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Sherlock (TV series)

Sherlock Holmes, artist: Lorraine Brevig, oil painting on canvas board, 12" - h x 9"-w

Dr. John Watson, artist: Lorraine Brevig, oil painting on canvas board, 12" - h x 9"-w

Sherlock is a BBC series that adapts the classic Sherlock Holmes series for modern times. The three episodes of the first season received good ratings and positive feedback from critics and fans alike.

The show returned for a second season of three episodes in January, 2012, with a third season also planned.

In Relation to Sherlock Holmes Fandom

In general Sherlock Holmes fandom, this series makes up one of the larger online sub-fandoms. For other adaptations/sub-fandoms, see Sherlock Holmes: Adaptations.

BBC'verse

In general Sherlock Holmes fandom, this interpretation is known as the BBC'verse. In general discussions, its characters might be distinguished by adding a "BBC!" before their names, e.g. BBC!Lestrade or BBC!Watson. This sort of distinction can be seen on places such as the Sherlock Holmes newsletter Holmesian_News which adds "(BBC)" after each BBC'verse-related post to distinguish it from others.

Sherlock is not the only version of Sherlock Holmes released by the BBC, but it is the only one that goes by "BBC'verse" or which "BBC" is used to distinguish it.^[1]

Fandom Beginnings

Fandom was ready for Sherlock before the first episode aired. In July, a video that had been posted to YouTube made the rounds of interested fans. It was a promotional pitch video for the series based on the original un-aired pilot for the show. Interest was piqued, and fans flooded in from greater Sherlock Holmes fandom as well as from Doctor Who, since DW writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss created the show. The first LiveJournal community for the show, SherlockBBC, was created July 14th -- a week and a half before Sherlock first aired and the day after the airing date was made public.^[2]

Once aired, the fandom quickly established itself. Fanfiction (primarily Sherlock/John slash) was being posted to a variety of communities within hours after the first episode aired. A Sherlock fic meme went up the same day and quickly took off, and has continued to be extremely active.

Appeal

Sherlock has several points of appeal to attract fans, but one major cause of the deluge of fan activity may have been the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film with Robert Downey, Jr., which had not only created a vibrant new fandom, but also reawakened interest in all things Holmes and primed its audience for new Holmesian material. The modern setting of Sherlock represented a creative outlet for fans who may have been reluctant to tackle Victorian England.

The updated setting and the many allusions to original Holmes stories were enjoyed by fans familiar with the canon. Many explicitly Victorian aspects of the series were translated in clever ways: the text messages (in place of telegrams), nicotine patches (in place of tobacco and cocaine), John Watson's blog (in place of his journal), and Sherlock's homeless spy network (in place of the Baker Street Irregulars). Some canon allusions, such as the new explanation for the canon inconsistencies in Watson's war wound, met with less success in some quarters.

The appeal of the actors who play Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), and DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is certainly a factor. LiveJournal communities and tumblrs dedicated to the attractiveness of each have been created. Freeman and Graves also appeared in other films and television shows familiar to fandom. But the new interpretation of their characters is also the subject of much glee. This Sherlock Holmes reflects some aspects of Jeremy Brett's iconic performance, but is otherwise an unusual depiction — much younger and, it is implied, diagnosed with a personality disorder. Fans who didn't appreciate Robert Downey Jr's Holmes may prefer Cumberbatch's.

Fannish Trends and Quirks

Sherlock/John - In other versions of Sherlock Holmes fandom this pairing is known as Holmes/Watson (last names), but Sherlock fandom tends to more commonly use first names, e.g. Sherlock/John or John/Sherlock. "Holmes/Watson" is still in use.

Anderson loves dinosaurs - According to the anonymous fic writing meme crowd, Anderson has a thing for dinosaurs.^[3] It's spreading.^[4]

"Molliarty" - The term for Molly being the real Moriarty.^[5][6][7] This theory began prior to the third episode and is still embraced by supporters. Variations of this are "Mollyarty" or the more general "evil!Molly."

Holmeskillets - Fans of Sherlock Holmes are generally known as Sherlockians or Holmesians; these terms are still in use in Sherlock fandom, and the term "Holmeskillets" has also been used.

John's War Trauma - John Watson is introduced with psychological issues regarding his service in the Afghanistan war, such as dreams/nightmares, a psychosomatic limp, and an intermittent tremor in his hand. Although by the end of the episode these issues no longer seem to be in effect, fans enjoy exploring them in fanfiction, such as character studies and hurt/comfort, where the issues might be ongoing or more long-term.

