Sherlock Holmes Traverses the Victorian Era

The Great Detective Returns

July 25, 2010, Season 1;

January 1, 2012, Season 2;

January 1, 2014, Season 3;

…

Releasing 3 episodes in 2 years, what do you think of this highly exclusive and intelligence-crushing British drama?

Waiting and anticipating, on January 4th, after a 2-year hiatus, the BBC's hit series Sherlock is finally back! And it's a feature film!

A Different kind of Fireworks:

Mysterious (and Subtext-laden) Dynamic Posters

In this major production on BBC One, the regular plot setting is on the streets of 21st-century London, where the stylish and aloof consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his good partner, Dr. John Watson, armed with smartphones, navigate the subway and skyscrapers, showcasing their intelligence (and affection) while solving crimes.

In the currently popular feature film, the protagonists travel back to the Victorian era as depicted in the original works, but the plot is interconnected with the previous three seasons. In the fog of old London, a husband is shocked to see his wife, who just committed suicide, returning in a vintage wedding dress, driving a carriage. Is this a ghostly resurrection or a bloodthirsty revenge? There is only one truth!

In the dynamic poster released by BBC, attentive Sherlock fans have discovered that the silhouette of the "abominable bride" is reflected in the smoke of the great detective's pipe; and Watson's position just happens to be in Sherlock's heart.

10 Easter Eggs in Sherlock Holmes

High-energy spoilers, please be aware!

As a die-hard fan of "Benedict Cumberbatch" and "Martin Freeman," the editor watched the movie at the earliest opportunity.

The experience is: faithful to the original, exceeding expectations!

Below, we have compiled 34 easter eggs that appear in the feature film...

1. Watson's Afghan Experience

Both A Study In Pink and The Abominable Bride start with Watson waking up from a nightmare of his time in an Afghan war, centuries apart.

In the first episode of SHERLOCK Season 1, "A Study In Pink," and in this feature film, Dr. Watson wakes up from a nightmare of his time in the Afghan war. Centuries later, Watson still has lingering fears.

2. Cumberbatch, Freeman, and the Bit Part Actor

Joining the regular cast's Victorian counterparts is actor David Nellist as Mike Stamford, who appeared once previously as the mutual friend who first introduced John and Sherlock in A Study In Pink.

How did the most famous duo in the history of world literature come together? Thank their mutual friend—Mike Stamford. Actor David Nellist makes a brief appearance in both the mini-series and the feature film—perhaps the most beloved extra.

3. The Pub and the Poster

Watson and Stamford drink in the Criterion Bar in A Study In Scarlet, the name partially obscured on the window behind them in The Abominable Bride. A poster advertising The London Fair can be seen behind Watson and Stamford. (The same poster is later seen on the street where the bride performs her ‘suicide’, despite several years having passed in the narrative of the episode.)

In the original "A Study In Scarlet," Watson and Stamford have a few drinks at the Criterion Bar; the feature film also flashes the pub's sign. Additionally, the poster about London Fair that was behind them a few years later also magically appears on the street where the bride "commits suicide."

4. The Origin of Watson's Comical Mustache

When Watson tells Mrs. Hudson, “Blame it on the illustrator, he’s out of control. I’ve had to grow this mustache just so people will recognize me,” he is referring to Sidney Paget, the illustrator of the original Holmes stories. Paget is thought to have based his illustrations of Sherlock Holmes on his younger brother, Walter.

Watson complains to his landlady, Mrs. Hudson, saying, “Blame the illustrator; he's out of control. I had to grow this mustache so people would recognize me.” The illustrator, Sidney Paget, created the image of Sherlock Holmes based on his younger brother, Walter, in the early Holmes novels. (Doyle never mentioned the deerstalker cap and cape, by the way!)

5. The Time-Traveling Café

“Speedy’s Café,” above which are Holmes and Watson’s rooms at 221B Baker Street (North Gower Street for anyone who wants to go looking) in the BBC’s modern Sherlock, has been transformed for the occasion into the more Victorian-appropriate “Speedwells Restaurant and Tea Rooms.”

In the famous BBC mini-series, below the infamous 221B Baker Street is Speedy’s Café. In the Victorian era of the feature film, it transforms into the quaint “Speedwells Restaurant and Tea Rooms.”

6. The Stag Head on the Wall

In the space usually occupied by a bison skull (in front of which Mary was memorably framed in The Sign Of Three, giving the illusion that she had devil horns) in the modern 221B is this stag head. An ear trumpet stands in for the headphones usually adorning the bison skull.

In the detective's apartment, there is a famous stag head. In the series, the stag head wears punk-style large headphones, but in the feature film, it becomes a horn hearing aid. How cool!

7. Is It Really a Skull?

The painting of a skull that hangs on the wall of the modern 221B Baker Street has been replaced by a Victorian image of a lady at her toilet, which, when viewed from a distance, looks like a skull.

The skull is also one of the symbols of 221B Baker Street. In the film, it becomes a Victorian-style oil painting—a woman in the bathroom. If viewed from a specific distance and angle, it looks very much like a skull. Is this British cold humor or a Zen wake-up call? Hahaha.

8. The Hound of the Baskervilles

On the mantelpiece is a statuette of a hound, a deliberate reference according to Mark Gatiss, to “the dog one,” aka The Hound Of The Baskervilles.

The feature film is full of homages. The film's screenwriter and also the actor who plays the detective's brother Mycroft, Mark Gatiss, mentioned that there is a statue of a hound above the detective's fireplace, “this doggy” is the Hound of the Baskervilles.

9. Mycroft's Notebook

Finally, Mycroft’s notebook features all manner of interesting scribbles, no doubt designed to get fan-brains deducing. Redbeard, we learnt in His Last Vow, was the name of Sherlock’s childhood dog and according to Augustus Magnussen, one of Sherlock’s “pressure points.” As for Vernet, the binary, scarlet roll, and the rest of it, over to you…

Mycroft's notebook is also full of interesting doodles, of course, meant to make us think. In the third season of the mini-series, "His Last Vow," Redbeard is the name of the detective's childhood dog and, according to the villain Augustus Magnussen, one of Sherlock's "pressure points." And Vernet, the binary, and Scarlet Roll, what do they represent? You figure it out…

10. The Portly Mycroft

Mycroft “increased” matches Doyle’s original description of Sherlock’s brother in The Bruce Partington Plans as “heavily built and massive” with a “gross body.” (His words, not ours.) Incidentally, Mycroft and Sherlock’s discussion of “the Manor House case” and “Adams” here is borrowed from Doyle story The Greek Interpreter.

So funny! Gratifying! Detective brother Mycroft finally transitions from the "tall, rich, and handsome" image in the mini-series to a "chubby" figure. In fact, Mycroft is described as such in the original "The Bruce Partington Plans" chapter: "stockily built and massive" with a "gross body." Coincidentally, the manor house case and Adams case that Mycroft and his brother discuss are also directly taken from Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Greek Interpreter."

The game, my dear Watson, is afoot!

◀️：Literary Giant vs. Wealthy Elite | Come and see, the UK releases Shakespearean coins

▶️：Book Recommendations | Say Goodbye to a "Mundane" Holiday