Canon References In BBC Sherlock

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, thanks for posting that!  We watched Brett's "Blue Carbuncle" last night, and that popped right out at us (but did we post it -- Nooooo!!!).  The "Hounds" scene is so similar that it's an obvious -- umm, shall we be polite and say "homage"?

 

Note the effects of inflation, though -- in "Carbuncle," Holmes claims to have bet Watson only five pounds, not fifty.

 

[T.o.b.y]

It is so much fun re-reading the old stories now. Not only do I get to smile at references when I watch "Sherlock", I also notice things in the books that never caught my notice before. Like the following:

 

" 'You have been reading the papers diligently of late, have you not?' 'It looks like it,' said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. 'I have had nothing else to do.' "

 

John being "more than a little unemployed" and watching "way too much telly" with Mrs Hudson comes to mind, doesn't it? Especially since some information gained from "crap telly" is vital for Sherlock in The Great Game, just like Watson's extensive knowledge of the gossip columns is very helpful for Holmes in "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor".

[T.o.b.y]

Flirting with the enemy - in "Sherlock" very much Moriarty's province, but the original Holmes was just as good at it. "Journeys end in lovers’ meetings", he says sarcastically to Colonel Moran in "The Empty House".

 

Oh Mr Holmes, you are wonderful...

[T.o.b.y]

I think it was Carol who drew my attention to "The Creeping Man", a very late Holmes story that includes not only the "come anyway if inconvenient" text but also an attempt at explaining why a busy doctor would run across London on receiving it:

 

"The relations between us in those latter days were peculiar. He was a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and I had become one of them. As an institution I was like the violin, the shag tobacco, the old black pipe, the index books, and others perhaps less excusable. When it was a case of active work and a comrade was needed upon whose nerve he could place some reliance, my role was obvious. But apart from this I had uses. I was a whetstone for his mind. I stimulated him. He liked to think aloud in my presence. His remarks could hardly be said to be made to me - many of them would have been as appropriately addressed to his bedstead - but none the less, having formed the habit, it had become in some way helpful that I should register and interject. If I irritated him by a certain methodical slowness in my mentality, that irritation served only to make his own flamelike intuitions and impressions flash up the more vividly and swiftly. Such was my humble role in our alliance."

 

This may not be referenced explicitly in the series (or at least it hasn't been yet), but I think it might illustrate at least part of what kind of relationship the writers might be trying to get at with the main characters. It also illustrates my impression that towards the end of his writing about them, Doyle felt the need to explain a few things about Holmes and Watson. I wonder why, but that is neither here nor there. Personally, I think this is one of the most beautiful passages ever written about an extraordinary friendship (much, much better than that corny scene in "The Three Garridebs") and I just wanted to share it with whoever, like me, had not read it before. Thanks, Carol!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, I really like that quote.  And I wonder if it may have been at least part of the inspiration for this bit from "Hounds" (thank you, Ariane DeVere):

 

SHERLOCK: You are amazing! You are fantastic!
JOHN: Yes, all right! You don’t have to overdo it.
SHERLOCK: You’ve never been the most luminous of people, but as a conductor of light you are unbeatable.
JOHN: Cheers. ... What?
SHERLOCK: Some people who aren’t geniuses have an amazing ability to stimulate it in others.
 

.

[T.o.b.y]

Sherlock announcing how many theories he has formed about a given problem to date can be found for example in "The Copper Beaches":

 

"I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would cover the facts as far as we know them"

[Carol the Dabbler]

True.  I don't recall reading any stories where he does a theory count-down like he did regarding the dead airline passenger in the car trunk in "Scandal," though.

 

[T.o.b.y]

No, neither do I. That is very much a Sherlock thing - he's even more of a show-off than the old character or maybe I should say a more obvious show-off.

[T.o.b.y]

I've read that an illustrator is supposed to have invented the deerstalker hat as a trademark for Holmes, but the "ear-flap hat", as Sherlock puts it, is actually mentioned in "Silver Blaze":

 

"his sharp, eager face framed in his ear-flapped travelling-cap"

 

(Btw, it was another great idea to introduce the thing on the show as something Sherlock hates and the press loves...)

[T.o.b.y]

Here's an involuntary "reference" that I find kind of amusing: Holmes, in speaking about a gang of bank robbers, says:

"...as I expected, well known at headquarters, and so are his assailants. Their names are Biddle, Hayward, and Moffat.”

[Carol the Dabbler]

We just watched Brett's "Resident Patient" this evening, and got a chuckle out of that line.

