The other brother

[Caya]

Just to make clear, I'm not exactly a fan of the series turning into Family Matters either, but there's always the possibility of a half brother. Didn't they hint at his father having had an affair in the commentary once? Although it's hard imagining genial Holmes Senior doing that.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

Didn't they hint at his father having had an affair in the commentary once?

 

  Yes, they did. And Cumberbatch knew what the big mystery was that Daddy Holmes was supposed to have been involved in and started to say something, then he turned to Gatiss and asked if this was going to be brought out in an episode. Gatiss laughs and says, "maybe".....so Cumberbatch humms....then clams up.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Interesting idea.  But would Mycroft have known about the relationship in that case?  Hmm, "little pitchers have big ears," and he's smart enough to add up lots of little comments into one big inference.  So yes, perhaps he does know, so perhaps that explains his reference to "the other one."

 

[Sherlock_luvr]

 

 

Didn't they hint at his father having had an affair in the commentary once?

 

  Yes, they did. And Cumberbatch knew what the big mystery was that Daddy Holmes was supposed to have been involved in and started to say something, then he turned to Gatiss and asked if this was going to be brought out in an episode. Gatiss laughs and says, "maybe".....so Cumberbatch humms....then clams up.

 

 

Ohh, I haven't seen this interview and I thought I'd seen them all. Any idea where it can be found?

[Carol the Dabbler]

It's in an audio commentary on one of the DVD sets (Series 1 or Series 2).  Does anyone recall which episode?

 

They didn't say much about this matter, though -- pretty much what's already been posted here.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Might be series one, connected with "A Study in Pink"   referring to Sherlock's "I'm not the one who upset her, Mycroft."

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sounds plausible, but that's not triggering any specific memories.

 

Tell ya what -- Ariane DeVere (of episode transcript fame) has also done semi-transcripts of the commentaries.  They're fairly short, shouldn't take too long if someone would like to check them (using a browser search function would greatly speed things up), and I'm reasonably certain that she did include that particular part.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

She didn't mention it in the transcript she did for "A Study In Pink" didn't even mention much about the meeting between Mycroft., Sherlock and John at the end at all.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Found it!  It's in the audio commentary for "The Great Game" (fairly near the beginning).  This is all that Ariane DeVere says about it:

 

The scene was cut down slightly. There was originally a reference to the Holmes boys’ mutual strange childhood and the fact that Sherlock had rather spoiled the family atmosphere, but it was removed in the edit because there wasn’t time to include it.

 

There was somewhat more than that in the actual commentary, though some of it was kind of circumspectly worded.  If anyone listens to it, could you maybe write down exactly what they say in that part and post it here?

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Okay I found this:

 

 

[Sherlock_luvr]

Certainly does seem like maybe the Holmes Daddy had an affair? Perhaps another brother came from that...?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

It does sound plausible, yup.

[T.o.b.y]

Certainly does seem like maybe the Holmes Daddy had an affair? Perhaps another brother came from that...?

 

Oh my god, why did I never think of that? That would be awesome. Okay, if Moriarty has to come back, I want him to turn out to be Sherlock and Mycroft's half-brother from an affair of their father's. 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Twin half-brothers.  But one of them's dead already.  (And if not, I'm never believing Moftiss again.)

[T.o.b.y]

Actually, I think an identical twin would be even worse than Moriarty having faked a head shot. Or do you mean just a brother, who is using Moriarty's image for some insane reason?

 

To be honest, I can really understand why the writers want Moriarty back, I just don't get why they killed him in the first place. The original Moriarty disappears in the abyss of the Reichenbach Falls, like Holmes. The reader never "sees" his dead body or knows for sure that he didn't also survive. Why did they chose to have Moriarty shoot himself in the head before our very eyes if they knew they wanted to use the character again?

[Carol the Dabbler]

Actually, I think an identical twin would be even worse than Moriarty having faked a head shot. Or do you mean just a brother, who is using Moriarty's image for some insane reason?

 

To be honest, I can really understand why the writers want Moriarty back, I just don't get why they killed him in the first place. The original Moriarty disappears in the abyss of the Reichenbach Falls, like Holmes. The reader never "sees" his dead body or knows for sure that he didn't also survive. Why did they chose to have Moriarty shoot himself in the head before our very eyes if they knew they wanted to use the character again?