Anthropomorphic clothing/accessories - It is a beloved thing in fandom to make fanworks on the clothing and accessories of the characters. This can be gen, such as Seri-scribble's Coat: A Tale of Adventure, or a ship, such as John's cane and Mycroft's umbrella falling in love It's a Love Story, Baby Just Say Yes.

Sherlock's Mind - Since Sherlock says in canon that he is a "high-functioning sociopath", quite a bit of discussion and fanworks have come up analyzing and interpreting what this means and if it should be taken seriously. Some fans believe he does have a personality disorder ("sociopath"), others believe he could be on the autistic spectrum, and some fans think he's just an intelligent jerk.

Memes - Through the use of Tumblr, deviantART, and other mediums, fans have introduced a number of memes based on quotes or concepts from the series. An incomplete list of memes is archived as a subculture at the Know Your Meme database. One meme that has gained momentum after the season two finale and is still going strong is the I Believe in Sherlock meme, primarily housed on tumblr but making its way around the internet (and real world) at large.

Cliffhangers - Both series to date have ended in cliffhangers, which has led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially since, after the first cliffhanger, it was well over a year before the next series aired to resolve it. The second cliffhanger is unusual in that it's made clear that Sherlock is still alive, but not how he managed to fake his death. Much fandom speculation has ensued.

Characters

• Sherlock Holmes
• John Watson
• Greg Lestrade
• Mrs. Hudson
• Mycroft Holmes
• Irene Adler
• Jim Moriarty
• Anderson
• Sally Donovan
• Molly Hooper
• Anthea

Pairings

Sherlock/John is the most prevalent pairing in fandom by far; the entire compilation of all other pairings shivers in the massive shadow of this mountain of a pairing.^[8] Other slash pairings include Sherlock/Lestrade, Sherlock/Jim, and the rising Mycroft/Lestrade.

There is a small but significant incest pairing in the fandom: Sherlock/Mycroft, presumably based on the fact that both characters are highly unconventional and show little respect for normal social boundaries or morality. While some of these stories, particularly ones written earlier in the fandom, depict Mycroft as abusing a younger Sherlock, leading to the resentment seen in the present day of the show, more recent stories have treated their relationship as at least dubiously consensual. Sometimes, sexual involvement between the two is treated as part of Mycroft's general "caretaking" role with respect to Sherlock; however, other stories present Sherlock as pushing for an intimacy that Mycroft considers dangerous.

There is not much het in the fandom. (Possibly because the only recurring female character from the Holmes canon to have appeared so far is Mrs. Hudson, who is played by an old actor.) During the first series, the most prevalent het pairing is probably the canonical relationship of John/Sarah. After the second series, Sherlock/Molly grew in prominence and is commonly referred to as the largest het ship in the fandom. Other het ships include Jim/Molly, Lestrade/Molly, and Anderson/Sally (especially in regards to Anderson's interest in dinosaurs^[9]). Jim/Molly got some extra attention when the fic Secrets of Molly by Emmyangua was read by Louise Brealey (the actress who plays Molly) who tweeted about it.^[10]

Since her introduction in Series 2 there has been some fantastic Sherlock/Irene, given the romantic nature of the episode she featured in. This is the closest that Sherlock ever gets to being interested in a woman, which has encouraged a lot of fan interest. According to Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock and Irene most certainly had a dalliance after he saved her at the end of the episode: "You say he was beaten by her, but do you know what they got up to in Islamabad because I do. There was no beating. It was all very loving." ^[11]

There is almost no femslash; a rare (possibly the first?) example is the Sally/Molly fic Other Things To Do After Buying A Cat by blackeyedgirl. Although the show refers to a canonical f/f couple (Watson's sister Harry has just broken up with a woman named Clara), the show does not pass step 2 of the Bechdel Test, which means no two girls even speak to each other, which probably contributes to the near nonexistence of femslash.

Vids

Vidding is quite popular in Sherlock fandom. It's part of the 2010 Sherlock Holmes vidding revival along with the Sherlock Holmes (2009) film. Before then, most vids were of the Granada series.

• lola has created a trilogy of vids pairing each episode of the first series with a song by popular indie band Arcade Fire.^[12] The second video in the trilogy deals with the portrayal of Asian characters in the series' second episode.
• Anomie by Charmax was well received for its use of color and tone in depicting Sherlock's lack of connection to people.
• Cat's in the Cradle - crossover with House, M.D. where House is Sherlock's father

Large numbers of vids deal with the depressing ending of the second season.

