Series 3 News - the official stuff

[shoot999]

If I'm calculating the time difference correctly, the showing of The Empty Hearse in the BFI (? I always get that mixed up with BAFTA or something!) should be starting right about... NOW. 

 

This is exciting. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about spoilers until the moment came, but now that it's here, I can't wait! I shall be watching Tumblr like a hawk today. Anyone else? 

 

The show and Q&A have just finished. 

[Karie]

Still waiting for spoilers to turn up. Nothing so far!  

[Janie]

Well, I'm glad. I don't want to know anything until I see it. I already know enough from trailers and I want some surprise. Is there going to be a special thread for series 3 so I could avoid spoilers?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I think Carol said there would be.

[Karie]

Oh, I don't expect any to turn up here! But I'm hanging out in chats with people who have been to the screening waiting for someone to reveal something. So far everyone is being tight lipped, leading me to believe that 90% of these people didn't actually go. 

 

Don't worry, if I find out anything, I won't be posting it anywhere that isn't behind a high security spoiler fence! 

[Janie]

That's good.. I started to think whether to avoid this forum completely. But I'm glad I don't have to

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

The people here are pretty good about separating the news that is pretty general from that that is new and not everyone wants to know anything about. That is why we have been practicing using the "spoiler" button.

[shoot999]

Rave reviews from those attending but numerous complaints about the conduct of the Q&A session. A particular scathing attack on the interviewer at http://www.london-reviews.co.uk/2013/12/15/sherlock-season-3-preview-bfi-empty-hearse/    

 

The review has no spoilers.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

It's sad when someone who supposed to be a professional and is trusted to be so goes all fangirlish, in public and in a way that embarrasses the actors and makes herself look so.....absolutely silly.

[Karie]

Gosh, that sounds like an absolute nightmare. So rude, on so many levels! I feel second hand embarrassment for everyone who had to sit through that, the cast and Moff/Gatiss most especially. *Shudders* 

[Janie]

Poor guys. That must have been so embarrassing for them! She would deserve a punch in the face.

[Karie]

My favorite panelists are those who are total nerds about the show themselves. They are part of the fandom, so they don't mock it or try to embarrass other fans or the actors. I wish they would always choose people like that to do these things. 

[shoot999]

http://johnlockedness.tumblr.com/post/70112561550/diifinity-multiple-cumbergasms-this-is

 

 

 

No words can describe this.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks! "Miss Sutherland" appears there for The Empty Hearse... Wasn't that the client in "A Case of Identitiy"? The girl who was tricked into falling in love with her stepfather? I wonder whether they've borrowed more than the name.

 

Yes, you're right -- the client in "Case of Identity" is Miss Mary Sutherland (described as a large woman who looms over the bellboy).  I'll have to reread the rest of that story before January 19th, just to see if they do use any of it.

 

Well, I'm glad. I don't want to know anything until I see it. I already know enough from trailers and I want some surprise. Is there going to be a special thread for series 3 so I could avoid spoilers?

 

Tim told me he's planning to create an entire Series 3 sub-forum, but he didn't say when -- so maybe not till New Year's.  For now, just remember to keep putting spoilers inside boxes -- and please include a warning with any links to spoilers.

 

Rave reviews from those attending but numerous complaints about the conduct of the Q&A session. A particular scathing attack on the interviewer at http://www.london-reviews.co.uk/2013/12/15/sherlock-season-3-preview-bfi-empty-hearse/    

 

The review has no spoilers.

 

Thanks!  Interesting that the interviewer's name is Caitlin Moran -- what did they expect? 

 

The Tumblr post that's linked to at the end of that piece claims that the forced fan-fic reading was OK because Cumberbatch and Freeman "weren't that bothered" -- hey, they're professionals, so we have absolutely no idea what they were thinking, they were doing their job.  And the comments make the excellent point that Ms. Moran's little farce wasn't merely awkward for the actors, it must have been horribly embarrassing for the author of that story as well.

 

Hello, shoot999 -- welcome to Sherlock Forum!    And thanks for those informative posts!

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Welcome to the Forum, shoot999! 

 

 

 

And the comments make the excellent point that Ms. Moran's little farce wasn't merely awkward for the actors, it must have been horribly embarrassing for the author of that story as well.

 

   That's one way to destroy ones own reputation all in one fell blow. Moran does fit her perfectly but it seems her own job was the victim of her snipping.

