TheImprobableOne

[Carol the Dabbler]

I had to watch the videos on Youtube as well

 

Thanks for that tip, HedwigJune! I'm not terribly experienced with YouTube, however (due my aforementioned slow downloads) -- could you tell me how to make sure I've found those particular videos?

 

Thanks! I will comment on the rest of your post once I've watched them.

[HedwigJune]

Oh, sorry, Carol. Here are the links:

 

(Moriarty's post): http://www.youtube.c...h?v=enIwRGc8XlM

[HedwigJune]

Media Coverage video:

[HedwigJune]

Jacob Sowersby, the fanboy:

[HedwigJune]

Carol, while I'm at it, I'll add the direct links to the other official websites:

 

http://www.mollyhooper.co.uk/

 

http://www.connieprince.co.uk/

 

https://twitter.com/#!/TheWhipHand

[Dexter]

Would Dr. Frankland have offered SH a room in his flat? Does not make sense; Frankland does not even live in London, does he?

[HedwigJune]

Would Dr. Frankland have offered SH a room in his flat? Does not make sense; Frankland does not even live in London, does he?

 

Excellent point, Dexter! Unless Frankland was rich enough to live both out in Dartmoor, and keep a flat in London. Perhaps he had held onto that extra flat after he moved to Dartmoor, and wanted to rent it out to Sherlock...gah my brain!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks for the additional links, HedwigJune (say, can we call you Hedwig for short, or HJ?).

 

... The videos are another argument for the validity of the blogs: someone would have had to go onto the set, write the script, hire the actors, shoot the vids, and then post it online. It is highly improbable that these blogs were not the result of intense collaboration between the site-makers and the show-writers.

 

Jacob's 2-minute video took 44 minutes to download, but at least I was able to slide the little white circle back to the left for a straight-through replay (which doesn't always work for me). I can see how John would be flattered on Sherlock's behalf, but nevertheless I thought his words to Jacob were very kind (again, very John-like). I wonder how many of us have a photo of ourselves standing on that doorstep? (I took a couple pictures of my husband there last summer.)

 

OK, I'm back after watching Moriarty's video, which I assume is the main one that you're citing as evidence of collaboration. I agree, they had access to the Baker Street set, and apparently borrowed Andrew Scott as well (though it's hard to be sure of that, since Moriarty was sort of mumbling). So there was at least a certain amount of cooperation. Although I don't see this as proof of a close collaboration between the BBC and M&G's people, I certainly don't see any evidence that M&G's people were NOT heavily involved with the blog, either. I would love to see a statement from them regarding the "canon-ness" of all these blogs!

 

And now for the news! (I was relieved to realize that the "08:56" was supposed to be the time of day, and the video is actually less than 2 minutes long.) The BBC was, of course, able to manufacture a very credible fake newscast. As you noted, there is no mention of the death of Jim Moriarty (or Richard Brook). The crawl at the bottom of the screen, by the way, includes two Sherlock-related items: "Further protests at Dartmoor research facility over animal [sic]," and "Killer of TV star Connie Prince launches appeal."

 

According to several comments on those YouTube pages, the reason neither of us could watch the videos directly from the BBC site is that they only allow people in the UK to watch -- concerned, perhaps, that the worldwide fan population could swamp their resources. So a big thank-you to the British fan(s) who posted those videos on YouTube! I see there's also an interview where "The delightful Una Stubbs talks about Sherlock and her career." It's almost seven minutes long, though, so I'll let it download while I do some other things for two or three hours -- then hope it will replay for me.

[HedwigJune]

Carol,

Yes, of course you may call me Hedwig Thank you so much for taking the time to watch all those videos!

I agree - everyone is definitely "in character", after browsing fanfic, I think the consensus among the fans is that the BBC blogs are canon. I tweeted Steven, so we'll see if he replies

Let me know what you think of the other websites I linked to, particularly Molly's blog...I nearly suffocated from laughter at the comments on one of her posts. You'll know which one I'm talking about when you read it

Edited June 21, 2012 by Undead Medic
Removed HTML entities.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Now that's an idea that would never have occurred to me, Hedwig -- please do let us know when/if/how Mr. Moffat replies. And if I read some of the other blogs, I'll definitely come back here and let you know what I think.

 

The Una Stubbs video really was delightful. She said that "the boys" keep trying to shock her, forgetting that she used to be a chorus girl in the Folies Bergere -- and so is not easily shocked!

 

By the way, it looks like the text editor was mad at you last time you posted. You may be able to fix it by editing out the codes that are showing. Or you may need to switch to the other editor.

[HedwigJune]

Thanks Carol - I was using my phone to write last night, so maybe that's where it messed up. Thanks, Medic, for fixing that for me. I haven't watched Una's video, but I certainly will tonight! I doubt he'll reply - he generally only re-tweets to wish people a happy birthday and so on. I will try and find out what the official consensus is among the fandom regarding the canonicity of BBC publishings.

[HedwigJune]

Here is a rather excellent blog post: http://finalproblem.tumblr.com/post/15313777538/ellipsis-sherlockians-something-that-hasnt-been

 

Pretty much all that's done is eliminate every single character we've met so far, but they do list the personality traits of our Mystery Character. Please, dear god, let it not be Anderson. That would be like making Gimli into a Ring Bearer.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, I'd way rather trust The Ring to Gimli than to Anderson!!! (But that's not what you meant, I know.)

