by the sea

Too funny ! I thought it was pretty odd that Sherlock was in his hospital gown with his IV hooked up eating pasta in a café booth. It never even dawned on me that it was Speedy's . How weird is that ?? He must have been awful hungry ! Personally, I've always found the stuff they pump into you kind of keeps you from feeling like a big dish of pasta ... especially "sharing" it with your current worst enemy. My geography is a little poor here ... is 221B/Speedy's close to a hospital ? Would he carry taxi fare in his pocket ... would he even have a pocket ?? So how did he get there ? Debbie

I'm sure I'll be back as a viewer ... I'll always have a warm spot for excellent TV ... but as to whether I'll still care as much for the characters and their "lives" remains to be seen, I guess. I still watch my Buffy reruns ... well, DVDs and Netflix ... although I no longer participate in any fan forums or read the steamy fanfic . Debbie

Unfortunately, I seem to have a short attention span and I'm afraid I'll have gone in another direction in two years. Having discovered Sherlock late last year and having all three series kind of follow one after the other has made it easier for me as I haven't had to sit through the waiting period yet. I'll just have to schedule periodic re-watching ... there's always something new to discover ... thank goodness for DVDs ! Debbie

So, how long does it take to film one episode of Sherlock ? It would be interesting to see copies of Mr. Cumberbatch's and Mr. Freeman's business calendars for the next 2 years. Whenever I type the BC name into Google, it says he's doing this and doing that and doing something else ... I'm amazed he even knows who he is when he wakes up in the morning ... maybe he's had himself cloned or something . LOL ! In any event, some kind of annual Sherlock event would be nice ... it doesn't have to be a three episode series but one episode every 9-10 months would be lovely. Enough to keep interest up and provide an equal number of months of discussion here . Of course, if it takes months to film one episode, it wouldn't work. Debbie

I love this guy and he's soooooo photogenic ... followed the link. I will never complain about muddy paws again ! Debbie

I only think killing CAM is drastic in terms of the hypothetical defence I posed for Mary up there somewhere. In terms of our story, I think it was crucial ... if only to get his character out of the way 'cause I can see him being very distracting if he'd been left functional. I like the way it was handled in the original ... I hadn't read the ACD story ... but in the modern version, I think Sherlock had to be seen ridding the world of this vermin ... you've probably noticed that CAM is a villain I particularly love to hate ! ... it sort of clears the way for old secrets to become important one at a time. Debbie PS ... Look at me ! I'm a Detective CHIEF Inspector now ... joining the ranks of Barnaby and Banks. I'm honoured.

I don't see why not. There might be any number of reasons why Mary killed people. We're assuming that the intentions were somehow associated with evil but maybe her motives were heroic but misconstrued by CAM and his minions and she knew that they would present distortions of her actions to the world and she couldn't allow that to happen. Killing CAM seems a bit drastic in that scenario but maybe there were other lives/reputations at stake and she couldn't afford to let the information leak. I'm thinking of the greater good here. Debbie

LOL ! Arcadia, you are the woMAN ! You can tell your mother that it's OK ... remember when Sherlock jumped off a building, he didn't land ! Ultimately, the show is about Sherlock. He is my hero (even though John is my teddy bear ) and he is the hero of the piece. We pretty much have to follow him to the ends of the earth 'cause that's why he's there ! He clearly has a place for Mary ... it might even be a bad place, but we don't know that yet ... although it certainly doesn't look like it. So, if we're truly Sherlock's disciples, we should bow to his instincts since he's the one with all the crazed criminal experience. Debbie

No, they didn't. They actually did send a generic photo and a poster with information and an adoption certificate ... oh, and a stuffed (toy) bear, which is just adorable. A colleague of mine adopted a giraffe baby as her young daughter is very fond of giraffes. The WWF had a number of endangered species you could "adopt" and, if you had the funds or perhaps belonged to an organization ... great for schools ... you could adopt one of each of the endangered creatures and get a toy representative for each animal. The best kind of Christmas present ! Debbie

I love Sherlock and the hedgehog ... they're both really cute little critters, aren't they ? I adopted a polar bear cub from the World Wildlife Fund for Christmas last year and hope he looks something like this: Debbie

That's right and the implication was that it was unlikely he would return ... so the story was headed in the direction of his paying the price for his action. Then Jim came to the rescue. Go Jim !! Debbie

