I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: BBC Sherlock

Showing posts with label BBC Sherlock. Show all posts

You Have Been in Afghanistan, I Perceive

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan” [SIGN] </h4><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLea6mCqktE93d4SJZUCigp60B7efj52inFJFfOoWJq8ZfQD2ew_bvS8L-bwqM2VLWcRsXAxIe3CrgRCICWDQuD-v9JmIHMuKAFMwN3kEETQXCHHqpsPngFprny3C_f3EQnueBuy7BAm82/s750/AMS+-+holmes-watson-plaque+Barts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="750" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLea6mCqktE93d4SJZUCigp60B7efj52inFJFfOoWJq8ZfQD2ew_bvS8L-bwqM2VLWcRsXAxIe3CrgRCICWDQuD-v9JmIHMuKAFMwN3kEETQXCHHqpsPngFprny3C_f3EQnueBuy7BAm82/w640-h472/AMS+-+holmes-watson-plaque+Barts.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div>You probably know the first words that Sherlock Holmes ever spoke to Dr. Watson, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>If you answered "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive," then you are...WRONG.</div><div><br /></div><div>After Stamford introduced Watson to Holmes, the exchange went like this:</div><blockquote><div>“How are you?” he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”</div></blockquote><div><p></p><p>We're familiar with what you see in the image above—a plaque that was placed in the laboratory at St. Bartholomew's by the <a href="http://www.amateurmendicantsociety.org/" target="_blank">Amateur Mendicant Society</a>—which, interestingly, was shared with attendees at its 75th anniversary meeting yesterday. It immortalizes that famous greeting.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">“My experience of camp life in Afghanistan” [BOSC]</h3><p>Since Afghanistan is in the news again, we thought it might be worthwhile to reflect on it briefly.</p><p>We're already familiar with that very first greeting. It is the seminal basis of one of the greatest partnerships in literary history. Watson had returned from war, a wounded veteran, looking for a flatmate.</p><p>Holmes's explanation later on gave us a taste of how he arrived at his seemingly magical conclusion:</p><blockquote><p>“I knew you came from Afghanistan. From long habit the train of thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind, that I arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps. There were such steps, however. The train of reasoning ran, ‘Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man. Clearly an army doctor, then. He has just come from the tropics, for his face is dark, and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair. He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics could an English army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded? Clearly in Afghanistan.’ The whole train of thought did not occupy a second. I then remarked that you came from Afghanistan, and you were astonished.”</p></blockquote><p>England was no stranger to war in Afghanistan (nor, indeed, was Afghanistan a stranger to war). There were a number of Anglo-Afghan wars in the span of 100 years, most notably from 1839-1842 and 1878-1880.</p><p>Watson reached his regiment (the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers) safely in Kandahar, before being attached to the Berkshires. It was with this regiment that he received his wound in Maiwand, a small village in Afghanistan.</p><p><i>[Aside: if anyone ever quizzes you on <a href="https://www.sherlockholmespodcast.com/2020/04/episode-172-mystery-of-watsons-second.html" target="_blank">where Watson was wounded</a>, just answer "In Maiwand."]</i></p><p><br />
  <iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/799083913&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank" title="Sherlock Holmes: Trifles">Sherlock Holmes: Trifles</a><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: nowrap;"> · </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles/the-mystery-of-watsons-second" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank" title="The Mystery of Watson's Second Wound">The Mystery of Watson's Second Wound</a></p><p></p><h3><br /></h3><h3>“I had come from Afghanistan” [STUD]</h3><p>When the BBC launched its wildly popular Sherlock in 2010, it was written as a modern-day take on the original stories. Indeed, the very first episode, <i>A Study in Pink</i>, was a play on <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>.</p><p>Here we find an army doctor, recently returned from war in—you guessed it, Afghanistan—who was looking to ground himself in London. Over to Bart's (which would figure frequently throughout the series), where he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes whose observations were once again uncannily accurate.</p><p>Lo and behold, the British (and other NATO forces, supporting the United States) were once again engaged in a long-term war in Afghanistan. The narrative fit perfectly with the repetitious nature of military engagements in the country.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">“I endeavored to interest him in Afghanistan” [NAVA]</h3><p>This is not a modern phenomenon, either.</p><p>Alexander the Great arrived in the area of Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier at the Battle of Gaugamela.  His army faced very strong resistance in the Afghan tribal areas where he is said to have commented that Afghanistan is "easy to march into, hard to march out of." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Afghanistan#Alexander_and_the_Seleucids" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</p><p>For as long as outside forces have been trying to form alliances and cohesiveness in Afghanistan, the internal forces have been fighting and rejecting them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Perhaps we should remember Holmes's words in Chapter 3 of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>:</p><blockquote><p>“Read it up—you really should. There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before.”</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>--</p></div>

You Have Been in Afghanistan, I Perceive

“reminiscences of my adventures in Afghanistan” [SIGN] You probably know the first words that Sherlock Holmes ever spoke to Dr. Watson, rig...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Sherlock Holmes in LEGO: The Strange Case of the Interlocking Blocks

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"he would bring his little boy home a box of bricks" [TWIS]</b></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47C3Z_N5jQVTCC38UcDpU2vuwyk1veJ44zW-PuILdZZvWmVv4I-B3RgirvXK7coWig8ZztTvquhhdes4WYayDvw0MMXq4t3LAqmDvJNT6yuCAK9UuRj8diuthVFNyOhyphenhyphenDTtp8uPsq2qOx/s1600/Lego+Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="736" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47C3Z_N5jQVTCC38UcDpU2vuwyk1veJ44zW-PuILdZZvWmVv4I-B3RgirvXK7coWig8ZztTvquhhdes4WYayDvw0MMXq4t3LAqmDvJNT6yuCAK9UuRj8diuthVFNyOhyphenhyphenDTtp8uPsq2qOx/s640/Lego+Sherlock.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I suppose my association with LEGO blocks goes back just a bit farther than my interest in Sherlock Holmes. LEGOs were an essential part of my childhood, an opportunity to build all kinds of creations, in a variety of colors.<br />
<br />
Now that I am a father, the hard plastic blocks, with their sharp corners, have become a potential hazard in my children's bedroom, if I have the misfortune to enter the room in bare feet. (I'm sure a few readers have experienced this unique pain.)<br />
<br />
Whereas the LEGO sets of my childhood were fairly generic in their themes (castle, rescue vehicles, spaceship), LEGO began to release <a href="https://lego.fandom.com/wiki/Licensed_themes">licensed sets</a> in 1999, when they released their first "Star Wars" themed set.<br />
<br />
Since then, LEGOs have been a sort of barometer of pop culture sensations: <a href="https://amzn.to/3a2tFC0">Harry Potter</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2tTldUN">Indiana Jones</a>, and a plethora of superheroes have been well represented over the past couple of decades. LEGO movies and TV series have continued to interact with popular entertainment. But one famous figure from literature, film and television has never been officially represented: the great detective, Sherlock Holmes!<br />
<br />
Holmes hasn't been <i>completely </i>absent from the LEGO universe. Back in 2011, one of the characters released as part of "Minifigures Series 5" was simply named "<a href="https://amzn.to/2RayMXU">Detective</a>." (<i>Link goes to Amazon</i>.) The Detective minifigure's features will be instantly familiar to Sherlockians, or indeed, to most people who have seen the iconic Sherlock Holmes look: deerstalker cap, Inverness cape, and magnifying glass.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://amzn.to/2RayMXU"><img alt=" Lego Series 5 Detective Mini Figure" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnAMeO2dgFQqxgGymMXndYZEnWo2MjpwKwOktiZ2AjXWN8DJyT9Tep6m5_O3kTsdbvTpFohx7MJWY2lQ4qWh9a7uM7fbKfQ51MG2wgqm0O28NugtJCo5fjvffnvjsqNvc7lcN3CUsHTqJ/s320/Lego+Series+5+Detective+Mini+Figure.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Detective character also appears (as a minor character) in a 2013 video game entitled <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NgHgMc">LEGO City Undercover</a></i>, under the name "Doorlock Homes." Clearly, LEGO has flirted with the idea of Sherlock Holmes being part of the LEGO Universe. Still, official Sherlock Holmes LEGO sets are conspicuous by their absence in the "pantheon."<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/09/lego-recreation-of-sherlock-sitting-room.html#.Xg3thkdKiM9">As reported earlier</a> on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, LEGO fans still tend to push for the Great Detective's official inclusion in the world of LEGO-dom. A search for "Sherlock Holmes" at the <a href="https://ideas.lego.com/">LEGO Ideas website</a> will yield a host of different concepts for Holmes-themed sets, whether it be a traditional representation of the flat at 221B, or the characters of the BBC's highly successful <i>Sherlock</i>. As fellow contributor Margaret M. McMahon reported <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/08/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-re.html#.Xg4VDUdKiM9">back in 2015</a>, author James Macaluso has published <a href="https://amzn.to/2TbCcwp">several of the canonical Holmes stories in LEGO format</a>, all of which are available on <a href="https://amzn.to/2TbCcwp">Amazon</a>. (Macaluso has also published two different "Sherlock Holmes Alphabets," also done in LEGO.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-vGqBuKYKEzmsARJIRCkj-qnRdkPRrweprulJ3jsMQglJ_4xlJm8HsPfBHMwTCSjHLYyQ2LPv-oEweEQ3kvdgH3c0ux5S90U-Df6vHjLKR7znybzA_xO51FrG_hu_AzhSU55B80ekdsR/s1600/Lego+Sherlock+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-vGqBuKYKEzmsARJIRCkj-qnRdkPRrweprulJ3jsMQglJ_4xlJm8HsPfBHMwTCSjHLYyQ2LPv-oEweEQ3kvdgH3c0ux5S90U-Df6vHjLKR7znybzA_xO51FrG_hu_AzhSU55B80ekdsR/s640/Lego+Sherlock+cast.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Over at the <a href="https://lego-fanon.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page">LEGO Fanonpedia</a> website (a LEGO fan site), at least one LEGO enthusiast has shared ideas that range from a <a href="https://lego-fanon.fandom.com/wiki/LEGO_Sherlock_Holmes:_the_video_game">LEGO-themed video game</a> based on the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films to a <a href="https://lego-fanon.fandom.com/wiki/SH:_Sherlock_Holmes_Advent_Calender">LEGO Sherlock Holmes Advent Calendar</a>!<br />
<br />
And <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSGaIrMqrsc">on YouTube</a>, a creative animator has reproduced the final scene from the cliffhanger <i>Sherlock </i>episode at the end of series 2, "The Reichenbach Fall," combining the audio from the episode with LEGO representations of the characters:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TSGaIrMqrsc" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Perhaps one of the issues that gets in the way of an official Sherlock Holmes LEGO set is the sheer number of different representations of the great detective over the course of film and TV history. Which version of Holmes would be the most successful LEGO form? The Guy Ritchie version, the <i>Sherlock </i>version, the <i>Elementary </i>version, or the classic version with the deerstalker, who has already shown up, albeit anonymously?<br />
<br />
One thing seems certain: fans of the Sherlock Holmes mythos and LEGO blocks will continue to express their creativity and their love for the great detective in a variety of ways.<br />
<br />
Maybe one day, the good folks at LEGO will bring one of these ideas to life as an official set (or sets), thereby enabling a new generation to discover Holmes for themselves.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>Some links may be Amazon affiliate links. We earn a small commission when you buy.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />

