Monday, October 14, 2013

The Hook Up.

"Will Holmes & Watson Hook Up?"

If you missed seeing or hearing about this week's issue of TV Guide, the above words are its cover's featured headline. Mark this date in history as another first in Sherlockian history . . . Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have finally made a tabloid headline.

It's a little forced, of course. Anyone who knows the show in question, has glanced at any of a hundred articles or interviews on the wetb, or just mistakenly thinks they're talking about Jeremy Brett and David Hardwicke for some reason . . . well, the answer is clearly, "No."

On the other hand, if one is answering the question for the entire history of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in film, print, and the internet, the answer is not only the opposite . . . it's almost foolish.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson hooked up a long time time ago. And seem to do so quite regularly.

Porn got to them first, of course. Fanfic added variety in said hook-ups. I don't know if the hook-up question really excites the true Elementary fan or the casual TV viewer, but to a lot of us, it probably seems kind of ho-hum at this point.

Even given the history of television and Elementary itself, it seems kind of ho-hum. Will the two main characters one day hook up? If the show runs until its makers and stars choose to end it, rather than an unexpected cancellation by the network, I would bet on them becoming a couple.

Consider the alternatives. For a climactic final episode, there are the basic choices of comedy or tragedy. Comedy ends in a wedding, tragedy ends in death. Jonny Lee Miller performing a death scene as a part of Lucy Liu's Joan Watson finally ascending to master consulting detective would seem like a strong possibility, a logical conclusion to the current setup. But if Elementary goes seven seasons or more, I think a certain sentimentality is going to develop that won't allow that. And what's left once you rule out death?

Marriage. Or something close. Like the unimaginable coupling of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on X-Files, it seems like one of those weird choices that will inevitably get made for reasons outside the demands of good story-telling. But anything is possible.

If TV Guide featuring a headline asking "Will Holmes & Watson Hook Up?" tells us nothing else, it sure tells us that.

Anything is possible. And we're probably going to see a lot more things we never expected before Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are done.

9 comments:

  1. Please don't mention Elementary and seven seasons or more in the same sentence ever again. I know it's getting close to Halloween, are you trying to scare us to death. Anybody with an ounce of sanity knows Elementary jumped the shark after episode one. Gee, I just can't wait until they have Mama Kardashian on as Queen Elizabeth, and Snooki as Henry Baker in their Christmas Special.

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  2. I think you just "hooked up" David Burke and Edward Hardwicke in paragraph two....

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    1. Either that, or there was some BBC genetic experiment to create the perfect Watson . . .

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  3. I am sure that it is not the first time our duo have made the tabloids. Two come to mind, both in the 'Sun.' Oct. 1985 - "Sherlock Holmes still alive at 131." and Sept. 2001 - 'Sherlock Holmes creator accused of murder and fraud.' But these are tame compared to a H & W hook-up!

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  4. If you read the article, you can see that the answer to the cover question was "no."

    Nothing like getting up in arms about something that hasn't happened, isn't planned, and is discounted by all involved.

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    1. Yes, I read the article, and after only one season, I don't think anyone involved can predict what's going to happen five years down the road . . . especially where network television is concerned.

      Besides, you call that "up in arms"? That's mere musing. "Up in arms" hasn't happened yet this season.

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  5. Well if they do hookup, I don't consider them Holmes and Watson so it would just be a Sherlock Holmes wanna be and a disgraced doctor who happens to have the last name "watson" hooking up.

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  6. Let's get real, if Elementary really reaches the seventh season, it will happen...no show manages to keep the two leads apart for so long, they always cave under fan pressure (and there are always enough rabid shippers out there, no matter which fandom). I doubt though that Elementary will get more episodes than strictly needed for syndication.

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  7. The only one Joan Watson will hook-up with, the way this show is going, is Ms. Hudson. Moriarty is going to become pregnant, and appear on The Jerry Springer show to find out if Mycroft, Lestrade, or Sherlock is the baby daddy.

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