Sherlock returns to BBC One on New Year’s Day at 9pm for the first of a three episode run starring amongst others Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Mark Gatiss, and Una Stubbs.
The big question which has led to so many forum/pub/front room arguments is how did Sherlock (Cumberbatch) managed to survive his plummet to the pavement whilst surrounded by numerous witnesses? Not only that but how will Dr John Watson (Freeman) take the news that his best friend has faked his death for so long?
The first episode shall be entitled ‘The Empty Hearse’ and has been written by Mark Gatiss (League of Gentleman, Doctor Who); however on Christmas Eve, over on BBC iPlayer, there will also be a prequel episode called ‘Many Happy Returns’. Below are interviews with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss plus Q&As with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
Interview with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss…
Q&A with Benedict Cumberbatch (full interview here)…
How did it feel reading the first script of the new series?
It’s always a kind of cold-faced thrill because you get the first enjoyment of it. It’s like being the first audience of the finished product, so it was a real treat. We knew what the rough trajectory was over the three films, but when you get the full script it’s just a delight. The first thing I go to is the big scenes, and every one of those scripts is a terrific read. It’s such a joy to read them for the first time – you get that thrill that hopefully the audience will get when they sit down and watch it.
What do you think Lars Mikkelsen brings to the series?
An incredibly steely reality which is harrowingly possible. He is a businessman – he’s not a mad chaotic villain, not like the award-winning performance Andrew Scott gave as Moriaty. He is something of great calm and measure that has a depth to it which is an even bigger challenge than the chaos of Moriaty. He is so measured and precise – he is like a shark, a terrifyingly perfect predator of our age.
He will chime with people who know what a bully is – he is the archetypal bully and his means and methods are chillingly everyday in our culture. He’s a smart creation, very real and not fantastical. He’s got a foreign perspective on the English culture which Holmes so perfectly personifies and the fact that he fights on the side on the angels. He sort of reduces what Holmes protects.
Do you think Sherlock will understand John’s reaction to the news that he is in fact alive?
I think he completely thinks that John will understand what he has done, and be fine with it. I think he is expecting a wry smile, a handshake and maybe a laugh or two and then off on a case. He gets it so wrong, so so wrong. He’s rusty, he regresses and it takes him a little while to get on form, to smell out London and understand that again and also to get back to being best friends – you emphathise with him because you know ultimately he did what he did to save his best friend’s life. But John being quite a straight-laced ex-soldier is not too happy.
If you could have one of Sherlock’s attributes what would it be?
His mental focus, which comes with its faults as well, it’s very hard-earned. What I love about him is he is a hero for people who are different and a role model for people who are different because he acquires a status through his skill that is bar none and I would love to have his mental agility and focus I just think it is exceptional… and his memory, if I can have two!
Q&A with Martin Freeman (full interview here)…
What was it like being back together for the first read-through?
It was good – it had a kind of familiarity about it, we had new people joining which was lovely. Given that it was our third time, or fourth including the pilot, it just feels nice and familiar. It’s always exciting because the scripts are so good.
Could you emphasise with John’s reaction to Sherlock’s reappearance?
I can completely emphasise. If someone came into your life after you thought they were dead it would be a major event, and given that Sherlock is the way he is, he winds John up a lot, and that is when they are getting on! But coming back from the dead – John is hit very hard by that.
What do you think it is that has made Sherlock such a global success?
I guess we were lucky in that we already had Sherlock Holmes, who is one of the most famous fictitious characters in literature. Every incarnation of Sherlock Holmes has been of interest to somebody. And it has been a while since it has been updated. The last time I can think of was Basil Rathbone. So it’s a contemporary look at it which hasn’t been done for a while written by three of the best writers around, thought up by two of the best writers around. It’s beautifully shot, beautifully designed, rather well acted. It’s one of those rare things you can be in where you think every single department is storming it. It looks beautiful, it’s written beautifully and it’s well cast.
What’s been your favourite episode to date?
I have to say the ones that we have just filmed have been brilliant. Before that, probably Reichenbach was my favourite one to do because when we read it I was really, really excited and I thought the finished product was amazing. It was one of the best things that I’ve ever done and am likely to do for a while.
But then I found that about the episodes we have just done. It’s particularly important you end on a fantastic third one and the third episode in the third series is stellar. Everyone’s work on it is great and it’s a Steven Moffat special which is always good, but they are all so good! I was very, very excited when I read this one – it’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read.
Originally published December 19, 2013. Updated November 28, 2022.
