Just caught a rebroadcast of Sherlock. Unfortunately sound went out for first 11 minutes. I gather that opening goes:

1) Flashback: little boy sees father killed by enormous hound.

2) Grownup version tells story to Sherlock and Watson. Snarky banter with grownup(Henry) as straight man

3) Sound comes up and short version is Henry thought he had imagined it all until he saw houndprints. Sherlock enjoys second hand smoke and takes case because of use of word "Hound".

Did I miss anything important in opening? Maybe some good banter or a bit of Sherlock's past or John's past.

How dare you cast aspersions on fandom's loves!

I strew nasturtiums on impulse.

It seems to me that the original Holmes was not quite so rarified in the brainbox as Sherlock. And Conan Doyle possessed at least some of the skills that he used, having picked them up from a professor in med school. Holmes was more of a Raj or Leonard; Sherlock is a Sheldon.

Conan Doyle led a campaign to free an Indian immigrant who had been falsely accused of murder, exposing prejudiced and highly incompetent police work. Also, at least if you believe Watson, Holmes had a kind heart which he showed on occasion in spite of trying to conceal it - a kindness that he sometimes bestowed upon stranger, and not only on a few exceptional friends. Also on one or two occasions Holmes showed real horror at the crimes he exposed. Holmes may not have been neurotypical, but it would be hard to argue he was a sociopath either. (Not impossible, but any such argument would have to lean on Watson as being fooled by Holmes which of course he canonically was on occasion.)

In the show's defense, they have said that their concept for it was that these guys are about 20 years away from being the platonic ideal of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. They're not done baking yet. Of course, I also think Sherlock is more of an Aspie than a sociopath, but I will admit that I am fundamentally an apologist for the show (albeit not a blind one).

I agree with you that Sherlock is not a sociopath. I'm not quite as sure about Aspie, but then again I don't know that much about Aspergers. I know one high functioning Aspergers patient who is *very* socially successful, very able to charm people and make lots of friends.

I do have a theory/fanficcy idea that Sherlock and Mycroft were deliberately raised to be thinking machines/sociopaths . Whoever was trying this (their mother?) came much closer with Mycroft, which is why he functions well in government. I'm not sure Mycroft is a true sociopath either. He seems to truly care for Sherlock. (Yes, I know gave him away to Moriarity, but perhaps did not expect him to ever get away to use the knowledge.) On the other hand he seems to have no problem with torture and secret labs that violate medical ethics - so he is not *that* far from true sociopath even if he is not quite that.

BBC Sherlock cameos: [link]

eta: In the original sense of the word....

Those are great!

I just read that Andrew Scott won a BAFTA. And I actually googled to see if it was for Sherlock, because seriously? I felt he had no boundaries on his performance, so I couldn't even say he was good. He just had to act incredibly loopy. I have no reason to think really brilliant psychopaths act that way.

I suppose someone has to chew the scenery in real life?

Man, I love how "fuck you" the writers were when they had to write out AJ Cook. And wikipedia cites spinoff-related financial reasons.

Glad that worked out for you, network. And if you hadn't jacked with Paget Brewster, we might still have her...

ION's having a CM marathon tomorrow. Apparently, nothing says Memorial Day like serial killers.