Sherlock Holmes in LEGO: The Strange Case of the Interlocking Blocks

"he would bring his little boy home a box of bricks" [TWIS] I suppose my association with LEGO blocks goes back just a bit f...

+ Read more »

by Cory Howell

Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"lounging about his sitting room in his dressing-gown" [ENGR]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPGRLNhm_GTPzZJ4zphMqABh_fjnzKKFFrRoqGJIziReXCnUto72_-za3R0UYwpUS02-cyCgmsGSOp2rLhi28xOzSUM6ElAKujMJwhjfr772e4SEbczPNc3ErJgznPRvDmqSa6hzH9QX1/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Gillette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPGRLNhm_GTPzZJ4zphMqABh_fjnzKKFFrRoqGJIziReXCnUto72_-za3R0UYwpUS02-cyCgmsGSOp2rLhi28xOzSUM6ElAKujMJwhjfr772e4SEbczPNc3ErJgznPRvDmqSa6hzH9QX1/s640/Dressing+gown+-+Gillette.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
While the most famous pieces of Sherlock Holmes's wardrobe may typically be his deerstalker cap and Inverness cape — ironically two items never mentioned in the Canon — he's still recognized (although less well known) in his dressing gown. William Gillette (above) famously played Sherlock Holmes on stage some 1,300 times from 1899 to 1930 in a heavy quilted and silken number.<br />
<br />
But what do we know about the dressing gowns mentioned in conjunction with Holmes in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? And how can you dress just as nattily as Holmes in the comfort of your own abode?<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Original Stories</h3>
The first time (in the order the stories were published) we glimpse Sherlock Holmes in a dressing gown is in "The Man With the Twisted Lip," in which Watson describes the scene at the St. Clairs' home:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"He took off his coat and waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed, and cushions from the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front of him."</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher8X4-i48_q6wbPmwINx3kn-br_4nLGYNFQEH8U6QYLTGaGTovijDmJzg6ugULhFKpLWg40CFhsOfcml6443Sgb8uFy4Aa5AG9PXmQ2CPfCHmvoGDNrYsAMWgv2LvBC2M_8t3BaNIBdH4/s1600/TWIS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher8X4-i48_q6wbPmwINx3kn-br_4nLGYNFQEH8U6QYLTGaGTovijDmJzg6ugULhFKpLWg40CFhsOfcml6443Sgb8uFy4Aa5AG9PXmQ2CPfCHmvoGDNrYsAMWgv2LvBC2M_8t3BaNIBdH4/s400/TWIS.jpg" width="371" /></a></div>
<br />
We next read of Watson discovering Holmes "lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown" in "The Blue Carbuncle," as Holmes examined Henry Baker's discarded hat. The pair were later interrupted by Peterson the commissionaire, with his amazing discovery of the precious gem in the crop of the goose he brought home to his wife.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKv3tDCcTQGwVws4QN92m4Kwq_EG0tBifa39dO4oOSb2zJs-soXahiK_ZjJBc0dpxgbss7LEftxd7OhVlkepBMyltmhUU_tisLWZLCnlATpicb1PNGlTsL6sHTpy8MW5Ff-0qu9gxKvyA/s1600/Dressing+gown+BLUE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKv3tDCcTQGwVws4QN92m4Kwq_EG0tBifa39dO4oOSb2zJs-soXahiK_ZjJBc0dpxgbss7LEftxd7OhVlkepBMyltmhUU_tisLWZLCnlATpicb1PNGlTsL6sHTpy8MW5Ff-0qu9gxKvyA/s400/Dressing+gown+BLUE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Other times when Holmes appeared in his dressing gown were days when he was sitting idly at Baker Street, such as in "The Engineer's Thumb" ("lounging about his sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of <i>The Times</i>"), "The Beryl Coronet" ("My friend rose lazily from his armchair, and stood with his hands in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder."), and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" ("He was a different man to the limp and lounging figure in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown who had prowled so restlessly only a few hours before round the fog-girt room.").<br />
<br />
There are instances when Holmes is roused to action and, still clad in his dressing gown, wakes Watson. In "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax," "he rushed into my room. He was in his dressing-gown, but his pale, hollow-eyed face told me that his night had been a sleepless one." And in "The Resident Patient," Holmes has done everything but change into his coat: "At half-past seven next morning, in the first dim glimmer of daylight, I found him standing by my bedside in his dressing-gown." We see Holmes the quick-change artist in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>: "'Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!' He rushed into his room in his dressing-gown, and was back again in a few seconds in a frock-coat."<br />
<br />
Let's not forget the dressing gown as disguise for Holmes's mannequin in the window in two stories. First, Holmes's return in "The Empty House" led Col. Sebastian Moran to mistake the bust for his real target as "It stood on a small pedestal table with an old dressing-gown of Holmes's so draped round it that the illusion from the street was absolutely perfect." Later in the story, Holmes wore it himself: "He had thrown off the seedy frock-coat, and now he was the Holmes of old in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown which he took from his effigy."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNMRIqiRogOPyuda_LglILw_6plKz1wvXzLbyy099iIqYA0igO2Ny0eFU4Tm9tXlDUaUhJd1yw-FKqdVdBDnXMhoTKq18j42yw5hE1ke4OMNhKYwWay7_rZ65qXYqYt4BzKEUGEZFODJX/s1600/MAZA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNMRIqiRogOPyuda_LglILw_6plKz1wvXzLbyy099iIqYA0igO2Ny0eFU4Tm9tXlDUaUhJd1yw-FKqdVdBDnXMhoTKq18j42yw5hE1ke4OMNhKYwWay7_rZ65qXYqYt4BzKEUGEZFODJX/s400/MAZA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
And later in "The Mazarin Stone," in an effort to fool Count Negretto Sylvius (and evidently Dr. Watson as well),<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"There was a facsimile of his old friend, dressing-gown and all, the face turned three-quarters towards the window and downwards, as though reading an invisible book, while the body was sunk deep in an armchair."</blockquote>
<br />
Yes, the dressing gown was almost akin the effect of a superhero changing from street clothes to appointed costume as our hero readied himself for any occasion.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Color Theory</h3>
If you read the excerpts above, you'll note that there are three colors mentioned (and in most cases no color noted whatsoever). What are we to make of this? Some Sherlockians have assumed that Holmes owned more than one dressing gown (see "Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)," S.F. Blake, <i>The Baker Street Journal</i>, Vol. 10, No. 2, April 1960, pp. 86-89 - <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/ebooks/ebsj.html" target="_blank">available via the eBSJ</a>).<br />
<br />
But we prefer the ingenious and tidy solution developed by Christopher Morley, the founder of the Baker Street Irregulars. In his essay "Was Sherlock Holmes an American?" which first appeared in 1936, he mentioned the controversy<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"such as, was Holmes's dressing gown blue, purple or mouse colored?" [Fn. "Elementary. This particular gown was blue when new. (<i>The Twisted Lip</i>) It had gone purple by the time of the <i>Blue Carbuncle</i>. During the long absence 1891-94, when Mrs. Hudson faithfully aired and sunned it in the backyard, it faded to mouse (<i>The Empty House</i>).</blockquote>
It was this deduction that led Morley to plan for the official colors of the Baker Street Irregulars. From <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B001K2EE2W" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Standard Doyle Company" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Standard-Doyle-Company-Christopher/dp/B001K2EE2W/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3143120" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Standard Doyle Company</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3143120" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7&_cb=1450763412314" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> by Steven Rothman, BSI, 2s. ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>"), Morley wrote to Helen Hare on December 15, 1949:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
"I want to sell the BSI boys the idea of adopting <i>colors</i> for the club: to be shewn in either a rosette for the lapel, or even in a necktie. The colors, of course, to be<br />
<i>Purple, Blue and Mouse</i><br />
these being the three shades through which Sherlock's dressing gown passed in its fadings. A fine rich purple; a pleasing "electric blue" (like the dress Violet Hunter had to wear in Copper Beeches!); and then a furry, soft, comfortable mouselike gray. . . . "</blockquote>
