Episode #208 Shownotes

A very late first episode of 2012, for which I apologize. Sometimes you have the best intentions and things still get delayed.

It's fair to say I'm conflicted about the character of Moriarty.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the portrayal that Andrew Scott provides in this latest TV adaptation. As I mentioned in the show, his interpretation is one of the best I've seen. If you view him as The Joker then it works brilliantly.
My issue stems from the character himself. He has come down through history as one of the best arch villains in literature, if not the original arch villain, yet he only ever appeared in one short story. When Doyle got tired of his creation he needed a believable mechanism for Holmes' death and a character like Moriarty who was equal but opposite was the best way to do it.
In every adaptation of Holmes since we have always had Moriarty. I believe it's part of the superhero archetype where every hero needs a nemesis. In my eyes the character of Moriarty is given far too much importance and credence in the Holmesian universe. It diminishes the ingenious nature of Holmes' deductive method if in the background you've always got a moustache-twirling villain.

I'm going to stick my neck out now and make some predictions for series 3 of Sherlock.

1) Dr Watson will by the end of the series be married, although it's quite possible that he'll be married before the start of the third series. His wife will possibly be named Mary Morstan (Although I personally wouldn't like this as it means they're unlikely to do The Sign of Four). As an outside bet he'll be in a relationship with Molly.

2) The first story that gets adapted in series three will be The Empty House, which is the first story that Holmes returned in. It will feature Colonel Sebastian Moran, who will be a military sniper. It's quite possible that the assasin we saw at the end of this series will be revealed to be Moran.

3) Assuming Dr Watson isn't already married to Mary Morstan before the series starts, one of the stories that gets adapted will be The Sign of Four. It will be interesting to see how the story of Indian colonialism gets changed.


Only one poor-quality live video and one uninspired produced video this week.