 

You're setting such a good example   :angel1:   that maybe one of these days it'll occur to me to actually post these little goodies when I notice them! 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Good example? What? You know, when I do this in real life, I'm told it's annoying as hell (or really weird, depending on who was forced to listen)... I'm glad you find it amusing. It's just so much fun going over those old books I spent hours with growing up and discovering all these new things in them - thank you, BBC!

[T.o.b.y]

This is another very vague canon reference, but I have always sort of wondered why, in The Reichenbach Fall, a whole group of armed police men would be intimidated by one man with a gun and a hostage he wasn't going to shoot anyway. Well, here's one possible explanation form "The Solitary Cyclist":

 

"The strong, masterful personality of Holmes dominated the tragic scene, and all were equally puppets in his hands".

 

Who cares about being outnumbered when you've got that level of charisma...

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

  And it could also be that the English do not see themselves as trigger happy as the "Wild West Mentality" that Americans are often portrayed as having.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... when I do this in real life, I'm told it's annoying as hell (or really weird, depending on who was forced to listen)... I'm glad you find it amusing.

 

Welcome to the Sherlock-addiction support group!  

 

... I have always sort of wondered why, in The Reichenbach Fall, a whole group of armed police men would be intimidated by one man with a gun and a hostage he wasn't going to shoot anyway.

 

You mean when Sherlock is pointing a gun at John's head?  I believe the police were crippled by their own procedural rules.  Well, at least the Chief Superintendent was.  I suspect that Greg Lestrade was inwardly cheering them on!

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

  I expect that the reason that John and Sherlock could get back to Baker Street is because Lestrade led the rest of the force on a merry chase giving the boys breathing room.

[T.o.b.y]

Yes, I am sure Lestrade was really relieved!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Yup, for all that he had to follow procedure after being ordered by his supervisor, I would really be hard pressed to believe that he thought that Sherlock was a criminal master mind.

[T.o.b.y]

Welcome to the Sherlock-addiction support group!  

 

Yay! I've always wanted one of those...

 

[T.o.b.y]

Even Moriarty must have delved into those old stories, because look at this passage from "The Sussex Vampire":

 

 "Anything is better than stagnation, but really we seem to have been switched on to a Grimms’ fairy tale."

[T.o.b.y]

Have I pointed out yet that Sherlock telling John to write his text messages for him is also true to the original Holmes, who delegates telegram writing whenever he can, even though it is his favorite means of communication? Here's an example, also from "The Sussex vampire" :

 

"Holmes looked at me thoughtfully and shook his head. 'I never get your limits, Watson,' said he. 'There are unexplored possibilities about you. Take a wire down, like a good fellow: ‘Will examine your case with pleasure.’ ' ”

 

I used to think Sherlock was a lot ruder than the original - I'll take that back...

 

(Btw, in case anybody is wondering about the "unexplored possibilities": he's talking about the fact that Watson played rugby in his school days)

[T.o.b.y]

And this, I think, was referenced in the pilot (I have to admit I forget whether it made it's way into screened version of The Study in Pink as a dialogue):

 

“But why not eat?”
“Because the faculties become refined when you starve them. Why, surely, as a doctor, my dear Watson, you must admit that what your digestion gains in the way of blood supply is so much lost to the brain. I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix."

[Carol the Dabbler]

Have I pointed out yet that Sherlock telling John to write his text messages for him is also true to the original Holmes, who delegates telegram writing whenever he can, even though it is his favorite means of communication?

 

... with each being a fairly naturalistic way of letting the audience know what's in the message.

 

(... Watson played rugby in his school days)

 

Hmm, clarinet and rugby -- a true renaissance man!

 

Added:

 

And this, I think was referenced in the pilot (I have to admit I forget whether it made it's way into screened version of The Study in Pink as a dialogue):

 

Sorry, only in the pilot.  I really like that version of the scene!

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

It's reference day! Although this one belongs in the vague category, I love the dialogue too much to not spread it about and it is something I have noticed and laughed at on the show:

 

“Watson,” said he, “I have some recollection that you go armed upon these excursions of ours.”
It was as well for him that I did so, for he took little care for his own safety when his mind was once absorbed by a problem, so that more than once my revolver had been a good friend in need. I reminded him of the fact.
“Yes, yes, I am a little absent-minded in such matters. But have you your revolver on you?”

[Carol the Dabbler]

On the other hand, there is that bit in "Great Game" where they're after the Golem (once more, thanks to Ariane DeVere's transcript):

 

(John looks down as he realises that he has come out without something essential.)
JOHN: Oh shi…
SHERLOCK (taking John’s pistol from his coat pocket): What?
JOHN: I wish I’d ...
SHERLOCK (handing him the gun): Don’t mention it.
 

One for Sherlock's side.