In anticipation of Sherlock: Best bits so far

Lucy Thompson -

As we eagerly await the return of Sherlock on New Year's Day, Lucy Thompson recalls her most memorable moments from the series so far...

It has been two years since Sherlock graced our television screens but it is finally back on BBC1 this New Years for a feature-length Christmas Special, ahead of season 4.

However, the detective will not be solving crimes in the modern metropolis of London but returning to the bustling Victorian streets where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books were set.

Entitled The Abominable Bride, the episode is mostly an original story written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss but inspired by a reference made in Doyle’s The Adventure Of The Musgrave Ritual to a mysterious 'Ricoletti with the club foot and his abominable wife’.

Initially I was skeptical of Sherlock’s return to the Victorian era, worried it would become gimmicky with the deerstalkers and gas lamps, and burdened with a staleness that many period dramas have. This is perhaps down to the fact that for me the major appeal of Sherlock is the way it is seamlessly modernised.

However, now the trailer and the plot details have been released, my expectations have soared and I think it is set to be a gripping special, especially with the talented cast and writers.

The official synopsis opens with a haunting question asking, ‘Why is Thomas Ricoletti a little surprised to see his wife dressed in her old wedding gown?’ It goes on to reveal that, ‘just a few hours before, she took her own life…’ Gatiss has called the special a ‘Christmas Ghost Story’ with Holmes and Watson having to battle an ‘enemy seemingly from beyond the grave’ with a ‘thirst for revenge’.

The wintery streets, bustling with horse-drawn carriages and cloaked in mist are the perfect setting for this ghostly mystery. I am also intrigued to see if they incorporate the text that appears on the screen during deductions in the series and alter it to fit the Victorian time period.

While I and many other fans would have liked to see Sherlock in modern-day London, the fact that it is in another time period means that it is completely distinct from the main series and gives us a taster of Sherlock before Season 4, which begins filming in the Spring. As we eagerly anticipate the New Years special and Season 4, here is a handful of some memorable moments from the series.

1. First showdown with Moriarty (Season 1: The Great Game)

We finally meet the ultimate psychotic villain Moriarty in this tense exchange at a dimly lit swimming pool. It left Season 1 on a brilliant cliffhanger which was broken by Moriarty’s Staying Alive ringtone.

2. Vatican Cameo (Season 2: Scandal in Belgravia)

This epic and unexpected slow-motion fight scene in ‘Scandal in Belgravia’ after Sherlock cracks the code to Irene Adler’s safe.

3. Moriarty stealing the crown jewels (Season 2: The Reichenbach Fall)

Moriarty calmly dancing around the Crown Jewels to La Gazza Ladra- Overture as the world around him goes into meltdown and then taking his place on the throne is a memorable image.

4. Sherlock drunk (Season 3: The Sign of Three)

Sherlock attempts to make drunken deductions for his client as John says ‘he’s clueing for looks’ and ends up on the floor after John’s stag do.

5. Sherlock being shot (Season 3: His Last Vow)

This is a shocking moment where Sherlock is shot by Mary Watson and has three seconds to save himself with Mycroft and Molly guiding through his memory palace as he has to decide whether to live or die. We also the happy memory of Sherlock’s dog Redbeard.

6. The fall (Season 2: The Reichenbach Fall)

The dramatic fall and showdown with Moriarty which provoked two years of speculation and the internet to go mad. We are still questioning why Moriarty killed himself or if he even did! Also not pictured but John’ s speech to Sherlock’s grave is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking moments of the series.

7. Buckingham Palace in a Bed Sheet (Season 2: Scandal in Belgravia)

One of the funniest moments of the series has to be Sherlock and Mycroft fighting as the former stands in his bed sheet in Buckingham Palace.

8. Best deduction (Season 1: The Great Game)

Perhaps the best episode for deductions as Moriarty forces him to solve copious riddles with a time limit to save civilians from death. It starts with Sherlock deducing from a dead man washed up that he works in a gallery, leading to the conclusion that ‘the picture’s a fake’. Then he has to work out why the painting is fake as a child counts down 10 seconds due to a shooting star that only appeared in 1858. The best deduction.

 What are your favourite 'Sherlock' moments? Share your thoughts with us @EpigramFilm

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