Episode 1.1, "A Study In Pink"

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Maybe it was to inflict the bruise causing injury without actually cutting the skin.

[Boton]

Something I wonder to this day....

 

Why did sherlock have a riding crop??

 

Apparently so I would spend a stupid amount of time Googling "post-mortem bruising."  Seriously, if the NSA comes and arrests me based on my browsing history, you guys have to serve as character witnesses.

[sfmpco]

Something I wonder to this day....

 

Why did sherlock have a riding crop??

 

Perhaps he was investigating a case where someone had been beaten to death.  But will a corpse bruise or welt?  Even when they showed the "corpse" of Connie Prince in TGG, they did her makeup correctly showing that gravity would have pulled her blood to one side. I don't know how long it takes for that to happen.

 

Also, I hope that the body he whipped was donated to science.  I can't think that the family would want to later have to dress the body and find those marks.  Then again, Sherlock was able release his frustration.  First episode with a riding crop, 9th episode with a gun.

[Boton]

 

 

 

Perhaps he was investigating a case where someone had been beaten to death.  But will a corpse bruise or welt?  Even when they showed the "corpse" of Connie Prince in TGG, they did her makeup correctly showing that gravity would have pulled her blood to one side. I don't know how long it takes for that to happen.

 

 

 

Well, since you asked and I Googled...

 

Apparently, yes, a corpse will bruise within a certain time period post-mortem.  Apparently the same capillary damage that can occur in a living person can occur in the recently-deceased, allowing for the same type of pooling of blood at the surface.  I didn't find out (and didn't beat a corpse to further investigate) if the "bruises" look in any way different from those on a live person, so as to indicate that the beating occurred after death but before the "bruising period" expired.

 

I thought it was interesting, because Sherlock was apparently investigating some case in which someone was not just beating the victim but doing so potentially immediately after death.  So the guy's alibi really could have hinged on that timing.

[sfmpco]

(you might want clear your browsing history!  LOL)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Also, I hope that the body he whipped was donated to science.  I can't think that the family would want to later have to dress the body and find those marks.

In the 60-minute version of the story (AKA "The Unaired Pilot"), when Molly's telling Sherlock about the corpse's history, she says, "He donated his body."  Her dialog in the 90-minute version is nearly identical, except that line was omitted.  Wish they'd left it in, but I guess we can still assume that was true.

 

[Boton]

(you might want clear your browsing history!  LOL)

 

Do you think that this is in anyway connected with the "Google Street View" van that's been parked outside my house for six months, manned with a couple of guys wearing sunglasses and with ear-pieces with curly wires behind their ears?

[sfmpco]

Hopefully I can see that 60-minute version when my DVD of S1 arrives.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I enjoyed the 60 minute as much as I watch the 90 minute more often.  (glad they went with the 90 min format and prefer some of the set changes to Baker Street that went with it)

[sfmpco]

Yes, the set was pretty bland from the bits I've seen.  Much more textured and layered in the 90 minute version.

[Arcadia]

Apparently so I would spend a stupid amount of time Googling "post-mortem bruising."  Seriously, if the NSA comes and arrests me based on my browsing history, you guys have to serve as character witnesses.

If we're all you've got you might as well surrender now.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

 

Apparently so I would spend a stupid amount of time Googling "post-mortem bruising."  Seriously, if the NSA comes and arrests me based on my browsing history, you guys have to serve as character witnesses.

If we're all you've got you might as well surrender now.

 

 

We might be better than that, at least some of us.  Those of us who have posted in the "Let's Play Murder" thread might not be of any use, such as me (goes off to write self a note for a story that includes a character who was investigated by the FBI/CIA for writing stories with very realistic terror like plots).

[Arcadia]

(goes off to write self a note for a story that includes a character who was investigated by the FBI/CIA for writing stories with very realistic terror like plots).

We need an icon that shows my brain exploding .....

