T.o.b.y

Okay, I'm afraid I've already mentioned these elsewhere, but this seems to be the right place: - Sherlock pretending to die, making himself appear (nearly) dead, making a touching speech to Watson in which he tells him to stand away from him and to retell the scene exactly as he perceived it. Holmes apparently also mentally deranged and crying. This in order to trick a villain into thinking he's won. And making Watson truly believe the whole thing is real so he will act convincingly in front of the villain, because Holmes does not trust him to lie well enough. Seems familiar? See end of Reichenbach Fall. - A volatile hallucinatory drug being used a weapon. Holmes testing the effects of this drug on Watson. Also familiar? See The Hounds of Baskerville. Although, in the original story ("The Devil's Foot"), Holmes primarily tests the stuff on himself, Watson joins in voluntarily and Holmes apologizes afterwards for having exposed him to such a danger. Just another example of Holmes being a lot more caring and considerate in Arthur Conan Doyle's world... - There are 3 police officers that are mentioned regularly in the ACD stories: Lestrade, Jones, Gregson. On TV, we have Greg Lestrade. - The speech about the police coming to Sherlock when they are out of their depths "which is always" can be found in "The Sign of Four" (where it is "their normal state")

Hello! It's fun to connect with other slightly obsessed people.

Thanks! Glad to find you... My small social circle is sick and tired of me raving about Sherlock, so I decided to inflict my opinions on the world elsewhere.

Of course you are right, they have never followed a single story closely. But it is amazing how much of the original text they managed to fit in and how many other references to the source. The phone conversation can be largely traced to what Holmes says to Watson on his supposed deathbed, especially about Watson having to keep at a distance from him / stand in a certain place and being told to tell exactly what he saw as he perceived it. Even the sound that Holmes makes: "between a cough and a sob" is mentioned. "The Sign of Three" I think may be a hint of an alliance between John, Mary and Sherlock. I agree that they have already used most of the material in The Sign of Four and therefore, the case in that episode will be based on something else.

Wow, you are certainly on the side of the angels... I could not find it in my heart to pity Moriarty, even if I tried. He just seems like pure evil to me - and totally happy with being that way (I love the thieving magpie scene!)

I think Irene has no other way of connecting to people than through sex. Maybe she generally prefers to sleep with women, but I don't think she's strictly "gay". She felt attracted to Sherlock and that, in her stunted emotional dictionary, means "want to go to bed with him".

1.) He is my favorite fictional character. I particularly like the combination of genius and vulnerability and I think it's never been played better than by B.C. 2.) "We're not a couple!" "Yes, you are"... Was Irene right? Yes and no. They act like an "old married couple" (and that's where a lot of the humor of the show comes from) and there is obviously a huge amount of mutual trust and liking. But I am sure that there is no sexual or romantic side to their relationship. John is desperately trying to find a girl-friend. Sherlock thinks romance and desire are "dangerous" and "destructive", so if he was attracted to men (or just to John), he would not feel comfortable around him and certainly would not want to live with him. John is clearly bothered by other people's misconception of their friendship, while Sherlock seems to find it at most slightly amusing. Poor Irene, I'm sure she never had a real friend. The only human connection she knows about is sex, so of course she'd think that any two people who are close would be sleeping with each other. 3.) No. Frankly, I don't much care. Maybe Irene got that part right when she told him the higher power he believed in was himself. 4.) Never seen any other. Had a crush on SH since I read the stories as a teenager and don't like literary adaptations in general. I did not want my image of the great detective spoiled. I only agreed to watch "Sherlock" originally because somebody told me Martin Freeman was in it and I had really admired his performance in "The Office". I was never more pleasantly surprised... 5.) In many ways, BBC's modern Sherlock is an improvement on the Conan Doyle character. He's not quite so invincible, more flawed, more interesting, more complex. Also, the original is clearly a "good man" and a hero, while in this version he is still struggling with these issues. We meet him at an earlier stage in his development. I expect that, if the show continues, the creators will make Sherlock become more and more like the literary Holmes. Pity, really... Although I would like to see that weird tenderness evolve that Holmes shows in the stories sometimes. I am sure the actor could pull that off really well. It'd be difficult, though, to show Holmes lulling Watson to sleep with his violin on TV without making the "I want them to be in love" people go totally berserk.

Has somebody already pointed out here that the ending of the episode "The Reichenbach Fall" seems to be based on "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"? If the plot of that story was used, it would mean that: - it is Sherlock's own body that John sees as "dead" - the emotion Sherlock shows during his "final phone call" is mostly fake and displayed to get John to act a certain way I love how he says nonchalantly in the original: "You won't be offended, Watson?" Conan Doyle's doctor put up with it, but I doubt very much that Freeman's version of the character will be quite so understanding...

I'd like to see Sherlock's personality develop further, without humanizing him too much. I'm kind of concerned that, because of the growing popularity of the show, there will be pressure on the creators to make the main character(s) be more of a "good example" for the viewers. Also, I am really looking forward to meeting the "modern Mary". I was very apprehensive when they announced they were going to do a take on Irene, but after that turned out so well, I have very little doubt that John's wife will be a great character. It would be nice to see Watson happily settled in a home of his own. I mean, how heartless do you have to be to want him to remain single and poor all his life? And have no other companion than his flatmate?