Many other people have watched the episode and have been critical of it. Not everyone is a Moffat fanboy. Imagine that.

I'm not sure. I'd expect the belt would have needed to be very tight to mask the pain, and the major would not be able to fasten his tightly.

As the show aired, I'd noticed that they had zoomed in on "belt action" for both soldiers and wondered if there was any sort of relevant link, but didn't see any beyond it was the same type of belt.

That's not really objective opinion, but borderline personal hatred of the man. You can't accuse people of turning a blind eye to the negative when you yourself are turning a blind eye to the positive vibes the show is giving. Tumblr is practically a happy mess when it comes to positivity about Sherlock. It is loved. I even saw someone call this episode just gone the Best Ever. (even though I personally didn't like it, so I really have no idea where he got that from, but hey ho, it's his view.)

I think I've made it pretty clear. If you work for the BBC and have influence then you have a few ways of gaging the relative success of those people who are writing and producing shows for the corporation. Viewing figures are one. DVD sales are another. Worldwide sales are another. Critical acclaim from those people paid to critique TV are another. That's all there is to it. Unfortunately some people think because their opinion appears on a computer screen it carries some weight. It doesn't. The BBC care about the things I previously listed. Whether they should or not is another argument. But they do. They don't read Digital Spy. They will keep an eye on Twitter I expect. And the reaction there is more positive than negative.

... which, funnily enough, is exactly the opinion I get of you from reading your posts! (No offence )

Not everyone is out to see Moffat sacked from Sherlock and Doctor Who - but Mr. Dances doesn't seem to register that. Selective copy-pasting of links. He isn't posting any links to positive feedback, is he? He doesn't want to share it. It would conflict with his self-admitted agenda of actively hating Moffat's work.

I'm not a Moffat fan boy. I don't care about the man. I care about his TV shows. And despite many flaws I still enjoy them. Same with RTD. This isn't a football rivalry. There is good and bad with all writer and artists.

It seems to me that its those that hate Moffat that seem obsessed with him and imaginings about his life and motivation. They scream restraining order.

I laughed

and yet I've never claimed to speak for anyone but myself.

Having a different opinion from yours is not trolling. Having read most of the posts about tonight's show, there are far more negative ones than positive ones. Also the negative ones state what they didn't like whereas these points are just ignored by the Moffat lovers who instead resort to attacking the posters.

I spoke with my mum and sister about the last episode. They both have the first two series on DVD but neither have enjoyed the new series at all. I asked my sister what she thought and she said 'Not much'. Apparently my brother-in-law had the same reaction. My mum's comments were a bit more extreme and I can't really repeat what she said on here. None of them like 'Doctor Who' any more either.

But the mother didn't understand the way in which he was helping her ghoulish child.

Oh yes the negative posters are really well informed. Does that include those who didn't even watch the episode in question and those that admitted they were only 'half watching it'?

Well I think it's fair to say that the new series has Moffat's fingerprints all over it, even in the episodes he didn't allegedly write. It's way too similar to his conception of 'Doctor Who' to be a coincidence.

I'm sorry but if I ventured in to the soaps forum and started presenting non-evidence about how Coronation Street has lost the plot and all the writers need to leave - because I have some pseudo vendetta against them - despite not paying any attention to their latest work, I wouldn't be welcomed.

I'm sure I could find plenty, PLENTY, of 'real people' on Twitter to back up my claims - of course.

I would welcome a new EP for Doctor Who - but it doesn't mean I'll be ignoring nonsense like this. He is not here to discuss the latest episodes of Sherlock, he is just here to tell us how much he (and all the people he knows) doesn't like Steven Moffat. But unfortunately I'm culpable in feeding him and this thread has been successfully thrown off course.

It's petty and I wish him luck with it. But I'm out.

It's my opinion - some people on the Internet agree with me - it must be fact.

Exactly, and you can actually take specific examples (who blew up the TARDIS in series 5) as evidence for this.

Very few other hits? Really?

Running did seem to be an odd word. She used it both with John and Sherlock.

I didn't watch the episode either. But I could see the way the show was going after watching the previous episode and decided it wasn't for me. And many comments from those that watched it have confirmed my fears. (And, BTW, before I'm accused of commenting on something I didn't see, I have made no specific references to this episode in my previous posts.)

How about being put there by Mycroft at the request of Sherlock to keep an eye on John, and they fell in love.

I found the whole episode weirdly shapeless, and I didn't really want Sherlock humanised to this extent. The whole Moffat 'discussion' aside, it seemed to me that the John/Mary thing is moving Sherlock into exact alignment with Doctor Who during the Amy/Rory years, which suggests Moffat has some kind of penchant for relationship triangles. Presumably they offer more possibilities for dynamics between characters.

However, I really like Mary, and I think her chemistry with Sherlock adds to the show. She's not a simpering girly girl, but has a sharp brain and a sense of humour. Clearly there's a mystery and a story to come, and I sincerely hope she's not made into a baddy. The orphan backstory is presumably going to lead somewhere.

The 'plot' of Sign of Three was ridiculous, and left so many loose ends, my head was spinning. I can only hope that it was part of a story arc that will resolve next week.

What would happen if an episode was set in summer? Sherlock's coat is definitely a winter one!

This series seems drawn out to be honest.

Instead of feeling like a series of films, it feels like plot that would barely fill a regular TV episode being unnecessarily stretched to 90 minutes.

So out of the three most vocal forum members criticizing tonights episode 2 didn't even watch it and 1 didn't pay much attention! And you expect the BBC to take your opinions seriously let alone fellow forum members? We are truly through the looking glass now.

I thought it was a good episode. Interesting reading lots of critical opinions on it.
Too much padding in the middle for my liking however it was far from rubbish.

A good episode is still better than most rubbish on TV ATM in my opinion.

Take it outside lads.

Thanks.