BBC Sherlock Canon References - "The Reichenbach Fall" Season 2 Episode 3

 

The final episode of Season 2 is inspired by the original story: The Final Problem.  Here are the references to Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories:

 

1. Lestrade thanks Holmes for capturing Peter Ricoleti, # 1 in Interpol's Most Wanted List - Holmes mentions about his earlier cases in The Musgrave Ritual: “Here’s the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife.”

2.  Holmes is reluctant to wear the Deerstalker. This is a running gag in the second season - This is reference to the fact that Arthur Conan Doyle had not envisioned or written about Holmes wearing the Deerstalker. It was Sidney Paget, the illustrator who create the image of Holmes wearing that particular cap.

3. John asks Sherlock: “Pressing case, is it?”. Sherlock's reply: “They're all pressing 'til they're solved.” – From The Hound of the Baskervilles: “I had waited patiently for the opportunity for I was aware that he would never permit cases to overlap, and that his clear and logical mind would not be drawn from its present work to dwell upon memories of the past.” And “Perhaps you would kindly give me a sketch of the course of events from memory.” “Certainly, though I cannot guarantee that I carry all the facts in my mind. Intense mental concentration has a curious way of blotting out what has passed. The barrister who has his case at his fingers' ends and is able to argue with an expert upon his own subject finds that a week or two of the courts will drive it all out of his head once more. So each of my cases displaces the last, and Mlle. Carere has blurred my recollection of Baskerville Hall. To-morrow some other little problem may be submitted to my notice which will in turn dispossess the fair French lady and the infamous Upwood.”

 
4. Watson referring to Moriarty: “He is back” – Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Valley of Fear: “No less! When any of that party talk about “He” you know whom they mean. There is one predominant “He” for all of them.”

5. Sherlock's deduction at Moriarty's crime scene: “not tougher than crystallised carbon. He used a diamond” – Dr Watson mentions that Holmes is a “first-class chemist” in A Study in Scarlet.

6. Press headline referring to Sherlock as “Amateur detective” – In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes is similarly referred to in press coverage of the case: “The man was apprehended, it appears, in the rooms of a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who has himself, as an amateur, shown some talent in the detective line and who, with such instructors, may hope in time to attain to some degree of their skill.”

 

7. Sherlock deducing that Kelly is typing – Reference to a similar deduction about Miss Sutherland from A Case of Identity: “The double line a little above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, was beautifully defined.”

8. Sherlock deducing oil from the printing press from its scent and later smells linseed oil - Holmes has always had a sharp sense of smell. He mentions in The Hound of the Baskervilles: “There are seventy-five perfumes, which it is very necessary that a criminal expert should be able to distinguish from each other, and cases have more than once within my own experience depended upon their prompt recognition.”

 

9. Sherlock deducing based on Kelly’s fingernails - In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes states: “By a man's finger nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his boot, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs - by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed.”

 

10. Kitty's offer of help to Sherlock: “There’s all sorts of gossip in the press about you. Sooner or later you’re gonna need someone on your side.. someone to set the record straight.” - Holmes tells Watson in The Adventure of the Six Napoleons: “The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution if you only know how to use it.”

 

11. Sherlock coaching the attorney about how to question him & mimicking the judge word for word - Dr Watson mentions about Holmes in A Study in Scarlet: “Has a good practical knowledge of British law.”

 

12. Jim Moriarty's line: “Every fairy tale needs a good old-fashioned villain” - Holmes expresses his skepticism about the case in The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire: “But what do we know about vampires? Does it come within our purview either? Anything is better than stagnation, but really we seem to have been switched on to a Grimms’ fairy tale.”

13. Jim's boast: “I could blow up NATO in alphabetical order” – Holmes states about Professor Moriarty in The Valley of Fear: “The greatest schemer of all time, the organizer of every deviltry, the controlling brain of the underworld, a brain which might have made or marred the destiny of nations—that's the man!”

