Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1

Sherlock is a television crime drama that presents a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. The first series of three episodes aired in 2010, while series two aired in 2012, and a third series aired in the first quarter of 2014. The third series has become the UK's most watched drama series since 2001.[1] A single episode aired in 2016, as a Victorian-era special. Sherlock has been sold to over 200 territories.[2]

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Sherlock Season 3 subtitles English. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. Six episodes have been produced, the first three of which aired in 2010. Series two aired in 2012, and a third series began production in March 2013. The series has been sold to over 180 territories. Episode 1 Two years after Sherlock's 'death', Dr John Watson has got on with his life. But, with London under threat of a devastating terrorist attack, Sherlock is about to stage his outrageous resurrection. As of 15 January 2017, 13 episodes of Sherlock have aired, including one special, concluding the fourth series. As to the future of the series, Gatiss stated that due to the conflicting schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman, a potential fifth season is still up in the air.

Watch Sherlock - Season 3, Episode 1 - The Empty Hearse: Two years after his 'death,' Sherlock returns from the grave when London is threatened with terrorist attacks.

Sherlock depicts 'consulting detective' Holmes, assisting the Metropolitan Police Service, primarily Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves), in solving various crimes. Holmes is assisted by his flatmate, Dr John Watson, who has returned from military service in Afghanistan. Although the series depicts a variety of crimes and perpetrators, Holmes' conflict with his archenemyJim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is a recurring feature. Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), a pathologist at Bart's Hospital occasionally assists Holmes in his cases. Other recurring roles include Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Holmes and Watson's landlady; and co-creator Mark Gatiss as Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes. In January 2014, Moffat confirmed that the series would have a fourth series, and that a fifth series had been plotted.[3] As of 15 January 2017, 13 episodes of Sherlock have aired, including one special, concluding the fourth series. As to the future of the series, Gatiss stated that due to the conflicting schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman, a potential fifth season is still up in the air.[4]

  • 2Episodes
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  • Directed by Jeremy Lovering. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves. Mycroft calls Sherlock back to London to investigate an underground terrorist organization.
  • Sep 20, 2019  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Season 3 Episode 1 The Empty House. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes S03 - Ep01 The Empty House - Part 01 HD Watch. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - S03E01 - The Empty House. Sherlock Holmes Tv.

Series overview[edit]

SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAverage ratings (millions)
First airedLast airedUKUS
1325 July 20108 August 20108.37[5]N/A
231 January 201215 January 201210.23[5]4.4[6]
331 January 201412 January 201411.82[7]6.6[6]
Special1 January 201611.64[8]3.4[9]
431 January 201715 January 201710.00[10]N/A

Episodes[edit]

Sherlock

Series 1 (2010)[edit]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
11'A Study in Pink'Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat25 July 2010(UK)
24 October 2010 (US)		8.70 (UK)[8]

The police investigate a series of deaths related to people who all appear to have committed suicide by taking a poisonous pill. They turn to their unofficial consultant, Sherlock Holmes, who deduces various elements pointing to a serial killer. Meanwhile, Holmes is introduced to John Watson, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, and the pair immediately move into a flat in Baker Street. John Watson slowly gets to know and trust Sherlock despite police officer Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) warning him that Holmes is a psychopath and will one day be responsible for murder. Sherlock's brother Mycroft (Mark Gatiss), at first not revealing his identity, arranges a meeting with Watson and asks whether he will spy on Sherlock for money, but John refuses. After a series of incidents, the person responsible for the deaths, a taxicab driver (Phil Davis), reveals that his victims took their own lives by playing a game of Russian roulette with two pills: one fatally poisonous, the other safe. Before Sherlock can play the cabbie's game, John shoots the cabbie from an opposite building. Before he dies, the taxicab driver reveals that 'Moriarty' was his sponsor.

Loosely based on the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.[11]
22'The Blind Banker'Euros LynStephen Thompson1 August 2010(UK)
31 October 2010 (US)		7.74 (UK)[8]

Sherlock is hired by an old friend to investigate a mysterious break-in at a bank in the City. He discovers that symbols spray-painted onto an office wall are a coded message intended for an employee of the bank, who is later discovered dead in his flat. The next day, a journalist is killed and the same symbols are found nearby. Sherlock and John follow a trail of clues that link the two dead men to a Chinese smuggling ring, who are trying to retrieve a valuable item that one of the dead men stole. Sherlock eventually cracks the coded message based on Suzhou numerals and a book cipher, but not before John and his date, Sarah, are kidnapped by the criminals, who believe that John is Sherlock. Sherlock rescues them, but the leader of the gang escapes. Later, the leader of the gang is in communication with her superior, who is identified by the initial 'M'. She is then shot by a sniper.

