Episode 2.2 ,"The Hounds Of Baskerville"

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yeah, this one you really need to pay attention!

 

[Caya]

Yeah, but -- the CIA?  While I admit that CIA scientists might be cut from different cloth than CIA field operatives, surely they would still work under rules of extreme secrecy.  Putting the official name of their classified project on a shirt (and it was the official name, because that's how Sherlock looked it up), along with the small-town location, seems like a clear violation of the rules.  If that had actually happened, I'd think those shirts would have been confiscated and burned -- possibly along with the scientists.

 

Cracked had a rather amusing article today about blunders like this one. And yeah, the CIA is featured.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, I give up -- it wasn't Mark Gatiss that was being dopey, it was the CIA!

 

[mxmarg]

OK, I give up -- it wasn't Mark Gatiss that was being dopey, it was the CIA!

 

Ha ha ha!   That IS funny!

 

I did like Sherlock's entrance with the harpoon although it did seem a bit disjointed from the rest of the story.  But great insight into what John lives with every day!   And happy to hear how it tied into the canon.  I love the insights you guys offer up!

 

Have to say, this is my least favorite episode.  I guess because there's so much discomfort, Henry, Sherlock, John, and it's all because of paper tigers... or hounds in this case.  When I watched it again I fast forwarded through Henry's scene with his tv and backyard and John in the lab hallucinating.  Too hard to watch them having such a dreadful time. 

 

It didn't make sense to me how oblivious John was being with Sherlock in fron of the fireplace.  The man was practically chattering his teeth and John keeps talking about other things?  Um, hello?  He's normally tuned into his friend... why is he either not noticing or refusing to acknowledge Sherlock's beyond-flustered state?  Theories anyone?

 

Must say, Carol, when I saw you were from Indiana on other threads, I immediately thought of this episode.  How fun both you and your husband hollared "Liberty, Indiana"!!!! 

 

Here are two more puzzlements of mine about this ep:  Is there something in the canon that explains why the word "Hound" catches Sherlock's ear and makes him want to take the case?  Seemed to be a stretch that this was the defining moment about taking the case. And to have Sherlock have Henry repeat what he said exactly like he said it before, using the word Hound just seemed like writers needing to fill time for pity's sake.  

And then why the sudden turn around about coming along with?  Sounds like a writer's child got a hold of the computer and noone changed the script back.  The show is so much sharper than this usually...  (Ok, so how do I really feel?! )

 

Why couldn't our favorite high functioning sociopath say "Margaret" aloud as he was typing it in???? 

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I did like Sherlock's entrance with the harpoon although it did seem a bit disjointed from the rest of the story.

It's the first scene from another Conan Doyle story, "Black Peter" (where it actually is connected to the plot). Apparently they just thought it was cool, so they tacked it on here. (They do that sort of thing quite a bit.)

 

Is there something in the canon that explains why the word "Hound" catches Sherlock's ear and makes him want to take the case?  .... And to have Sherlock have Henry repeat what he said exactly like he said it before, using the word Hound just seemed like writers needing to fill time for pity's sake.

Henry's line is directly from canon, but the reason it gets Sherlock's attention here is simply that (according to Sherlock) people don't often say "hound" these days. He figured there must be some reason why Henry would use the word "hound" instead of "dog," and that made him curious.

 

And then why the sudden turn around about coming along with?

That is from canon, sort of. In the original story, Holmes tells Sir Henry that he's too busy to leave London, so Watson will go instead -- but then Holmes goes to the moor incognito. The sudden turnaround in "Hounds" is kind of an homage to that.

 

Why couldn't our favorite high functioning sociopath say "Margaret" aloud as he was typing it in????

OK, you mean when he was typing in Major Barrymore's password. But then you lose me. Did he try to say the name out loud and fail in some way?      Oh, wait -- dopey me!  You mean you wish that he had said it -- just like

I might wish that he or John had commented on the Christmas music on Mummy's stereo in "Last Vow."

  (I do generally pick up on things eventually.)

 

[mxmarg]

 

 

And thanks for sliding those scenes into the world of making sense, Carol!

 

 

Any one have a take on why it took John so ridiculously long to acknowledge Sherlock's coming-apart-at-the-seams state by the fireplace?