14. Jim's statements: “The man with the key is King” and “Honey, you should see me in a crown” - Holmes describes Professor Moriarty in The Final Problem: “He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.”

 

15.  Jim's promise to Sherlock: “I owe you a fall, Sherlock” - Reference to Professor Moriarty's warning to Holmes in The Final Problem: “You hope to beat me. I tell you that you will never beat me. If you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you”

16. When discussing about his new neighbors, John speculates that he might be Sherlock's friend. Mycroft laughs and replies: “Of Sherlock’s?” – 

• Dr Watson mentions about Holmes in The Valley of Fear: “Holmes was not prone to friendship….”
• Holmes tells Watson about his network of friends in The Five Orange Pips: “Except you, I have none”
• In The Adventure of the Gloria Scott, Holmes talks about his college days: “I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and working out my own little methods of thought, so that I never mixed much with the men of my year.”
  

17. Ludmila Dyachenko, the new neighbor who is also an assassin – Reference to the rumor that Ludmilla Hubel, the alleged lover of Archduke John Salvator of Austria was the inspiration for ACD to create the character of Irene Adler

 

18. Sherlock's comment on Anderson's deductions: “Brilliant impression of an idiot” - Dr Watson writes about Holmes in The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans: “It was one of my friend's most obvious weaknesses that he was impatient with less alert intelligences than his own.”

 

20. Sherlock deducing that the kidnapped boy was anxious because he was walking on his tiptoe - In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes deduces that Sir Charles Baskerville was running for his life based on the fact that his footprints indicated that he was walking on tiptoe down the alley.

 

21. Sherlock's statement: “All the chemical traces on his shoe have been preserved. The sole of the shoe is like a passport. If we’re lucky we can see everything that he’s been up to.” -  Dr Watson writes about Holmes' expertise in A Study in Scarlet: “Geology - Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other.  After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their color and consistence in what part of London he had received them.”

22. Sherlock's comments about the homeless network: “Faster than the police” - In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes speaks highly of the Baker Street Irregulars: “There’s more work to be got out of one of those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force.”

 

23. Sherlock further comments that the homeless network is “far more relaxed about taking bribes” - In The Sign of the Four, Holmes paid an advance of one shilling to each of his Irregulars with the promise of one guinea to the one who finds Mordecai Smith’s boat.
In addition, Holmes has also bribed a number of other characters, including the constable John Rance in A Study in Scarlet, Mrs Mordecai Smith in The Sign of the Four, the cabbie John Clayton in The Hound of the Baskerville.

 

23. Sherlock correctly deducing about mercury poisoning - In A Study in Scarlet, Dr Watson writes that Holmes is “well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally”

24. John asks Sherlock twice not to show too much happiness around the crime scene, since children have been kidnapped - Dr Watson writes about Holmes' reaction to John Hector McFarlane's predicament in The Adventure of the Norwood Builder: “My companion's expressive face showed a sympathy which was not, I am afraid, entirely unmixed with satisfaction.”

I will be listing the remaining references in another post.

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.

Image Sources: BBC Wales, Hartswood Films, Masterpiece Theatre

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BBC Sherlock S4E3 "The Final Problem" - Recap and Review

There will be spoilers throughout and the readers who are yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip this post.

As seen at the end of “The Lying Detective”, there is one more Holmes lurking around and that is Eurus (Sian Brooke). Eurus is seen taking a shot at John Watson (Martin Freeman) and this is supposedly meant to indicate that either John is dead or at least injured.

The season finale starts off with Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) watching classic movie at his palatial home. Suddenly, horror movie cliches (creepy girl and creepy clown running around randomly) abound and Mycroft is scared out of his wits. Turns out that his “brother dear” Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) is behind this charade.

Sherlock wanted to get even with Mycroft for not revealing the existence of Eurus. And as an added bonus, John is still alive. What about getting shot by the scheming sister, you ask. Well, it was just a tranquilizer shot. No worries.

