Written By: Mark Gatiss
Director: Jeremy Lovering
The Story: Sherlock Holmes returns from the dead…
The Verdict: Two years ago, a nation was left on tenterhooks as Sherlock Holmes seemingly leapt to his death, only to turn up again on screen a few minutes later alive and well, unbeknownst to his grief stricken friend John Watson. Online fandom exploded, imploded, then exploded again, as fans debated back and forth their theories as to how the super sleuth survived. Expectation grew and grew, as the months turned into years…
Creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat clearly knew that no matter what their solution would be, it wouldn’t satisfy all of the SHERLOCK fanbase, no matter how audacious or clever it was. Something entirely unexpected would be required so as to lessen the weight of expectation. Their eventual decision to tease the audience with several possible, if a little crazy and highly improbable, explanations is a masterstroke, one with its tongue firmly placed in cheek.
But the real genius that lies at the heart of THE EMPTY HEARSE is just how slick and stylish it is, despite having to juggle both the aforementioned resolution to 2012’s monstrous cliffhanger and an involving ‘crime of the week’ narrative, not to mention the inclusion of several character reintroductions and setting up a potential new villain for the series. The direction is more inventive and inspired then previous series, a feat one thought near impossible, considering how stylised and splendid the previous run looked (clearly, IN FEAR’s Jeremy Lovering proves to be a perfect choice for the show). And then there are the performances, all of which should be singled out for praise, particularly those of Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, newcomer Amanda Abbington, and returning regulars Rupert Graves and Louise Brealey, all of whom excel in every scene. Cumberbatch and Freeman are especially excellent, proving once again what an unlikely yet utterly fantastic double act they make together. The fact that they spend half the episode at each other’s throats (quite literally in some scenes) does little to dampen the pair’s amazing chemistry, which lights up the whole episode throughout.
And then Gatiss only goes and pulls the rug out from under the audience a second time, providing a well thought out and plausible answer, only to then make us question whether even that solution is entirely correct. It’s surely a clever creative decision that will destroy the Internet forever, but by Jove it’s good! You can almost hear the sound of Moffat and Gatiss laughing maniacally as they write the script, poking fun at the crazy yet wonderful fans, for whom the past two years most surely have been spent wearing out SHERLOCK Series Two DVDs as they pause and rewind and analyse and re-rewind those final climatic moments atop St. Bart’s Hospital!
THE EMPTY HEARSE is damn fine television from beginning to end, a breath of fresh air that is expertly plotted and paced, beautifully shot and realised on screen, and above all, incredibly fun. A wonderful piece of meta-fiction to brighten up the cold January nights, THE EMPTY HEARSE more then delivers, both in terms of resolutions and pure entertainment.
SHERLOCK most definitely lives!
Best Bit: An episode of this calibre contains a wealth of great moments, but nothing tops the restaurant scene, as an incognito Sherlock attempts to make a grand entrance (with little success). Great comic timing from Cumberbatch and Freeman and the following scenes in the café and the kebab shop are equally to die for, both hilarious, true to life, and completely endearing.
LMAO: Sherlock and Moriarty giggling like schoolboys on the rooftop and leaning in for a snog may be the best gag on television for this entire year (though I eagerly wait to be proved wrong. We do still have two more episodes of SHERLOCK to go after all). A cheeky little dig at online slash fiction and a real ‘did I just watch that?’ moment – it had this reviewer in stitches.
Great Cameo: Loved Derren Brown turning up. It’s a little disappointing that he actually wasn’t involved in the Suicide illusion though. Oh well…
Trivia: Sherlock’s parents are actually played by Benedict Cumberbatch’s parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton. Wanda Ventham is best known for recurring roles in Gerry Anderson’s UFO and ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES, whilst Carlton has appeared in films such as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1982), HIGH ROAD TO CHINA (1983) and THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1997).
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Join THN later this week for part two of our Sherlock Series 3 Blog.