Sherlock vids are popular on Youtube and Tumblr, where there are collections and contests devoted purely to this fandom. The fandom is particularly noted for its use of text as a major element in vids and of sound clips from the show, both things that are relatively less common in older vidding fandoms. Unofficial trailers and non-songvid fannish video art are also popular.

• KatrinDepp's work is extremely influential
• Remix) Moriarty + Sherlock - ♪ 'SAIL' by Amy Kinley
• Oh No (Marina and the Diamonds) by multiKitten/Skeletree Productions

Arts and Crafts

Fanart and fancrafts are also hugely popular. The sherlockbbc community on LiveJournal has well-used tags for art, icons, comics, banners, wallpapers, manips, macros, gifs, and crafts. Tumblr is another place where gifs, art, and crafts are posted.

Examples:

• no cab would take him. not even... by reapersun. Illustration of a missing scene from the first episode of the second season. Posted to Tumblr with over 15,200 notes.
• Sherlock portraits by alicexz. Portraits of Sherlock, John, Moriarty, Lestrade, Mycroft, Irene Adler, Molly Hooper, and Mrs. Hudson. Posted to Tumblr with over 4,000 notes.
• kiss animation by ~br0-Harry. Animated art of Sherlock/John kissing.
• mixed-media collages by genagirl
• Sherlock block prints by paperflower86
• plushies by twistedsheets10

Meta

Discussions about the show began as soon as the pitch video made the rounds. Some fans were disappointed with the way the updating of the Holmes story had been handled. Some fans felt that an opportunity was lost to really modernize the story with more radical choices for some characters.

Portrayal of Women

Unlike the Battlestar Galactica reboot, where more women characters were added to the show, Sherlock has one original missing. There's no sign of Mary Morstan, but Irene Adler appears in Series 2. The portrayals of Sgt Sally Donovan, Molly Hooper, and Mrs. Hudson have met with criticism.^[13]

• Sherlock - Why? by beam-oflight discusses mostly the female characters in the show, observing that in first episode they "are all extremely subservient, dead or portrayed as idiots and shamed for their sexual practices."

In fandom, spoilers leaked about the second episode that John was going on a date with a woman named Sarah. Misogyny in fandom reared its ugly head with some Sarah-bashing before the episode aired and before the character had even been introduced. When the mod of sherlockbbc made a post on it saying women-hating wasn't okay, fans responded favorably.^[14]

Character bashing and misogyny made a reappearance when Irene Adler was announced to be appearing in Series 2, mostly from people who feared that she would "get in the way" of Sherlock/John. Some fans also took issue with her being reinterpreted as a dominatrix.

Other fans have responded to these discussions by including women characters in fic, often the named but not seen, Harry Watson and her partner, Clara. rageprufrock's very popular Homemaking [1] is a good example of Clara making an appearance. Other fans have delved into the background of Sally Donnovan's antipathy to Sherlock, rounding out her character.

Sexuality

• See Sherlock's sexuality on his character page.

Some fans felt that the potential of a gay relationship between Sherlock and John was played for laughs and were not amused. They saw the show as another in a long line of bromance shows that use "mistaken for gay" humour as a way of explicitly naming the characters as not gay.^[13]

Portrayal of Disability

Sherlock's mental state is commonly explored in fandom, such as him having APD (sociopathy, as the character claims in canon) or Asperger's syndrome (which the actor believes). Both the fandom and the source text have been criticized for ableism, such as for Mycroft no longer being fat and for John's disappearing limp.

• See Sherlock's Mind on the character article
• See John's war-related disabilities on the character article

Portrayal of Asian Characters

The second episode of the series, "The Blind Banker," has come under scrutiny for its treatment of its Asian characters and Orientalism.

• Complicit by Lola addresses the problematic Asian stereotypes of the second episode The Blind Banker and attempts to reclaim the character Soo Lin Yao.

Communities

The most popular general Sherlock discussion community is SherlockBBC on LiveJournal. See List of Sherlock Holmes Communities and Forums for a complete list.

Other Resources

• Sherlock: an open (love) letter, a fandom intro by veronamay
• An Introduction to the BBC Sherlock Fandom by biohazard girl
• stories on Fanfiction.net
• fanworks on Archive of Our Own
• podfics on Audiofic Archive
• A BBC Sherlock Rec List by kirstenlouise
• Fuck Yeah, Sherlock, a tumblr picspam
• list of Sherlock tumblrs
• Sherlocking, a fansite and forum
• Sherlock (TV series) entry at Wikipedia

I would REALLY REALLY appreciate if you took a bit of time and helped me! (If you aren't too busy ofc)