Loosely based on the short story 'The Adventure of the Dancing Men',[12] the storyline also incorporates elements from other Sherlock Holmes stories; the concept of coded messages, the markings on the feet of the Black Lotus members and the plot of escaping a secret society, then being tracked to and killed in England all feature in The Valley of Fear. A murder victim being found inside a locked room, accessible only by climbing, alludes to The Sign of the Four.[12]
33'The Great Game'Paul McGuiganMark Gatiss8 August 2010(UK)
7 November 2010 (US)		8.66 (UK)[8]

Sherlock is commissioned by Mycroft to investigate the suspicious death of a government employee, who was working on a top-secret defence project: the Bruce-Partington Project.[13] After rejecting the case and handing it over to John, Sherlock begins to be taunted by a criminal who puts his victims into explosive vests and sets Sherlock deadlines to solve the apparently unrelated cases, which include a twenty-year-old cold case involving the shoes of a drowned boy, the disappearance of a businessman, the death of a TV personality, and the assassination of a museum security guard by the 'Golem'. As Sherlock solves the cases, he finds links between them. After clearing up the original case regarding the government employee, Sherlock tries to force his unseen adversary to reveal himself. Near the end of the episode, Sherlock and 'Jim Moriarty' (Andrew Scott) reach a standoff, where Jim reveals that he is responsible for the crimes. In the final seconds, Sherlock Holmes points his gun at a bomb on the floor that had been strapped to John.

The episode's storyline is somewhat derived from 'The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans' and makes references to 'The Five Orange Pips' at various points (as per the five bomb victims and electronic beeps on the phone) in addition to other works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Series 2 (2012)[edit]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
41'A Scandal in Belgravia'Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat1 January 2012(UK)
6 May 2012 (US)		10.66 (UK)[8]
3.2 (US)[14]

Mycroft hires Sherlock and John to retrieve compromising photos of a minor royal, which are held on the camera phone of Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), a ruthless and brilliant dominatrix who also trades in classified information extracted from her rich and powerful clients. Sherlock obtains Adler's phone, but discovers it is booby-trapped and requires a code to disarm it. When Adler discovers that the CIA are on her trail, she disappears and is then apparently killed, only to reappear to ask John to get her camera phone back from Sherlock. Weeks later when the coast is clear, Adler tricks Sherlock into deciphering a coded message on her phone which she obtained from another well-connected client. She sends the message to Moriarty, who in turn uses it to foil a British counter-terror operation. She almost succeeds in blackmailing Mycroft, but Sherlock finally cracks the password for the phone, leaving Adler without the protection she needs to survive. The episode concludes as Mycroft tells John that she has been killed by a terrorist group in Pakistan, while in fact she was secretly rescued by Sherlock.

Based on the short story 'A Scandal in Bohemia'.
52'The Hounds of Baskerville'Paul McGuiganMark Gatiss8 January 2012(UK)
13 May 2012 (US)		10.27 (UK)[8]

Sherlock and John are contacted by Henry Knight (Russell Tovey), a man traumatised by the death of his father by a monstrous hound on Dartmoor years before. Investigating Dewer's Hollow, a local spot where the beast was allegedly seen, as well as the nearby Ministry of Defence testing site Baskerville, Sherlock and John uncover a conspiracy wherein one of the Baskerville scientists, Dr. Frankland (Clive Mantle), is continuing the work of H.O.U.N.D., an aborted project to create a hallucinogenic gas for military use. Sherlock and John discover that the legendary hound is an ordinary dog used for publicity that the hallucinogenic gas makes appear as a demonic monster. The 'hound' that killed Henry's father was actually Frankland wearing a red-lensed gas mask and a T-shirt bearing the logo of the H.O.U.N.D. group. Confronting both the dog and Frankland at Dewer's Hollow, John and Lestrade shoot the dog. Frankland attempts to flee, but dies when he runs into a minefield. In the final scene, Mycroft releases a confined Jim Moriarty.

Based on the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
63'The Reichenbach Fall'Toby HaynesStephen Thompson15 January 2012(UK)
20 May 2012 (US)		9.78 (UK)[8]

Moriarty launches a simultaneous heist on the Tower of London, Bank of England, and Pentonville Prison, crimes for which he allows himself to be captured and put on trial. He secures not-guilty by intimidating the jury and visits Sherlock, explaining he still intends to 'burn' him, taunting him with a 'final problem' for him to solve. He also tries to destroy Sherlock's reputation. The two meet on the roof of a hospital, where Moriarty explains that assassins will kill John, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade if Sherlock does not commit suicide; he wants Sherlock to do this to cement his story after explaining that his 'god code' was a myth. Moriarty kills himself to force Sherlock to do the same. Sherlock calls John, confesses to being a fraud, states his final 'goodbye' and then steps off the roof.

Inspired by the short story 'The Final Problem'. The title alludes to the Reichenbach Falls, where Holmes and Moriarty supposedly fall to their deaths in the original story.

