The world’s two top detectives are probably Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Both detectives have their advantages and disadvantages despite being produced and set in quite different historical periods and regions. Although many aspects of the Poirot books were adapted from the Sherlock Holmes books, Poirot appears to be the polar opposite of Holmes with a host of strikingly different traits, as Agatha Christie has noted in her work. We’ve chosen to compare these two once-in-a-century investigators after recently rereading stories and novels by both of them.
The two series of stories are set in different eras and locations, which is the first significant difference. An investigator working solely out of London in the 1850s, Sherlock Holmes. In and around London, all crimes take place. In contrast, the 1920s and 1930s are the settings for Poirot’s books, which also feature travel throughout Europe. Because of various cultures and worldviews, the era has a significant impact. In stories, a character’s appearance plays a crucial role in their development. Poirot is shorter and sturdier than Holmes, who stands at about 6 feet tall and has a good boxer’s build. Due to his distinctive traveling robe and fabled hat, Holmes is particularly distinctive.
Sherlock Holmes
The New Year’s Day episode of Sherlock will create headlines after broadcast for the annihilation of another strong Englishwoman. It may have been talked about beforehand for showcasing the destruction of one strong Englishwoman – the storyline involves the breaking of six statues of Margaret Thatcher. After Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey and Nigel Pargetter in The Archers, Mary Watson, the wife of Sherlock Holmes’s sidekick, suddenly became the latest fictional character to be sacrificed over the holiday season.
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, who co-created Sherlock, also collaborate on Doctor Who, which received the other prime holiday time slot on the BBC on Christmas Day. Although the two franchises have some overlap and both lean toward tragicomic love storylines, viewers were aware that Amanda Abbington would not magically reappear as another actor as she lay dead on the ground. Napoleon busts are destroyed by an invader in the Arthur Conan Doyle novel on which Gatiss based his script. Some have muttered about the BBC’s purported left-wing slant since the former British prime minister took the role of the French emperor in this situation. However, Sherlock quickly understands that the vandal’s search for something inside his head is what drives him, not any political agenda.
The original, which frequently refers to immigrants and refugees as “the outcasts of Europe,” has even been depoliticized in certain ways by Gatiss. It also seemed natural to lead to Thatcher in a new subplot concerning the historical decisions made by a bad woman in Whitehall, but the screenplay once more chose to give the BBC press office a quiet vacation. The majority of the revision, however, adhered closely to the original. According to Watson, Holmes was “more nearly stirred by the softer human emotions than I had ever seen him” in The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. Additionally, Benedict Cumberbatch is allowed to express emotions that are much beyond what is often acceptable for him in The Six Thatchers.
Hercule Poirot
Some space is allocated to the outstanding television series Agatha Christie’s Poirot in this part under the heading “Hercule Poirot,” which starred British actor David Suchet and featured a large number of recurring characters. Captain Arthur Hastings, Inspector James Japp, Ariadne Oliver, Miss Felicity Lemon, and servant George were among these individuals. In total, 70 episodes of the series, which covered all of author Agatha Christie’s significant works, were shown from 1989 to 2013. Fans of mysteries were fortunate to have not one but three iconic television performances to appreciate in the late 1980s: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, and David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. It was delightful to watch Suchet in his role as the finicky little Belgian investigator. From the stiff, pedantic speech to the beautifully precise grooming, every aspect of the persona was flawless. Even Agatha Christie devotees acknowledge that her characters are largely two-dimensional, yet Suchet’s acting talent allowed him to transform a somewhat flat, unbelievable figure into a multifaceted, odd, but ultimately convincing individual.
The series is well-known for its opening animated sequence, the costumes and production design that reflect the 1930s and Art Deco, the theme song by composer Christopher Gunning (who won a British Academy Television Award in 1990), the production design that reflects the 1930s and Art Deco, and the on-screen chemistry between David Suchet as Poirot and his fellow actors in the supporting cast. The Whitehaven Mansions, which served as Poirot’s home, is the most well-known of the several locations used to shoot the series (Florin Court in Charterhouse Square, in London).
The excellent writing in the series deserves some of the credit for this as well. The writers were in charge of giving Christie’s storylines more substance than they already had, but they did so in a way that made the resulting films flow smoothly. Hugh Fraser, who plays Captain Hastings, was particularly excellent as the supporting actor; unlike in the stories, where Hastings is typically the narrator, where he normally remains a pretty vague figure, here he becomes a real person. He is by no means Poirot’s intellectual equal, but we can appreciate Poirot’s admiration for Hastings because of his compassion, gentleness, and all-around Englishness. It’s challenging to imagine how this dramatization could be made better.
Comparison of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot
Poirot, in contrast to Holmes, is a superb character analyst. Poirot can use certain human features to identify the killer’s mistakes since he is adept at reading both men’s and women’s emotions. The interviews in which Poirot asks the correct questions to catch suspects off guard are frequently the best parts of most Poirot books. Finally, one of them says something they shouldn’t have, which Poirot immediately picks up on. In contrast to Holmes, who always looks for logic, Poirot heavily depends on intuition. Poirot frequently uses phrases like “I was not satisfied,” “It didn’t seem right,” “I didn’t strike it as true,” etc. in his writing. But Poirot’s instincts are always right and Agatha Christie ensures that they are.
In addition, Sherlock Holmes is a very skilled investigator. Holmes is aware of everything, except space and matters that do not directly affect humans. Just a few examples include anatomy, geology, botany, politics, literature, law, and cryptology. He is helped in his investigative work by his deft disguises. He uses the Science of Deduction, which enables him to quickly evaluate certain evidence and draw inferences, to identify the murderer despite being a psychopath who is unable to grasp people’s feelings. Additionally, Sherlock possesses a remarkable memory and can recall minute details about the case. Along with this, he has established a network of informants, primarily neighborhood street kids, who can help him out as needed. Our two favorite detectives’ closest buddies are Dr. Watson and Captain Hastings. They both support Holmes and Poirot when necessary and are loyal. Both Watson and Hastings have a military background because they both spent time in the army. They also look about the murder scene casually, although they rarely see anything that Poirot or Holmes doesn’t. While Watson is a crucial figure in the whole Sherlock Holmes series, Hastings is absent from some books or stories. In my perspective, Hastings also exhibits some sucker behavior, but Watson is far smarter and has often saved Sherlock’s life.