[SherlockedCAMPer]

 

(goes off to write self a note for a story that includes a character who was investigated by the FBI/CIA for writing stories with very realistic terror like plots).

We need an icon that shows my brain exploding .....

My signature explains me. Especially the 2nd Sherlock quote I have in it. Like Sherlock, I'm on the side of angels but am not 1 of them.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yes, the set was pretty bland from the bits I've seen.  Much more textured and layered in the 90 minute version.

 

As I recall, the 60-minute set was actually kinda gaudy -- red wallpaper!  Very Victorian, but not particularly homey looking.  And there was a split-level living room.  Having once fallen off one of those (damn bifocals!), I can sympathize with their decision to get rid of that "feature"!

 

But yeah, I agree, the 90-minute set has a lot more personality.  It's the sort of place I could happily live in.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

The original set was more Victorian style and less Victorian inspired with the sunken living room that I'm also glad they got rid of.

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's what I thought -- that sunken living rooms were basically from the 1970's or thereabouts -- but someone on the Victorianizing Sherlock thread said that they'd been around a lot longer than that, and could actually be original (rather than a remodel) in that flat.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Yup, I think I remember reading that too.

[stick]

I think all the changes they made from the pilot to the proper episode were for the better. Its a good thing they got to do it again and really get the best out of it.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Agreed that it would be odd.  Maybe they are trying to hide an attic space that obviously has no reason to be there because of the amount of stories the building has.  Who knows.  It's Moftiss, they do odd things.

[J.P.]

Just read the whole thread. 

 

 

I'm rewatching ASIP right now, and I remember the first time I saw it I was soooo convinced the texts at the press conference were from the killer.
 
ETA:  Well, until Lestrade got that text that ended with SH  

 
Hey, I don't think I ever thought of that -- but the killer would know for sure, wouldn't he?  So we had at least two reasons to wonder whether Sherlock was the killer (the messages plus the pink suitcase).  Maybe this sort of thing is what gave Sally the idea in the first place.

 

 

Well, they could be from Moriarty. He is so good in manipulating communication. He could observe the press conference in TV or had an agent in the room - he could even be there himself. The cabbie says they, when he speaks of The Fan, as opposite to Sherlock being just a man - which is the first allusion to Moriarty's NETWORK. 

 

The Cabbie also calls Sherlock still the addict. Which is a first hint at Sherlock being observed for a long time. 

And this - again - brings me to a Moriarty-Magnussen parallel. As if the story repeated itself.

 

 

 

The moment where Sherlock gets the name from the dying cabbie always kinda upsets me.  I think because I really like Sherlock, and I want him to be a good man, and he's so not in that moment.

 

I hardly dare admit it, but I like that scene. I love all these little reminders that Sherlock is not really a "good guy". Not one of the angels for sure. I'd protest if his evil moments were glorified, but I don't think they are. Sherlock is simply not a role model. He doesn't even see himself as a hero, and we idolize him at our own risk, probably all hoping that Lestrade's prediction will come true. But it hasn't yet. He's getting there. But he still shot Magnussen. He's a dangerous man with questionable ethics. I like that.

 

 

I like that scene too.  To me, Sherlock isn't a kind little teddy bear that always has the best motives, nor is he a cold-hearted automaton.  He has a range of possible responses and moods.  He's a complete human being, and I like that.

 

I also rather think that his method of getting the name out of Hope wasn't in any way out of line.  Hope had killed four people.  He was working for Moriarty.  Sherlock didn't torture just any cabbie, he minorly tortured a serial killer who was dying anyway.  He visited a little fear on someone who had just spent the past few weeks making other people fear in the last moments of their lives.  His response was proportional, in my opinion.  The fact that he felt some rage while he was doing it was pretty human.  

 

I've said it before, but white hats bore me.  Sherlock has complexity, and that doesn't make him not a good man.  It makes him a human man.

 

You know what? the sentence Hope had killed four people jumped at me. I took it literally - I wasn't aware that Cabbie's name was Hope. Isn't this ironic? 

