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4.5
It's 1895 Victorian England. Inspector Lestrade, sporting muttonchops, visits Watson, Mrs. Watson and Holmes at Holmes' rooms at 221B Baker Street. 'Tis the season, and the unusually pensive Lestrade murmurs "Merry Christmas." Watson and Mrs. Watson respond in kind and the always impatient Holmes says, "Thank god that's over." So why is Lestrade really there?Because he's scared. Yesterday morning, a woman in a wedding dress, "white as death, mouth like a crimson wound", stood on a balcony and shot at people in the street with a pistol. Before each shot, she asked, "You?". Then she put the gun in her mouth and shot the back of her head off.Sherlock, "Really, Lestrade. A woman blows her brains out and you come to me?"Yes. Because that evening, in Limehouse, the same bloody bride accosted her husband on the street, and shot him dead with a shotgun.Or, as Lestrade puts it, "Til death do us part. Twice in this case."Skip to several months later, and Lestrade visits again. There's been 5 men murdered in their homes. In each case, rice was scattered on the floor like in a wedding. And written in blood on the wall was "You."What is at work here? Is it a ghost, as the newspapers speculate?Not likely. Holmes tells Watson, "Every great cause has martyrs. Every war has suicide missions. And make no mistake - this is war.""The Abominable Bride" originally aired on 1/1/16. It is 86 minutes long (without commercials). It is a good show, a lot of eerie fun, with a bit of melodrama, action in two time periods, and more than one ending. I found it a joy to see Cumberbatch and Freeman in Victorian clothes and setting: "You're Sherlock Holmes - wear the d%$#n hat."Trivia: In a 2015 RadioTimes interview, Steven Moffat makes this surprising statement (with which I admit I don't agree): "As for Holmes's death, I don't believe that Conan Doyle ever really planned to kill him off. That's faithfully reported, but I don't believe it. The way he's killed off in "The Final Problem"... well, there's no body, is there? So Sherlock is obviously not dead. Conan Doyle was a mystery writer, for goodness' sake! I'm sure the plan all along was to 'resurrect' him."In spring, 2016, they will begin filming the 3 episodes of "Sherlock" Series 4, also to be 90 minutes each.Sherlock: "Why aren't you dead?"??? "Because it's not the fall that kills you, Sherlock!"The DVD/BluRay present the show in 16:9 anamorphic and Dolby Digital Surround sound. English subtitles are available on the show and all of the Bonus Features.Bonus:....1. "Mark Gatiss: Study in Sherlock" (30 minutes) Gatiss (co-creator and co-writer) hosts this special. Other commentators include Benedict Cumberbatch (plays Sherlock), Martin Freeman (plays John Watson), Steven Moffat (co-creator and co-writer), Amanda Abbington (plays Mary Watson), Una Stubbs (plays Mrs. Hudson) and Andrew Scott (plays Moriarty).Gatiss says, "Steven and I were very keen on, from the beginning... to dramatize certain things which had not been done." Most Sherlock Holmes depictions start at a point where Sherlock and Holmes have been friends for a long time. For this special, we are shown the scene "where young Stamford introduces his friend Dr. Watson to a mysterious stranger called Sherlock Holmes."....2. "Production Notes" (6 minutes) Using his cell phone to record, Gatiss takes us along for a day of filming. It's February 4, 2015, the day they shoot the Reichenbach Falls scene. Commentators include Jean-Claudd (J.C.) Deuara (VFX Supervisor), Steven Moffat and Benedict Cumberbatch. At one point, Gatiss turns the camera on himself and says, "It's twenty to 5:00, we finish at 8:00. We've got tons to do. We're in big trouble. The lens keeps foggiing up. Everything takes too long..." and so on.....3. "Writers Interview" (4 minutes) Gatiss and Moffat talk with each other about the characters.....4. "Creating the Look" (32 minutes) Commentators include Danny Hargreaves (special effects supervisor), Mark Gatiss, Sue Vertue (executive producer), Natasha O'Keefe (plays The Bride), Lisa Heathcote (food stylist), Ben Mangham (locations manager) Steven Moffat, Sarah Arthur (costume designer), Amanda Abbington, Gordon Seed (stunt co-ordinator) and Jean-Clude Deguara.Among other scenes, see an Afghanistan battlefield created in a serene English field. There's filming at the hedge maze at Longleat. And the fun of converting a modern London road into a Victorian outside scene. Per Mangham, it took 3 1/2 weeks of preparation for one morning of filming.....5. "Sherlockology Q&A" (21 minutes) Short Q&A sessions with Amanda Abbington, Una Stubbs, David Nellist (plays Mike Stamford), Sue Vertue and Steven Moffat. Per Vertue, it takes about 25 days to shoot each 86-minute episode. That explains why we have such long waits in between series. Freeman and Cumberbatch are busy actors.To the people who don't like how "Sherlock" has messed with the Sherlock Holmes canon, these comments by Moffat are interesting: "We have no desire, no interest, in doing anything that is totally wrong for Doyle.... We're not gonna massively contradict him. I mean, minor things, like what century it's set in, yes, but ... the canon... isn't a restriction. It's an amazing platform.... It's not a cage. It's a stage."Last, but not least, am I the only person bothered by the 221B on the outside of the boarding house? Shouldn't it be just 221?Happy Reader(Details added after watching the special.)
