SolitaryCyclist

Here in Indy we have a tremendous theater in the IRT...Indianapolis Repertory Theater. My sister and I just watched Holmes and Watson, a play written by Jeffrey Hatcher, who also wrote the screen play for Mr. Holmes, starring Ian McKellan. The play is set between The Final Problem and The Empty House. Watson is asked by the director of a lunatic asylum to come to the asylum to identify which of three men who claim to be Sherlock Holmes is the real Holmes. There are shades of the Reichenbach Falls and A Scandal in Bohemia, and a twist at the end that no one saw coming. If you should be able to see this play performed, I cannot recommend it too highly. Entertaining, well acted, brilliant script and amazing set design. Theater at its best.

Carol, you articulate this very well, and it comes to the heart of what Watson does about the A.G.R.A thumbdrive and why. Relating it to the original Sign of Four is well spotted!

Zain and Slythytove, we will have to agree to disagree. Maybe Mary has had the misfortune of reading "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" or "Les Misérables" No matter how much a person may wish to change their past, trusting others to forgive that past has had unfortunate consequenses, at least for Tess and Jean ValJean. Mary is not Tess, or Jean, but the issue of trust is comparable, at least to me. And like I said, I believe in the redemptive power of love. Perhaps John's love for Mary is the epiphany in her life. And even without a gun, Sherlock is never harmless!

Actually, I think Mary was going to kill Magnusson because he could tell John ( and also, because she knew it was him that put John in the fire), not because she might go to jail. And I guess I believe in the redemptive power of love. Consider; John was/is a soldier and has killed in his career. We speculate that Mary's victims were innocent...we know no more than John does about that, and that is nothing.

Wow!! Saw this Sunday night and loved every minute! I fall firmly in the 'Mary is a victim' catagory; a victim of Magnusson, victim of her past, a victim of her love for John, and a victim of her terrible decision to shoot Sherlock. On Mary: I suspect that most have something in their past that they would rather not share with their most beloved mate. It isn't necessarly lying to keep it to oneself. Also not out of the realm of possibility that someone with a dark past would want to change that; experience an epiphany, try to change the course their life had taken to something better. Why not Mary? And what if she truly feels that the truth of her past would be the death of her relationship with John? In the first two episodes it seems clear to me that Mary loves John deeply, and given this would protect their relationship at any cost. All this may have run through her mind in the instant that she is confronted with the man that could reveal all to John, and while she has a gun in her hand. She came to kill Magnusson because he was blackmailing her...she killed Sherlock because he could also reveal her past, and it was, as she saw it, the only alternative at the time that would buy her time and not implicate John in the proceedings. What an awful tangle to be confronted with! A terrible decision with terrible repurcussions, but I pity her instead of hating her. That John would forgive her, and not even read the A.G.R.A thumbdrive, speaks to me of a gift of trust that he gives Mary. That her past self is not important to him, that her present self is. That she is Mary Morstan Watson to him, and that is more than enough. I love this love story. I loved that John seemed more a person than an appendage of Sherlock's. And of course I loved Sherlock, especially as he clawed his way from death to life.

I think they've done all those that add something significant to the story of Holmes as a person, yes. But there are a lot of famous cases still waiting patiently to be made into brilliant modern TV: The Speckled Band, The Read-Headed League, Silver Blaze, The Blue Carbuncle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Solitary Cyclist, The Naval Treaty, The Abbey Grange... to name just a few. There's plenty of material for detective work. I just don't quite know where they want to go next with character development. Oops! I should have read ALL the comments before adding mine! As you note, there a still a lot of great canon stories to adapt.

There are 56 short stories and four novels in the canon; I think there is still material to mine Some favorites of mine are Copper Beeches, Norwood Builder, Solitary Cyclist, Six Napoleons, Abbey Grange, Devil's Foot, Lady Frances Carfax, and Thor Bridge (this one is especially devious).

I am hoping the next two episodes bring a sense of completeness to Hearse. And I feel it really does matter how Sherlock 'did it.' Otherwise, the writers have taken gross advantage of our 'suspension of disbelief.' We live in a physical world, not a magical one, even if Sherlock does at times seem to be a magician. In canon, we know how Sherlock survived the fall at the Reichenbach falls; I think we should know here as well. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching Hearse; I just expected it to be better.

I wish I felt this positive about Empty Hearse, but as the conclusion to Fall, it doesn't feel like it is in the same league. I love a laugh, but for me there should have been more of an underlying seriousness with this episode. It feels like many missed opportunities to me. A better scripted reveal to John, a 'true' account of surviving the fall (I don't think any of the ones we've seen are actually what happened), and a better solution to the case other than an 'on/off' switch. Really?! And what's with running through the Serbian forests? I expected more, and better, I guess.

What a hoot!

Watched "The Empty Hearse" last night on Masterpiece, only one viewing. As wonderful as it was to see Sherlock, John, Molly, Mrs. Hudson and all the rest, I was dissatisfied with the episode. Maybe it was too disjointed, and maybe I wanted to really know how Sherlock survived the fall, and maybe a better handling of Sherlock's reveal to John. Whatever, I felt it was not a complete episode. Hoping that the remaining two episodes make Empty Hearse a bit more harmonious.

Hey there, Carol; I've been quietly lurking whilst waiting for season three

Carol, thank you! Just the information I was looking for. Nice to have something to look forward to in the bleak midwinter of Indiana :-)

Please, not ancient; well-aged or matured would be so much better (since I fall in this catagory as well ) And I loved, loved, loved the movie! All the sweet asides to TOS and the final reverse-image ending. It was brilliant.

The world gets smaller...I worked for them for 25 years. And thank you for the welcome back.

Carol, I found several used copies through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Star%20Trek%20Ismael One other sweet connection; Mark Lenard was in Brides, and of course, also Spock's father.

An amazingly small world, Carol.

I know this conversational train has already left the station, but this is one of my favorite Star Trek novels, by one of my favorite authors (Barbara Hambly, I'm pretty sure). It has such a corny premise, but is such a great story

Carol, how lovely to meet virtual friends for real! By the way, is that a Cummin's 'C' on the jacket?

The title made me smile, and seems quite appropriate, since Sherlock is very much alive. To carry off the fake death, there must have been a hearse, and it must have been empty (of our hero, at least). So...I like it, corny as it is

Best news I've heard all week!! Thanks, Helene

Welcome, Alfie! Thanks for the link to the quiz...to my utter non-amazement, I'm not a sociopath Enjoy the great discussions with the rest of us Sherlock (and Watson!) obsessives.

Carroll's Great Game is awesome! Let the poetry roll on like a river!

Wonderful verse, Helene; they are all so much fun, and by jove, they all rhyme! Some of the 'hinted at' stories are covered in a book by ACD's son, Adrian Conan Doyle, and John Dickson Carr. Entitled "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes." There are twelve adventures, all aluded to in the canon, and most of them are pretty good. Very much in the style of the originals. Sadly, not one of them mentions The Giant Rat of Sumatra