Series 3 (2014)[edit]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
––'Many Happy Returns'Jeremy Lovering[17]Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat24 December 2013N/A

Anderson believes that Sherlock is still alive after the Reichenbach fall. He confides in Lestrade and tells him his theory for his existence. Anderson believes a string of events ranging from Tibet to India to Germany involve Sherlock's assistance, and this is due to Sherlock not being able to stop investigating. Lestrade tells Anderson that Sherlock is definitely dead and goes to visit John, who has moved out of Baker Street following Sherlock's death. Lestrade gives John some of Sherlock's old items, including a video message from John's birthday. In the message Sherlock states that he will see John very soon and tells him to have a good birthday without him as he is 'busy'.

Broadcast online only, this mini-episode serves as a prequel to the third series and was made available on BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button service and the BBC's YouTube channel.[15][16] It is not based on any particular story by Arthur Conan Doyle.
71'The Empty Hearse'Jeremy LoveringMark Gatiss1 January 2014(UK)
19 January 2014 (US)		12.72 (UK)[8]
4.0 (US)[14]

Two years after his reported Reichenbach Fall demise, Sherlock, who has been cleared of all fraud charges against him, returns with Mycroft's help to a London under threat of terrorist attack. He tries to convince John—who has moved on and now has a girlfriend, Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington)—to help; however, John is angry that Sherlock did not tell him he was alive. Instead, Sherlock enlists Molly to assist him, but when John is kidnapped by unknown assailants and is rescued by Sherlock and Mary, John returns to help find the terrorists and an underground plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament during an all-night sitting on Guy Fawkes Night.

Based on the short story 'The Adventure of the Empty House',[18] and 'The Lost Special' with numerous references to other works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and other adaptations of the original stories.
82'The Sign of Three'Colm McCarthyStephen Thompson, Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss5 January 2014(UK)
26 January 2014 (US)		11.38 (UK)[8]
2.9 (US)[19]

It is John and Mary's wedding day and Sherlock is daunted by the task of delivering a Best Man's speech. As part of the speech, he recounts cases they have worked on including a soldier being stalked and somehow stabbed in a locked shower, a ghost dating women he dubs 'The Mayfly Man', the last being part of John's disastrous stag night, among others. Before his speech ends, he realises that a murderer is present among the guests intent on killing John's old friend, Major Sholto. Sherlock saves the targeted guest, and then informs John and Mary of the meaning of the sign of three; namely that Mary is pregnant.

The title is based on the Holmes novel The Sign of the Four.
93'His Last Vow'Nick HurranSteven Moffat12 January 2014(UK)
2 February 2014 (US)		11.38 (UK)[8]
3.0 (US)[20]

Stolen letters lead Sherlock into conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, 'the Napoleon of blackmail' who knows the personal weakness of every person of importance in the Western world. During the investigation Sherlock is shot and nearly killed by Mary, who is being blackmailed by Magnussen. After waking up from near-death, Sherlock escapes the hospital and lures Mary to an abandoned building, where he tricks her into revealing her false identity and attempted murder while John is listening nearby. Months later, Sherlock drugs everyone at the Holmes family Christmas party and steals Mycroft's laptop full of state secrets, and he and John take the laptop to Magnussen to trade for all of the files on 'Mary Morstan'. It is revealed that Magnussen keeps no files; it is all in his near-perfect 'mind palace'. To protect John, Mary, and their forthcoming child, Holmes kills Magnussen in front of Mycroft and several other witnesses, and as a result is sent off on a suicidal assignment overseas. However, he is brought back almost immediately because of a video being broadcast all over England with Jim Moriarty's face asking 'Did you miss me?'

The title is based on Doyle's short story 'His Last Bow', whereas the plot contains elements of two other short stories, 'The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton' and 'The Man with the Twisted Lip'.

Special (2016)[edit]

No.
overall		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
10'The Abominable Bride'Douglas MackinnonSteven Moffat and Mark Gatiss1 January 201611.64 (UK)[8]
3.4 (US)[9]

Sherlock, under the influence of drugs, enters his mind palace to solve a case from Victorian times about a bride shooting herself in the head and rising from the grave to kill her husband. If he can solve the murder it might lead him to how Moriarty has risen from the grave after similarly shooting himself in the head. He solves the case, and concludes that Moriarty is indeed dead, but 'is back'.

A Victorian-themed episode, the title of which is based on the quote ('Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife') from 'The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual', which refers to a case mentioned by Sherlock Holmes.[21] The episode also alludes to 'The Five Orange Pips' and mentions 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle', both from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.[22]

Series 4 (2017)[edit]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
111'The Six Thatchers'Rachel TalalayMark Gatiss1 January 201711.33 (UK)[8]
3.7 (US)[24]

Sherlock is asked to investigate the mysterious death of a young man, which he solves quickly but he is led into another mystery when a bust of Margaret Thatcher owned by the dead man's father is smashed. Further busts are smashed and Sherlock discovers that the mystery is linked to Mary and her past as a government agent. A figure from her past is bent on revenge in the belief that Mary betrayed him, but it is discovered that the traitor was the secretary of a British Parliamentary member. Mary is killed by the secretary when jumping in front of a bullet meant for Sherlock. John blames Sherlock for Mary's death, and their relationship is fractured.