[T.o.b.y]

As always, thanks for the news! Well, at least I don't have to be sad anymore that I wasn't there, because it sounds like I would have died (or at least puked) with embarrassment at the Q&A. I can't imagine it didn't bother the actors at all.

 

I wonder what it's like to play their roles, knowing that every look and gesture and word can and will be run away with by the creative minds of thousands. I probably underestimate the powers of professionals, but wouldn't it make you terribly self-conscious?

 

As for spoilers, I personally wouldn't mind even if the entire script got leaked in advance; I know I won't fully enjoy the episodes until I'm watching them for the second and third time, anyway. But I don't expect much more will get out before Jan 1st than already has, and that's for the best. Janie, don't worry, even if they could, I doubt anybody would give away anything major here where you can't avoid seeing it.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

In viewing the clip it was clear that it did bother them all. Moffat was not happy at all. Neither was Gatiss, he kept running a hand down over his face. Cumberbatch and Freeman read some but kept up a running commentary about it, so it's very clear that they are not comfortable about reading it out loud. Then when it came to the part where John and Sherlock kiss BC stops it altogether and asks Moran some pointed questions as well as she deserved.

[Carol the Dabbler]

From Sherlockology:

 

 

 

Spoilers were heavy at the post-screening Sherlock Q&A at the BFI today, so we’ll be bringing you content from that after the broadcast of the first episode in the series.

But in the meantime, here’s an exclusive shot of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman during the event to tide you all over!

 

 

And a spoiler-free review of the episode, also from Sherlockology:

 

 

First things first.

 

We’re not going to tell you how he survived The Fall.

 

Rest assured, you find out.

 

Will you be satisfied? Yes. We think you will.

 

With that, the most critical and anticipated element of the entire episode out of the way, we can begin properly. Making a triumphant return, this is an unusual episode of Sherlock, different from anything that has come before. The emphasis is focused not so much on an actual dedicated case - though that bubbles along nicely all the same and will also be described in zero detail here - but the emotional fallout that follows the return of a best friend from the dead. Indeed, the episode could be alternatively titled ‘The Long Reunion’, with the simple themes of the need for forgiveness and regaining someone’s trust running tightly throughout the entire duration.

 

That may sound heavy duty material, but in truth it really isn’t. The Empty Hearse is infused with uproarious comedy, wicked and knowing writing, huge surprises, lovely in-jokes and thrilling action, all while taking us to places in London we haven’t been before onscreen in the series. But it is also hugely concerned with the instant that Sherlock Holmes and John Watson come face to face with each other again, and in that singular spine chilling moment, a scene that effortlessly shifts tone in seconds thanks to the sterling performances of the two leading actors, it certain does not disappoint. It’s the moment that drives everything afterwards in the episode, a push for emotional realism that was maybe lacking in Conan Doyle’s original prose, and thus the focus is fixed purely on the characters and their reaction to the return of Sherlock Holmes into a world that has moved on without him.

 

It goes without saying the performances that back all this material up are brilliant. Benedict Cumberbatch begins much as you expect him to be, but ends up bringing a new degree of softness to his Sherlock once the severity of what he has done truly hits home. Martin Freeman infuses an expanded element of hurt to his John - though that in turn is ably countered by the warmth of the performance of Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan, sliding quite effortlessly into the ensemble and the lives of the two main characters. Mary doesn’t interfere or detract from the dynamic of Sherlock and John at all in this opening instalment, understanding instantly both how important the detective was/is to the damaged man she has fallen for, and gaining the respect of Holmes with little difficulty. If anything she adds a new wrinkle to the series, giving it an additional layer of forward momentum that will surely take us to some interesting places in the next two episodes. And avoiding explicit specifics, the supporting characters are given plenty to do here. A more proactive Mycroft from Mark Gatiss - displaying a great degree of verbal fencing with his younger brother in one stand out scene that harks back to a conversation from series past; a hugely expanded amount of screen time for Louise Brealey’s Molly; some choice language for Rupert Graves’ Lestrade; an initially flinty heart that cracks into radiant warmth from Una Stubbs’ Mrs Hudson; and an altogether surprising role for Jonathan Aris’ Anderson.   

 

This is also a visually resplendent and exciting episode to look at, Jeremy Lovering delivering direction that is simultaneously hugely cinematic and very intimate. The human moments shine clearly through next to astounding visual effect shots that would not look out of place in a major motion picture. David Arnold and Michael Price’s score is blown to new proportions, the orchestrations lending the use of the main title theme in the episode an epic quality that we haven’t heard before, alongside some exciting new material that will doubtless be developed as the series progresses. And as we’ve probably already made clear, Mark Gatiss’ writing here is beyond clever, setting out to both fulfil and defy expectations in the way events unfold and how elements of canon are deployed. As always, never think you know how things will occur as you’ve read the original stories.