Mycroft then gives a quick rundown about Eurus (“an era defining genius beyond Newton”). If only she had not gone bad, the world would have benefited from her genius intellect or at the least Sherlock would not have had so much trouble from that pesky criminal mastermind, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott).

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But as thing stand, Eurus has gone bonkers. As if she had predicted the exact time and day of this conversation, Eurus arranges a nice explosion at 221 B Baker Street by sending a remote controlled drone. Man, that Eurus is so smart.

Like any respectable action heroes would do in such a situation, Sherlock and John escape completely unscathed and decide to take the war right back to “sister dear”.

The next scene shifts to Sherlock, John and Mycroft arriving at Sherrinford and right at this moment, the show divorced itself from Arthur Conan Doyle's works (on which it is supposed to be based on).

The rest of the episode is busy doing an ill-advised and completely out of place imitation of the Saw horror movies rather than be a show about a bohemian detective. And yes, the resolution. The resolution comes and goes like the Miss Hudson cameo in the other equally inept adaptation that also claims to be based on one Mr Sherlock Holmes: the CBS show known as Elementary.

Coming back to this show,  Eurus has taken complete control of Sherrinford and subjects her dearest brothers and the ex army veteran to a series of psychological tests including making a phone call to Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), one character choosing between shooting one of the other two etc. Yes, the episode is that bad.

A special mention must be made of the closing montage. With the departed Mary Morstan still making her presence felt through DVDs (come to think of it, so many characters make their appearances through clips after dying..), the show ends with a tribute to Basil Rathbone with the lead actors continuing the time honored tradition of Batman and Robin running towards the camera.

Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs), who stole the show in the previous episode, has the best line in this one too: her exchange with Mycroft about a cup of tea.

Surprisingly, the best performance is not given by either the Holmes brothers or their new found sister or even the cute as a button and always teary eyed John. It is Andrew Scott as the late Jim Moriarty with his very brief but very catchy and enjoyable contributions by imitating the sounds of time ticking away and train sounds.

I know this makes no sense when you read it, but it really translates well to screen. I have never been a fan of Andrew's over the top version of Moriarty, but this was just pure fun. Scott's performance remains the only redeeming feature of this shipwreck of what was once a widely acclaimed show. Here is an article that captures the unbelievable plot holes and gaps in the script.

Going forward, I can only hope for two things: that the BBC show never returns, and that Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. learn from this mistake and continue their great work with the third Sherlock Holmes movie.

Click here to read the list of Canonical References in the episode. Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.

Image Sources: Hartswood Films, BBC Wales, Masterpiece theater

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"The Final Problem" - Canonical References and Nods

There might be spoilers and the readers who are yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip this post.

1. The episode title “The Final Problem” is a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle's story of the same name. This is the one where Holmes comes face to face with his archenemy, Professor Moriarty and ends with both of them being presumed dead. Public outcry (and possibly the publisher's monetary offers) forced Doyle to bring the detective back to life in The Adventure of the Empty House.

2. After John Watson (Martin Freeman) asks him to come to 221 B Baker Street on the next day to discuss about Eurus Holmes (Sian Brooke), Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) angrily responds: “For God's sake, this is not one of your idiot cases” - In The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans, Mycroft scolds Sherlock Holmes to appreciate the urgency of the case: “You must drop everything, Sherlock. Never mind your usual petty puzzles of the police-court. It's a vital international problem that you have to solve.”

3. John tells Mycroft: “There is an East wind coming..” - 

In His Last Bow, Holmes tells Dr Watson: “There's an east wind coming, Watson.”
Watson: “I think not, Holmes. It is very warm.”
Holmes: “Good old Watson! You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There's an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it's God's own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared.”

Interestingly, at the climax of His Last Vow, Sherlock tells John: “The East Wind takes us all in the end ... It’s a story my brother told me when we were kids. The East Wind - this terrifying force that lays waste to all in its path ... It seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the Earth. That was generally me.”

