The Empty Hearse, BBC Sherlock 3/1

Last night i was seeing the 1st episode for the first time when it had its German telly premiere and i was writing down my thoughts quickly, in the heat of the moment. i was really excited to see it, finally. After really waiting for the German premiere, after avoiding all spoilers as best as i could, after accidentally stumbling over the Sherlolly kiss just a few days ago .. i really had my delayed gratification today and was it worth it?

Not since Twin Peaks have i ever been so much looking forward to a bloody TV show. Mind you, Twin Peaks premiered on German TV in 1991!!! Which means, never since the frigging last century have i ever been so excited to watch the sequel of a tv series. ;)

Was it worth it? First .. new opening credits which clearly show we are in for a new Sherlock. The writers have pointed out that it would be utterly stupid if a character like Sherlock would not evolve. Which i completely subscribe to even though it is a walk on eggshells to actually try and make their character evolve in a way which is basically alien to him. In the days of the world-wide web we have forums, personal blogs and the like and even though i don't really have indulged into it, i did read here and there. In this day and age people just take a movie character or even a plot and just do with it what they want. They project on that character, they drool over it, they fantasize over .. in short, they take the plot, the characters and make it their own. I have seen a blog about Sherlock coming across as having Asperger's Syndrome and he became a canvas for people who actually really suffer from it and they feel understood or somehow represented (nothing wrong with that but was it really the writers' intention? .. just saying). Mr Cumberbatch himself said that he was approached by people (or maybe just one person, doesn't matter) who thanked him for what he was doing in that role for the asexuals amongst us. (nothing wrong with that either .. again, don't get me any wrong here!) . There are people out there writing fan fictions and they basically ship ALL kinda possible constellations. The most obvious ones are of course JohnLock and Sherlolly but i am sure there might also  be .. what would we call it? ... Sheriarty? Sherstrade? Sherirene? .. i am sure, all these options are out there :P

 That Sherlock seems to be a perfect projection surface for .. almost .. everyone.

Seems like the writers paid some attention to what is out there, really. And kinda paying tribute to it in a lovely way. Pretty obvious in that they don't give us the final solution on how he really faked his death. Nice gimmick here to present us several versions of how it happened and let it open for discussion. Well done! (i was very much into the TV series "Lost". Really loved it but as it went on, i was more and more worried about how they would "explain" it. I was somehow sure it would be such a let down after all because all the suspense was so mighty .. the solution only could be a let down. Actually i have really forgotten how it ended, i really did. I just enjoyed the way there *smiles*)

I totally loved the "Anderson going bananas" over the final solution. That was just utterly brilliant! In an exaggerated way he represented all the people out there who wrecked their brains over that last scene in The Reichenbach Fall until coming to the point that if they finally would get presented the answer they just wouldn't be able to stop dissecting it and finding a flaw in it. Lovely portrayal of total obsession turned pathological, haha. I loved that moment and he played it with much fun, obviously!

I think the writers had some pressure on actually HOW to bring him back. And make it believable. So inevitably they had to sacrifice quite a bit of screening time on that particular issue which .. also inevitably .. stole time from the case he was dealing with. Whereas in the other episodes they didn't have to "waste" much time with explaining things. That meant the first episode of that season didn't really have the fast pace of the others before. I am fine with that, i am glad they did not rush the whole thing too much cause that would have been a real disappointment. I looooved how they did pay tribute to the original story because in the Doyle story Sherlock also comes back after years (i have just checked, it is actually three years in the stories, it is 2 years here) and in the story he also approaches Watson in disguise at first. And yes, in the stories Dr. Watson also doesn't know he is not dead but i assume that might have something to do with the fact that Conan Doyle did not really intend to bring him back from the dead, originally. But that was a very sweet tribute and it was done so hilariously.

All in all that first episode was pretty light-hearted compared to the ones before even though Watson was understandably upset and made that very clear, haha. We were presented a softer Sherlock, he was actually warmer and certainly not as icy and distanced as before but heck, even that is kinda believable, isn't it, now that he is back on his stomping ground with the people who were close to him. I bought into it, i loved it even it though it meant quite a step away from the character who they so painstakingly portrayed in the first 2 seasons. And of course the "new" Sherlock warms my heart as i am a very emotional person but on the other hand i hope they won't overdo it but i guess they won't. I assume it was just in the context of that story of him coming back and somehow having to find his way back into.

I really chuckled often here and there but right now i cannot even recall what these moments were. Will have to watch it again and can't wait to see the English version, really. Mrs Hudson's conversation with Watson and how it really was quite a new step for him to now love a woman was one such moment. The moment Sherlock got his coat back as well and of course the brother rivalry and the fact that Mycroft had to take out their parents to a musical and his begs and pleas to Sherlock to somehow help him with that even when he already was there!!! (poor Mycroft, i can soooo relate to this but yeah, he also needed some punishment for being ever so pompous!), also when Sherlock was tapping Anderson's back in a "there there" mode but ever so awkward and when Lestrade gave Sherlock the hug :))

How lovely they brought in Mr Cumberbatch's love for riding the motorbike, that was sweeeeet!!! Dear Molly also got some delayed gratification and again i can really identify with her (she is also the perfect canvas, no? For all the females who soooo drool over Sherlock and cannot get him, i am no exclusion here, Molly suffers for me by proxy, haha)

The Mycroft/Sherlock scenes were amazing!!! Just loved how they tricked us into believing they were playing chess when they actually played that children's game, so cool! Also loved it how they payed tribute to the original story when Sherlock & Mycroft compete with their deduction skills. Even though neither Mycroft nor Moriarty have that much space in the original stories they just take what Conan Doyle has left and write on from there (not unlike what the fan fiction writer .. or writresses LOL .. do) There is that Mycroft/Sherlock scene in the books where they both compete with their deduction skills. So lovely, yes, the writers really know their stuff :)

Okay, what else? my total and utter GASP!!! OXYGEN!!!! I CAN'T BREATHE!!!! scene obviously was the "blowing up of the Houses of Parliament" one. I clutched my hands in a cramp to "see" the Clock Tower collapse. I get teary-eyed even writing about it. Please never ever let something like that happen, ever!!! We live in a world of unthinkable terrorist acts, i mean, before 9/11 .. who would have ever thought that such an idea could possibly be conceived by someone and yet it happened. My heart often bleeds over how much wonderful art, architecture and irretrievable beauty has been lost in the 2 big wars.  i am not even going into the many lives lost in wars and i am not going into the many terrible wars still ongoing today, neither into the countless actrocities done by mankind on a daily basis. This is not my point here right now. But "seeing" the Houses of Parliament and the Clock Tower being blown up and collapse .. something so near and dear to me .. that was quite a terrible moment. Thankfully it didn't happen in the movie and god forbid it will ever happen for real.

Quite some nice London shots making me ALL yearning. Could only nod in agreement when Sherlock said he needs to be there and breathe and feel London (don't know if that is the exact words he says as i was seeing the German version.) I was just thinking "my dear Mr Holmes, who doesn't actually?!?!" ;) The shots of the tube .. oh my heart .. be still!

Anderson having an Empty Hearse Club was ... hysterical and the goth-like lady who presented her totally absurd theory was utterly priceless and she played that mini part soooooo well!!!

Now i am drained, i cannot really remember much more off the top of my head right now. Definitely have to see it again, of course the English version. It was different but all in all they handled it pretty well and quite smartly avoided most pitfalls. I loved it. I am looking forward to the coming episodes. Love me some Sherlock, esp this one.