You have a valid point, Zain. Of course, Sherlock is meant to be viewed by the general public and clearly, as we show on this forum, everybody interprets things in a personal way. Personally ... there's that word again ... I learned a long time ago that certain actions are wrong ... illegal, immoral ... and seeing Sherlock murder somebody in cold blood, if you will, is not going to persuade me that murder is OK if you think you have a good enough reason to eliminate somebody. However, I'm sure there are viewers who might see it exactly that way ... well, Sherlock did it, so I guess I can too ! I'm hoping there aren't too many of them out there and I'm sure it's not the writers' intentions to promote criminal behaviour in those fans who have a dangerously underdeveloped (or non existent) sense of right and wrong ... but based on history, it seems that people grasp onto a lot of fictional work and twist it to fit their personal interpretations. Debbie

I've struggled with myself not to come in on this discussion because I've stated my viewpoint a few times already and I'm not going to improve on it this time ... BUT ... Personally, I think I'm pretty civilized. In real life, so much of what everyone is saying is right. Murder is wrong. People are bound by laws and responsibilities ... thousands of years of living beside and among other people has taught us that nobody is a world unto himself (herself) and anarchy is the necessary result of lawlessness. However, Sherlock is entertainment. Personally, I find it a catharsis. For 90 minutes an episode, it's possible to pretend that normal rules don't apply and people like Mary, who have dark histories, can be redeemed by the love of a good man ... with a few stumbles along the way ! You can almost believe that there is somebody in the "Big Brother" of government like Mycroft who can solve just about every problem. As for CAM, he 's a monster who can destroy any individual he wants to just for fun and profit ... and he doesn't have to send out an army or shoot somebody to do it ... because he can ruin a person's reputation. Shakespeare said it best: Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash. 'Tis something, nothing: 'Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. Personally, I applaud Sherlock for shooting him. In the world of fiction, he should be able to eliminate such evil by whatever means at his disposal. And Sherlock, bless his cute, curly head ... who do we know in real life who is anything like him ? ... nobody thinks like him or acts like him or gets away with the things he does ... hell, I don't know anybody who even looks like him ! Personally ... and you'll note I'm really stressing this is my own opinion and I respect all opinions I've read so far ... when the 90 minutes of fantasy is up, I'm ready to go back and face the stress of real life and responsibilities, knowing I have 8 other episodes I can disappear into ... where the world is a little less structured and vigilante "justice" can work. Debbie

Just read this online: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/how-benedict-cumberbatch-became-the-biggest-star-of-our-time/372426/ Debbie

I haven't been to London in a long, long time ... although I've been there many times and admit to finding it pretty overwhelming in its diversity and its busy-ness. But watching Sherlock has kind of rekindled my interest in the city because the show has brought the city back to life, as it were. And, as Mr. Cumberbatch says, the atmosphere of the night sparks that sense of mystery I think most of us are looking for in Sherlock ... and it deflects some of the urban chaos which is more obvious in daylight. Debbie

Thank you, Carol. I was on a roll !!

Baby Tasmanian Devil ... where's Yosemite Sam ??

Thank you very much Martina !!

Ta Da !

Ah ... Facebook. I've belonged to the site for a while but virtually never go there. I play around with all kinds of interesting computer-based stuff at work but somehow I get a weird feeling any time I sign into Facebook. I see my colleagues signed in all day and checking the site pretty often but somehow feel exposed ... it's the best word I can come up with ... when I'm on Facebook. Off to Photobucket ... Debbie

Thanks, Martina. I was actually headed in that direction but, as usual, tried to overthink it and ended up getting all kinds of stuff I really didn't want ... or not enough stuff. I'm going to give it another shot tomorrow ... and thanks for printing that photo of my little, hairy boy. I used to post pictures on the Il Divo board all the time ... lots of concert footage ... but it's been a few years and the process has completely deleted itself from my brain. Soooo much going on in my personal mind palace ! Debbie

Sorry ... just experimenting. I was a mad scientist in a former life ! Back to the drawing board. Debbie

Look at this one ! OMG, Debbie ... go back to work ! PS ... how do I make them bigger ??

... like a teddy bear ! *** Look at me Martina ... I'm a pro ....

He was absolutely full of mischief and personality ... a sweet little guy !