Speculation: What Would You Like To See In Series 3?

[Carol the Dabbler]

Slightly? 

[T.o.b.y]

I'd love to see a version of Holmes' original reaction to the news that Watson was going to get married: "he gave a most dismal groan" and reached for the cocaine, after having admitted that Mary Morstan is really a "charming young lady" and even might have some "decided genius" for detective work.

 

Also, wouldn't it be funny if the first time he met her, Sherlock launched into a brilliant but pretty insulting deduction about Mary, John felt so at home with this kind of scene that he finally realized Sherlock was back and punched him in the face (not avoiding nose or teeth, either)?

[T.o.b.y]

People keep talking about the Sherlock-free months and years, which have got to be tough on John, as he's regressed to exactly the way he was before he met Sherlock, during the worst parts of his PTSD.

 

Um... I actually think it is just as likely that John's life got a lot better after Sherlock was gone. He'd finally be able to settle down to a job and find a girlfriend who'll stay with him. The latter part at least seems to be true. I would be very much surprised (and a bit disappointed) if John met Mary after Sherlock came back.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Judging by what (very) little I've seen and heard from Series 3 filming, I doubt that you'll be terribly disappointed! 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Did you also get the impression from the teaser trailer that Sherlock might show up to ruin John's marriage proposal?

[T.o.b.y]

After having just read that story for the - um - I don't know how many'th time, I really, really want a close adaptation of The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.

Because:

- He's the only villain from the original stories that can top Moriarty. Holmes is powerless against him!

- Holmes gets engaged to a girl (under an alias) just to gather information and break into Milverton's house

- A woman gets to finish Milverton off

- There are a lot of interesting choices for Holmes and Watson involved concerning ethics and morals and putting personal concerns behind those of other people

- Holmes and Watson run the risk of landing in jail - that could be very funny if you took it beyond a mere possibility

 

Now, if we take into consideration that Milverton specializes in blackmailing women and ruining their relationships and combine this with the appearance of Mary Morstan and her wedding to John Watson plus the fact that the actress has hinted at her character having "secrets", there could be some really good storytelling ahead.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Did you also get the impression from the teaser trailer that Sherlock might show up to ruin John's marriage proposal?

 

No, I didn't know quite what to make of it -- but now that you mention it, that scenario would certainly fit what was shown, near as I recall.  Not saying that Sherlock would intend to ruin the proposal, of course -- he just seems to have a real talent along those lines!

 

Added: As regards Milverton -- or Magnussen -- I really, really like the Jeremy Brett adaptation (especially Holmes's scenes with Aggie), and am fully prepared to agree with you.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Would he not intend to? Hmm... If I remember correctly, in "The Blind Banker" it was never quite clear whether Sherlock disturbed John's date because of mere insensitivity or whether there was something more deliberate going on. Yes, first and foremost he wanted to investigate that circus, but he could have done so on his own unobserved.

 

I do have this feeling that, while Sherlock certainly does not want him to be his boy-friend, he also doesn't relish Watson going out with anyone else. John's other girl-friends didn't last long. Of course, John is not the most expert person out there when it comes to relationships / women, so that might be mostly his own fault, but I'm pretty convinced that the time during Sherlock's absence is his best chance of finding something permanent.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, yes, that's definitely what I've been thinking (and Moftiss seem to agree).

 

I don't see Sherlock as intentionally interfering with John's life, but he's probably very good at rationalizing.  For example, it's important to investigate the circus, so it's merely logical for John to help him -- whether or not John is aware of the plan!

 

As you say, John is somewhat inept in his attempts to meet women, but I see that as part of his charm -- he's certainly not "slick," and comes across as very genuine.  He just needs some time to get to know a woman, free of major distractions and interruptions (in other words, with no Sherlock around).

 

[T.o.b.y]

I've been reading "The Empty House" lately and noticed how great everything goes for Holmes. He didn't have to go over the cliff, Moriarty died, he evaded Moriarty's allies without a scratch. Then he had some fun traveling and when that got boring he pottered back to England, sent Mrs Hudson into "violent hysterics" that he could later make funny comments on and hunted out his friend, who, very conveniently, has been widowed in the meantime and is just in the right mood to move straight back into Baker St and be at Holmes' every beck and call once more. This friend, whom he never even wrote to and does not seem to have missed overly much while his life was so exiting, faints with joy when Holmes reveals himself after having played yet another trick on him by disguising as an old bibliophile. Then they finish off the last of Moriarty's gang together (and it's a good thing Holmes didn't try that on his own because Watson has to knock Moran out or he would have throttled Holmes). 

 

Holmes admits that his reappearance was "unnecessarily dramatic" and claims "I had no idea you would be so affected". The first statement I believe to be utterly true, the second is surely a lie. He staged that scene to get the most out of Watson's reaction and pamper his own ego. And did that ever work! Watson writes about this moment later in such gushing tones that this particular passage should be censored out of all copies of the books sold to fan-fiction prone teenagers.

 

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that The Reunion in the original reads more like a day-dream of a very vain man than something that really happened. I can easily imagine "our" Sherlock building a similar castle in the air. And, to get back to the topic of this thread, I would really like to see how that castle stands the test of reality in the forms of John Watson as played by Martin Freeman with a very much alive Mary Morstan at his side.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Regarding your first two paragraphs: 

 

And for your last paragraph (and especially your final sentence):  Oh, yeah!