Then came the official <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1950-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">announcement at the 1950 BSI Dinner</a>. And the ties (and rosettes!) are still in use today, available to investitured Baker Street Irregulars.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YQV3E1MvxZKPZsN8PqLy05hBPZl3UNbarYhLP5XDWbIfoRm-Hcm6t-Psp3FhgmdU2vXZcQtihXnjcX5DaZhxp_J7iUOB3I0K0H14eoi9hQj3IwBbzt1eOdnsf4CqZHfA-aStyi-h16w9/s1600/Mike+Berdan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YQV3E1MvxZKPZsN8PqLy05hBPZl3UNbarYhLP5XDWbIfoRm-Hcm6t-Psp3FhgmdU2vXZcQtihXnjcX5DaZhxp_J7iUOB3I0K0H14eoi9hQj3IwBbzt1eOdnsf4CqZHfA-aStyi-h16w9/s640/Mike+Berdan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Berdan, BSI ("Henri Murger") sports the official BSI tie. Hear Mike on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose03" target="_blank">IHOSE #3</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Listen to us discuss dressing gowns and the color theory on <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles10" target="_blank">Trifles</a>:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/311308311&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<h3>
Get Your Own Dressing Gown</h3>
If you like the idea of lounging about in a dressing gown like Holmes, there's good news: <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/" target="_blank">Derek Rose</a>, purveyor of fine nightwear, once recommended <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/news/sherlock-holmes-dressing-gowns/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes' Dressing Gowns</a> (link now dead). Some of these styles were worn by Benedict Cumberbatch in <i>Sherlock</i>. Others are reminiscent of Sherlocks past.<br />
<br />
[Fair warning: these are not for the faint of budget. But they are extraordinarily beautiful and we outline them below. Click each image to enlarge.]<br />
<br />
You could start with the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-lincoln-11-pure-herringbone-wool-navy.html">Lincoln II</a>, a grey wool herringbone with navy trim.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbilVDuSgzBD8QPihbGbZmKG8yC2IwGEkGpu98jD1YewZl-yKHlndVUYvS4IEzrjZWMVceA6JU1JZYKdqCItKY4KGjCqaNauDr_yaIGGRBZatFhhRqtHhwZnq_J2Iv-M4t8amtKB5prqsh/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbilVDuSgzBD8QPihbGbZmKG8yC2IwGEkGpu98jD1YewZl-yKHlndVUYvS4IEzrjZWMVceA6JU1JZYKdqCItKY4KGjCqaNauDr_yaIGGRBZatFhhRqtHhwZnq_J2Iv-M4t8amtKB5prqsh/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0EefdPBJ_8q6Y2jOijQKM1AIchxOISGNJ-ll3DwkAVKeOOxUC39NncF9opdVM-TBqpsfpW6YRr8vdTze7pi3FivPYWTzgln3dhvRqsyoYZUysgz2H2FsSlMLMH1RzjKGmKniMJ7sIRfg/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0EefdPBJ_8q6Y2jOijQKM1AIchxOISGNJ-ll3DwkAVKeOOxUC39NncF9opdVM-TBqpsfpW6YRr8vdTze7pi3FivPYWTzgln3dhvRqsyoYZUysgz2H2FsSlMLMH1RzjKGmKniMJ7sIRfg/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/us/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-westminster-2-pure-wool-navy.html" target="_blank">Westminster</a> is a navy blue number, in pure wool with a piped finish.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKVNNgObQKQsqgKk_IvzVKgox3Q_UPlhgS-ieKvsf6Z8LImlreRrx4Jpb_L8dH6P3ev2waNkc6OzBo84IXR_byvvGtIaDRPuQdWQKg1JubQrzRQGvZvteXiZX3A6M6ow1kx8_Co0QCZS/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKVNNgObQKQsqgKk_IvzVKgox3Q_UPlhgS-ieKvsf6Z8LImlreRrx4Jpb_L8dH6P3ev2waNkc6OzBo84IXR_byvvGtIaDRPuQdWQKg1JubQrzRQGvZvteXiZX3A6M6ow1kx8_Co0QCZS/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuraM_BmZ7gpnfxHy9wM4WC2q1Ni5mSuiYUhfLtZ9gOuvVOaQhd1Q_81W81qoTeOGJib_Jcd5KhvozWLwb6V_OQLrXjKu3UMTbDTftrAzo1fpRSJRagz99cIatSjm6BnebGxDf2bsdmDZ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuraM_BmZ7gpnfxHy9wM4WC2q1Ni5mSuiYUhfLtZ9gOuvVOaQhd1Q_81W81qoTeOGJib_Jcd5KhvozWLwb6V_OQLrXjKu3UMTbDTftrAzo1fpRSJRagz99cIatSjm6BnebGxDf2bsdmDZ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
If looking like Benedict Cumberbatch is more your style, then you need the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/nightwear/mens-nightwear/mens-dressing-gowns/mens-piped-dressing-gown-woburn-8-pure-silk-satin-stripe-navy.html" target="_blank">Woburn</a> in striped blue silk for £308.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTEc1k6NSEmnT5VlMVyfHRPrTwHphwZ2YuRrPUkmIF4i5WMEm9CnkfLT9tsciaJ9buWIrtQxZspXEYi4xrGwGVQQhw3aNvA6F-DgktyNmi5_b9HMj6qXkJt3cmAuTgQLL_LlRyaqtr_lJ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTEc1k6NSEmnT5VlMVyfHRPrTwHphwZ2YuRrPUkmIF4i5WMEm9CnkfLT9tsciaJ9buWIrtQxZspXEYi4xrGwGVQQhw3aNvA6F-DgktyNmi5_b9HMj6qXkJt3cmAuTgQLL_LlRyaqtr_lJ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn.jpg" width="240" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLstusDT6z3bu7QNjXSRfn4ByD7pNvHybLA_MIJFARIv6uAD3OFWLK2jFNCw5hHDnyvLgh2zd1mztSRx5H1KxmOYOT6yVVqqp5uSFqJi9nQHSBuIUZ_aUOOB0q-BpU2LjG6r9oN1jhXkMD/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLstusDT6z3bu7QNjXSRfn4ByD7pNvHybLA_MIJFARIv6uAD3OFWLK2jFNCw5hHDnyvLgh2zd1mztSRx5H1KxmOYOT6yVVqqp5uSFqJi9nQHSBuIUZ_aUOOB0q-BpU2LjG6r9oN1jhXkMD/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Or maybe you'd like to channel your inner William Gillette with the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-verona-47-pure-silk-jacquard-navy.html">Verona 47</a>, an embroidered pure silk jacquard robe.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKFISOCPQ1NmLx3lazrV4dT-H69rbZ38P-4SKx_LRUh2mHd4ZpTzkWXvUax9V84a0VBZhSVPClDmG9tCm3pTSwZR9J6W884O8vaeeBAhS44LBIQFyyDjnVMZ-EkCMO_14uXdCLcnbuRtQ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKFISOCPQ1NmLx3lazrV4dT-H69rbZ38P-4SKx_LRUh2mHd4ZpTzkWXvUax9V84a0VBZhSVPClDmG9tCm3pTSwZR9J6W884O8vaeeBAhS44LBIQFyyDjnVMZ-EkCMO_14uXdCLcnbuRtQ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvL_E99qP6T5L191DVtEFW7RdBpMAXT7a03mgVguiBiZaxHYDqU-ScfwuBTbdRel3yNCy7VkxxXSx7wxmhV8qVJKhQIhb0LWn2VcvzrGIyhGy8MpiU9bnPO-7pfA008z9md7puKBamUrb0/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvL_E99qP6T5L191DVtEFW7RdBpMAXT7a03mgVguiBiZaxHYDqU-ScfwuBTbdRel3yNCy7VkxxXSx7wxmhV8qVJKhQIhb0LWn2VcvzrGIyhGy8MpiU9bnPO-7pfA008z9md7puKBamUrb0/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And for those who really want to go upscale, there's the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/us/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-blandford-merino-cashmere-check-charcoal.html">Blandford</a>, a merino cashmere check in charcoal.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQp9kPmjr-iYOETlibV1dAsHd8ugNbcfRRDRNz8aFGn0SLI947iLInvjZsWktKWlHAsgj9qRqGmmSa8M8R61XLMLa8btzM3pMFmEyDx_puaE3RqrKO1yeZamYilntUFTj1OKlsDUMRssqE/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQp9kPmjr-iYOETlibV1dAsHd8ugNbcfRRDRNz8aFGn0SLI947iLInvjZsWktKWlHAsgj9qRqGmmSa8M8R61XLMLa8btzM3pMFmEyDx_puaE3RqrKO1yeZamYilntUFTj1OKlsDUMRssqE/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu7e3dUgAY2PKCi10i55m1QPB6JRzmSZpt5vktT2eu6GWnUKr1J9mwG6xMZ4sl2QLsrqNyLuV6VAtLlwqzJfBwBbhGH63Qk1ZYEjow6I8FXuw7S6NYW3FObXvidQ70Vcy_4JwjAQtBSTD/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu7e3dUgAY2PKCi10i55m1QPB6JRzmSZpt5vktT2eu6GWnUKr1J9mwG6xMZ4sl2QLsrqNyLuV6VAtLlwqzJfBwBbhGH63Qk1ZYEjow6I8FXuw7S6NYW3FObXvidQ70Vcy_4JwjAQtBSTD/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
However, if you're prone to the reality of most budget-minded Sherlockians, there was once a way to get all three of Holmes's dressing gown colors for less than the cost of any of the Derek Rose gowns above. Admittedly, it's more of a robe than a dressing gown. If a few years ago, if you ventured to your local Costco Wholesale, you could have found plush robes in — get this — <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%E2%80%99-Plush-Full-Zip-Robe-Purple.product.100219543.html" target="_blank">purple</a>, <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%e2%80%99-Plush-Robe-Blue.product.100159578.html" target="_blank">blue</a> and <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%E2%80%99-Plush-Full-Zip-Robe-Gray.product.100219537.html" target="_blank">gray</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMBA-yoimDzjU1VO2GDmBlSfXw9fOySsjy_eXc6qQsZLAb4DbfV871o_8MoZb1skcUZArgGEjf8nKafroEcht2QpaCK6tMcUhAvhMoTSDPVOZmkDquGb8uVgpDPJqh0vWqZnkErIxWABp/s1600/Dressing+gowns+-+Costco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMBA-yoimDzjU1VO2GDmBlSfXw9fOySsjy_eXc6qQsZLAb4DbfV871o_8MoZb1skcUZArgGEjf8nKafroEcht2QpaCK6tMcUhAvhMoTSDPVOZmkDquGb8uVgpDPJqh0vWqZnkErIxWABp/s640/Dressing+gowns+-+Costco.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costco's BSI robes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
--<br />
<br />

Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)

"lounging about his sitting room in his dressing-gown" [ENGR] While the most famous pieces of Sherlock Holmes's wardrobe ...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Billie Eilish — Inspired by Sherlock

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Upon the day that I crown my career" [FINA]</b></h4>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp3vxvUz2TTUvQTtf2rthIHd1WAeu6aUPbcUKvthFRW5jwAI4tguebiR7K-xtljhKLCeHLyV1c6yO58fdKkR0yRV86XL1FWMSfYZ_JKLaMc5p0bcK2gN47y2JmtgIoNjemJr39YDgSb3V/s1600/crown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp3vxvUz2TTUvQTtf2rthIHd1WAeu6aUPbcUKvthFRW5jwAI4tguebiR7K-xtljhKLCeHLyV1c6yO58fdKkR0yRV86XL1FWMSfYZ_JKLaMc5p0bcK2gN47y2JmtgIoNjemJr39YDgSb3V/s640/crown.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This maybe old news to some but I caught the video to Billie Eilish's song "You  Should See Me In A Crown" on Friday, June 7, and the lyrics and video imagery seemed partially  inspired by BBC <i>Sherlock's</i> "Reichenbach Fall" episode. Sure enough, in the time it takes to type "billie eilish you should see me in a crown bbc sherlock" into Google and read <a href="https://genius.com/a/billie-eilish-s-new-single-you-should-see-me-in-a-crown-is-inspired-by-an-episode-of-bbc-s-sherlock">the first item listed</a>, my hunch was confirmed.<br />
<br />
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell was born on December 18, 2001. Home schooled by parents who work in the entertainment industry. She told <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/billie-eilish-pops-next-it-girl">Vogue</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I’ve been in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus since I was 8. And my  brother [Finneas O'Connell, born July 30, 1997] has as well. That’s where I’ve gotten all my singing technique,  even though it’s mostly choral stuff. It’s helped me learn the proper  way to sing and not ruin my voice completely. But I’ve just always sung,  all the time. I sang so much that my family had to shush me. Then I  started writing when I was about 11." </blockquote>
<br />
Finneas writes songs, has his own band and acts. He's been on <i>Modern Family</i> and <i>Glee</i>, to name two. Billie and Finneas also work together on Billie's career (an older generation might think of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTaWayUE5XA">Karen and Richard Carpenter</a>) when Billie's home-studio recording of Finneas' "Ocean Eyes" became a SoundCloud hit in 2016 and reached 84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in May, 2019.<br />
<br />
Billie and Finneas were watching BBC <i>Sherlock's</i> "Reichenbach Fall" when, <a href="https://genius.com/a/billie-eilish-s-new-single-you-should-see-me-in-a-crown-is-inspired-by-an-episode-of-bbc-s-sherlock">says Billie</a>,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"There’s a scene where Jim Moriarty says, ‘You should see me in a crown’  and me and my brother were like, ‘hey that’s jiggy as [expletive deleted].’ Then we  just sorta made the song about being jiggy I guess, and you should see  me in a crown, so there it is." </blockquote>
Billie harnesses her inner Jim Moriarty in the chorus of the song:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
You should see me in a crown<br />
I'm gonna run this nothing town<br />
Watch me make 'em bow<br />
One by one by, one<br />
One by one by</div>
<div>
<br />
You should see me in a crown<br />
Your silence is my favorite sound<br />
Watch me make 'em bow<br />
One by one by, one<br />
One by one by (one) </div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
She also wrote the story for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coLerbRvgsQ">the video</a> by famed artist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Murakami">Takashi Murakami</a>:</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/coLerbRvgsQ" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
The spider motif is also from "Reichenbach Fall" when at Jim's trial  Sherlock says,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"James Moriarty isn’t a man at all – he’s a spider; a  spider at the centre of a web – a criminal web with a thousand threads  and he knows precisely how each and every single one of them dances."</blockquote>
The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0Ys50CqO8">official video</a> for this song features Billie picking up a crown and with spiders crawling all over it (and later on her). Arachnophobes be warned; you should not watch. [<i><b>Editor's note</b>: Seriously. If you're freaked out by spiders, do NOT watch this</i>.]<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ah0Ys50CqO8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Billie's lyrics and videos can be a disturbing chronicle of the tribulations of adolescence (or as some might call it "Tuesday;" I know I did) but she has an incredible amount of talent that she has channeled to art.<br />
<br />
To paraphrase Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes, Billie may be on the side of angels, but don't believe for a minute; despite her <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pakpy9/watch-billie-eilish-set-fire-to-a-bad-relationship-in-new-video-for-watch">ethereal soprano</a>, she is one.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<br /></div>

Billie Eilish — Inspired by Sherlock

"Upon the day that I crown my career" [FINA] This maybe old news to some but I caught the video to Billie Eilish's song ...

+ Read more »