[Pamela]

 

 

And thanks for sliding those scenes into the world of making sense, Carol!

 

 

Any one have a take on why it took John so ridiculously long to acknowledge Sherlock's coming-apart-at-the-seams state by the fireplace?

All I can really think is that he wasn't looking at him; he was staring into the fire while he was rambling on, I believe.  It's been awhile since I've watched it.

[Carol the Dabbler]

John was increasingly angry in that scene, as I recall (though it's been a while).  Perhaps either he thought Sherlock was merely being all prima donna (and that's what made him angry) or else his anger was clouding his perception.  Or a vicious circle of both.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thinking back some more, I believe John does see that Sherlock is upset, so he tries "talking sense" to him -- appealing to his intellect -- hoping that Sherlock will be OK if he just realizes that there could not really be such a monster.  Sherlock keeps trying to explain that he knows he couldn't be seeing it, but nevertheless he is seeing it.  Neither of them has ever dealt with this side of Sherlock before.  Finally Sherlock becomes so frustrated that he yells at John to leave him alone.  And John is frustrated enough that he does.

 

[T.o.b.y]

John wasn't used to seeing Sherlock like that, I think, and didn't know what to make of it. John was (and still is, I think) completely taken in by Sherlock's "sociopath" image (and other things Sherlock pretends to be, like cold logician, the man who always has a plan, etc). Maybe that is one of the reasons why Sherlock likes to have him as a friend - he sees him like he wants to bee seen a lot of the time.

[TeylaHolmes]

I had a nightmare after watching this episode  but still love it

[mxmarg]

I can see why you would have Teyla!  And I love the HECK out of your signature.    It's spectacular!!!

 

Carol and Toby, yes, good points.  I wondered if John was intentionally ignoring Sherlock's flustered state in order to not feed into it.  Right, and appealing to his intellect to possibly pull him out of it. 

 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

There is also the mindset that grown men don't show emotion, let alone cry, especially in public.

[Carol the Dabbler]

  Bored! 

 

Teyla ... I love the HECK out of your signature.    It's spectacular!!!

 

Teyla, if you want to add a bit more authenticity, you might want to include the smiley face for Sherlock to shoot at, like this:

 

     Bored!   

 

 

But that's just a suggestion, of course -- it's your signature!

[throwAway_12345678]

Riddle me this. Fellow Sherlockers (What do members of this forum call themselves( the die hard sherlock fans)?)

In the beginning of the episode when Sherlock returns to Baker St. he travels via the london tube(metro). He travels with a harpoon. I don't think weapons like harpoons are allowed on the tube. He surely couldn't have travelled on the tube soaked in blood with a bloody harpoon. People would have him reported immediately to the police. From this point we can come up with many theories of how he might have made it to Baker St.(Lestrade happens to be there and lets him go) via tube but sounds really fishy. Any Thoughts ?

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I don't think we have come up with a hard and fast handle as yet.  Some use Sherlockfan. Personally, I am happy with Sherlockian or Holmesian.  Sherlockers isn't bad either.

 

     Well, since this is pure fiction, and it seems Sherlock Holmes can write his own rules, it seems he can get away with it and did.

 

   Actually on ff.net someone did write a fanfic where people were calling it in and Lestrade had to handle it. Of course they were. But since when did Sherlock ever care what people think about him? It was an experiment after all for a good cause. To solve a case. What else could ever matter?

[Janie]

I think the scene with the harpoon was there just for fun and it was rather meant to be a wink at fans of ACD's books. I love it and I admit that I never really thought about how Sherlock actually travelled on the tube covered in blood and with a harpoon. It's a good point though. But Fox is right, it's Sherlock Holmes and he really doesn't care what people think. And Lestrade would manage to do something about it if someone reported him.

[Carol the Dabbler]

As for what we're called, I like your suggestion of Sherlockers, and Sherlockfan is good too.  (I think Sherlockian and Holmesian could be confusing, because those terms are already used by fans of the original Holmes stories.)

 

As I recall, Sherlock told John that he came home on the tube (because "none of the cabs would take me" -- surprise!), so let's assume for the moment that he was telling the truth.  You definitely have a point about tube security, but perhaps he could get from one station to the next before being booted off.  Then walk to the next station and try again.  He'd get home eventually that way.