The title is loosely based on the Doyle short story 'The Adventure of the Six Napoleons'. The plot contains elements of other short stories, 'The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb' and 'The Adventure of the Yellow Face'.[23]
122'The Lying Detective'Nick HurranSteven Moffat8 January 20179.53 (UK)[8]

Sherlock is contacted by the daughter of entrepreneur Culverton Smith, who she claims has confessed to a murder, but she does not know who the victim was as her father has used a drug on her that inhibits memory. Sherlock deduces that her father is a serial killer and sets out to expose him, but he has returned to narcotics use since Mary's death and unable to clearly distinguish his own thoughts from reality. He confronts and attacks Smith, and John is forced to subdue him. While recovering in the hospital, Smith appears in Sherlock's room, confesses and then tries to kill him. John bursts in just in time to save Sherlock, who reveals that his behavior up to that point was not just an elaborate ploy to expose Smith, but also fulfilling Mary's last wish for him to 'Save John'. Later John's therapist reveals that she is actually Sherlock's secret sister, Eurus, and has been using disguises to manipulate both Sherlock and Watson. The episode ends with Eurus firing a shot at John.

Title and plot elements based loosely on the Doyle short story 'The Adventure of the Dying Detective'.[23]
133'The Final Problem'Benjamin CaronMark Gatiss and Steven Moffat15 January 20179.06 (UK)[8]

Sherlock and Watson – who had been shot with a tranquilizer by Eurus – trick Mycroft into acknowledging her existence. Eurus steps up her attacks on Sherlock, culminating in the bombing of his Baker Street apartment. Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft venture forth to Sherrinford, a maximum-security psychiatric facility where Eurus is housed. Although Mycroft is skeptical at the suggestion that she has escaped, the trio discover that Eurus has compromised the staff and controls the entire Sherrinford asylum. She subjects the trio to a series of ordeals, testing their morals by forcing them to choose which of her victims live and die and ultimately forcing Sherlock to confront the memory of 'Redbeard', a childhood friend whose death set in motion events that saw Eurus incarcerated. Realising that she will continue to test him until someone he cares for dies, Sherlock tries to connect with her on an emotional level, offering her the love and relationship with a brother that she never had, and Eurus stands down. Sherlock and Watson return to the Baker Street apartment, where they find another message from Mary imploring them to stay together. A time lapse montage shows them rebuilding the Baker Street flat to its original lived-in form before meeting a series of unusual clients.

The title matches the Doyle short story 'The Final Problem',[25] but the plot contains elements from the short stories 'The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual', 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs', and 'The Adventure of the Gloria Scott'.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^Jones, Paul (22 January 2014). 'Sherlock season 3 is most watched BBC drama series ever'. Radio Times. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  2. ^BBC Worldwide Showcase (23 February 2012). Sherlock in five languages. YouTube. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. ^Denham, Jess (9 January 2014). 'Sherlock writers plot fourth and fifth series'. The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. ^Jeffery, Morgan (17 January 2017). 'Steven Moffat speaks out on Sherlock's future: 'It rather depends on our two stars''. Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. ^ ab'Sherlock Returns'. One8One. 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ^ ab'Sundays on PBS Remain TV's Top Destination for Drama'. PBS. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  7. ^'Sherlock Series 3 Ratings – Series Average'. Radio Times. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  8. ^ abcdefghijklmn'Weekly Top 30 Programmes'. Barb.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2014. (No permanent link available. Search for relevant dates.)
  9. ^ abPorter, Rick (5 January 2017). ''Sherlock' returns slightly lower on PBS'. TVByTheNumbers. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. ^BBC Press Office [@bbcpress] (24 January 2017). '#Sherlock consolidated series average of 10 million viewers' (Tweet). Archived from the original on 3 April 2017 – via Twitter.
  11. ^Oglethorpe, Tim (23 July 2010). 'Sherlock's got sexy! With nicotine papers instead of a pipe and taxis replacing hansom cabs, the new TV Holmes is a very 21st century hero'. Daily Mail. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  12. ^ ab'Steven Moffat: 'Cos people have asked: tonight's Sherlock ('The Blind Banker') is loosely based on The Dancing Men.''. twitter.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  13. ^The DVD audio commentary for 'The Great Game' confirms that The Bruce-Partington Programme derives from The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans, a Conan Doyle short story about a man who was found dead on the District Railway.
  14. ^ abKissell, Rick (20 January 2014). ''Sherlock' Sees Rising Ratings in Return to PBS on Sunday'. Variety. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  15. ^'Sherlock Mini-Episode: Many Happy Returns – Sherlock Series 3 Prequel – BBC One'. BBC Youtube channel. 24 December 2013.
  16. ^'Sherlock, Series 3, Sherlock Mini Episode – Many Happy Returns'. BBC One. 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  17. ^'Sherlock: Many Happy Returns (S)'. Film Affinity. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  18. ^'Sherlock series three: new details revealed'. The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  19. ^Hibberd, James (27 January 2014). ''Downton Abbey' ratings still huge, yet 'Sherlock' drops'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  20. ^Hibberd, James (3 February 2014). 'Weekend ratings: 'Downton,' 'Sherlock,' 'Black Sails''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  21. ^Jones, Paul (24 October 2015). 'What does the title The Abominable Bride tell us about the Sherlock special?'. Radio Times. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  22. ^Conan Doyle, Arthur. 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'(PDF). The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  23. ^ abMellor, Louisa; Leane, Rob (25 September 2016). 'Sherlock series 4: first 2 episode titles revealed'. Den of Geek. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  24. ^Hibberd, James (5 January 2017). 'Sherlock ratings dip from last season'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  25. ^Jones, Paul (12 December 2016). 'Sherlock series 4 episode 3: what happens in finale The Final Problem? Will Mary die? Will Sherlock end?'. RadioTimes. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  26. ^Jones, Paul (15 January 2017). 'What is Sherlock's Musgrave Ritual?'. Radio Times. Retrieved 15 January 2017.