by James C. O'Leary

Moffat and Gatiss Confirm New Sherlock Series

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>“on such a fool's errand, Watson" [RESI]</b></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a5Ki30BxwG7JCjx1vGRcATYxV16faX24d3cLS8Hyn9TSJeHYZbDR9nw5bG7ArLS28VWJHmhi1BtQUPjxB_p4SxAAs7HOP5pKJcP-l2Paa6G2ydjO8BCpn9SszIzKcmEIAKi9WTSBoFKx/s1600/Mark_Gatiss_%2526_Steven_Moffat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a5Ki30BxwG7JCjx1vGRcATYxV16faX24d3cLS8Hyn9TSJeHYZbDR9nw5bG7ArLS28VWJHmhi1BtQUPjxB_p4SxAAs7HOP5pKJcP-l2Paa6G2ydjO8BCpn9SszIzKcmEIAKi9WTSBoFKx/s640/Mark_Gatiss_%2526_Steven_Moffat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In January 2018 at the <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-02-01/steven-moffat-on-sherlock-maybe-the-time-for-a-longer-gap-is-upon-us/">Radio
Times Covers Party</a>, Steven Moffat had some vague but encouraging news for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i> fans and those looking forward
to his and long-time friend and co-creator of <i>Sherlock</i> Mark Gatiss’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dracula</i>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I could see us making more <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlocks</span>. I could see us
making <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlocks</span> </i>way in the future.
It’s not the kind of show that has to come back all the time. It can revisit.
Every time Sherlock comes back it’s a reunion show.”</blockquote>
</div>
Gatiss tempered the sentiment with a practical air:<br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We’re doing <i>Dracula</i>, which is going to take two years at least. We’re not going to do <i>Sherlock </i>whilst we’re doing <i>Dracula</i>. So it’s not going to happen in the immediate future. Never say never, but no – we don’t have an idea [of when right now].”</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moffat seems to think that the show about the great undead will keep the duo occupied for some time, as he noted that they've "got a lot of ideas [about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dracula</i>]," and "need to go and sit down now and really talk about it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“But once we get moving, we’ll move fast.” Gatiss agreed, “It’s
early stages. We’ve had a lot of talks, a lot of meetings, our favourite part –
throwing ideas around.” All is not lost, however. I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere has discovered exactly what those ideas have netted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<h3>
More Sherlock – By Half</h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because of their grueling and sometimes unpredictable schedules, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman won’t be returning to the small screen. Instead, Holmes’ adventures will continue as <a href="http://www.hartswoodfilms.co.uk/">Hartswood Films</a> and <a href="http://www.chucklorre.com/">Chuck Lorre Productions</a> have teamed up to
put the detective, his doctor bestie and cute daughter in a prime-time
multi-camera sitcom to air on CBS in the 2018-19 season, <i><b>Two and a Half
Sherlocks</b></i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At a press conference this week to discuss the upcoming new show at CBS in Studio City, California, Steven Moffat joined Mark Gatiss and American writer-producer Chuck Lorre, saying, “Mark and I really felt that this was the best way to keep
the <i>Sherlock</i> brand going while we wait for Ben and Marty get the free
time in their busy careers to do BBC Series Five."<br />
<br />
Lorre, whose resume includes such long running hits as <i>Roseanne</i>, <i>Grace Under Fire</i>, <i>The Big Bang Theory</i>, <i>Mike and Molly</i> and <i>Mom</i>, added:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“When Steve and Mark came to me with the idea, I was totally
blown away. But when they screened ‘The Final Problem’ [the last episode of <i>Sherlock</i>
Series Four] I could see how it and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_and_a_Half_Men">Two and a Half Men</a></i> were bookends of
the same premise—a high functioning sociopath and his best friend single dad
living together with the best friend’s kid, who has the potential to put a
major crimp in the sociopath’s lifestyle. Throw in the mystery-of-the-week
angle and the comedy just explodes off the screen.”</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We couldn’t be happier working with Chuck,” said Gatiss.
“He really is an auteur of the multi-camera sitcom, a talented writer and
meticulous producer.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Major casting is already complete with the American sitcom
equivalent of the Royal Shakespeare Company lined-up and ready to go. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001612/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Matthew Perry</a> (<i>Friends</i>, <i>The Odd Couple</i>) will be Sherlock Holmes. “I’m a big fan
of Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Matt Frewer’s comedic turns as Sherlock,” said
Perry at the event.
“I’m looking forward to playing such an iconic character. When I was a kid, I
used to pretend I was Basil Rathbone’s Sir Guy of Gisbourne from Errol Flynn’s <i>Robin
Hood</i> and, you know, I got that whole substance thing down pat.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416673/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Kevin James</a> has been cast as Sherlock’s lovable sidekick Dr.
John Watson. “I’ve never played a doctor before,” said James (<i>King of Queens</i>,
<i>Kevin Can Wait</i>, <i>Paul Blart:Mall Cop</i>). “I played a retired cop and security consultant on
<i>Kevin Can Wait</i>, so I can probably do Sherlock Holmes, but I’m looking forward
to the acting challenge of being a doctor. Nurse, scalpel, stat! Code blue!
Turn your head and cough! Watson is that kind of doctor, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rounding out the family circle is <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4682545/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Aubrey Anderson-Emmons</a> (<i>Modern
Family</i>) as Rosemond Mary Watson Holmes, Jr. In a separate interview, the
almost 11 year-old said, “Playing a girl brought up by a brilliant, but
emotionally distant detective and a stalwart doctor/father who is the moral compass
for his friend, and who never knew her mother is the kind of opportunity that
an actor will always regret not playing, and I'm very happy to have the
opportunity.” When asked if she was looking forward to working with Matthew
Perry and Kevin James as Sherlock and John, Aubrey became thoughtful. “Oh, s—t.
Excuse me, I have to call my agent.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Widow of a drug kingpin, Mrs. Hudson, the trio’s landlady,
will be <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000870/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Kathy Bates</a> (<i>American Horror Story</i>, <i>Harry’s Law</i>). “She’s
the perfect combination of Berta and Mrs. Hudson,” said Lorre, “Her dead pan
delivery of ‘Not your friggin’ housekeeper, dear’ has me rolling on the floor
ever time! We also have Ken Jeong [<i>Dr. Ken</i>, <i>Community</i>] as Greg
Lestrade, who is the perfect foil to play off of Matthew’s antics.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One of the things I’m really, really excited about,” said
Moffat, “is that we have <a href="http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/nancy-kulp-miss-jane-hathaway">Nancy
Kulp</a> [who passed away in 1991] as Molly Hooper. Kulp, you know, played Miss
Hathaway on <i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i>. Her unrequited love for Jethro
Bodine was the inspiration for Molly, and when we found out that CBS owns the
rights to her digital image and that the technology is at the point where we
could seamlessly integrate her image in front of a studio audience, well I
couldn’t pass that up. She was a brilliant, brilliant comedic actor and well,
truth be told, I had a wee bit of a crush on her when I was a kid.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Jenny Agutter, Britt Ekland, now Nancy Kulp. Who’s next out
of the closet, Steven?” joked Gatiss.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re going to get Tracey Ullman to do her voice.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She owes me,” added Gatiss flatly, without elaborating.
“I’m excited that we’ll have <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/09/sheldon-cooper-channeling-sherlock.html">Jim Parsons</a> [<i>The Big Bang Theory</i>] to play Jim Moriarty—not the one that
shot himself—but one of the triplet brothers who are all named ‘Jim.’ We need
for Sherlock to have a nemesis and American audiences are familiar with
Moriarty, even though on our show he was really the puppet of Sherlock’s
younger sister Eurus.” Sherlock’s sister is not one of the characters from Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, although she had a big part on <i>Sherlock’s</i>
last season. “We may occasionally mention her,” continued Gatiss, “but she is
probably funnier as an unseen menace. Like <a href="http://frasier.wikia.com/wiki/Maris_Crane">Maris on <i>Frasier</i></a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I'm also happy to report that <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/03/stephen-fry-reads-complete-sherlock.html#.WqWSO-dryM8">Stephen Fry</a> [<i>The
Great Indoors</i>] will play Mycroft [Holmes]." Gatiss famously played the
detective's older, smarter brother on the BBC series. "There is no one I
would love seeing in role more than Stephen. He played Mycroft brilliantly in
the Robert Downey, Jr. movies and he will add gravitas to the new series."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"There comes a point in every actor's life," said
Fry, "when there are more roles in the rear-view mirror than on the road
ahead and the dawning realization that that retirement villa in Corfu was the
foolish dream of a young English major at Queen's College, Cambridge and not
the obtainable goal of a respected
actor-director-documentarian-journalist-author. And I can't wait for bloody RDJ
to get off his arse and make another Sherlock Holmes film! I've got rent to
pay!"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Completing the cast is <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005182/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Leslie Mann</a> (<i>George of the Jungle</i>,
<i>Rio</i>) as the late ninja assassin wife of John, Mary Morstan Watson, who
will appear in prerecorded video messages to Rosemond at the end of every
episode to give her daughter timely advice on growing up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fans of <i>Sherlock</i> will willingly look to <i>Two and a
Half Sherlocks</i> to fill the void left by Cumberbatch and Freeman, and with
Lorre’s track record of long-running TV hits, that void could be very long
indeed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>[Editor's note: always <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/04/had-fooled-us-3gar_2.html">check your sources</a>.]</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Top image credit</b>: By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMark_Gatiss_%26_Steven_Moffat_(28570196672).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span>

</div>

Moffat and Gatiss Confirm New Sherlock Series

“on such a fool's errand, Watson" [RESI] In January 2018 at the Radio Times Covers Party , Steven Moffat had some vague but ...

+ Read more »

by James C. O'Leary

Sherlock and the Infatuation with Fashion

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"all London was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed" [EMPT] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCux0-5CnL58EGc0JvlT4jP3hCLdkLTmg3ywBFJZw-mijzcX5KsRRMVUU-VCIhXK0NCJgPugvMASWxQCYM9Pjlpoh3h5dOOTaZdKHHtBFY852jBQD9nR73_TtRehfiDNWrcsa3a5KP92U/s1600/sherlock_bbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="768" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCux0-5CnL58EGc0JvlT4jP3hCLdkLTmg3ywBFJZw-mijzcX5KsRRMVUU-VCIhXK0NCJgPugvMASWxQCYM9Pjlpoh3h5dOOTaZdKHHtBFY852jBQD9nR73_TtRehfiDNWrcsa3a5KP92U/s640/sherlock_bbc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I was thinking about <i>Sherlock</i> the other day (as I so often do), and suddenly my muse poked me in the tummy (as she often does). The realization dawned on me that fashion actually plays a fairly large role in numerous episodes of <i>Sherlock</i>, and often in quite a negative way. I am not sure what to make of this trend, but take a look at some of these examples and see if you can find a deep, underlying message.<br />
<br />
Maybe Gatiss and Moffat hate the fashion world. Maybe there is an even deeper meaning that hasn't even occurred to me yet because I'm still recovering from my muse punching me in the belly. Anyway, take a gander and see if anything occurs to you.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>A Study in Pink</b></h3>
The title of this episode plays right into my hands, doesn't it? Actually this is what started my pondering. Even though several other "suicides" occur in the episode, much of the focus is spent on the woman in pink. Her pink outfit and the pink bag are discussed in detail as they give Sherlock ideas about her story. Beyond that though, Sherlock analyzes her wedding band and finds bad news (she takes the ring off a lot).<br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
<h3>
<b>The Great Game</b></h3>
This episode concentrates on a pair of shoes tied to a very old murder case. Even more pertinent to this argument, however, is that Sherlock makes a rapid and in the end distracting evaluation of Moriarty's character based on how Jim is dressed. Sherlock assumes that Molly has managed to find herself tied up with a gay man based on Moriarty's hair styling and way of dressing. Later we find out that in fact Moriarty did that on purpose to capture Sherlock's attention. Are Gatiss and Moffat playing with fashion to capture our attention or distract us from something else?<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>The Sign of Three</b></h3>
Although one of the sweeter and more suspenseful episodes, I'm afraid to tell you fashion also plays a dreadful role here. In this case, belt buckles associated with military uniforms do the damage. Fashion does not seem to be a neutral player, now does it?<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>The Hat</b></h3>
Perhaps all of this is a revolt against Sherlock's hat. Along with a pipe, most people, when they picture Sherlock Holmes, probably picture that cute little hat (I'm a big hat fan). In a way, it has come to define the character in our societal lexicon. In the show, Sherlock of course hates the hat and only wears it at John's pressing (and because the crowds are expecting it). Maybe the whole point is that fashion alone should not be expected to tell the whole story. The hat certainly does not tell the whole story of Sherlock, just as Moriarty's style certainly did not tell the whole story about him.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, maybe this is all just a big coincidence. Maybe my muse was a little drunk the other day, or maybe she is feeling vengeful.<br />
<br />
What do you think?<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

Sherlock and the Infatuation with Fashion

"all London was interested, and the fashionable world dismayed" [EMPT] I was thinking about Sherlock the other day (as I so...

