Fandom Overview: Sherlock (BBC, 2010)

[cloudtrader.livejournal.com]

The Game, Mrs. Hudson, is on!



Introduction

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Those two names are known the world over as the most famous detective pair in fiction. Sherlock Holmes is also one of the oldest "fandoms" around. There are an incredible amount of fanworks related back to the original characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This year (2010), a brand new adaptation has burst onto the scene. Premiering over the summer on BBC, Sherlock is a re-imagining of the concept in a modern day setting.

While you don't necessarily NEED to know about the background canon of this fandom to understand this new adaptation, it's definitely more enjoyable if you do. I highly recommend laughingacademy's incredibly informative Sherlock Holmes: An Overview if you haven't actually read the original novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (or even if you have and just want a good read as a refresher).

Characters

Doctor John Watson - Played by Martin Freeman, John is the heart of the show. He's the Everyman from whose point-of-view we get to see into the spectacular, thrilling world of Sherlock Holmes. Like in the original canon, John is a military doctor invalided home from Afghanistan who writes about his adventures with Sherlock Holmes (in his blog, rather than in The Strand, but still).

"I'd be lost without my blogger." -Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes - Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, he is a self-described as a high-functioning sociopath, Sherlock is the world's only consulting detective. He isn't exactly socially inept, but rather completely uncaring about the conventions of society and not fully developed in the empathy department. Beyond serial killers and psychopaths, Sherlock's biggest enemy is himself/boredom. He alternates between mania, crushing depression, and intellectual engagement. Arrogant, egotistical, thrill-seeking, handsome, and a proper genius, Sherlock Holmes is an incredibly fascinating character in any incarnation and especially so in this brilliant portrayal.

"Sherlock Holmes is a great man. And I think, one day -- if we're very, very lucky -- he might even be a good one." -Lestrade

Molly Hooper - She's Sherlock's go-to girl when he needs to beat a dead body with a riding crop or examine the tattoos on the feet of dead Tong smugglers. She has a hopeless crush on him, which he ruthlessly manipulates.

Mrs. Hudson - Una Stubbs portrays a new kind of Mrs. Hudson. She is Sherlock and John's landlady ("Not your housekeeper!").

Watson: "Well this is a prime spot. Must be expensive."
Sherlock: "Mrs. Hudson the landlady is giving me a special deal. She owes me a favor. A few years back her husband got himself sentenced to death in Florida. I was able to help her."
Watson: "So you stopped her husband from being executed?"
Sherlock: "Oh, no. I ensured it."

Detective Inspector Lestrade - Played by the amazing Rupert Graves, LI Lestrade is the long-suffering police officer who knows a good consulting detective when he sees one.

Sergeant Sally Donovan - Lestrade's right-hand gal, her usual epitaphs for our favorite detective are "freak" and "psychopath." No love lost between Sally and Sherlock!

Anderson - There is even less love lost between forensic investigator Anderson and Sherlock. When we first meet him, Sherlock makes some rather un-politic observations that his wife was away and Sally slept over. Not something that would endear Sherlock to anyone, let along in the supercilious and arrogant tone Sherlock adopts when dealing with the police.

Moriarty - As in the original canon, Moriarty is Sherlock's ultimate nemesis, his equal and opposite number.

"Anthea" - PA to Sherlock's arch-enemy. She's a blank slate and is perpetually attached to her mobile phone.

London - This series infuses the city of London with just as much character (sometimes, even more!) than the true characters. It's almost impossible to separate the stories of Sherlock Holmes from his natural environment of London and that is especially true in this adaptation. Although the show was filmed partially in Cardiff, the soul of the city of London beats through almost every scene in the show, rich in city-bright colors and textures. The city is most often seen through the windows of the various taxis that Sherlock and John must spend a fortune on using.

Doctor Sarah Sawyer - She hires John to work part-time in her surgery and then starts to date him.

Detective Inspector Dimmock - Lestrade's replacement in episode 2.

Mycroft Holmes - Sherlock's older brother, who occupies a "minor position in the British government."

Sebastian - An acquaintance of Sherlock's from uni, he is a banker who hires Sherlock for a job in episode 2.

The Episodes

Each of the 3 episodes of Series 1 of this show are 90 minutes long, while the unaired pilot is 60 minutes long. Thus, the entire canon of this fandom is (at this time) less than 6 hours in total. Sherlock, however, is good enough to captivate a fandom that is growing faster all the time. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the show has the distinct feel of the original canon with a modern-day ambiance, combining the high-action crime drama with the slower-paced, more intellectual mystery series.

You can get the series on DVD, or you can watch it right now (through December 27) on the PBS website. Also, if you have not seen this show yet, please do watch it before you actually read any fanfics about it. As a mystery series, there are a lot of spoilers in fanfics that might limit your enjoyment of the original shows.

