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Meta: Why Lestrade is living dangerously at Scotland Yard


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My favourite source of interesting British meta from a Sherlock pov is at it again! This time wellingtongoose looks at why Lestrade is taking his professional life in his hands and why Sherlock *isn't* the world's only consulting detective. All very interesting stuff!

 

Nuclear Meltdown at the Met, Part 1

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If (like me) you don't like tumblr, part 2 is now on LiveJournal, wherein it is discussed:
  • Why Donovan and Anderson hate Sherlock – it is much more complicated than just petty jealousy.
  • Why informing the Chief Inspector about Sherlock was an incredibly brave thing for Sally to do.
  • Reasons why Sally felt she had to report Sherlock at that time
  • Why Sally Donovan is a very human, flawed and brilliant character.
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I find these metas fascinating, but there's a part of me that does not want to believe that some beloved characters would operate so far outside the law, even if it is perceived as being for the greater good in the long run (I don't have a problem believing Mycroft would do that - he's in politics after all). Due to this, my brain will not accept that Sherlock happens in our reality but in one that is very similar that we could step into unawares without realising. Having said that, this series of Sherlock metas is a very useful resource for those wanting to know more about the way the British system works, whether you're a Brit who doesn't know about such stuff in much detail (me), a non-Brit, a writer or what.

 

By the way, I take no responsibility for the fannish part of my brain, it does what it wants without asking me anything (why do you think I write crossovers, it's all down to my twisted little brain).

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... there's a part of me that does not want to believe that some beloved characters would operate so far outside the law .... Due to this, my brain will not accept that Sherlock happens in our reality but in one that is very similar that we could step into unawares without realising.

JessieBlackwood made a similar comment ("I am thinking fiction here, though, not real life") in post #19 of her "Psyche Behind the Character" thread. (That thread has some interesting discussions about what makes various characters tick, including Sherlock, John, and Lestrade.)

 

I think we're all so accustomed to "television reality" that we would be shocked to see a fictional show where certain things worked the way they really do. Actually, Sherlock comes much closer than most in some regards. In many mystery shows and novels, the protagonist is said to be famous, but John points out in "Reichenbach" that fame would actually be a handicap to a private detective. And Moriarty's universal computer key is shown to be a hoax, whereas most television plots would swallow that one whole.

 

Moftiss are somewhat handicapped by their desire to retain the general tone of the original Holmes stories. As wellingtongoose points out, the Scotland Yard of the late 1800's was a very early prototype of today's Yard. Many practices that were plausible then would be unthinkable now -- but they persist in detective fiction, including Holmes adaptations.

 

I have no idea how Moftiss will handle Lestrade in Series 3, but I have no doubt whatsoever that they will include him, simply because they'd be fools not to. I expect that he'll be in disgrace at the beginning, probably reprimanded and suspended. But he will be vindicated in the end, a la television reality.

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  • 4 months later...

In reality (and also in one of the rpgs I'm involved in) I think Mycroft would have sorted the paperwork for Sherlock to be a consulting expert for the Police. The police do not use amateurs but they do use professionals and I find it odd that Mycroft, with all his influence and power, wouldn't be able to make it so Sherlock appeared on paper as a professional consultant. I know Mofftiss haven't done this, because the original wasn't a pro, and it does make for better tensions and a more interesting dynamic between Sherlock and the Met. Also the conflict that comes up when he is disgraced is more dramatic as a result. If he was a pro consultant, he would simply not be used any more, rather than cause such a rukus.

 

Written novels follow certain rules and construction plans which you can see coming out in the series. There has to be conflict of some kind to create drama, challenges and obstacles that the main characters have to overcome. There are certain ways of producing the highs and lows that capture and keep an audience and stop the thing from becoming boring. Clifff hangers, reveals, triumphs, sudden plot twists, all add up to the drama of the whole. Timing is essential too. It cannot be too slow or it becomes a chore to watch, too fast and you cannot follow the action.

 

So tv reality is not real life. Just wouldn't work. Why do real life? People can watch a documentary instead. Bringing a drama to tv and making it work is an art. It isn't enough that you have to present your characters and their environment to an audience, they have to get up to stuff that wouldn't happen in reality, stuff you can experience through them, stuff that is more exciting, escapist and just plain fun. Real life is boring, drama is the opposite. There has to be reality but this is not necessarily related to real events/processes/people/things.

 

Okay, so you and I wouldn't go haring off through the back alleys of London after a taxi with a potential serial killer driving it, would we? Well, I wouldn't anyway. Just for a moment, look at reality. I live a (relatively) safe life, I have two kids who need their mum, who need me to go to work so I can pay the mortgage, bring in food and make sure we're warm enough in winter. I do not want to risk my life in any way. I do not want to risk my job in any way. I want to be able to pay the bills, earn a living, have friends, play games, meet great people like everyone here on the internet...You get the picture. Inwardly I would love to go running off with Sherlock, a gun in my hand which I knew how to fire, adrenilin pumping, risking my safety. I know the only way I can do that is in my imagination, watching tv. So reality is not tv. If I want to watch real people interacting with each other, I watch Big Brother (which I don't btw, because I find it BORING!).

 

Take the CPR routine. Our patient's heart has stopped and he's not breathing. Oh my God, he's going to die... Bring out the paddles, CLEAR! and our patient jerks on the table and begins to breath again (or not as the case may be). This is dramatic, tense and exciting. Also totally false, just ask any paramedic. If you want more details I will be happy to share them with you, having researched it recently for a story I'm writing. keeping it simple, shocking the heart is done while in VF or ventricular Fibrillation, where the heart trembles instead of beating, or VT or ventricular Tachycardia, where the heart has too fast a rhythm. You can shock the heart back to it's normal rhythm. Once the heart has stopped, the paddles do not work. This is a simplification but essentially the tv people get it wrong, but my point here is that they get it wrong deliberately. It's dramatic. That's why. Artistic license.

 

The writers are weaving a tale here, creating and building characters and watching them grow, throwing a spanner in the works and watching them overcome the difficulties. I love being a writer for that reason. Often characters will tell you what they want to do. Yes, they do have legs. My characters get up and do stuff and I have to write it. If that happens I know the story and the characters are working. When I write I can escape safely into another world, while I remain safe at home.

 

So tv reality really doesn't work. But it's okay that way. 

 

Thankfully, Greg IS in series 3 and in the first two episodes at least. Apparently there is now some speculation about his relationship with Molly but it remains to be seen if tv reality will reflect real life speculation.

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