+ Read more »

by Margie Clayman

Smart Women Don't Have To Be Evil

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"</b>She was as good as she was beautiful, and as intelligent as she was good.<b>" [MISS]</b> </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1QL2BdkUWsYYNe9h2VEUuIuy1TINBPgMJkHIdTzmycqQyYQPQOZQ5rnSGhtnaYvNNj_wi40CIvL_pfOS4izy0DGCW9j9Bjw2cNDzf7YL9e8VtXpXTHBHFAnc9QguyrS9IyuZLRbZ74EE/s1600/Nobl-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1QL2BdkUWsYYNe9h2VEUuIuy1TINBPgMJkHIdTzmycqQyYQPQOZQ5rnSGhtnaYvNNj_wi40CIvL_pfOS4izy0DGCW9j9Bjw2cNDzf7YL9e8VtXpXTHBHFAnc9QguyrS9IyuZLRbZ74EE/s640/Nobl-07.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of the things I love most about BBC's <i>Sherlock</i> is Benedict Cumberbatch. Sorry, I meant, Benedict Cumberbatch. Darn it all. I need to fix this auto-correct. Let me start again.<br />
<br />
One of the things I love most about BBC's <i>Sherlock </i>is that it has featured some of the most fascinating female characters I have seen on television. You have Mrs. Hudson, the matron of Baker Street, you have Mary, you have Molly, whom I featured <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/01/molly-hooper-and-romanticizing-of.html">in my last post</a>, Eurus, who came on the scene rather suddenly, and of course you have, well, <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose41" target="_blank"><i>the</i> Woman</a>. There is a problem, though. The smarter the woman on <i>Sherlock</i>, the more likely it is that she has, at best, a checkered past. Maybe more like a crazy quilt past and a checkered present.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-MTgrrefjV61nuxKlSa6j5MROxQ-_rg6l4BdK8fZVj10SCOf0_vYCncFUX8XTg1L2F8zRguoFQeSeYZ6ObpRy__1S7EGgp0x3ueXBDr3hrTEX4fylFRwCwpKcRIFsUG721QjBiGSgPak/s1600/ABOM+-+Mary+Morstan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-MTgrrefjV61nuxKlSa6j5MROxQ-_rg6l4BdK8fZVj10SCOf0_vYCncFUX8XTg1L2F8zRguoFQeSeYZ6ObpRy__1S7EGgp0x3ueXBDr3hrTEX4fylFRwCwpKcRIFsUG721QjBiGSgPak/s400/ABOM+-+Mary+Morstan.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
<b>"You see, but you do not observe." [SCAN]</b></h3>
Irene Adler is a fascinating female character because she uniquely combines femininity and sexuality with power. This is something many writers, of books and of visual drama, tend to avoid, because, well, that's just too much! Given her uniqueness, the writers could have framed Irene Adler to be a force for good, and it would not have weakened her character in the slightest. With the royal family and other top names at her beck and call, Irene Adler could have used her power to bring warring factions to a peace summit if she had wanted.<br />
<br />
Instead, the writers made the Woman manipulative, weak, devious, and generally a sour character. While I suppose her infatuation with Sherlock is meant to show her complexity, the fact remains that she is one of the few characters in the show who is able to match wits with Sherlock, and she even beats him. Why must she come across as a villain rather than a hero?<br />
<br />
The same sad truth applies to Eurus. The idea of a Holmes sibling even smarter than Sherlock and Mycroft was exciting, but it seems that in this world, the more brilliant a woman is, the more psychotic she must be. In fairness, Sherlock certainly represents a parallel between genius and psychosis, but John is his foil, and as such is very smart but not as manipulative and devilish. Eurus is supposed to be the most brilliant character in the Sherlock universe, but she also proves to be the most disruptive and evil. The writers easily could have had her cast away in a convent instead of a top secret asylum. She could have used her mind control powers for good, or she could have separated herself from her brothers in the interest of being kinder to humanity.<br />
<br />
Finally, there is Mary. While I would not say that she is a genius in the same way as the Woman, and certainly not in the same way as Eurus, she is another woman who can meet Sherlock where he is on his mental plane. She can also confidently call John and Sherlock on their crap. Yet when push comes to shove, even Mary proves to have a dark and shadowy past, complete with a fake identity and mad ninja skills. She is smart, powerful, clever, and more, but in the end she just proves to be another woman with personality issues.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>"I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule." [SIGN]</b></h3>
In fact, there are two notable exceptions to this theme of smart women having no choice but to be evil. Molly Hooper must be smart since she works as a medical scientist, but she is presented as being slightly flighty, awkward, unsure of herself, and naive. This is as disappointing as the smart women who must be evil in order to show off their knowledge. It would be wonderful to see Molly rattle off some of her knowledge to shut up John or Sherlock. You get the feeling that she is brilliant, but for some reason the writers do not let her present that way.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZb4HFwpgguK2tE0WCW-4PrkqDt_2o1GQRMD1crNSUk8-UUDQV8CUWyFPZBkHZJ2E1GQUvvr5vOFqfEFtLuxKigmbOyrZR9i7EKtkZxPL_St1898Kv8fzaHTwswko_PNsRJOG1GGN1Lr1/s1600/ABOM+-+Mrs.+Hudson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZb4HFwpgguK2tE0WCW-4PrkqDt_2o1GQRMD1crNSUk8-UUDQV8CUWyFPZBkHZJ2E1GQUvvr5vOFqfEFtLuxKigmbOyrZR9i7EKtkZxPL_St1898Kv8fzaHTwswko_PNsRJOG1GGN1Lr1/s400/ABOM+-+Mrs.+Hudson.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The other exception is Mrs. Hudson, who seems likewise to be somewhat flighty and perhaps ignorant of her surroundings, yet she falls more into the miscreant category with her gangster husband and her sordid history. The car introduced at the end of the last series seemed unnecessary, and I am still not really sure what the writers were trying to prove or suggest with that scene. Does Mrs. Hudson need to be "racy" in order to be an interesting female character?<br />
<br />
I would love for the writers of <i>Sherlock </i>to give us a female character who is smart, clever, maybe a little weird, but who is able to match John and Sherlock's wits without being a murderous lunatic. Is that so much to ask?<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

Smart Women Don't Have To Be Evil

" She was as good as she was beautiful, and as intelligent as she was good. " [MISS] One of the things I love most about BB...

+ Read more »