Series 2 is scheduled to start filming next year, although there are rumors of scheduling conflicts for Martin Freeman (due to his being cast as Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit film). This overview will have to be updated then -- and I'm really looking forward to it!


Episode 1: A Study In Pink - The meeting of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. In this episode, DI Lestrade comes to Sherlock for help on a case of serial suicides that are actually murder.

Episode 2: The Blind Banker - Sherlock and John face off against Tong on the behest of an old acquaintance.

Episode 3: The Great Game - Sherlock's been noticed and his boredom ends when Moriarty finally engages him in a game that takes all of his intellect. Lives are at stake as explosions rip through London.

Unaired Pilot: A Study In Pink - Same basic plot as Episode 1, but without a lot of the really fun details and a slightly less polished look.

The Fandom

There are a ton of Sherlock communities, but one of the largest and the one I recommend a new fan start with is sherlockbbc. It's a general community, not just fanfic, and you'll find a ton of amazing fanart, comics, stories, screencaps, fanvids, fanmixes, etc.

The Pairings

Sherlock/John - Well, it's obvious, yeah?
Sherlock/Lestrade
Lestrade/John
Sherlock/John/Lestrade
Mycroft/John
Lestrade/Mycroft
Sherlock/Mycroft
Sherlock/John/Mycroft
Sherlock/Moriarty
John/Moriarty
Moriarty/spoiler!
Donovan/Anderson



As you can see, yes, the pairings tend towards slash, but there is hope for the upcoming series, as one of the hints dropped about it was the word "Adler." The canon pairing of John Watson/Mary Morstan is not currently extant in either the show or the fandom. The above photo is included because, well, Sherlock/John overshadows every other pairing in this fandom. Look at him loom! ^_^

Comments

[julia-justina.livejournal.com]

Errrr! Isn't Anthea Mycrofts PA? Not Moriarty's.

Love this show, really looking forward to reading some fanfic.

JJ

[cloudtrader.livejournal.com]

Shhh! Spoilers!!!

[love-jackianto.livejournal.com]

Oh I just got my Sherlock dvds last week and can't wait to see what fanfic gets recced.

[time-testudinem.livejournal.com]

Goody! I loved this show. And with such a great set-up and so much original canon left unexplored, there is SO much room for fic. I do hope we get some Lestrade focused stories, I adored this version of him. I expect Holmes and Watson to be good in any decent reworking, but Lestrade's character was a very pleasant surprise.

[oxfordtweed]

Oh, how I adore Sarah. I really hope she sticks around.

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

The Pairings

Meh. No Sherlock/Molly Hooper? Manipulative dark!fic? Manipulative dark!fic in which Molly knows she's being manipulated? A mutually destructive relationship, without apology?

Because I'd read the living hell out of any/all of that!

[cloudtrader.livejournal.com]

Me, too! Nom nom nom... but, um, I think I might have seen a grand total of ONE Sherlock/Molly fic. Clearly, I am not looking hard enough, right? Right! To the Batmobile! Wait, that's the wrong fandom. Hmmm...

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

I think I might have seen a grand total of ONE Sherlock/Molly fic. Clearly, I am not looking hard enough, right?

Somehow, I doubt that's the problem.

I don't mind slash; I just wish that every single fandom didn't always become all about the slash all of the damn time. It's as tiresome as it is inevitable.

[oxfordtweed]

I don't mind slash; I just wish that every single fandom didn't always become all about the slash all of the damn time. It's as tiresome as it is inevitable.

This. Especially with a show like Sherlock, I hope to hell to see some good plot-driven recs this month.

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

Plot? What's that? ;)

Seriously, I would too. That show is so awesome, and I'd hate to see fic that reduces it to a poor excuse for Holmes and Watson to get it on and then angst endlessly about it.

[oxfordtweed]

If I can ever finish the beast of a fic I'm currently working on, I've been considering trying to devise some sort of epic mystery plot that would be suiting and worthy of Sherlock's genius.

I'm completely and totally drawing a blank. So it may be a while before I do anything, if even at all.

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

I've been considering trying to devise some sort of epic mystery plot that would be suiting and worthy of Sherlock's genius.

I'm completely and totally drawing a blank. So it may be a while before I do anything, if even at all.

And that's the problem this fandom is going to run into, IMO. Intelligent writing and intricate plotting are difficult and time-consuming. I don't think I could pull it off, either. I'm not that great at plotting intricate mysteries!

[oxfordtweed]

Tsch, no kidding.

For Nano (which I failed at finishing on time, for reasons I am about to mention), I did science fiction with hard science and astronomy, which meant doing more maths than writing, some days. Other Nano'ers acted like I was insane for actually wanting to write something good, rather than just churning out, "and then this happened, and then they went there" until I got 50,000 words.

If I wanted to do something like that, I could have had 50k in two days. But it would have been a terrible story, and probably would not have been fun to write.