External links[edit]

  • Sherlock on IMDb

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 Full

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Sherlock_episodes&oldid=916752044'
'The Empty Hearse'
Sherlock episode
Episode no.Series 3
Episode 1
Directed byJeremy Lovering
Written byMark Gatiss
Based on'The Adventure of the Empty House' and 'The Lost Special'
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Produced bySue Vertue
Featured music
Cinematography bySteve Lawes
Editing byCharlie Phillips
Original air date1 January 2014
Running time86 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
  • Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty
  • Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen
  • Jonathan Aris as Philip Anderson
  • Lisa McAllister as Anthea
  • Timothy Carlton as Sherlock's father
  • Wanda Ventham as Sherlock's mother
  • David Fynn as Howard Shilcott
  • Derren Brown as himself
Episode chronology
← Previous
'The Reichenbach Fall'		Next →
'The Sign of Three'
List of Sherlock episodes

'The Empty Hearse' is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series Sherlock. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes. It also marks the first appearance of Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan and Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen.

Inspired by 'The Adventure of the Empty House' and 'The Lost Special' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the episode follows Sherlock Holmes' return to London and reunion with John Watson, along with an underground terrorist network. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One and Channel One[1][2] on 1 January 2014. It garnered a viewership of 12.7 million people[3] and received positive reviews.

  • 2Sources
  • 3Production

Plot[edit]

Two years after his supposed death (depicted in The Reichenbach Fall), Sherlock Holmes has been completely exonerated of the slanderous accusations against him originated by Jim Moriarty and secretly returns to London to help his brother Mycroft uncover an apparent imminent and huge terrorist attack. An interleaved scene shows a version of how Sherlock might have faked his death: by jumping from the roof with a bungee cable, bouncing back and entering the building through a window, leaving Moriarty's body with a Sherlock mask to mislead John and other onlookers, John himself being hypnotised by Derren Brown to give the time for this to be set up (see 'The Reichenbach Fall'§Speculation and response to the cliffhanger). This version of events is later shown to be a conspiracy theory invented by Philip Anderson, who feels responsible for Sherlock's death.

John now has a girlfriend, Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington), to whom he intends to propose in a restaurant. At this point, Sherlock, disguised as a French waiter, approaches the couple, but is not immediately recognised by John. When Sherlock reveals his identity, John attacks him three times in three different restaurants. When John refuses to accept his explanations, Sherlock enlists Molly to assist him in his next case, that of an underground skeleton behind a desk containing a manuscript: How I Did It by Jack the Ripper, revealed toward the end of the episode to be a fake planted by Anderson to lure Sherlock out of hiding. Later that day, Mary receives a text in a skip code (first and every three words) telling her that John has been kidnapped by unknown assailants and will die if he is not rescued in time, along with a coded location. Sherlock and Mary come to his rescue on a motorcycle and manage to drag him out of a lit bonfire on which a 'guy' (Guy Fawkes effigy) was about to be burned.

Sherlock is shown a video by a London Underground employee of a mysterious vanishing of a passenger from a train between two stations near Parliament and later identifies the passenger as a member of the House of Lords, Lord Moran, whom he knows to be a foreign agent and who is also acting unusually. He notices that it is not only Moran who vanished but an entire carriage of the train and deduces that the attack will be on the Houses of Parliament, which will be holding a late-night hearing on a new anti-terrorism bill on Guy Fawkes Night, 5 November. Sherlock and John enter the abandoned station near Parliament, finding the secretly diverted carriage. It is rigged with explosives to make an enormous bomb. Sherlock manages to defuse the bomb by turning the off-switch, but not before making John believe the bomb can't be defused, leading Sherlock to apologize to John for getting him involved and saying that John would have had a future if he hadn't come back. This all had the intended effect of causing John to panic and reveal to Sherlock how much he has missed him, to John's later embarrassment.

