BBC's Sherlock: Series 3

It was a troll. We'll never know what really happened.
 
Well, I'm inclined to believe Sherlock Holmes was telling the truth to Anderson over how he faked his death. Why? Because even though Sherlock loosely adapts the original stories and plays fast and loose with them, it's still very true to the spirit of who Sherlock Holmes is as a character, as well as the philosophy behind his deductive reasoning and powers of observation. The exchange between Sherlock and Andersen after Sherlock explains how he faked his death reminded me of this bit of dialogue from the Conan Doyle's original "The Red-Headed League."

Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he. "I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all."

"I begin to think, Watson," said Holmes, "that I make a mistake in explaining. 'Omne ignotom pro magnifico,' you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.
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There are other lines from the original stories which echo this very sentiment. In "A Study In Scarlet," Holmes at one point tells Watson, "You know a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all." Yet explain he does because, if anything, Sherlock likes to show off his brilliance.

And yes, the solution is mundane and simple, especially in comparison to the other "solutions" shown in the episode. But again, that's why its also ingenious and reflective of the stories. In a sense, Sherlock Holmes is the ultimate practitioner of Occam's Razor, i.e that the simplest explanation is most likely true. There's even a variation of one of Sherlock's most famous quotes in this very episode, that "whenever you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

But of course, Anderson can't except this. After all, this is Sherlock Holmes, the guy who has repeatedly shown him up in the previous two seasons, someone who constantly came up with solutions that were right under his very nose, much to his and Sally Donovan's embarrassment. Someone of Sherlock's intellect had to have come up with something more grand and elaborate and complex. Something that was worthy of all the theories and speculation that he and his fan club had entertained over the past two years. Something more reflective of what he himself would've come up with rather than the actual facts being presented. He, to quote Sherlock Holmes again, "[theorized] before [he] had all the evidence" which "biases one's judgement" and "[twisted] facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

And that's why he never got it right, and why he still refuses to believe that what Sherlock has told him was the real answer--because in a world that has been conditioned to believe that being overly complex is synonymous with intelligence, which "sees but does not observe," we overlook the most basic of solutions and how clever they can actually be.
 
I liked episode, ok so it doesn't explain how he did it. But I like his reintroduction, plus Watson beating the crap out of him every time he tried to tell him "he's sorry".

Also i think Sherlock telling "how it was done" to Anderson seems more likely since Mycroft had the means to plant people etc...

loving this version of Mary

anyhow I like that he's back and this new enemy is quite intriguing
 
Infinity9999x said:
Yeah it has, from a while back actually. Before they even announced the air date for S3 or started filming it, Cumberbatch told interviewers that he and Freeman had signed up for 6 more Sherlock Episodes.
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According to Steven Moffat (in October), Benedict and Martin made up their minds before the BBC themselves, which isn't confirmation. He also said the BBC is waiting until after Series 3. Maybe such a disorganised production schedule isn't appealing to them.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013...erlock-series-4-themselves-says-steven-moffat
 
BBC seems to not handle great shows well, sometimes...

Luthor
The Hour
 
stillanerd said:
Well, I'm inclined to believe Sherlock Holmes was telling the truth to Anderson over how he faked his death. Why? Because even though Sherlock loosely adapts the original stories and plays fast and loose with them, it's still very true to the spirit of who Sherlock Holmes is as a character, as well as the philosophy behind his deductive reasoning and powers of observation. The exchange between Sherlock and Andersen after Sherlock explains how he faked his death reminded me of this bit of dialogue from the Conan Doyle's original "The Red-Headed League."



There are other lines from the original stories which echo this very sentiment. In "A Study In Scarlet," Holmes at one point tells Watson, "You know a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all." Yet explain he does because, if anything, Sherlock likes to show off his brilliance.