 

Anyhow, interesting page -- but Arrggghh! Tumblr! Possibly an even worse challenge to us bandwidth-impaired than YouTube! It's bad enough that most of the comments consist of "likes" and "reposts" -- but then as soon as one of them starts to sound interesting, it goes and wanders off into cyberspace somewhere. What the heck does one need to do to read the end of a comment? Help, please!

 

P.S.: I agree that Anonymous sounds a whole lot more like Moriarty than TIO does. Hmm, just noticed that -- "his" initials are Spanish for "uncle" -- if that means anything.

[HedwigJune]

Haha I meant from a storytelling point of view: taking a mainly comic-relief character and giving them a crucial role to the plot. Granted, JKR has done this....but still.

[Alice Holmes]

I think we need a little assistance with the text formatting over here...Maybe it's just my computer. Anyone else only seeing things in one line down the screen in this thread?

 

And then again, as soon as I posted this, everything was fine. Probably my dodgy computer...still though, anyone else...?

[Carol the Dabbler]

... Maybe it's just my computer. Anyone else only seeing things in one line down the screen in this thread?

 

 

Things look fine here at the moment, Alice.

 

There are times, though, when the text of posts shows up in a narrow column under the avatars. Next time I notice that, I'll see whether it's in all posts, all threads, etc.

[Banshee]

I think we need a little assistance with the text formatting over here...Maybe it's just my computer. Anyone else only seeing things in one line down the screen in this thread?

 

And then again, as soon as I posted this, everything was fine. Probably my dodgy computer...still though, anyone else...?

 

It all looks fine to me... It might just have been your browser having a funny moment, they do that (unfortunately...)

[Undead Medic]

It all looks fine to me... It might just have been your browser having a funny moment, they do that (unfortunately...)

 

Especially certain browsers developed by a certain nameless software corporation...

 

*cough*

 

IE

 

*cough cough*

 

[SherLOCKED221]

I've never had a problem with Internet Explorer in that regard.

[Carol the Dabbler]

If I may dare to post on-topic here, The Improbable One is back!  (See comments under John's most recent blog entry.)

 

This new development presumably rules out both Frankland and Moriarty.

 

But now who the heck is Sauron1976?  (Sounds like he ought to be played by Benedict Cumberbatch.      )

 

[Zain]

I actually didn't know about theimprobableone before stumbling across this thread. But interesting. I don't think it's something that will make it into the series, but maybe it's part of the "background". His (gender more or less confirmed by John's use of pronouns) posts are rather offensive towards John, yet he seems Sherlock-phile and almost playful when "talking" to Sherlock ( Sherlock: It wasn*t real. theimprobableone: ah but what is real). His attitude towards John indicates a jealous streak.

I rule out Mycroft by default - even to disguise his identity, he'd never give up on capitalization. The thought of it... boggles my mind.

Frankland, dead.

Moriarty, well, even before the posts after his death appeared, he never showed this particular kind of jealousy towards John. It's more like he ignored him by default, John was "beneath" him. theimprobableone, though, feels the need to reprimand John (e.g. "you shouldn't talk to sherlock holmes like that. he is a thousand times the man you will ever be").

 

Sherlock ignored theimprobableone. John, however, shows general confusion. He is not familiar with the guy, not until Sherlock brings him onto a case. If theimprobableone is supposed to represent a character from the original books, he must be familiar with Sherlock, and he can't be one of Watson's associates. The friendly, almost admiring attitude suggests former client or friend. I haven't read all stories, but there's just one person that fits that description, and who might actually feel jealous of John. Victor Trevor.

 

Personally, I think theimprobableone is not supposed to be someone specific. Ella's interest in him and the sudden doubt of Sherlock's "integrity" indicate that he's just a troll and not somebody from Sherlock's past. If it were Trevor, why would he doubt his old friend?

If one wanted to truly put Trevor into that role, it's possible to argue that his admission that he doesn't know what to believe is meant to be understood in a different way. It could be a reference to the reason why Sherlock jumped. 

As stated, I see it as a possibility, but with a very slim chance. Just some guy is more likely. Other characters from the original books fit in even less than Trevor. At least the characters I know. Haven't read all short stories, I have to admit.

 

Long post... well, thoughts just seem to run wild these days. The wait is taking its toll

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I can't see Trevor being jealous of John at all. Victor and Sherlock had been close while in Uni but after that they didn't seem to keep in touch. The only place their friendship is something deeper is in the minds of shippers, which doesn't count as far as the series goes. So I can't see him dissing John in such a way.

 

 Since "the Necromancer" and Sauron is one and the same, Cumberbatch would be a logical guess, Carol. Anything to keep John off the right scent I suppose.

 

 Improbableone....hhhmmmm someone we wouldn't expect.....Anderson? He has had a very drastic change of heart, for some reason. Enough to believe that he's alive and obsess over it to the extent he loses his job over it.

[Janie]

Yeah, I think it could be Anderson. Maybe he has always secretly admired Sherlock but never dared to admit it until after Sherlock's death. So in that case it would even make sense. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

According to the recent posts on John's blog, TheImprobableOne is a real whiz with computers.  All we know about Anderson's technical abilities is that he's a forensic doctor, but perhaps he has hidden talents as well.  However, judging by the mini-episode, Anderson is in good spirits about now, unlike Improbable, so I doubt that it's him.

 

I do strongly suspect that it's someone we've already seen or at least heard of on the show.  It would seem odd for them to drag someone in from canon as the answer to a puzzle -- not really playing fair with the fans (many of whom have never read Conan Doyle).  Even if they never introduce this little plot on the show, it's the same people following the blog.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Then one of the "geeks"? They might  be socially inept enough to go ballistic on John.