Watch Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1

Another cut-scene intercut with the above shows Sherlock visiting Anderson and revealing to him how he faked his death as part of a plan to persuade Moriarty of his lost credibility and death, allowing him to successfully dissolve Moriarty's network. Sherlock tells Anderson that he and Mycroft had anticipated thirteen possible scenarios that could happen on the roof, and that while John's view was obstructed, members of his Homeless Network rolled out an inflatable mattress and took their roles as shocked bystanders and paramedics. With the aid of a squash ball under his arm to temporarily stop his pulse, Sherlock convincingly faked his own death. Anderson casts doubt on the veracity of this version of events, arguing it would be nearly impossible to ensure John remained exactly where Sherlock wanted. Anderson points out that he is 'the last person' Sherlock would tell, but when he turns around the room is empty. Anderson then begins tearing his theories from the wall, laughing hysterically, and the intercut scene ends.

Moran is ambushed by the police and arrested as he leaves his hotel suite. John asks Sherlock who abducted him and why, questions to which Sherlock has no answers yet. In the final scene, a bespectacled man with blue eyes is seen observing footage of Sherlock and Mary rescuing John from the fire.[4]

Sources[edit]

The Adventure of the Empty House[edit]

The most obvious source of this episode, to which its title alludes, is 'The Adventure of the Empty House',[5] in which Sherlock Holmes returns from his 'Great Hiatus', having allowed everyone to believe him dead to root out the rest of Moriarty's criminal organisation.[6] In both the story and the episode, Mycroft helps Sherlock fake his demise. The villainous Moran in this episode is named after Colonel Sebastian Moran, the villain of the original story. In 'The Adventure of the Empty House', Watson first encounters Holmes disguised as a heavily accented and bearded book salesman with a shop on the corner of Church Street, who offers Watson some books. In the episode, John encounters a man as his patient who owns a DVD shop at the same location; the man offers to sell him pornographic DVDs with titles almost identical to the books Watson was offered by the disguised Holmes in the short story ('Tree Worshippers', 'British Birds','Catalysts', and 'Holy War').[6] John falsely assumes it is Sherlock in disguise, with embarrassing results. It is also a reference to a scene from The Spider Woman starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Moffat and Gatiss have cited the film series as another source of inspiration when writing Sherlock.[7] The remainder of the episode's storyline is largely original.

Sherlock Holmes alludes to a 'system of Japanese wrestling' as the second of thirteen scenarios that might have allowed him to survive his rooftop encounter with Moriarty. This is a reference to the fictional martial art of 'baritsu' which was used by Holmes to defeat Moriarty in the original story.[8]

Other Conan Doyle short stories[edit]

Apart from 'The Adventure of the Empty House', the episode contains allusions to many other Conan Doyle short stories:

  • Sherlock calls Lord Moran by the code name 'giant rat of Sumatra Road' because of his status as a mole for North Korea, a reference to 'the giant rat of Sumatra' mentioned in passing in 'The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire' and because Moran's planned terrorist attack involves an abandoned section of the London Underground system called 'Sumatra Road'.[9]
    • In 'The Adventure of the Reigate Squire', Watson mentions in passing the case of the 'Netherland-Sumatra Company and of the colossal schemes of Baron Maupertuis.' The episode references this and the repeated mention of 'Sumatra' by similarly featuring a member of the House of Lords, Lord Moran, as the scheming villain.[10] Furthermore, in the beginning of the episode, after Sherlock and Mycroft have returned to London from Serbia, Mycroft mentions Baron Maupertuis by name.[9]
  • At one point, John asks the bearded man selling DVDs if his usual GP is named 'Dr Verner', who, in 'The Adventure of the Norwood Builder', is a cousin of Sherlock Holmes who buys Watson's practice so he can move back into his old rooms on Baker Street upon Holmes's return.[11]
  • Sherlock refers to an unseen character called Professor Presbury and 'monkey glands', both from the story 'The Adventure of the Creeping Man'.[8]
  • In 'The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter', the first story to feature Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock mentions that his grandmother was the sister of the French artist Horace Vernet. The fact that Holmes impersonates a French waiter at the beginning of the episode may be a reference to his French heritage.[12] The scene where Sherlock and Mycroft try to out-deduce each other in Sherlock's flat is also a reference to a scene from 'The Greek Interpreter' where they engage in a similar competition while sitting in Mycroft's Diogenes Club.[12]
    • Sherlock and Mycroft's competition is over analysing a particular knitted hat, a reference to 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle' where Holmes also deduced several facts about a man from his hat. Furthermore, in the episode, when Mycroft determines that the knitted hat belonged to a man, Sherlock asks, 'Why, size of the hat?', to which Mycroft reproachingly replies, 'Don't be silly. Some women have large heads, too.' Sherlock's subsequent look of guilt is a satirical allusion to the controversial and pseudoscientific phrenology involved in the original short story, where Sherlock Holmes deduced that the owner of the hat was intelligent based on the size of his head, remarking 'a man with so large a brain must have something in it.'[13]
  • The episode features John's engagement to Mary Morstan, who appears in the novel The Sign of the Four. Mary is seen reading John's blog, and the passage she reads aloud is an almost verbatim excerpt from chapter six of The Sign of the Four ('[s]o swift, silent, and furtive were his movements, like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent...').[14]
  • At one point, Mary receives a text message on her mobile phone that starts with the phrase 'John or James Watson', a reference to 'The Man With the Twisted Lip', in which Mary calls her husband 'James' rather than John (prompting the fan theory that his middle initial stands for 'Hamish', a variant of James, a theory incorporated into the earlier episode 'A Scandal in Belgravia').[15]
  • Sherlock points out to Mary that the above-mentioned text message is a skip code, a type of code where each word of the secret message is given as every third word of the apparent message, a reference to 'The Adventure of the Gloria Scott' where Holmes shows and explains to Watson a message with the same type of code.[16]
  • In a short scene, Sherlock very quickly solves an adaptation of 'A Case of Identity' when a young woman consults him about the disappearance of her online boyfriend, determining that it was in fact her stepfather who had posed as her online boyfriend to break her heart, keep her at home in grief, and maintain control over her finances. Mere moments after first hearing the woman's story, Sherlock promptly tells her stepfather, who has feigned concern and joined her in consulting him, that he is 'a complete and utter pisspot', alluding to Holmes's reprimand of the man in the original short story.[17]
  • The episode also references the Conan Doyle story 'The Lost Special', in which a train goes missing into an unused section of the railway, and which features an unnamed character who might be Sherlock Holmes, referred to simply as 'an amateur reasoner of some celebrity'.[18]