And yes, the solution is mundane and simple, especially in comparison to the other "solutions" shown in the episode. But again, that's why its also ingenious and reflective of the stories. In a sense, Sherlock Holmes is the ultimate practitioner of Occam's Razor, i.e that the simplest explanation is most likely true. There's even a variation of one of Sherlock's most famous quotes in this very episode, that "whenever you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

But of course, Anderson can't except this. After all, this is Sherlock Holmes, the guy who has repeatedly shown him up in the previous two seasons, someone who constantly came up with solutions that were right under his very nose, much to his and Sally Donovan's embarrassment. Someone of Sherlock's intellect had to have come up with something more grand and elaborate and complex. Something that was worthy of all the theories and speculation that he and his fan club had entertained over the past two years. Something more reflective of what he himself would've come up with rather than the actual facts being presented. He, to quote Sherlock Holmes again, "[theorized] before [he] had all the evidence" which "biases one's judgement" and "[twisted] facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

And that's why he never got it right, and why he still refuses to believe that what Sherlock has told him was the real answer--because in a world that has been conditioned to believe that being overly complex is synonymous with intelligence, which "sees but does not observe," we overlook the most basic of solutions and how clever they can actually be.
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The only issue I have with your reasoning here (and it's very well thought out) is this:

Anderson didn't not believe him because it wasn't complex enough. He did kind of tease Sherlock a bit "not the way I would have done it" but what made him not believe it was because it didn't make sense. He actually says that. And then he goes on to list reasons [BLACKOUT]How did you know John would stand in the right spot? How did you know the bike rider would get to him in time, how did you know you'd have enough time to begin with? Ect.[/BLACKOUT]

So actually, Anderson didn't believe it because he thought it was a bit too complex, not the other way around, and because he thought too much was left to chance. And that leads me to believe it was a lie.

Though I do think elements of the truth were sprinkled in there. I think it's likely that Mycroft was involved in some way, and that Sherlock was employing a good number of his homeless network.
 
To be fair it doesn't help when your main stars start becoming huge successes. Cumberbatch and Freeman's loyalty to this show though is astounding and the BBC would have an uprising on their hands if they cancel it instead of it needing to end.

Anyway despite the great analysis posted earlier I don't think the Anderson explanation is how he did it. I did before the "Plus if that was how you did it I'd be the last person to tell" *Sherlock has already left*... that's a sign to me that it wasn't. Plus the fact that Watson asked again "you are gonna tell me how you did it?" and Watson is essentially the audience in this show so I think the reveal is still open. Whether Moffat and Gatiss have the balls to give a concrete answer is another thing.

Especially in Doctor Who Moffat has ALWAYS cowered from giving solid resolutions to his cliffhangers during his run. It's always other glossed over or ridiculously over the top.
 
Honestly, Cumby should stick with this greatness...

JJ didn't give him anything as good to do as he got last night, in STID. He's probably just too good for Hollywood.
 
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Deserana said:
To be fair it doesn't help when your main stars start becoming huge successes. Cumberbatch and Freeman's loyalty to this show though is astounding and the BBC would have an uprising on their hands if they cancel it instead of it needing to end.

Anyway despite the great analysis posted earlier I don't think the Anderson explanation is how he did it. I did before the "Plus if that was how you did it I'd be the last person to tell" *Sherlock has already left*... that's a sign to me that it wasn't. Plus the fact that Watson asked again "you are gonna tell me how you did it?" and Watson is essentially the audience in this show so I think the reveal is still open. Whether Moffat and Gatiss have the balls to give a concrete answer is another thing.

Especially in Doctor Who Moffat has ALWAYS cowered from giving solid resolutions to his cliffhangers during his run. It's always other glossed over or ridiculously over the top.
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Thus, I have a gut wrenching feeling there'll be more/less of the same come August unless the other writers outside the two (i.e. Chibnall, Gaiman, Roberts, McRae and Jack Lothian) step their game up
 
Infinity9999x said:
The only issue I have with your reasoning here (and it's very well thought out) is this:

Anderson didn't not believe him because it wasn't complex enough. He did kind of tease Sherlock a bit "not the way I would have done it" but what made him not believe it was because it didn't make sense. He actually says that. And then he goes on to list reasons [BLACKOUT]How did you know John would stand in the right spot? How did you know the bike rider would get to him in time, how did you know you'd have enough time to begin with? Ect.[/BLACKOUT]

So actually, Anderson didn't believe it because he thought it was a bit too complex, not the other way around, and because he thought too much was left to chance. And that leads me to believe it was a lie.

Though I do think elements of the truth were sprinkled in there. I think it's likely that Mycroft was involved in some way, and that Sherlock was employing a good number of his homeless network.
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That's a very good point. However, I would say that Anderson
asking those questions is, in fact, him unknowingly making whatever potential solution he believes to be the truth far more complex than it really is. After all, not only were his questions looking for the exact specific details, they're also are pretty mundane and trivial compared to the larger questions, such as how Sherlock was able to answer how he faked his death, which included John actually seeing him fall, seeing a body, blood, and that Sherlock had "no pulse." And you could kind of see that Sherlock was a bit annoyed still wasn't satisfied with the explanation he was given. Heck, the easiest answer to those question would be that, after being flatmates for so long where he had plenty of time to make some careful observation and study, Sherlock knows John Watson very well.