 

[T.o.b.y]

Even though I'm not a big fan of "Scandal in Belgravia" (having really liked Conan Doyle's Irene Adler, and thinking that Moffat done her wrong)

 

Carol, have you said anywhere why you think they got Irene wrong? How would you have written her?

[Carol the Dabbler]

There was a discussion of that, but the forum search isn't bringing it up, so it must not have been here.

 

OK, in my opinion, Moffat made Irene much more of a "scarlet woman" than she was in the story, even allowing for inflation.  ACD's Irene was a retired opera singer, and in those days, any entertainer was ipso facto a bit disreputable.  Entertainers no longer have that automatic stigma, so today's Irene would need to be more overtly naughty, and I'm thinking maybe like one of those people who are famous for being on the tabloid covers.  Moffat's Irene is way beyond that!  That's point number one.

 

Point number two is that the canon Irene really does beat Holmes at his own game, and he respects her for it.  In the episode, Sherlock wins in the end, and gloats over her.

 

Added:  Found it!  "Meta: Irene Adler is not a loser"

[T.o.b.y]

There was a discussion of that, but the forum search isn't bringing it up, so it must not have been here.

 

OK, in my opinion, Moffat made Irene much more of a "scarlet woman" than she was in the story, even allowing for inflation.  ACD's Irene was a retired opera singer, and in those days, any entertainer was ipso facto a bit disreputable.  Entertainers no longer have that automatic stigma, so today's Irene would need to be more overtly naughty, and I'm thinking maybe like one of those people who are famous for being on the tabloid covers.  Moffat's Irene is way beyond that!  That's point number one.

 

Point number two is that the canon Irene really does beat Holmes at his own game, and he respects her for it.  In the episode, Sherlock wins in the end, and gloats over her.

 

Added:  Found it!  "Meta: Irene Adler is not a loser"

 

Thank you! I won't argue against you here because I've already done so (emotional truth matters, bla, bla, bla, bla) and I respect your opinion. But just for the record: She appeals to me and I think she serves an important "meta" purpose on the show in representing the modern view of relationships as being first and foremost about sex.

[Carol the Dabbler]

If Moffat had called her Jane Smith, and given the episode a different name, I would probably have liked it fine, or at least much better.  I can see your points, but you're not necessarily talking about Irene Adler either.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Not necessarily in series 3, but someday I'd like to see them make something of "The Adventure of the Three Students". The mystery is pretty lame but the setting is very modern and involves a case of academic dishonesty at an unnamed university. Also, Holmes is hilariously irritated at having to work away from his familiar environment at Baker Street and snaps some great insults at his companions, Dr. Watson and a young police officer.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I want them to do a Christmas special. The rumors that there was to be one this year fell flatter then a pancake but Gatiss said that if the crew could be pulled together it wasn't out of the question. He mentioned the "Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" which was Christmas centric, and how much fun it would be to do.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Do you mean a Christmas-themed episode run as part of a three-episode series in December -- or a separate entity, presumably filmed along with a three-episode series, but run on its own at Christmas time?

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

   I guess in the long run it really doesn't matter that much. Just an episode that is kind of Christmas centric. If it was filmed as part of a season, I would have no reason to kick about anything.

[Carol the Dabbler]

You could count "Scandal" as Christmas-themed, or at least set during the holiday season.

 

But if they're going to do something more explicitly Christmassy, I'd like it to be a standalone episode, so they could be as frivolous as they like without "wasting" a regular episode.  Maybe we could see/hear John play the clarinet this time!

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

 

Maybe we could see/hear John play the clarinet this time!

 

  Oh yes! That would be fun! Maybe he and Sherlock playing a duet for something.

[Carol the Dabbler]

When  he mentioned the clarinet in "Blind Banker," he said he'd learned how to play it in school, so apparently he hasn't practiced in many years.  He'd probably be kinda squawky!

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Squawky would be fine, it would still be a beautiful thing to see, John Watson in the lime light if only for a chosen few.

[Carol the Dabbler]

No argument there!

 

I thought of something else I'd like to see in Series 3:  Call it morbid fascination if you want, but I'd like to see the scar on John's left shoulder.  This is not the same thing as wanting to see him hurt (though I suspect we'll see some of that this time round too), because the scar has already been there for years.  If it's similar to Watson's wandering wound in canon, there's a fairly nasty scar caused by an exploding bullet, presumably requiring arthroscopic surgery nowadays, which may have caused some additional scarring (what with military hospitals being more concerned with functionality than with the cosmetic effect).

 

I figure Series 3 is a good opportunity, because surely Mary can coax John out of his undershirt!

 

Real-world addendum:  I suspect that the scar may explain the undershirt.  Any time John's left shoulder is actually shown, Martin Freeman needs to spend additional time in makeup -- no fun for him, and an additional expense for the producers.

 

[T.o.b.y]

If an interest in scars is morbid, then I really need to do some thinking...

 

I would love to see Sherlock go on a cocaine binge after the marriage like Holmes is said to have done in "A Scandal in Bohemia", but that will never happen on BBC, and it's probably for the best.