Well, of course he is!

My first thought upon hearing of actor John Noble being cast as Mr. Elementary's father in the CBS nit detective show Elementary today was "Stand with me here upon the terrace, for it may be that another fine actor shall be wasted upon dreckful story."

But then I was reminded by a Fringe-fan friend of that eternal possibility that Walter Bishop, John Noble's character on Fringe, could always be evil Walter Bishop from the alternate universe. And then it all kind of fell into place. Even good Walter Bishop in Fringe-world had a son that came from an alternate reality.

And do realities get any more alternate than Elementary?

My personal theory has always been that Mr. Elementary was part of the homeless network that Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch version) used, a heroin addict gone delusional. This theory has become harder to sustain as the real modern Sherlock's fame grew and no one in New York seemed to ever do a Google search and find they were following an imposter around. But now, with the introduction of a man who looks a lot like a dimension-hopper from another reality as the guy who put Mr. Elementary in New York with Joan to begin with . . . well, it all comes back to making sense.

The delusional Mr. Elementary wasn't just moved out of London to let him play Sherlock. He was moved to an alternate universe without a Sherlock, so he could play to his heart's content. Well, until that demon heroin lured him back into the tunnel of injections.

Oh, Walter Bishop Holmes, you wacky, wacky genius! What will you come up with next?