Production[edit]

Casting[edit]

Many of the cast of the previous two series returned, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman playing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson. Freeman's real-life partner Amanda Abbington[19] joined the cast as Mary Morstan, Watson's girlfriend.Cumberbatch's parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton, had cameos as Sherlock's parents.[20]

Writing[edit]

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1

'The Empty Hearse' was written by the series' co-creator, Mark Gatiss. He was inspired to use the London Underground as a setting by the 1968 Doctor Who serial The Web of Fear, a story which is primarily set in the Underground after London is evacuated due to the spread of a deadly web-like fungus via the Tube network.[21]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography on the episode began in March 2013. Tabloid newspaper Daily Mail reported that Benedict Cumberbatch and Amanda Abbington filmed the bonfire scene in Portland Square in Bristol.[22]

The resolution to how Holmes had faked his death was filmed in April 2013 at St Bart's Hospital

The resolution to how Holmes had faked his death at the end of 'The Reichenbach Fall' was filmed in April 2013 at St Bart's Hospital in London. The filming was attended by several hundred fans, whom producer Sue Vertue begged not to leak too much information.[23]Telegraph journalist Sheryl Garratt reported that the filming was deliberately confusing to the watching fans, and the explanation of how Sherlock faked his death was blanked in the script.[23]

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 Cast

The London Underground train used in the episode was built from scratch by the production to look like a District line carriage, as they were unable to acquire a real train.[24] The never completed tube station called Sumatra Road is based on North End tube station.[25] Filming was carried out at Westminster[26] and Charing Cross stations.[27]

Broadcast and reception[edit]

'The Empty Hearse' was first publicly exhibited at a special screening at the BFI Southbank in London on 15 December 2013.[28] The screening was followed by a Q&A, hosted by Caitlin Moran, attended by the show's creators and key cast members.[29]

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 Ending

The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2014. According to overnight figures, the episode was viewed by 9.2 million people in the UK on BBC One, with the viewership peaking at 9.7 million in the first 5 minutes.[30] It premiered in the US on PBS as part of Masterpiece Mystery! on 19 January 2014.[31]

'The Empty Hearse' received critical acclaim upon broadcast, with The Guardian's Sam Wollaston proclaiming '...an explosive return for Cumberbatch and Freeman, full of fizz, whizz and wit.'[32] Similarly, The Telegraph's Chris Harvey said, 'This was the triumphant return of the most charismatic, most fun character on British television.'[33]

The Mirror gave the episode a perfect five star review, with the author Josh Wilding's headline being, 'Stunning explanation in The Empty Hearse for how Sherlock faked his death won't satisfy everybody, but it works.'[34] whilst the author Anne-Marie Senior noted how viewers were left confused by the discontinuity showing different trains on the wrong tube lines, 'Sherlock sparks Twitter fury as eagle-eyed viewers notice the lines on London Underground are WRONG.'[35]