 

As for the teddy bear - Sherlock surely isn't one. He is dangerous. I find his face frightening when he is in rage. I see a demon - and gods have mercy with anyone who stands in his way. Short version: not an angel.

 

 

We've been discussing the pills over at IMDB for a while, and came to the conclusion, that the other victims didn't have to be given the same chances as Sherlock. The cases were staged to lure him. The cabbie could lie to Sherlock about the game he played with others (but he has to be a good liar to fool Sherlock though). There was one bottle and three pills. He could tell them they had a choice between the bullet and taking one of three pills, one of them being poisoned. In truth the pills were all poisoned, just to ensure the result.

 

I also thought that in the showdown both pills could be poisoned. A truly kamikaze action. 

 

And if Sherlock thought it was a 50:50 game, why didn't he just took both pills out, shake them in closed hands, put them on the table again, and watch the Cabbie's reaction to what would be a real 50:50 now. 

 

BTW, it's such a delight to watch Sherlock's face (=BC acting) in the showdown. 

[HeroinOrHeroine]

I just rewatched ASIP on my phone at the gym last night, and was confused about the same thing I get confused about every time I've watched it. I read through this thread to see if anyone else was confused but not any other threads, so my apologies if it's been discussed elsewhere.

 

Sherlock gets John to come home to send a text to pink lady's phone, which he believes the murderer has. John texts something about blacking out. Sherlock says the murderer wouldn't be able to ignore a text like that. The phone belongs to the pink lady. Why would she text that to herself? Why would the cabbie panic about a text from a random number? Why would he call the number back? What could he possibly say on the phone if John had answered?

 

I just can't rationalize this, and I like for everything to make sense. Someone, please, make this make sense for me! What am I missing?

[SherlockedCAMPer]

The words of the text could only come from the murdered woman as no one else would have her number and know that she was dead that quickly.  The cabbie would panic as he thought she had died from the poisoned pill.  Not sure why he'd call back unless he was told to by Moriarty.  Who knows what he would have said.  That is one of those things that Moftiss never told us and we will likely never find out.  Hope that helps.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sherlock gets John to come home to send a text to pink lady's phone, which he believes the murderer has. John texts something about blacking out. Sherlock says the murderer wouldn't be able to ignore a text like that. The phone belongs to the pink lady. Why would she text that to herself? Why would the cabbie panic about a text from a random number? Why would he call the number back? What could he possibly say on the phone if John had answered?

 

Hey, at least it's occurred to you to wonder about that.  Me, I just watch the show!  Then somebody (e.g., you) posts a question and gets me curious.

 

Regarding your first question:  Let's suppose we're the Pink Lady, and we just woke up in that strange, creepy house.  Our first thought might be to get out of there and back to a known location -- say, Northumberland Street (as in, why not).  Then as we start to get our head straightened out, we start to wonder what happened to our suitcase, and then we remember the cab.  OK, we think, we don't know why we told the cabbie to let us off at that strange house, but we must have absent-mindedly left the suitcase in the cab.  How can we get in touch with the cabbie?!  Oh, wait, our cell phone was in the suitcase -- if we dial our own number, the cabbie should hear it ring.

 

Of course that's not what actually happened to the Pink Lady, but the cabbie can't know that for 100% sure.  And as CAMPer (and Sherlock) said, the message sure sounds like it came from her.  If she's still alive, he needs to know -- for one thing, he won't get his bonus unless he finishes the job, and for another thing, if she stays alive she could identify him.  So that's why he phones.

 

As for what the cabbie would have said if John had answered, maybe nothing.  Maybe he just wanted to see whether it would be her voice.

 

How's that?

 

[T.o.b.y]

I agree that the reason the cabbie rung back was most likely to see if Jennifer Wilson would answer the call herself. He needed to find out if she really was alive. I don't think he'd have said anything himself, he'd probably have just listened for her voice and then hung up.