Baker Street Irregulars discussion

Although Conan Doyle had a great sense of humor, I don't think he would have liked Holmes and Watson one bit. He might have liked Without a Clue But the question is, what makes a good parody of Holmes and what makes a stupid one?

"Never trust to general impressions...but concentrate yourself upon details." Sherlock Holmes in "A Case of Identity".
Parody is a send-up of style, not necessarily substance. So directing humor at objects or subjects - the deerstalker, the pipes, the tag lines, specific characters - instead of style is the reason so many of them, IMHO, seem awkward and cartoonish.

When thinking about this question, I tried to identify the parodies that I enjoyed the best. Mel Brooks seemed to be a master of parodies. Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein come to mind immediately. Both of these did a good job of poking fun at the cliche's of the respective genres (horror, western). While some of the humor was over-the-top (e.g., campfire scene), in these send-ups, Brooks avoided the silly slapstick stuff and found ingenious and thoughtful ways to poke fun. I wasn't a big fan of his parody of the Star Wars films. I think he allowed himself to go too far in exaggerating the effects (the oversized Darth Vader helmet, John Candy's Wookie one-off costume).

Some of Woody Allen's earlier films (Love and War) were also good parodies.

That said, in my mind, a good parody has elements of good-natured self-deprecation and subtle humor without reverting to overt slapstick or silliness. It should be obvious to the devotees of the parodied work that the parody is a tribute and is not mean-spirited. And a really good parody will include "Easter eggs" for the devotees of the original to recognize and savor (and that other viewers won't necessarily "get.")

A good parody is tough to pull off. It's a fine line to walk.

Thinking about it since I am reading another volume of Sherlock Holmes tales (MX Publishing) that it doesn't matter if you're writing an adaptation, a pastiche, a parody, a satire - you have to really know the original material. I can usually tell when someone read Sherlock Holmes versus read ABOUT Sherlock Holmes.

proof of that read that great book by horowitz,,the house of silk..

Apparently there was a book written in the mid-40s called "The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes" with parodies written by some famous mystery authors like Agatha Christie and Anthony Boucher. It was edited by Ellery Queen. I don't know if it's still available anywhere.