4. Mycroft asks Sherlock as to who said this line: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Sherlock replies: “I don't know and I don't care.” - In A Study in Scarlet, Dr Watson writes that Sherlock Holmes' knowledge of literature is Nil. (Later in the episode, John clarifies that Oscar Wilde wrote this line in The Importance of Being Earnest)

5. Musgrave, the Holmes ancestral home. Later, Eurus makes the statement: “At long last, Sherlock Holmes, it's time to solve the Musgrave ritual. Your very first case and the final problem” - Reference to The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. In the story, Holmes solves the mystery behind the disappearance of Brunton, the family butler and Rachel Howells, the maid.

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6. Eurus tells Sherlock: “You try and try, but you just can't see, you can't look.” - Holmes makes a very similar statement to Watson in A Scandal in Bohemia: “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.”

7. Eurus asks Sherlock to figure which of the three Garrideb brothers (Nathan, Alex and Howard) murdered Evans - This is a reference to The Adventure of the Three Garridebs. In the story, Killer Evans assumes the false identity of John Garrideb in order to get Nathan Garrideb out of his house. To achieve this, Evan concocts a story of how he can split the property of the late Alexander Hamilton Garrideb, a rich real estate business tycoon, if he can two more Garridebs.

8. Eurus mentions that Sherlock and Victor Trevor were inseparable - Holmes explains about Victor Trevor to Dr Watson in The Adventure of the Gloria Scott: “He was the only friend I made during the two years I was at college...Trevor was the only man I knew, and that only through the accident of his bull terrier freezing on to my ankle one morning as I went down to chapel. It was a prosaic way of forming a friendship, but it was effective. I was laid by the heels for ten days, but Trevor used to come in to inquire after me. At first it was only a minute's chat, but soon his visits lengthened, and before the end of the term we were close friends.”

9. Mary says in her DVD: “There is a final court of appeal for everyone” -

Holmes states in The Sign of the Four: “I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths -which, by the way, is their normal state - the matter is laid before me. I examine the data, as an expert, and pronounce a specialist's opinion.”

In The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, Holmes tells Dr Watson: “You see me now when my name has become known far and wide, and when I am generally recognized both by the public and by the official force as being a final court of appeal in doubtful cases.”

10. In the final montage scene, we see a reference to The Adventure of the Dancing Men. There is a picture of stick figures on the whiteboard at 221 B Baker Street.

11. Mary (Amanda Abbington) says in her DVD: “The best and wisest men I have ever known. My Baker Street boys. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.” -

Dr John Watson refers to Sherlock Holmes as “the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known” in The Adventure of the Final Problem. 

Trivia:

1. Eurus Holmes is placed in Sherrinford, a maximum security prison - The character of Sherrinford Holmes was not created by Arthur Conan Doyle. William S. Baring-Gould created this character in his fictional biography “Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street”. Sherrinford is presumed to be the eldest of the three brothers.

2. The final scene in the episode has Sherlock and John running towards the camera. The building in the background is named “Rathbone Place” - A tribute to Basil Rathbone, an obvious inspiration for Moffat and Gatiss to create the show.

3. Inside Sherrinford, Eurus forces Sherlock, Mycroft and John to a series of tests while she watches them and taunts them - I found this setup to be similar to the Saw movies.

Readers are welcome to point out any other nods I might have missed out.

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock.

Image Sources: Hartswood Films, BBC Wales, Masterpiece Theatre, Wikipedia

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Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes – Mortal Fight (1980) - Review

This episode is based on the Canonical story The Final Problem.

In the previous episode, The Master Blackmailer, Sherlock Holmes (Sir Vasily Livanov) received a letter from Professor Moriarty (Viktor Yevgrafov). In a slight deviation from the canon, Charles Augustus Milverton is shown as a pawn of Moriarty. Milverton’s death causes Moriarty to focus his efforts to stop Holmes once and for all.