Metro also awarded the episode four out of five stars, with reviewer Tim Liew stating, 'The Empty Hearse is a fast-paced yarn filled with breathtaking audacity and laugh-out-loud moments.'[36] The episode also received very positive reviews from American critics, with The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman saying 'The acclaimed detective, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, returns for season three as superb (and unscathed) as when he left.'[37] Oliver Jia of The Punk Effect stated that the episode was 'well worth the [two-year-long hiatus]' and praised it as a 'well-acted, well-produced, well-written, and extremely engrossing drama.'[38]

Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 Reviews

David Mather, who runs fan site Sherlockology, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire that he had been inundated with mixed responses from fans.[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^'Channel One will show the new 'Sherlock' along with BBC'. Gazeta.ru. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  2. ^'The third series of Sherlock on the Channel One'. Channel One Russia. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  3. ^'2014 - Top 10 programmes - TV since 1981 - BARB'. barb.co.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. ^Jones, Ellen E (1 January 2014). 'Sherlock 'The Empty Hearse' review: So, how did the great detective fake his own death?'. The Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  5. ^Wolfson, Sam (1 January 2014). 'Sherlock recap: series three, episode one – The Empty Hearse'. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ^ abDoyle, Arthur Conan (1905). 'The Adventure of the Empty House'. The Return of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  7. ^Rackl, Lori (19 January 2014). 'Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat answers your Sherlock questions Voices'. Voices. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  8. ^ abBritt, Ryan (2 January 2014). '7 Classic References to Watch for in Sherlock's 'The Empty Hearse''. The Mindhut. Sparknotes. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  9. ^ abJones, Ross (2 January 2014). 'Sherlock facts: 21 things you didn't know'. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1894). 'The Adventure of the Reigate Squire'. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  11. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1905). 'The Adventure of the Norwood Builder'. The Return of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  12. ^ abDoyle, Arthur Conan (1894). 'The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter'. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  13. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1892). 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle'. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes. For example, how did you deduce that this man was intellectual? For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. 'It is a question of cubic capacity,' said he; 'a man with so large a brain must have something in it.'
  14. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1890). '6. Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration'. The Sign of the Four. London: Spencer Blackett.
  15. ^'Sherlock: The Empty Hearse'. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  16. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1894). 'The Adventure of the Gloria Scott'. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  17. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan (1892). 'A Case of Identity'. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London: George Newnes.
  18. ^Doyle, Arthur Conan. 'The Lost Special.' London: 1898. '...which would enable them to say for certain what had become of the missing train.'
  19. ^Jones, Paul (27 March 2013). 'Martin Freeman's partner Amanda Abbington joins the cast of Sherlock'. Radio Times. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  20. ^Jones, Paul (1 January 2014). 'Benedict Cumberbatch's parents make Sherlock cameo'. Radio Times. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  21. ^Jeffery, Morgan (11 October 2013). ''Doctor Who' missing episodes inspired 'Sherlock', says Mark Gatiss'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  22. ^Sheridan, Emily (26 March 2013). 'Sherlock is back from the dead as series 3 begins filming... with Martin Freeman's girlfriend Amanda Abbington joining the cast'. Daily Mail.
  23. ^ abGarratt, Sheryl (1 January 2014). 'Sherlock: filming the way Holmes faked his death for The Empty Hearse'. The Telegraph.
  24. ^'Sherlock facts: 21 things you didn't know'. telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  25. ^'Sherlock's abandoned 'Sumatra Road' tube station? It's under Hampstead Heath'. hamhigh.co.uk. Hampstead & Highgate Express. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  26. ^'Jubilee tube from St James' Park? Sherlock fans confused by London Underground trains pulling into different stations on different lines'. dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  27. ^'The London Underground according to 'Sherlock''. timeout.com. Timeout. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  28. ^Dibdin, Emma (5 November 2013). ''Sherlock' series 3 premiere 'The Empty Hearse' for BFI screening'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  29. ^Bushby, Helen (1 January 2014). 'Final countdown for Sherlock's return'. BBC News. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  30. ^'Sherlock return watched by 9.2m'. BBC News. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  31. ^Jeffery, Morgan (23 October 2013). ''Sherlock' series 3 to air in January in the US'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  32. ^Wollaston, Sam (2 January 2014). 'Sherlock – TV review'. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  33. ^Harvey, Chris (1 January 2014). 'Sherlock: The Empty Hearse, review'. The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  34. ^Wilding, Josh (1 January 2014). 'Review – The Empty Hearse – Sherlock'. The Mirror. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  35. ^Senior, Anne-Marie (2 January 2014). 'Sherlock sparks Twitter fury as eagle-eyed viewers notice the lines on London Underground are WRONG'. The Mirror. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  36. ^Liew, Tim (1 January 2014). 'TV review: Sherlock's exhilarating return put character before plot'. Metro. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  37. ^Goodman, Tim. 'Sherlock: TV Review'. The Hollywood Reporter.
  38. ^Jia, Oliver. 'Foxhounder Films: Sherlock Season 3: 'The Empty Hearse' Review'. The Punk Effect. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  39. ^'Sherlock Holmes' return met by mixed reaction from fans'. BBC News. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.

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