 

 

For the same reason that Sherlock smashed himself all over the pavement, apparently.

[Janie]

I don't like the idea of Moriarty being the third Holmes brother. I don't even like the idea of the third brother in the first place. It doesn't make sense. Why would they hide him? Why would they never mention him? Sherlock apparently didn't know about a third brother so how old would he be? Surely older than Sherlock and younger than Mycroft so he would be about five when he was sent away. So why would their (seemingly normal) parents get rid of such a young child? If it was Moriarty it seems very unlikely that he would have showed any kind of abnormality at that age. Well, he could have been behaving strangely but what horrible things he would have to do to be sent away from his family? 

 

 

[Zain]

The idea of a third brother is fanon, if I am not mistaken. And it has been around for quite some time in the fandom (Sherlock Holmes). Maybe you've stumbled over the name Sherringford Holmes a few times (fanfictions, other fanworks..). It's the name Doyle had in mind for Sherlock before he settled on, well, Sherlock.

I agree with you that it is unlikely that nobody were to ever mention him if the third brother had been raised alongside them.

 

The theory that it's a half-brother (or half-brothers) is rather popular, I suppose. It makes more sense. Explains why Mycroft knows but Sherlock doesn't, and why they didn't grow up together.

Apparently there has been a hint in the audio commentary that "Daddy Holmes" had had an affair once. It fits with the comment in ASiP that "it wasn't Sherlock who upset Mommy".

[Janie]

I don't usually read fanfiction though I think I've read something about Sherringford as the original name for Sherlock. It might have been somewhere on this forum.

Anyway, I have never thought of a half-brother. In that case it does make a bit more sense. But I still hope the writers are more creative and that the brother is not Moriarty.

[Ruthyone]

There is mention of another brother Sherrinford Holmes on wikipedia:

Sherrinford Holmes is a hypothetical elder brother of Sherlock Holmes and Mycroft Holmes. It is believed that his deduction skills exceed those of both his younger brothers. His name is taken from early notes as one of those considered by Arthur Conan Doyle for his detective hero before settling on "Sherlock Holmes".

He was first proposed by William S. Baring-Gould who wrote in his famous 'biography' "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" that Sherrinford was the eldest brother of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes once stated that his family were country squires, which means that the eldest brother would have to stay to manage the house. If Mycroft were the eldest then he couldn't play the role he does in four stories of the Sherlock Holmes canon, so Sherrinford frees them both. This position is strengthened by the fact that Mycroft's general position as a senior civil servant was a common choice among the younger sons of the gentry.

The character appears (misspelled Sherringford), along with his brothers, in the Virgin New Adventures Doctor Who novel All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane, where he is revealed to be the member of a cult worshipping an alien telepathic slug that is mutating him and his followers into an insect-like form; the novel culminates with Holmes being forced to shoot his brother to save Watson.

He also appears, accused of a murder that Sherlock must find him innocent of, in the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game adventure The Yorkshire Horrors.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Wow, interesting, Ruthy. Why should I not be surprised that the Holmes boys should wind up in a Dr. Who story?

[Zain]

That's way more detailed than my half-knowledge

Thanks for the information.

[Redbeard]

Maybe Jim could be the brother -- Maybe it was not their father who had an affair, but rather their mother.  And she had it with a man named Moriarty, became pregnant, gave up/abandoned the child and then and had to hide it her whole life.  Of course Mycroft knowing everything about everyone has discovered this over the years and Sherlock would have no idea.  Would explain why Jim inherited much of the intelligence and similarities (since it is implied mummy is the smart one, not daddy lol).   Might also explain why even though Mycroft knows about him, he doesn't care about him quite as much. 

[T.o.b.y]

I also think it would make a lot of sense if Moriarty turned out to be the third Holmes (half) brother. It just seems a bit too predictable for Moffat and Co, but we shall see...

[CumberCookieCrumble]

Part of me thinks Moriarty being the 3rd brother makes sense.  Maybe he was sent away cause his name was too normal.  Mycroft, Jim, Sherlock *just kidding but I am curious why he was sent away*

 

Other part of me thinks nah 

 

but on the whole I am curious what season 4 will bring.