by Margie Clayman

Molly Hooper and the Romanticizing of Emotional Abuse

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"You have been cruelly used" [SPEC] </h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVmLHK7ko7WMYDpvzZBHuYPTyBTqYEPsef_xI-W7GY3_VYIsCAJfwtut7sDvRXwPPolHdbFkrUUmdQ5tcP9sI8XEKiJnQFNNBeti4BgU-_eJpVTYN3-ZhmjMcjORozs8Hysrgwrpz-d06/s1600/Baker+Street+skul+and+wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVmLHK7ko7WMYDpvzZBHuYPTyBTqYEPsef_xI-W7GY3_VYIsCAJfwtut7sDvRXwPPolHdbFkrUUmdQ5tcP9sI8XEKiJnQFNNBeti4BgU-_eJpVTYN3-ZhmjMcjORozs8Hysrgwrpz-d06/s640/Baker+Street+skul+and+wallpaper.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
When I first started watching <i>Sherlock</i>, I was of course taken by Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal. Sherlock was mysterious, outwardly a jerk, and otherwise unappealing, but there were little touches, little hints, that indicated he might be redeemable, at least on the inside. I was able to completely gloss over his obviously manipulative treatment of Molly Hooper, and I think that was the desired effect. Molly was a sort of awkward little mouse of a woman, Sherlock was conniving and an admitted sociopath, so their interaction was bound to not be ideal. <br />
<br />
<div>
After watching "The Final Problem," however, I began to reconsider the treatment of the character of Molly Hooper from the beginning of the series to the unsatisfying and dismal end, and I realized that in effect, Gatiss and Moffat created a scenario in which viewers were tricked into lusting after what was actually an emotionally abusive dynamic between Sherlock and Molly. <br />
<br />
<h3>
"Holmes had, when he liked, a peculiarly ingratiating way with women" [SECO] </h3>
Throughout the first season, you can see clear evidence of this facet of emotional abuse between Sherlock and Molly.  In case you  are not well-versed in the verbiage of emotional abuse, “love bombing” (which can also be called the honeymoon stage) is when the abuser will offer compliments, often directly tied to wanting something. After they get what they want they cycle back to devaluing/demoralizing their victim.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the episode “The Blind Banker.” Sherlock asks Molly to “wheel out” Eddie Van Coon and Brian Lukis so he can reexamine the cadavers, but Molly informs him the paperwork on the bodies has already been completed. At that point, Sherlock notes that Molly has changed her hair and he encourages her by saying, “No it’s good. It suits you better this way.” Molly then proceeds to do what Sherlock wants.<br />
<br />
Sherlock perpetually insults Molly as part of the devaluing cycle. He tells her, for example, that talking is not her strong suit. In “The Great Game,” the episode directly following “The Blind Banker,” Sherlock insinuates that Molly has gained weight since she started dating her new boyfriend “Jim.” This, incidentally, is another tact emotionally abusive people use to keep their victims off guard. Sherlock drops little treats for Molly but never fulfills her wishes. However, he gives her an equally hard time when she tries to form relationships with other men.<br />
<br />
<h3>
"no ghosts need apply" [SUSS]</h3>
Another aspect of emotional abuse that appears in Sherlock is what is known as ghosting. In “The Empty Hearse,” Sherlock asks Molly to work with him, but throughout almost the entire time they work together, he continues to call her John. One could argue that this simply is to re-establish how close he is with John, but in the context of the entire dynamic between Sherlock and Molly, that feature in the episode takes on more disturbing undertones.<br />
<br />
<h3>
“I am bound to say” [WIST] </h3>
This all takes us to that now much-discussed part of the finale, where Sherlock must make Molly tell him she loves him. There are almost too many problems with these scene to explain. To put it succinctly, Molly is encouraged by Sherlock to finally make herself fully vulnerable, even though she knows, after all of the abuse he has heaped upon her and all of the manipulation he has done, that she will not get anything out of it. He forces her to voice her feelings, but she gets no reward for being emotionally brave. Instead, he hangs up, and she is left with the final proof that he does not have the same feelings for her. Her hopes are crushed as just a minor part of the episode, which almost feels like emotional abuse from the writers themselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
Molly Hooper is an obviously clever woman, sweet, thoughtful, and caring. She is the perfect target for a sociopath like Sherlock, but viewers are led to be forgiving, and even sympathetic, of Sherlock. “That’s just how he is.” In the process, we are saying that treating women in this manner is acceptable and something to be shrugged off, especially if the abuser is attractive and clever.<br />
<br />
Do we really want to perpetuate that way of thinking?<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/FEftYi" target="_blank">Zuza Ritt (Flickr)</a></i><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>

Molly Hooper and the Romanticizing of Emotional Abuse

"You have been cruelly used" [SPEC] When I first started watching Sherlock , I was of course taken by Benedict Cumberbatch’s...

+ Read more »

by Margie Clayman

Sherlock Series 4 — That's a Wrap

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain." [3GAR]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcbDNdLcJn083vMySm-ULaRJb_HmZcDVytx1h0ZNcWUBjmr_hVIKqiK9wOaWmlC52y6E9EeBRFp1p3AymekO_QCl6MGjqNTkGI7NAGxmEKfbfpbXDX5Tt5uUgrW2ZbHYpacFnxcIuDKNs/s1600/Sherlock+-+Series+4+finale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcbDNdLcJn083vMySm-ULaRJb_HmZcDVytx1h0ZNcWUBjmr_hVIKqiK9wOaWmlC52y6E9EeBRFp1p3AymekO_QCl6MGjqNTkGI7NAGxmEKfbfpbXDX5Tt5uUgrW2ZbHYpacFnxcIuDKNs/s640/Sherlock+-+Series+4+finale.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
[<b><i>Editor's Note:</i></b> this is the 14th in the series of reviews we're sharing on Sherlock Series 4. And spoilers? Yeah, we got that.]<br />
<br />
After six years, Sherlock Holmes’ journey is complete. Series 4 of the hit BBC series has come and gone amid rumors that this latest offering could be the very last we see of the detective’s famed modern incarnation. “The Six Thatchers,” “The Lying Detective,” and “The Final Problem” represent the culmination of a six-year-old story, and in a way that recalls the very best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, these tales give us a rollicking, powerful ending that still manages to toss out all of the viewer’s lingering preconceptions.<br />
<br />
<div>
If you come into this crop of episodes expecting to be entertained by intricate Holmesian plots, you may emerge from your viewing with disappointment. There is <i>a lot</i> going on in this season—along with trying to solve the overarching mystery of Moriarty’s continued appearances from the afterlife, Sherlock and John must confront the unspeakable tragedy of Mary Watson’s death and unravel the secrets of the previously unknown Holmes sister, Eurus. All of these storylines are compelling to follow, but the sheer amount of material that has to be covered sometimes reduces the impact of the individual episodes themselves.<br />
<br />
The strongest standalone tale of the bunch is certainly “The Lying Detective;” in addition to possessing the best single-episode villain in the entire series' history, Toby Jones’s chilling Culverton Smith, our main characters both have time to solve a case and cope with their traumas. In contrast, “The Six Thatchers” and “The Final Problem” race through their scenes at breakneck speeds, leaving fewer quiet moments for the audience to savor even as they create almost unbearable dramatic tension.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
While some of the plots are slightly jumbled, there are still plenty of delights to be found throughout all three episodes. As always, the performances are top-notch; Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman brilliantly infuse Holmes and Watson with believable shades of ambiguity that challenge our perceptions of the famed heroes. And, as in “The Abominable Bride,” the women of the show get another opportunity to shine. Even as a figment of John’s imagination, Amanda Abbington is a heartbreaking delight as Mary Watson. Series newcomer Sian Brooke steals every scene she’s in, making Eurus Holmes a singular creation that is equal parts terrifying and pitiable. And Una Stubbs may have just cemented herself as the definitive on-screen Mrs. Hudson, bestowing the beloved landlady with an indomitable spirit and the driving skills of James Bond.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
"with special reference" [LADY]</h3>
A furor has recently been raised about this series’ similarities to the Bond films, but I actually find the season’s referential nature to be a strong point in its favor. <i>Sherlock</i> has never been shy about drawing upon outside influences, but it’s fun to see the writers stretch beyond the Basil Rathbone canon and instead incorporate elements from Bond, <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>, and even Batman’s Arkham Asylum. What makes them all work is that these sources once drew from Sherlock Holmes; now, the show is returning the favor while still maintaining a distinctly Holmesian twist in re-adaptation.<br />
<br />
Even after brawling over a bust of Margaret Thatcher, Sherlock still finds it necessary to dramatically announce that he’s found the Black Pearl of the Borgias with a wording that doesn’t sound too far removed from the actual canonical text. Instead of engaging in a philosophical prison debate à la Batman and the Joker in <i>The Dark Knight</i>, Eurus torments her brother by demanding a violin performance from her jail cell. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have always pushed the boundaries of how adaptations can pay tribute to and innovate their source materials, and their experiments in this respect continue to be an entertaining spectacle to witness and analyze.<br />
<h3>
<br />"pray what remains for you?"</h3>
</div>
<div>
But perhaps the largest success to come out of series four is in its resolution. I was keenly aware as I was watching “The Final Problem” that I was witnessing an ending that had been building since “A Study in Pink,” and one that has always been reflected in the title of the show. When we were first introduced to Sherlock way back in 2010, he was a high-functioning sociopath who couldn’t even understand why someone would be distraught over losing a child. He was prickly, irascible, petty, and brilliant—even Greg Lestrade couldn’t deny that he was great and terrible. But it quickly became clear that the show’s goal wasn’t to see Sherlock achieve further illustriousness; if they had wanted to associate him with greatness from the start, the title would have been <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, which would have instantly aligned this version of the character with his iconic legacy. <i>Sherlock</i> was not fully formed—it demanded evolution.</div>
<div>
<br />
This season was not the climax of the entire series’ plot; it was its emotional apex. Sherlock’s character transformation was wrenching and revelatory in these three episodes—he finally saw the disastrous consequences of giving into his own ego. Instead of lapsing into drug use to stave off his own boredom, Sherlock went to hell and back in service of a friend. This character finally was able to be there for other people—he hugged the bereft John Watson; he was able to bring Eurus Holmes down to earth by promising to be by her side, not through a series of dazzling deductions. Greg Lestrade could smile when he realized that his hope from six years ago had been realized.<br />
<br />
Instead of being great, Sherlock Holmes finally became good this season. If it turns out there are more journeys with him ahead of us, I know I will look forward to seeing what they will be like with the good detective and his best friend.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>

Sherlock Series 4 — That's a Wrap

"a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain." [3GAR] [ Editor's Note: this is the 14th in the series of revi...