 

Sherlock was never a series that needed reinventing, but it is a series that is constantly pushing itself into new directions of its own accord. With The Empty Hearse, the dynamics are the same but different, a two faced coin that merrily keeps spinning throughout the duration without dropping either way. The chance for hand-over-mouth moments is high, the likelihood of huge laughs even moreso.  But the greatest thing that can be said is that Sherlock is back. How he has come to be so is perhaps unimportant come the close, but there are two words that were never truer come the conclusion of this brilliant, surprising first episode of Series Three.

 

Sherlock Lives.

 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Brilliant! I am so looking forward to the weekend of January 18th and I get a beautiful, long awaited belated birthday present just one day later! Bring it on!

[Carol the Dabbler]

From a BBC/PBS Twitter account (no, this isn't that picture again -- scroll down):

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

 

From Sherlockology:

... a push for emotional realism that was maybe lacking in Conan Doyle’s original prose...

 

It wasn't maybe lacking...

 

Yes! Yes! Oh, I do hope they're right. Damn, why are all the reviews I've read so far so terribly enthusiastic? I was trying hard to lower my expectations, but after reading this they just took flight and God knows where they've gone to, now.

 

And as for "that picture", I have finally come to like it after all.

 

[sherlockandjohn]

Carol, thanks for posting that wonderful review from Sherlockology. I am more excited than ever about The Empty Hearse; it honestly sounds amazing.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, I love "that picture" -- but it was far from being the whole story in that particular image!
 

As for spoilers, I personally wouldn't mind even if the entire script got leaked in advance; I know I won't fully enjoy the episodes until I'm watching them for the second and third time, anyway. But I don't expect much more will get out before Jan 1st than already has, ....

 
Thanks goodness I more-or-less agree with you that spoilers aren't at all the same thing as actually seeing the episode.  Several times.  Sherlock is not the kind of show where you watch the whole episode just to learn the Big Secret, and that's all there is to it.
 
There's no way I'll be able to avoid major spoilers between January 2nd (when Sherlockology takes the gloves off) and the 19th (when PBS airs "The Empty Hearse").  Even if I "personally" stay out of the Series 3 sub-forum -- as a moderator I'll still need to approve new-member posts for that area, and post items from Sherlockology.  But there are worse fates! 

[T.o.b.y]

Sherlock is not the kind of show where you watch the whole episode just to learn the Big Secret, and that's all there is to it.

 

No, it's the kind of show where I'm glad to get secrets and suspense out of the way so I can lie back and enjoy the subtleties and hints I only notice then. Up to now, there has been not a single pointless scene or bit of dialogue. All sorts of details that seemed to mean nothing turn out to have been hints on the puzzle at hand - which is why it's totally understandable that people went wild with "The Fall". 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Most of you have probably already read this, but in case you haven't: Here are some very mild, very vague spoilers for all those who like to speculate:

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s129/sherlock/news/a538478/sherlock-series-3-13-teasers-for-the-empty-hearse.html

 

 

 

 

"One person screams. One person punches him. One person hugs him." Hm, who might they be talking about? From the trailer, it looked like Mrs Hudson was going to do the screaming - would be true to the story ("violent hysterics"). As for the punch, my money's on John (and my hopes, too). But the hug? The only person I've seen hugging Sherlock is Mrs Hudson, and she's already taken care of here, so who? Molly? Lestrade maybe? Mary? Since she didn't know him before, she might be the least intimidated by him and the most likely to "take liberties".

 

"Sherlock echoes a key line from Mycroft in 'A Scandal in Belgravia' at one point, turning his brother's cutting words back on him". Hm! What could that be? The first and most "cutting" line I could think of is "how would you know?" Maybe there's something Mycroft knows as little about as Sherlock does about sex? What?

 

"we hear not one, but two of Holmes's most oft-quoted lines from the novels inside this 90 minutes" - goodness, I thought all the famous quotes had already appeared in the first two series! What's left?

 

"Although the reunion between Sherlock and John plays out very, very differently from the books' version, there are significant nods to Doyle's 'The Empty House' here - both its reunion and its explanation for how Sherlock survived." - Don't tell me Sherlock knows Baritsu, too...