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

And unfortunately, a lot of fandom (not just Sherlock fandom, I mean fandom in general) just wants to get to the sex and/or slash as quickly as possible write "and then this happened, and then they went there"-style fics. :p

[oxfordtweed]

And now I has a sad.


Ah, well. That's why places like this comm exist. :D

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

And now I has a sad.

That's the same sad I've had since the early '80s when I first learned about the existence of fanfic and with it the Mary Sues and all the awful OOC PWP slash/porn.

Ah, well. That's why places like this comm exist. :D

Yay, this comm! :D

[oxfordtweed]

Yay, this comm!

In the grand scale of things, I'm still more or less a fandom noob. I've only been doing it for about four or five years. The biggest pan-fandom wankfest I've witnessed firsthand is the warnings wank from whenever that was. About two years ago, I think.

[kittenmommy.livejournal.com]

In the grand scale of things, I'm still more or less a fandom noob.

Uh oh. Just keep in mind, no matter how weird something seems, there's always something even weirder out there! Yes, even when you think it's impossible. Trust me on that!

I've only been doing it for about four or five years. The biggest pan-fandom wankfest I've witnessed firsthand is the warnings wank from whenever that was. About two years ago, I think.

I remember that. People wank about the stupidest things, IMO.

[oxfordtweed]

Luckily, most of my fandoms can probably qualify for a 'micro-' prefix, and anything more than about 20 active members is generally too stonking big for me to handle.

I'm watching the sherlockbbc comm, and my eyes cross every time it floods my F-list. @_@

[unovis.livejournal.com]

I've read three that I liked. There are more than that listed here on sherlockbbc:
http://community.livejournal.com/sherlockbbc/tag/pairing%3A%20molly%2Fsherlock

It's definitely not to my taste, though I like Molly. I've read some very nice f/f with her.

[shotboxer.livejournal.com]

Although the show was filmed partially in Cardiff

I knew it! I did a double take in a couple scenes because I recognized places as being in Cardiff (really *obvious* places in Cardiff . . .) and then got all confused because, considering I walk by one of the locations used pretty much every day, you'd think I would have noticed a big film crew set up there, wouldn't you? I still kick myself for having missed a chance to see the boys' in action. Now I keep an eye out for LOC signs whenever I'm out and about - no luck on spotting anyone filming yet though. ::keeps fingers crossed::

[lydia-petze.livejournal.com]

I've been reccing fic like mad in my personal journal, but I'd love to see what gets crack_vanned ;-))

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the overview. I've added a Sherlock BBC tag for your use. Thanks!

[unovis.livejournal.com]

Mention should also be made of the fantastic, distinctive fashion sense in the series and the impact that made on the fandom as well as fan creations. There have been brilliant wardrobe-related fic and vids and icons as well as posts about the clothing and tips for cosplayers.

Another important aspect of the fandom is the emphasis on and interest in asexuality, centering on Sherlock. See asexy_sherlock for discussion and fic links.

This is kind of thin for a fandom overview.

Links to significant communities:
The daily newsletter (that also covers other Sherlock Holmes versions): holmesian_news
For writers seeking britpicking and British facts and background: sh_britglish
For weekly watchalongs for this series and related shows: shwatchalongs

sherlockbbc_fic is a staggeringly active fic meme, primarily for kink; fanon emerging from this source includes Anderson's kink for dinosaurs and series of icons quoting fic comments

221b_slash_fest and holmestice are the two largest holiday gift exchanges, with holmestice beginning gift posts today
sherlockbigbang is also underway (can't wait! can't wait)

There are many fine podfics -- again tagged on sherlockbbc (http://community.livejournal.com/sherlockbbc/tag/fanworks%3A%20podfic) and many of them listed in jinjurly's audiofic archive (Sherlock BBC (http://audiofic.jinjurly.com/category/television-fandoms-live-action/sherlock-bbc)

Recs can be hard to find when you're new to the fandom. sherlockbbc has a Sunday rec day (http://community.livejournal.com/sherlockbbc/tag/weekly%3A%20sunday%20recday), mainly for fic posted that week. A large list of recs for the first couple of months, to get readers started, is iamshadow's Sherlock Rec Post of Doooooom (http://iamshadow.dreamwidth.org/327991.html?style=light)

People new to the fandom should definitely look at the artwork, icons, and especially the brilliant vids. Check the newsletter and the sherlockbbc tag for vids (http://community.livejournal.com/sherlockbbc/tag/fanworks%3A%20vids)

The creative response to this show has been amazing!

[ellex42.livejournal.com]

Excellent overview! I'm eager to see Sherlock recs here, as there is a lot of drek to wade through on the various comms.

FYI, in the Sally Donovan description, the word you want is "epithet", meaning an insult, rather than "epitaph", which is one of those pithy little phrases (often quotations or holy texts) you see on gravestones.