The first meeting between Holmes and Moriarty does not take place at 221 B Baker Street. Holmes and Watson visit a gentlemen’s club with the specific intention of dropping in on Moriarty. Holmes is taken to meet Moriarty by the latter's henchmen. Moriarty warns Holmes to stay away but as expected Holmes has no intentions of doing anything of that sort.

Holmes and Moriarty meet

Back at the club, Watson witnesses a verbal confrontation between a certain Ronald Adair and Colonel Sebastian Moran. Adair accuses Moran of cheating to win a game of cards. Readers familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon will recognize the significance of this encounter :)

The rest of the episode is a direct adaptation of the story. Holmes gives clear instructions to Watson about boarding the train to leave London the next day. The same night, 221 B is set on fire.

Holmes and Watson are soon engaged in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Moriarty and his henchmen. Despite Holmes’s best laid plans, Moriarty has evaded arrest and is hell bent on avenging himself.

Holmes and Watson travel across Europe with the hopes of outrunning Moriarty. But Moriarty is always on their heels, as Holmes deduces time and again.

Holmes and Watson on the run

Soon the climax at Reichenbach Falls is upon us. An errand boy arrives to take Watson back to the hotel on a false pretext. Holmes fully knows the import of this occurrence and bids adieu to his longtime friend. Just as Holmes expected, the ‘Napoleon of Crime’ makes his appearance…

As Holmes and Moriarty employ their Baritsu skills to best each other, they are not alone. Sebastian Moran, Moriarty’s sharpshooter, is watching the encounter to ensure that Moriarty is avenged should the latter fail to off Holmes himself.

Colonel Sebastian Moran up to his old tricks again...

The epic encounter between Holmes and Moriarty is done full justice. This is one of the best shot episodes in the series and the Reichenbach section is probably the most spectacular. The shooting was not done at the actual falls but in Russia. I never felt the difference and full credits to director Igor Maslennikov and his team of cinematographers (Anatoli Lapshov and Yuri Veksler) for their stunning work. Vladimir Dashkevich’s Moriarty theme and background score for the Reichenbach scenes are outstanding.

Vasily Livanov is my all-time favorite actor to portray Holmes and he is simply marvelous in this episode. As Holmes comes face-to-face with his archenemy, Livanov does an excellent job in essaying Holmes at arguably his lowest point in the canon.

Watson reacts to Holmes's disappearance

Vitaly Solomin is always good in his role. From refusing to leave Holmes alone to face his greatest threat to his discovery of Holmes’s fate at Reichenbach Falls, Solomin gets to show a wide range of emotions. Dr Watson is the common man we all identify with and Solomin’s Watson is one of the best.

Viktor Yevgrafov's version of Moriarty is one of the most sinister looking ones. Viktor’s tall stature and his spider-like movements make him a convincing Moriarty.

Viktor Yevgrafov as Prof Moriarty

There have been a few other adaptations of The Final Problem, which include the Downey Jr movie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the Granada series adaptation and Sherlock.

In my humble opinion, a hero is only as good as his villain. If the villain does not appear to be genuinely intimidating, it is hard (at least for me) to take the hero seriously. Moriarty’s portrayal is very vital to the success of any adaptation of The Final Problem. From this perspective, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and the Russian adaptation are clear winners. Eric Porter did an adequate but not exceptional job in the Granada series.

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There are many fine touches in this episode that I liked very much - The M files maintained by Holmes, Watson sketching a portrait of Holmes and Holmes preparing himself for the physically challenging confrontation at Reichenbach. Maslennikov’s love for the Sherlock Holmes canon has always been evident in the series and this episode is yet another fine example.

My favorite parts in the episode

This episode is one of the best in the Russian series and will stand the test of time as one of the best adaptations of The Final Problem.

Click here to read all my posts about the Russian adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

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Image Source: Lenfilm Films Studio

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