Porlock

Oh. My. Cod. That is amazing. JP = #1 I am blown away.

I, too, was sure there were subtle references which escaped me the first time round.

Well, Culverton Smith is obviously the villain in the original story, and the plot follows broadly the same lines - Holmes making himself sick, mrs Hudson calling in Watson, and catching the criminal in the act of killing Holmes... For more specifics, I will watch the episode again tomorrow!

So sorry - not Ezikiah Hopkins - the client's name is Jabez Wilson... Should have checked before posting :D... Now I need to find out who is the other? Also, re: Norbury... In 'the yellow face,' Norbury is the name of the place where the case happens. In the story, Holmes gets the solution completely wrong and is surprised at the end, which is why he asks Watson to remind him of the case if he seems to be getting too arrogant or over sure of himself. John's line to Mary- something like: 'l may not be a very good man, but I think I'm a better one than you give me credit for' also comes from that story.

Ooh also - the client who we see briefly, with the tattoo referring to his Japanese ex-girlfriend? I do believe thats Ezikiah Hopkins, the client from 'the red-headed league'... The deduction about manual labour from his hand size is consistent with that story, as is the comment about having done something clever. Also, the character's accent is just like the accent in the Granada version of that story :D I love this...

Also, thanks for the words of welcome. I dou think you will be seeing more of me

Oh I see! Thanks Inge! In the wonderful radio 4 adaptations of the stories, it's more specific - that's probably where I'm getting that. Time to read the originals again, methinks...

*much spoiler alert* On the subject of the canaries - it's a throwaway reference in the opening paragraphs of the story "the adventure of Black Peter" - "In this memorable year '95 a curious and incongruous succession of cases had engaged his attention, ranging from his famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca—an inquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of His Holiness the Pope—down to his arrest of Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, which removed a plague-spot from the East-End of London." It's never referred to again (i don't think) by ACD, but seems to have been picked up by a number of others when writing pastiches and new adventures. Also - J.P., thanks for posting the "Reigate Squires" reference - one of my favourites from the new series. I'll add one which we've not discussed yet, if I may. In ACD's originals, of course, Watson's first wife Mary dies - though this time during the 'great hiatus' between 'the Final Problem' and 'the Empty House.' In Doyle's stories, she dies of TB, which commonly manifested as a lung problem - while in the series, she dies of quite a different chest complaint! I also thought that A.J. from the "A.G.R.A" group could be Henry Wood from "the Adventure of the Crooked Man" - another character who was tortured dreadfully after a betrayal, and returned to England after many years. A.G.R.A, of course, comes from "the sign of the four" - the second Conan Doyle novella, in which Mary Morstan is introduced to John Watson, and they are later to marry. In the story, she is the unwitting heir to one-fourth of the 'Great Agra Treasure.' In the story, Watson feels he can only honourably ask her to marry him once it is confirmed that the treasure is lost. Likewise in the series, it's only after the loss of the A.G.R.A memory stick (one-fourth of the 'great agra treasure') that their relationship can continue. The list goes on, and on, and on. I particularly liked when Craig, Sherlock's hacker friend, refers to Thatcher as being 'like Napoleon' - it's been noted already that 'the six Thatchers,' and the storyline of the busts, and the 'black pearl of the Borgias' all come from 'the Six Napoleons. I'm a huge fan of Doyle's stories, and have spent a lot of time on different adaptions, too, but I can't help but feel that 'Sherlock' is one of the most lovingly adapted versions of Doyle's originals that I have ever seen. Wonderful stuff, and glad to have a place to discuss these things now, too. P.

Hi there, Happy to have found this forum, all seems quite lively and friendly! I'm a big fan of Holmes and Watson, and, I suppose, of Sherlock and John - if you know what I mean. Looking forward to having a place for fun discussion with other like-minded folks. Peace!