Apparently I misread the omen of the "Hugo's Companions" t-shirt, of which I blogged yesterday. Rather than the herald of dog slobber, it was foretelling a comment from the legendary Sir Hugo himself, on my most recent post railing against PBS. And Sir Hugo's words held dire portent themselves:
"As for Sherlock, it's only a TV show, for Clapton's sake. There are much more important things to worry about in life."
I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first ("Clapton" must surely be an autocorrect for the Canonical "Clayton," for starters.) and then the news came over the radio this morning. PBS announced that Downton Abbey's new season is going to be delayed in America by PBS. That immensely popular show is much more important than Sherlock in the grand scheme of viewership, and if PBS is keeping America waiting for Downton, we fans of Sherlock Holmes have no hope for better treatment.
Side note: This just in from longtime Sherlockian Paul Herbert, Hugo Baskerville was never really a "Sir" in the Canon. Apparently this is something that has grown up in Sherlockian lore. Of course, given his resume, I'm sure Hugo got a "Sir" in the ranks of Hell, at the very least. (Not the Sir Hugo referenced in paragraph one, of course.)
But while we're on the subject of heralds of things to come, the BBC teaser for season three of Sherlock has been out for some time now, and for the longest time I avoided it, with that initial intention to keep the show as unseen as possible until its broadcast. Discussions popped up online of whether the teaser's footage was especially shot, or actually taken from the show itself. Confirmations of it being from the show itself came out, and all that focus led me to forget that single word "teaser."
Eventually I watched it, of course. And what facts were spoiled for me, about the next season of Sherlock?
Mrs. Hudson does dishes. Lestrade stands in what might be an empty parking garage. Mycroft reads in an opulent room. Molly gets into her locker. (Though her face is suspiciously hidden, which makes one wonder if one can judge a Molly by her lab coat.) And Watson is in a restaurant with a moustache.
It would seem that all these people are on the verge of meeting Mr. Sherlock Holmes, but actually what the teaser said to me was "Here are five people that will be in the show. And a moustache."
No dialogue. No actual activity. Nothing that would make me go, "Is this special footage or actually scenes from the show?" Ironically, while I thought about not watching the teaser to keep the show fresh, I hadn't thought about just watching it while it was fresh . . . and thus found a decent teaser turning into a slight disappointment after the fervor of the fan reaction.
Ah, well. We all make our choices. And after all, it wasn't a teaser for Downton Abbey, was it, Hugo?
The ongoing investigation of Sherlock Holmes, reported from the Peoria, Illinois outpost of Baker Street's dirtiest half a dozen.
> I'm sure Hugo got a "Sir" in the ranks of Hell, at the very least. (Not the Sir Hugo referenced in paragraph one, of course.)
ReplyDeleteI'm working on it. ;-)
As for "Downton Abbey," we're not worried about the late arrival of Season 4. We've gone back in time more than 40 years via DVD and finally introduced ourselves to all five seasons of "Upstairs, Downstairs" (the superior program that Downton blatantly rips off at every turn). And we've even started "The House of Eliott" 22 years after its debut.
There's plenty of great stuff to watch that Yours Truly somehow missed the first time.
Coming up next, John Neville and Susan Hampshire in "The First Churchills."
And don't forget "Monarch of the Glenn" and "All Creatures Great and Small". Both I am sure have Sherlockian connections.
Delete> I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first ("Clapton" must surely be an autocorrect for the Canonical "Clayton," for starters.)
ReplyDeleteNope. As the wild, profane and godless one, I don't have any need for any deity. But I do believe in Clapton.