Rec: Sherlock on DVD
Jun. 13th, 2011 07:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rsadelleI mentioned before how much I loved Sherlock. After I got home from visiting ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lakeeffectgirl, I *cough*acquired*cough* all three eps so I could watch them through again. Then I bought them on DVD, largely for two reasons:
The majority of the commentary on "A Study in Pink" is basically Gatiss and Moffit being really excited about getting to write Sherlock Holmes fan fic. (Let's face it: Sherlock is basically a modern-day AU.) One of the things they do is take us through a lot of trivia "for the fanboys," largely around things they've incorporated from other Holmes stories than the main one they're telling. It's adorable, and it's a good listen. It's also where we learn that they made the sixty-minute pilot and the BBC liked it so much that they asked them to rework it as a ninety-minute show.
"The Great Game" commentary isn't quite as great to just listen to, although it has a lot of entertaining bits, particularly about clothing. It's the first time Martin and Benedict got to watch the ep, so they're a little more involved in seeing how it's been put together than in commenting on it, although there is some of that. The best moment is when Martin has to leave (I don't know if they couldn't schedule it for a time when they could both be there for the whole thing or if something came up in the middle of it). Gatiss suggests that Benedict could do Martin, to which Martin says, "He can probably do me. Or if not, do Rickman," and then Benedict does a creditable Alan Rickman impression.
Both sets of commentary make it clear that while the cases are interesting, the center of the story is the relationship between Holmes and Watson.
The featurette mostly repeats things from the "A Study in Pink" commentary, although it does have some bits of Martin and Benedict as themselves, and someone talking about how the two of them actually became friends.
What's most interesting in terms of things that have crept into fic without being in the main run of the show is the unaired pilot. Only in the unaired pilot does Sherlock say, "The brain's what counts. Everything else is transport," which I've seen in at least one story. In the same exchange, John asks if Sherlock's eating, and Sherlock asks what day it is, then says, "I'm okay for a bit" when John tells him it's Wednesday - and that specificity about going days without eating and keeping track of them shows up in fic in a way that matches the pilot better than it does the similar discussions in the aired episodes.
The thing that shows up in fic all the time that doesn't seem to come from anywhere is the presumed end to the confrontation in "The Great Game." I've now read a number of fics where what's happened is that Sherlock has shot the bomb and it's exploded, sometimes with John shoving them both into the pool as it does. To me, this does not seem like the most likely outcome at all. Moriarty doesn't want to die. He doesn't even want to kill Sherlock. That would ruin his fun. My guess is that, somehow, they will all escape without explosions - and without Moriarty getting caught.
And then there's the thing in the commentary that I can't believe hasn't made it into fic (or at least I haven't seen it): Mark says that one of the things they cut for time is a reference to Mycroft and Sherlock's "estranged childhood" and "that Sherlock had rather spoiled the family atmosphere." Benedict says, "I discovered that my father was having," then asks Mark for permission to reveal it and they decide they shouldn't in case they want to use it later. I supposed there are a lot of ways to finish that sentence, but the most likely is probably "an affair." Holmes family angst seems right up fandom's alley.
lakeeffectgirl, I *cough*acquired*cough* all three eps so I could watch them through again. Then I bought them on DVD, largely for two reasons:- In a capitalist society, the best way to show your appreciation/approval of something like this is to vote with your dollars, so I wanted to throw some money at them.
- I kept seeing stuff in fic that didn't seem to come from anywhere, and I wanted to see if some of it came from the special features.
The majority of the commentary on "A Study in Pink" is basically Gatiss and Moffit being really excited about getting to write Sherlock Holmes fan fic. (Let's face it: Sherlock is basically a modern-day AU.) One of the things they do is take us through a lot of trivia "for the fanboys," largely around things they've incorporated from other Holmes stories than the main one they're telling. It's adorable, and it's a good listen. It's also where we learn that they made the sixty-minute pilot and the BBC liked it so much that they asked them to rework it as a ninety-minute show.
"The Great Game" commentary isn't quite as great to just listen to, although it has a lot of entertaining bits, particularly about clothing. It's the first time Martin and Benedict got to watch the ep, so they're a little more involved in seeing how it's been put together than in commenting on it, although there is some of that. The best moment is when Martin has to leave (I don't know if they couldn't schedule it for a time when they could both be there for the whole thing or if something came up in the middle of it). Gatiss suggests that Benedict could do Martin, to which Martin says, "He can probably do me. Or if not, do Rickman," and then Benedict does a creditable Alan Rickman impression.
Both sets of commentary make it clear that while the cases are interesting, the center of the story is the relationship between Holmes and Watson.
The featurette mostly repeats things from the "A Study in Pink" commentary, although it does have some bits of Martin and Benedict as themselves, and someone talking about how the two of them actually became friends.
What's most interesting in terms of things that have crept into fic without being in the main run of the show is the unaired pilot. Only in the unaired pilot does Sherlock say, "The brain's what counts. Everything else is transport," which I've seen in at least one story. In the same exchange, John asks if Sherlock's eating, and Sherlock asks what day it is, then says, "I'm okay for a bit" when John tells him it's Wednesday - and that specificity about going days without eating and keeping track of them shows up in fic in a way that matches the pilot better than it does the similar discussions in the aired episodes.
The thing that shows up in fic all the time that doesn't seem to come from anywhere is the presumed end to the confrontation in "The Great Game." I've now read a number of fics where what's happened is that Sherlock has shot the bomb and it's exploded, sometimes with John shoving them both into the pool as it does. To me, this does not seem like the most likely outcome at all. Moriarty doesn't want to die. He doesn't even want to kill Sherlock. That would ruin his fun. My guess is that, somehow, they will all escape without explosions - and without Moriarty getting caught.
And then there's the thing in the commentary that I can't believe hasn't made it into fic (or at least I haven't seen it): Mark says that one of the things they cut for time is a reference to Mycroft and Sherlock's "estranged childhood" and "that Sherlock had rather spoiled the family atmosphere." Benedict says, "I discovered that my father was having," then asks Mark for permission to reveal it and they decide they shouldn't in case they want to use it later. I supposed there are a lot of ways to finish that sentence, but the most likely is probably "an affair." Holmes family angst seems right up fandom's alley.