Plus, Sherlock himself admitted that, in spite of the fact that he and Mycroft came up with 13 possible scenarios, one thing he didn't anticipate was Moriarty committing suicide, something Sherlock adds was something that, in hindsight, did make sense given how Moriarty appeared to have a "death wish" during their first meeting in "The Great Game." Thus, there's always going to be some unexpected, random, unforeseen element no matter how well planned. It just so happened that, in the case of faking his death, everything worked out according to plan.

And let's not forget, Sherlock's explanation for how he survived his fall wasn't the real reason he showed up at Anderson's place. It was to tell him that he knew he was responsible for the "Jack the Ripper's body and diary" hoax and essentially telling him to count his lucky stars that he wasn't going to turn him into the police.

EDIT: Also, consider what
Anderson's original theory for how Sherlock survived. Note that he was actually close to what the real solution. Not only was he correct that Sherlock faked his death, but he was also correct in believing that Molly was in on it, that Sherlock had help from the government, that people were used to distract John, and that there was another body set up in Sherlock's place. However, he made it too complex, too sensational, and too "Mission Impossible" with his suggestions that Moriarty's body had a fake Sherlock mask and wig on, that Sherlock actually bungee jumped, and that John was briefly hypnotized. Couple this with the fact that Anderson initially believed the notion that Sherlock was responsible for all the crimes he solved in spite of the fact that there's probably loads of evidence disproving this idea, this shows that Anderson, as I said before, is a comical example of Sherlock Holmes' statement about how people tend to "twist facts to suit theories, rather than theories to suit facts."
 
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The explanations we got show plausible ways Sherlock could have done it even if the details weren't all accurate. They are merely there to prove it's possible, not that they were the right ones. Obviously Anderson's is too elaborate and complicated but what Sherlock said may not have been entirely the truth either.

I don't know if we'll ever get a confirmed, undeniable "this is how I did it" reveal of Sherlock's method but we know he had one and that it was planned ahead of time so that's all that's necessary in the end.

All that said, it's still a good episode. It didn't need a strong opening when it had to just show up to be successful but it still felt like a good resolution to the mystery of his death, his return and the start of the next arc in the series.

Cumberbatch and Freeman have both said they enjoy doing the series and will do it until they're old and grey as long as the BBC keeps renewing them. That's not an official confirmation but it is a confirmation they'll keep doing it as long as it's fun and they have the time and strength to do so.
 
I'm probably one of the few people who wasn't that interested in how Sherlock faked his death. Whatever answer they came up with would never please everyone
so giving multiple answers which may or may not be true was probably the smart way to go.
Weight-loss. Hair dye. Botox. Affair. Lawyer. Next :)
antsman41 said:
BBC seems to not handle great shows well, sometimes...

Luthor
The Hour
Click to expand...
Idris Elba has said he is talking to Neil Cross about making the Luther movie this week.

The Fades is a BBC show I liked that didn't last more than one series.

The BBC has a habit of cancelling good stuff while greenlighting rubbish shows.

Ripper Street got cancelled but Peaky Blinders got a second series.
 
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No Jeremy Brett ? What is the saying again, ha yes ! Epic Fail.

Edit : I agree with Rowsdower, Elementary Holmes should not be #1.
 
It's in chronological order so it most definitely should be number one, since it's the latest incarnation of Holmes. But the failure to include Jeremy Brett in the list is a massive overlooking on their part.

Sherlock Holmes, neither of you are. :cwink:
 
Chronological order, I missed that.
Anyway, I am more the Watson type :)
 
I have found Peter Cushing Holmes has been criminally ignored/underrated in the Top Holmes Actors Lists assembled by critics.
 
Teelie said:
It's in chronological order so it most definitely should be number one, since it's the latest incarnation of Holmes. But the failure to include Jeremy Brett in the list is a massive overlooking on their part.

Sherlock Holmes, neither of you are. :cwink:
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Sh**, you're right. Whoops, now I feel stupid.

But she still didn't know Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes! SO I WAS SMARTER! I WAS SMARTER!

images_zps29e603e0.jpg
 
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