Edward Hardwicke is my favourite Watson, but David Burke played the role for the first series. My favourite Sherlock/Brett episode is possibly 'The Musgrave Ritual'. I just love it.

Perhaps, but the first episode of the first series also had to introduce a load of characters/situations and it still managed to tell a great story simultaneously. IMO the show has never really got anywhere near the brilliance of that opening episode.

Not the best ep of Sherlock, but 90 minutes of rollicking fun. It's no secret that Moffat/Gatiss are huge Bond fans, and in parts this was Bond fanwankery on a grand scale. But being a massive Bond fan myself, I can forgive them that.

It was all just a bit too pleased with itself. And I can't help liking Elementary as a modern take on Holmes much more. But I had fun watching it. To ask for anything more is just greedy.

Here is a clip from Morecambe and Wise from the 60's which features his mother (from 4 minutes in):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sAR-IRyeak

And a clip from UFO (a few years later):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaMFYzrH5FE

Also found an article from the late 70's (with a photo of young Benedict):

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9...ojd4o1_500.jpg

Well that's just a silly post seeing as Sherlock is a huge show internationally. You mustn't know anything at all about the fan fiction and God knows what else all over the internet - America, Germany and tons of other countries go nuts for this show. The Americans I know are jealous that I've seen the first ep of this series and they have to wait another few weeks. I also beg to differ that it's 'mindless' - it's an intelligent show. It was never meant to be a po-faced cover of the original stories.

I really don't get why you continue to watch it if you are so sure that each ep of this series is going to be rubbish. Why put yourself through it? Plus is it really necessary to call a writer a 'creature'? Wow...nice.

Is Mary a villain?

Agreed. I was looking forward to this a little bit too much, so fully expected to be disappointed. I most definitely wasn't - it was exciting, witty, very moving and most of all seriously good fun! A 9/10, easily.
So it wasn't "classic" Holmes - I don't care, this was never meant to be an exact adaptation.

I mainly wanted to know how a modern-day Watson would react/how they would reunite, and it most certainly delivered on that point. From the second Holmes came waltzing into the restaurant I thought "Mate, you're gonna get headbutted, at the very least." And so he did

The Derren Brown and the Moriarty snogging scenarios, hilarious, loved it
The third explanation is even more absurd and full of big great gaping holes, I interpreted that as Holmes making it up on the spot just to annoy the guy who had been obsessing about him for two years. I don't even want to know how he faked his death, may it remain a mystery forever.

Bring on the next episode - I am loving this more than ever!

I loved it - first time in ages that we, as a family have all sat down to watch a programme as it was broadcast. The early scenes with Watson were intense, and I'd not be surprised to see him with another BAFTA. Martin Freeman is a sublime actor.




You must have written 30-40 posts so far saying how much you hated it (we've got the message) - why would you put yourself through watching any more?

Loved the return of Sherlock!

There's not much else I can add that hasn't already been said so I shall leave it at that.

The poster you replied to is a very peculiar person, and there is no point trying to reason with him. I can say this as (thank god) he has me on ignore.
What he has said on this forum is as nothing compared to the sometimes very distasteful things he has said in General Discussion.

Yes I was wondering that. She seemed very au fait with all the detective stuff (eg working out the hidden message re John's location in the text)
Perhaps she is an evilton, planted by a higher power?

Which was set over 100 years ago. The current series is not attempting to tell the original stories. It was always going to be something different.

I think the third explanation was broadly accurate in terms of how the death was faked, but, Sherlock's claim that he knew Moriarty's plan all along and allowed events to unfold as they did was most likely bogus; his conversation with Molly suggested his situation was more perilous than that.

Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

However, if Sherlocks "reveal" is 100% true and Mycroft got info from Moriarty before releasing him. Then, unless Sherlock managed to get more info from him between being released and faking his death, why bother releasing him at all? Mycroft had all the info he needed.

The only possible counter point I can make to the above is that they faked his death to make it easier for Sherlock to go and destroy the rest of Moriarty's network around the world (with them thinking he's dead).

As this is series 3, I expect 9.3 million knew exactly what they were getting, and the show delivered exactly what they wanted. If there is any drop off, it will just be because the show is on a different day of the week.

Now I understand why the Christmas Doctor Who was so poor, Moffitt and Gattis have been more interested in Sherlock.

I was wondering about Sherlock's remark in the tube train - "There's always an off switch". Possibly directed at people who bitch and moan about the series?

I'll apply the usual internet forum law here whereby the more hatred a show gets then the better it generally is.

I think it's down to the character dynamics. As it's always been, Watson is essentially us, the audience. We see almost everything through his eyes. I don't think it's anything more complicated than that.

Yeah, there were a few nods to Bond - Holmes being shaved with a straight razor and the brooding gaze over the (desaturated) London skyline, for example.

The reference I liked best was where Mycroft declared how bad it was infiltrating the Serbian security forces; he says 'the noise...the people!' It's a reference to the gay actor Ernest Thesiger who, when asked at a dinner party about what it was like on the Western Front in WWI allegedly replied 'Oh my dear! The noise! And the people!'

Of course your disbelief required particularly heavy suspension at some points; the 'unsolvable' crime scene with the skeleton would have been debunked by the thickest trainee SOCO in five minutes. Similarly, there was no way an underground car could have remained undetected in the live network for days. Even the geek said there were no sidings or other methods of concealment.

Exactly - it's intentionally Boy's Own Adventure kinda stuff, not The Bill or Waking The Dead or CSI Baker Street.

Most people know what Sherlock (the series) is like, fans of the original Holmes stories might be upset. But screw them, I enjoyed it and so did loads of other people...

Absolutely. Of course reality should be suspended. I mean. There's now way that is Baker Street where their flat is depicted!!! Series ruiner.

Some shots are in/of Baker Street. Others look fudged to me.

Even the original stories were a work of FICTION, so I don't understand the need for reality at all.
p.s. Police boxes don't actually fly through time or space either.