, even when it is the despicable Paul Malcolm of "Atonement" or the forgettable - except that he wasn't - William Carey of "The Other Boleyn Girl".)

In comparison, I'm coming to realise how fantastic Martin Freeman is, to be able to hold his own with this force of nature. He's the perfect John Watson for this perfect Sherlock. I am looking forward to the next Hobbit movie - "An Unexpected Journey" was a bit disappointing - you hardly got to see Smaug the dragon or the Necromancer. Freeman is a lovely hobbit, though. (While I've ranted enough at Peter Jackson for delaying Sherlock because of the Hobbit series, I did like it.)