+ Read more »

by Unknown

Sherlock Series 4 — An Improbable Truth

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"a good many of us
may wither before its blast" [LAST] </b></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT_OerjSfdVzTmcxpBqktR4vj8SGUTEQng-X0vowSJ1IHQPIH5TseJaZj8U9sDKB5lrinJfkqyYQ9Niu_eaav7pOWtuwuN2pr6h-tpz7WepJ1n28Sn_xamBvWmH4xRm5N1Vs08qSC7bEW/s1600/Sherlock+-+Series+4+explosion.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT_OerjSfdVzTmcxpBqktR4vj8SGUTEQng-X0vowSJ1IHQPIH5TseJaZj8U9sDKB5lrinJfkqyYQ9Niu_eaav7pOWtuwuN2pr6h-tpz7WepJ1n28Sn_xamBvWmH4xRm5N1Vs08qSC7bEW/s640/Sherlock+-+Series+4+explosion.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[<b><i>Editor's Note:</i></b> this is the 13th in our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/Series%204#.WIHVH_krLb0" target="_blank">series of reviews</a> for Series 4 of <i>Sherlock</i>.<b> </b>Yeah, yeah, spoilers.]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
  </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So let me get this out of the way. I am a traditional Sherlockian.
If cinematic versions of Holmes and Watson never existed, my Holmesian world
would not feel one whit smaller. <i>Sherlock</i> is an incredibly well-acted and
produced show. My criteria for the cinematic Holmes must be that it tells a
good Sherlock Holmes story. I have never seen a film version of a Canon story
get it right to my liking. Sorry Granada.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
In fact, I prefer original stories about the detective or original spins on the material. As
such, "A Study in Pink" was brilliant. There were quibbles, such as
in the opening shots the bottle of pills being offered by Jeff to his victims
containing more than two pills, and it took an inordinate amount of time for
Sherlock to realize the cabbie was the killer. Those don't matter. It was a
brilliant modern-day reimagining of the character.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Now at the end of Series Four, we can clearly see that Steven Moffat and Mark
Gatiss weren't telling a unified, coherent story about a detective but a series
of interlinked stories about the many versions of the Holmes/Watson mythos with
each episode having its own emotional cohesion, but only a tenuous
relationship with preceding or upcoming episodes, and, indeed, storytelling
logic. As an example, look at "A Scandal in Belgravia" and
"Hounds of the Baskerville" (thanks to<a href="http://arianedevere.livejournal.com/"> Ariane Devere</a>)</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK <i>(walking closer and looking down at her)</i>:
Oh, enjoying the thrill of the chase is fine, craving the distraction of the
game – I sympathise entirely – but sentiment? Sentiment is a chemical defect
found in the losing side. <br />
<i>(He bares his teeth slightly as he finishes the sentence.)</i> <br />
IRENE: Sentiment? What are you talking about? <br />
SHERLOCK: You. </div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: So they didn’t have it put down, then – the dog. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
JOHN <i>(tucking into his breakfast while Sherlock stands
next to him and drinks his coffee)</i>: Obviously. Suppose they just couldn’t
bring themselves to do it. <br />
SHERLOCK: I see. <br />
JOHN <i>(smiling)</i>: No you don’t. <br />
SHERLOCK: No, I don’t. Sentiment? <br />
JOHN: Sentiment! <br />
SHERLOCK <i>(rolling his eyes)</i>: Oh. </div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In "Belgravia" Sherlock knows knows all about
sentiment and uses that knowledge to break Irene's code. However, in
"Hounds," sentiment is a foreign concept, in keeping with the
episodes depiction of Sherlock as an unfeeling automation:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: Always been able to keep myself distant ... <i>(he
takes another drink from the glass)</i> ... divorce myself from ... <i>feelings</i>.
But look, you see ...<br />
<i>(He holds up the glass and glares at his shaking hand.)</i><br />
SHERLOCK: ... body’s betraying me. Interesting, yes? Emotions. <i>(He slams the
glass down onto the table.)</i> The grit on the lens, the fly in the ointment.<br />
JOHN: Yeah, all right, Spock, just ...<br />
<i>(Realising that he is starting to raise his voice, he looks around at the
other people in the restaurant behind him and then looks back to Sherlock.)</i><br />
JOHN <i>(more softly)</i>: ... take it easy.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
When John explains to Sherlock that the owners of the Cross Keys Inn couldn't
kill their dog because of sentiment, you could practically hear Cumberbatch
recite the Spock line, "Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
By using various pop tropes (superhero, action hero, spy, horror) as applied to
Sherlock Holmes, Moffat and Gatiss are telling different stories about
different Holmeses and Watsons. This is made clear in the fourth wall-breaking
"The Abominable Bride" which opens with clips dated 2010, 2012 and
2014, years the shows aired, not internal chronology, and with the
"Alternatively" year running down not to 1881 but fading around 1884.
<i>A Study in Scarlet </i>was published at the end of 1887, but accepted for
publication by Ward, Lock Co. early in 1886. 1884 might then be Moffat and
Gatiss' guess at when Arthur Conan Doyle first thought about writing of Holmes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
If "Abominable" was its own stand-alone episode, then a modern Sherlock
imagining a Victorian, Canonical Sherlock who knows details of Doyle's Holmes
(such as the implied knowledge of Sidney Paget) and whose mind palace has all
cinematic tricks of the BBC series tucked into it, well, that would be fine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
But "Abominable" is part of the show's continuity, violating both
regular and meta-storytelling techniques. Then Series Four makes a mockery of
Sherlock's statement</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: Moriarty is dead, no question. But more
importantly ...<br />
<i>(He raises his head and looks to one side.)</i><br />
SHERLOCK: ... I know <i>exactly</i> what he’s going to do next.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
As we soon see, Sherlock doesn't have a clue. He has suppressed all memory of
his sister, the real boogieman behind Moriarty and leaving the viewer to wonder
if Moffat and Gatiss make this stuff up all on the fly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
As Series Four keeps throwing in the viewer's faces, Sherlock (and <i>Sherlock</i>)
is all about emotion, which explains why that in a  supposed
"clever" show it rarely has Sherlock getting out of tight spots by
brain power. "The Great Game" has the Mexican stand-off with Moriarty
and his snipers end by Moriarty getting a phone call and being distracted and
leaving. The terrorist bomb in "The Empty Hearse" has an off switch.
Sherlock uses the Mike Hammer deductive technique of putting a bullet in the
bad guy's brain in "His Last Vow". He then gets out of exile-to-certain-death through the <i>deus
ex machina</i> of Moriarty hacking every screen in Britain, then having the
government, through Mycroft, altering the surveillance tapes to show a
government sniper killing Magnussen instead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The show has, in fact, has pushed the characters past the breaking point of
being any sort of representation of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. It is the
canon of <i>this</i> show that Sherlock is, to put it nicely, a "d*ck." He
unknowingly made John an accomplice to murder:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK <i>(loudly, lifting his head)</i>: Oh, <i>do</i>
your research.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(He steps closer to John, reaches round behind him and
into John’s coat pocket, then steps away again and walks forward towards
Magnussen.)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: I’m not a hero ...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(Magnussen turns to look at him.)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: ... I’m a high-functioning sociopath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(He widens his eyes and glares at the man.)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SHERLOCK: <i>Merry Christmas! </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(He raises John’s pistol, aims it at Magnussen’s head and
fires. As John recoils and even before Magnussen hits the ground, Sherlock
drops the gun to the patio and turns towards the helicopter, raising his
hands.)</i></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Sherlock sees Watson less than a friend and more as a
fashion accessory:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>([Sherlock] looks at the picture of John with his new
moustache.)</i><br />
SHERLOCK: Well, we’ll have to get rid of <i>that</i>.<br />
MYCROFT: “We”?<br />
SHERLOCK: He looks ancient. I can’t be seen to be wandering around with an old
man.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This Holmes and Watson have a dysfunctional relationship,
with John physically assaulting Sherlock and Sherlock emotionally abusing John,
such as letting John believe he and Sherlock were going to die, just so John
would forgive Sherlock for deceiving about his death in "The Empty
Hearse".  </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Watson is not the stalwart companion of the Doylean Canon, but the
damsel-in-distress, needing to be saved by Sherlock from Chinese circus spears,
dynamite vests and burning Guy Fawkes effigies. Finally, Sherlock saves John by letting John believe he's saving Sherlock from his drug use (call it the "Miss Mary Sutherland Treatment"). Mary Morstan, even in death, is
a more Canonical John Watson than what the scripts give Martin Freeman to work
with. With Sherlock making a vow to Mary, to protect her from her past, he is
in essence making John, Mary and himself a polyamorous unit and it is Sherlock
and<i> Mary</i> to the rescue in "The Empty Hearse." And while "The
Sign of Three" refers to John, Mary and unborn Rosamund, it could also
refer to John, Mary and Sherlock and their union of love and partnership. In
this triad, someone has got to be diminished, and John becomes lessened in
comparison to his ninja assassin wife.  He's someone prone to texting
flirtations with a stranger on a bus while Mary does her superspy thing <i>and</i>
being a sleep-deprived mother of a new born.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
How does the show explain how Sherlock came to be the great detective, whether
Canonical or pop cultural? Moffat and Gatiss have concluded that Sherlock
Holmes is the way he is because his psychopathic six year old non-Canonical
sister killed Sherlock's best friend; Sherlock suppressing all memory of her;
Eurus being locked away, but like
the Joker in Arkham, running the secret government asylum; controlling
Moriarty, thanks to an incredibly stupid Mycroft; Eurus responsible for who
knows how many deaths, all because she wanted Sherlock to play with her. And
we're supposed to be happy with the conclusion of Sherlock making regular visits to
play (the violin) with Eurus because, what, family is family?<br />
<br />
We've entered the
world of comic book superhero soap opera mythology where John and Sherlock jump
through second story windows microseconds ahead of a devastating bomb blast and
land in a busy metropolitan street without a scratch and left the Doylean realm
of human beings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Sherlock Holmes is widely recognized as having said <b>"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."</b>  Well, the series was filled with improbabilities, which made it impossible to like.<br />
<br />
And that's the ugly truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>