What?
Doyle's Rotary Coffin is a society formed for the sole purpose of whole-heartedly and contrarily enjoying stupid Holmesiana regardless of how canonical others consider it to be. The society was orginally formed shortly after the release of Holmes and Watson (the 2018 Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly film) as a counter-reaction to the negativity the film attracted from the Holmesian community. Originally it was about enjoying the stupidest parts of Holmesiana as the best parts of Holmesiana regardless of evidence or opinion to the contrary. But it soon went a bit deeper. We wanted to argue that there is something positive to say about every iteration of Holmes. And we wanted to affirm that the more Holmes's you find something positive in, the more enjoyment you will get out of Holmesiana. In this way, we are very much joining a tradition already created by the Baker Street Babes with their battle cry: "All Holmes is Good Holmes". It became clear that the championing of inclusivity and positivity in Holmesiana was something a lot of us felt was important and wanted to make a concious effort to be better at ourselves and this quickly became a part of our ethos. Hence the society motto:
No Holmes Barred
Especially Dreadful Holmes, Bizarre Holmes and Sacrilegious Holmes.
Now this is a central tenant of Doyle's Rotary Coffin. Originally our thinking was limited to dramatic portrayal. But it is clear it applies to pastiche, parody, interpretations, theories, societies, events, jokes, art... and any other way of adapting or using Holmes you can imagine. So, why such positivity for all Holmes, often in defiance of rational thought? There are many reasons, often overlapping, and I'd like to try to explain a few here: 1. The more Holmes exists, the more there is to enjoy. You might not necessarily directly enjoy a Holmes, but whatever it brings to the table gives you something to have fun looking at with other Holmesians. Something to talk about. Something to direct your shared passion towards. 2. The more Holmes you enjoy, the happier you'll be. If you make a slight effort to find enjoyment in more Holmeses, you've just expanded the playing field for your own Holmesiana. 3. More Holmes means more Holmesians. While you might be unable to find anything to love about a Holmes, every single Holmes stands a chance of bringing more people to the Holmesian party. And the Holmesian party is always improved by more people. More people means more ideas. Which means more creativity. Which means more creation. Which means more to enjoy, whether that is content, conversations or just plain shenanigans. 4. Being positive about anything breeds positivity. Both for you and for those around you. Negativity - not so much. Start trying to enjoy more Holmesiana - even the stupid stuff, and you'll pretty soon discover you are having a better Holmesian time. Honest. I'm talking from experience here. 5. Perhaps, most importantly, if there is a Holmes you find you can't enjoy, be grateful it exists anyway. Don't just tolerate it, you should be actively pleased it exists. Trust me, there are Holmesian things I can't be doing with. Let's call them "X". I've tried to find my joy in "X", and failed. But there's a million other Holmeses for me to go look at instead. So rather than ruin "X" for others, I go look at the stuff I do like. Not only that, I am truly grateful that "X" exists, because it is bringing more people to Holmes which means more fun for all Holmesians. With all enthusiasm, then, I can happily declare:
No Holmes Barred
Especially Dreadful Holmes, Bizarre Holmes and Sacrilegious Holmes.