 

Or he might have made the whole thing up. 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Maybe since no cab would take him, the tubes were buzzing the Yard continually, Lestrade finally just gave up and give him a ride.

[sherlockandjohn]

Catching up on yet another episode I haven't discussed yet... I really fell in love with this. The adventure, the stunning scenery, the mystery, the friendship arc, the character arc, and of course the hilarious scene at Baker St. in the beginning. It's not one of the most defining episodes, and it's perhaps too simple to be one of the most popular, but I don't care... I love it.

 

My favorite scenes are:

 

1. Sherlock sort of apologising to John at the graveyard

2. Sherlock helping Henry at Dewer's Hollow

3. Sherlock's breakdown in the pub

4. Sherlock's entertaining "meltdown" in Baker St.

 

And what can we learn from the above list? It's all about Sherlock.... Sherlock, Sherlock... nah, I'm just kidding. I love you too, John

[Carol the Dabbler]

It's all about Sherlock.... Sherlock, Sherlock... nah, I'm just kidding. I love you too, John

You may be just kidding -- but Sherlock was definitely grandstanding in this one!  (Some of which I find humorous and some of which I find merely annoying.)  Undeniably a drama queen!

 

[sherlockandjohn]

Yes, I was actually just joking Just thought it was funny that all my four points started with 'Sherlock'. However, he is the center in most scenes, isn't he. His character (and the person who plays him) is very large; he has such a wide range of character traits that others fade into the background - to some degree. John is never really "gone", because so much of Sherlock's character arc depends on that man.

 

In this episode, while Sherlock definitely does some childish, arrogant, self-serving things here, most of them come off as entertaining for me. One exception is poor Mrs. Hudson, though. Sherlock really should have apologised.

 

My response to the scene where we found out that Sherlock had locked John in the lab - in which we see Sherlock speak into a microphone and watching John from a TV-screen - is similar to my response to the train scene in The Empty Hearse (only 10 times more powerful with the Empty Hearse scene). It's preposterous, anger-provoking, and hilarious all at the same time. It's brilliant! I laugh every time John drinks his coffee, thinking that Sherlock is trying to apologise

 

 

 

[Slithytove]

I have to admit that I don't mind Sherlock being the centre of everything. John is adorable, of course, and their relationship is at the heart of the stories, and Lestrade, Molly and Hudders are great, but Sherlock....Sherlock is something else.

 

I thought THoB was one of the most far fetched episodes (pressure pads in the ground producing hallucinogenic gas?), but so was the original (frightened to death by gigantic phosphorescent dog?). I did enjoy it, though - particularly the OTT beginning and Sherlock's breakdown in the pub. I thought John's discovery of "dogging" on the Moor was funny, and Lestrade's appearance was brief but lovely. And it was this episode, of course, that introduced us to the Mind Palace.

[T.o.b.y]

Far from minding the show being about Sherlock and everything revolving around him, I think this exactly how it's supposed to be. It's "Sherlock", not "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and all his friends and family and all the other characters we made up too". If I have anything to complain about lately, it is too much focus elsewhere...

 

I really like The Hounds of Baskerville. I think it's a very clever adaptation of my favorite Holmes novel, I enjoy the mystery, I love Sherlock in it, it has some really great scenes (like the one with the coffee that was supposed to be drugged), Mycroft only features marginally and not as the almighty big brother pulling the strings - perfect. I must say, I like this one better than A Scandal in Belgravia, for instance. My only problem with it is that it is just a little too scary to be watched in bed on my own...

[Carol the Dabbler]

Well, of course the show is called Sherlock, so it's about (duh!) Sherlock.  But when I read S&J's comment, it dawned on me that this particular episode shows Sherlock at his all-about-me finest.  Breaking Mrs. Hudson's heart is the least of it.  He throws a tantrum because no interesting cases have come in, then when he does get a client, he uses him as monster bait.  He uses his best (only?) friend as a guinea pig.  And then Mr. Know-It-All doesn't even solve the case, not really.

 

As I said before, he annoys me sometimes.  But I suspect that he's supposed to do that.